Someone purchased cuttings from me recently and told me the cuttings died. They asked for replacements and I said that although I ran out, I would send them as they became available.

Now they're asking for a full refund. Problem is, I'm not sure if the person is being truthful. 

What would you do?

Did the cuttings die due to their own rooting technique or were the cuttings dead on delivery?
A photo of the cuttings received should show any problems with what you sent.
IMO If you sent bad cuttings you should replace or refund.

I would never send out dead cuttings, lol. That's just asking for trouble. Actually, I've had a few people contact me telling me their cuttings rooted just fine. This is the only person so far who has had an issue. 

These particular cuttings were stored in an airtight container in the fridge wrapped in weekly-changed paper towels for about three weeks before this person purchased them. 

I also did ask for a photo but there's no indication that the cuttings pictured are actually mine. 

Did you offer a guarantee that the cuttings would root and grow? If not, your responsibility ends when you deliver the items as described. You have no control over the buyer's technique, which plays a big part in successful rooting.

Having said that, I have always refunded customers' money when they complain. I view the occasional scammer as part of the eBay experience.

I attribute such incidents to the risks. I have 2 times faced with such cases. The price of selling the cuttings should be considered risky transactions.

You cant warranty a cutting !!!! They mess,it up. Their loss

РИЧИ BONI, I agree with you. But I do not want to waste your time on long proceedings with dishonest people.

Hi,
Did the ad say that rooting cuttings is easy but can fail ( have a disclaimer) ?
Did they notify you upon reception that the cuttings were dried ? Or was it a month later ?
But, as already written, if you don't want a reputation hit, just refund. You may send some more cuttings to just loop in the situation. So I would step out of the loop for sure.
You can even loose trees, so cuttings, even rooted cuttings ...
The decision is yours.

I for one would not want to give a refund on cuttings that didn't root, I am flabbergasted someone would even ask.  I kill my share of cuttings, and wouldn't dream of asking for replacements, let alone refund.

Now if I received subpar cuttings I would say something before trying them, but once the rooting process has been initiated any mistakes are on the person rooting them.

Man that's tough, I know reputation is everything and if they were inexpensive I might just refund to get rid of the potential headache as some others suggested.  I for one probably wouldn't have the money to refund someone the following month(s) and this would cause lots of stress.

Please state the name (or PM me) so if possible I can avoid this buyer.  I'm sure your like most of us who potentially sell on ebay and wouldn't send anything you yourself wouldn't want to receive.  Hopefully we can avoid those that would want to take advantage, or extort one of us into a bad situation.

Tough call.  I always add a disclaimer to my auctions.  Mainly because I prune them the day of shipment so I know they're viable and fresh.  As for your case, since they weren't fresh-off-the-tree, it's a tough call.  I hope the buyer is being honest if you do in fact refund them.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I agree with each and every one of you. 

I ended up reimbursing the buyer. I will not make his username public knowledge but I'll keep this person on file. If any sellers get reimbursement demands from buyers, please let me know.

To answer a question about the timetable of this situation, the notification came only a few days ago that the cuttings had failed. He purchased them at the beginning of March and attempted to root them in, from the pictures he sent, what looks like soil or compost. The once-viable cuttings died in his possession. (This is so petty but) IF those were my cuttings in those pictures at all! lol

Offering a replacement is more than generous from your part, buyer should have been more than happy to wait. I have a feeling he is a dishonest person , you should make is name public so everyone else can make their own decision to sell him or not. I for one would not deal with him.

I also sell cuttings on eBay and know your frustration very well.  Sometimes I have refunded money and other times sent additional cuttings. 

This winter I took cuttings from my mother tree just before shipping, instead of storing a few dozen at in the fridge, thinking that would eliminate all complaints. Wrong!  

I have come to realize that some buyers have no idea what to do with the cuttings when they get them, as they have not researched fig propagation, and expect you to provide all the information they need. I provide basic information including links to excellent sites.

They also don’t know what a dormant viable fig cutting looks like, even when you explain it to them. 

I had just such a buyer this winter that lives about 15 miles from me. The cuttings were taken the same day as they went in the mail and were received two days later.  There was no request for a refund; but they did leave negative feedback, because they were dry.

I improve where I can, and take note of each situation.

I think it just comes with the eBay territory.

In my auctions I state no refunds but I do resend cuts or ask if there is something else I can give them. I am connected to other sellers that network lists of people who are known problem buyers (numerous instances) on ebay. We block those using extortion and other dubious claims being made. You can pm if you like to see if there account/name is on my list.

I have 1 bad review (yonipco) from a guy who emailed me over a month after the order was sent saying the cuts I sent him died (that were $10) and demanded free expensive plants from me then gave me bad feedback after I wouldn't give into extortion. Ebay was no help so we network scammer buyers information.

On a positive note I have had some great RDB already the last 2 weeks but the birds found them before I did. Lol

I personally never refund for cuttings. You just can't be responsible  for all the mistakes people make rooting cuttings. Lord knows, I've killed plenty myself. Ebay removed unfair negative feedback for me in the past a couple times, but it wasn't figs..I've had some scammers try it before from South Texas claiming they did not receive cuttings, when the PO showed they were delivered. I know I don't send out junk cuttings, and I always send an extra or two for free. It's on them after that.

Levar, I have been selling pawpaw trees on ebay and etsy for a while, now. Everyone has always been happy with the trees until last year. I had a guy buy a pair of trees, I had to wait to ship because of the weather, and I mention in my listing that the shipping can be delayed due to weather, and I let the guy know. Anyway, when he got the trees he was unhappy with them, he complained about the size of the trees, the size of the pots, he said I lied about the age of the trees, and he said they were almost dead. He wanted his money back. My listing states that I do not refund money on trees. But, I told him that if he packaged the trees as well as he received them, and shipped them back, with the same insurance they were sent to him with, that I would refund the money that he paid for the trees. He didn't want to do that - he wanted to keep the trees and get his money back. I refused. But he gave me a bad rating on ebay. My rating had been perfect before. You just can't make some people happy. Even if you refund the person's money or send they new cuttings they could still give you a bad rating. I have been growing figs from cuttings on ebay for years - I never even thought about asking for my money back if the cuttings failed. Cuttings are always riskey and the buyer should know that.

People are such nightmares.

A pinned thread listing all the crooks on ebay has my vote. Just put em all on blast. If they want to be raggedy, then let's just turn their messiness into content.