Community Chat, Dec 6th @ 1pm PT - Returns

[alan@ebay]

Hi Community,

For our chat this week we'll be joined by the Returns team. Please use this session to get your questions answered, share your experiences with the eBay team, and look for advice on eBay Returns processes.

Here’s are some of the questions we often hear that we'd love to discuss with you:

· Why does eBay recommend 30 and 60 day Free Returns?
· What are Free Returns?
· What can I expect to get out of it?
· When and how can I offer partial refunds?
· How is eBay protecting sellers?
· What type of seller is expected to offer returns?
· What are the top 3 things I need to know about returns on eBay?
· Are returns mandatory?
· Where do I set up Return Policies?

We'll open the thread at 1 pm Pacific on Wed Dec 6th, and the chat will be open for one hour. 

Chat with you then! 

[tyler@ebay]

Welcome to this week's chat - we're here and ready to answer your questions on Returns!

[dhbookds]

How do we handle it when a buyer just sends an item back......no notice, the package shows up at the door with "I'd like a refund"..............

[williak]

UPS damaged an item during shipment from the seller to the buyer, making the item worthless. The item was fully insured with UPS, so a claim was filed which UPS immediately approved after pickup and inspection of the item in the buyer’s city. The claim settlement payment was sent to and received by the seller along with the damaged item, repackaged and shipped at UPS’s expense.

The question is how best to handle the eBay side of things (presently showing only that the original item was purchased and shipped; no other updates). As the fault was entirely UPS’s, the seller should suffer no penalty and thus no defect should accrue due to a return. At the same time, the buyer should be made whole with a refund of the original item price and shipping cost.

Both seller and buyer are on friendly terms and fully co-operative.

Thanks in advance for any and all comments.

[mr_lincoln]

INR Question

I’ve read a number of threads where a Buyer processes an INR while the package is still in transit as Tracking shows and can be proven by the Seller.  An INR should not be allowed if the package is still in transit.  Buyers are getting awarded the claim and Refund then the package shows up late (through NO fault of the Seller, just a slow shipment by carrier) so they wind up getting the item FREE … Sellers have absolutely no control over what happens to a package once it is put in the hands of any carrier so why should they be penalized for that?

What is in place to protect the Seller from losing both money and item in this scenario?

[golfingaddict]

Hi Alan

 I hope you have a nice vacation.

I have a buyer tha wants to return an item but has not processed the return on ebay.

If I give  her my address to return the item, will I be suspended for giving contact information? 

[golfingaddict]

 Can guest users access the returns program on the item listing?  Is it possible if they are not registered as an ebay user?

[lauren*us]

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@dhbookds wrote:

How do we handle it when a buyer just sends an item back......no notice, the package shows up at the door with "I'd like a refund"..............

---

Hey @dhbookds! Thanks for your question. In this case, you might consider cancelling this order  through My eBay and ensure to select the reason that buyer has requested the cancellation. Buyer will receive their refund and they should be good to go. Hope this helps! 

- Lauren

[dhbookds]

---

@lauren*us wrote:

---

@dhbookds wrote:

How do we handle it when a buyer just sends an item back......no notice, the package shows up at the door with "I'd like a refund"..............

---

Hey @dhbookds! Thanks for your question. In this case, you might consider cancelling this order  through My eBay and ensure to select the reason that buyer has requested the cancellation. Buyer will receive their refund and they should be good to go. Hope this helps! 

- Lauren

Lauren, I have no proof thru Ebay messages that buyer has requested cancellation.......so how is that going to be accepted? 

---

[alan@ebay]

---

@golfingaddict wrote:

Hi Alan

 I hope you have a nice vacation.

I have a buyer tha wants to return an item but has not processed the return on ebay.

If I give  her my address to return the item, will I be suspended for giving contact information?  

---

Hi @golfingaddict, 

I had a lovely vacation, thanks for mentioning it 🙂 

We encourage you to ask the buyer to open a return request. If for some reason they do not cooperate with that as the messages are happening post-transaction you should be fine. 

[golfingaddict]

I have a buyer that is returning an item.  In an email to me he said that if I send him a replacement I had better give him a discount to account for his troubles.

I don't have replacements activated in my listings.

I see that as an option when I create listings.  If I don't have it activated and a buyer requests a return, what happens if I do send a replacment instead of a return?  Can the request then be escalated to a return because that is not part of the return process because I didn't select it?

[gracieallen01]

---

alan@ebay wrote:

Hi Community,

For our chat this week we'll be joined by the Returns team. Please use this session to get your questions answered, share your experiences with the eBay team, and look for advice on eBay Returns processes.

Here’s are some of the questions we often hear that we'd love to discuss with you:

· Why does eBay recommend 30 and 60 day Free Returns?
· What are Free Returns?
· What can I expect to get out of it?
· When and how can I offer partial refunds?
· How is eBay protecting sellers?
· What type of seller is expected to offer returns?
· What are the top 3 things I need to know about returns on eBay?
· Are returns mandatory?
· Where do I set up Return Policies?

We'll open the thread at 1 pm Pacific on Wed Dec 6th, and the chat will be open for one hour. 

Chat with you then! 

---

How can ebay demand that a seller participate in, and solely provide, a money back guarantee return when ebay does not own, sell or see an item, does not verify what item - in what condition - is shipped and does not verify what item - in what condition - is returned, if it is returned?

[scene.of.the.crop]

---

@williak wrote:

UPS damaged an item during shipment from the seller to the buyer, making the item worthless. The item was fully insured with UPS, so a claim was filed which UPS immediately approved after pickup and inspection of the item in the buyer’s city. The claim settlement payment was sent to and received by the seller along with the damaged item, repackaged and shipped at UPS’s expense.

The question is how best to handle the eBay side of things (presently showing only that the original item was purchased and shipped; no other updates). As the fault was entirely UPS’s, the seller should suffer no penalty and thus no defect should accrue due to a return. At the same time, the buyer should be made whole with a refund of the original item price and shipping cost.

Both seller and buyer are on friendly terms and fully co-operative.

Thanks in advance for any and all comments.

---

@williak - Thank you for sharing the scenario. It sounds like you're on the right path. What eBay would expect to happen is that the seller lets buyer know to submit the return request, and that the seller would work with buyer on the insurance claim and provide a refund as soon as possible. Then the seller should ask buyer to make the item available to the carrier for inspection. If the claim is not accepted or the buyer is not cooperative with the insurance claim, we can offer the seller additional protection.    -Jennifer

[tyler@ebay]

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@golfingaddict wrote:

 Can guest users access the returns program on the item listing?  Is it possible if they are not registered as an ebay user?

---

Hi @golfingaddict - yes, guest users can request a return on items they've purchased as a guest. 

[thegreenhouse2]

Hello there,  is there anyway to offer free returns for Domestic shipments but not for international?  thanks for taking my quesiton.

Lisa from thegreenhouse2