UK Seller, USA Buyer, Returns

UK Seller, sold an item to a USA buyer on the 28th.

Shipped the item from the UK to USA on the 29th.

Buyer opened up return request on the 30th saying that he wanted to cancel the order because he found a better price.

I messaged the buyer on the 31st to let them know the item was already dispatched and to follow amazon instructions to return it when it finally arrives.

Amazon steps in on the 3rd and auto issues refund, minus outbound shipping. The item hasn’t even arrived yet, its still on the way to the buyer. Amazon state that I had 48 hours from the return being opened (the day after dispatch) (although seller central failed to tell me about the 48 hour deadline. I thought I was safe waiting for the item to arrive), to provide a pre paid return label, and because I failed to do that, they auto refunded.

Complained to Amazon that they effectively did a returnless refund without my permission, and they admitted that they had to “prioritise the customer experience”, and I had to pay for that.

The customer gets his money back (minus outbound shipping) and gets to keep the product for free.

Fuming.