Another lesson learned the hard way!
In a nut shell…
My Customer (who already bought 2 other dolls of mine) wanted a reborned Maisie Winters.
I don’t really do custom work, so she bought the kit herself, had it shipped to her, then shipped it to me.
We agreed that I would paint the kit and assemble the doll, then she would pay me + return shipping.
Now she does not want the doll.
I offered her a credit for her next doll, but she wants her money back for the kit.
The problem is, that she spent more than double the original sale price, because it is a limited edition, sold out kit.
Do I give her the original price of the kit? (which is approx half of what she paid)
Do I give her what she paid, minus my materials (body, ties, paint, mohair, weighting, filling)
Do I give her only a merchandise credit?
I am stumped.
I don’t know how long it will take to sell her, and I can’t lose money when I was doing her a favor.
I don’t want to lose a repeat customer… but I would never have spent what she did on a kit, let alone a small kit.
I do not want to be unfair…what do I do???
She stated that it does not look like her daughter-
but she never asked me to make it look like her daughter nor did she send me a picture of her daughter.
I think she just spent more than she was supposed to in a short period of time, but I don’t know.
What do I do?
I have series of emails outlining what she wanted me to do, but no contract written out.
I need input!
Tell her that you will attempt to sell the completed baby on eBay and then will give her the amount left over after you take out what she was going to pay you for the reborning…or tell her you will return her kit and then strip it and send the blank kit to her… (and suffer your loss of time and work)… Seems so ridiculous that she thinks she is entitled to a refund on a kit that she provided for you to reborn for HER…
She is absoluteLY NOT ENTITLED to a refund from you for the kit. Through no fault of your own- she was the one who backed out. tell her she can have the supplies you paid for but you cant return them, and you cant return her money because you already paid for all of the supplies. I wish people could understand that with reborns its not as simple as going to walmart and getting a refund. FOr one doll we order supplies from about 5 different places. Its too much.
Start by explaining this to her and take it from there but do not refund her for the kit. that is on her. she should have thought it through. I am not trying to be mean I am just saying I dont think you should take to loss and take the fall for something that was not of your doing.
Perhaps she ordered everything then said “hmm, maybe I SHOULDNT have spent all this money- i take it back>” it cant work like that because it just cant with everything we have to purchase and all of the shipping fees. If you went and returned everything for her you’d be out at least 75 bucks in return shipping fees alone, i guarantee. tell her she can ask if she wants to return the kit from where she bought it, but make sure you work it out so that when and if you send the kit back to her, she doesnt then in return open a paypal case for the whole amount, screw you out of it, and keep the kit for free.
I am so sorry you are dealing with this. Let us know what happens next so we can offer adivce. I have dealt with my share of bad apples (although I have had many more kind wonderful customers who make up for the bad ones) so I can get a feeling for what’s going on right now.
I’m sorry this happened- everything does need to be in writing- I guess sell it on Ebay and refund the money for kit is best idea. Or… like Katie said- tell her she isn’t getting a refund or the doll and have a great holiday
I would try to sell the doll and only refund her the cost of the kit according to BB. That way, you can prove to her a current cost. Explain that you have already invested time and money on a kit you would not otherwise do. Best of luck with it.
I just looked at the gallery. Maisie is $34.95. She is not limited nor sold out. I would offer that price. I would not include shipping, as the purchase was not your choice.
Yes, it was Maisie by Marita Winters.
The kit originally sold for 69.99, but sold out during preorder or shortly thereafter.
My buyer paid approx $160- not including tax or shipping.
Why in the world would she pay that much for a kit plus tax and shipping if she wasn’t sure. Buyers remorse is never a good enough excuse for me.
You will take a hit for sure for some of the supplies you used. Did she give you a ‘non-refundable’ deposit?? That is the bare minimum to have as an understanding before I take a custom order.
If not sell the baby for what you can and then return what you are comfortable with. There is NO way she should come out of this without a loss. My deposit is usually 1/3 to 1/2 of my final estimated price. If they change their mind the money and the supplies bought are mine. You will lose her as a customer but her familiarity with you is now a deficit not a bonus!
a little piece of advice…when you take money on paypal for a custom order put in title its a non refundable deposit on a custom order doll. The reason for that paypal does not give buyer protection on any custom orders.
On her I would tell her I will finish reborning the doll and put up for sale on ebay. When she sold I would refund her $100 for the kit. That is the different in what i charge when i supply the kit and they supply the kit. Other than that she is SOL. If they are stupid enough to pay almost 3 times the cost of the kit its their loss.
I agree!
And thank you for the advice, but I will NEVER do another custom!
I am 0 for 2!
There was no transfer of money-
she simply mailed the kit to me using the return address on the 2 dolls that she purchased from me.
I offered her 2 solutions-
I could send her $85 for the kit, which would have been the price plus shipping if I had ordered the kit from Marita before she sold out,
or I could give her a dolly credit towards her next purchase from my Nursery-
but her invoice from the seller must be presented first.
She chose the partial refund, so I guess Little Maisie is mine!
Thanks you guys!
You are always my best source for suggestions!!!
Hugs!
Whew!
I am so glad that is finally over!
I hate that this can be so stressful, when it started out being so much fun!
And I am glad that we did not end on sour terms, though anything else she purchases from me will have to be a buy it now with immediate payment!
She also agreed to mail me the COA so that I can resell little Maisie, now Maycee!
Maybe I can list her in time for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade!!!
lol
(If I don’t end up keeping her myself!)
