SELLER PROTECTION???

[thesewingdoll]

What about this Ebay correspondence would make me think getting SELLER PROTECTION for a return item sent back to me damaged would be a issue? I have e-mailed, called...Have followed instructions From Every REP I have spoken too. Atrocious handling of this. I have received ZERO.

 Thank you for calling the attention of eBay regarding the item “LADY NOIZ 2X grey LEOPARD/ CHEETAH A-line top/dress LAGENLOOK sleeveless". I am sorry that the transaction did not go smoothly as we are expecting. I do understand your concern about the item you received back which you can no longer resell since it is no longer in the same condition as what you have listed. It is a good thing, that you have contacted us once again regarding this because this gave me a chance to thoroughly review your case. No worries now, I have taken the matter in my hand. My name is Jan and I consider it an honor to be of help to a good eBay member as you are.

  I have filed a Manual Refund Correction Request for you and requested our Financial Team to process the refund back to your account. Rest assured that you will be receiving an email about this and will be updated on the refund process within the next 10 days. Please check your eBay inbox regularly for this update.

In this light, I am appealing for your patience and understanding as we wait for your refund to be processed.Be assured that this had been taken cared of. 

 I trust the action taken is to your satisfaction. Thank you for choosing eBay as your online marketplace and I wish you all the best in your future transactions.

Warm regards,

Janaine

eBay Customer Support

[THREAD ID: 1-5XX3A8EH]

eBay Document ID: 132783822004

[wastingtime101]

It sounds like you missed some steps in the process @thesewingdoll .

First, just to put that CS message aside, if you read closely it says the rep submitted a request for you to be credited. It does not say you will be credited. That's a common message to get when a seller requests a credit for something. The front line rep can put in a request but it has to be reviewed by another team (I think it's the trust & safety team) before it's approved or denied.

Moving on to the actual return:

You are TRS and accept 30 day returns in the listing. You do qualify for seller protections, but if you don't follow the processes in place, those protections won't apply.

Did you approve the return request or did eBay have to step in? If eBay had to step in then that automatically forfeits your seller protections.

If you approved the request, then the item came back damaged, you need to report the buyer through the returns flow at which point you'll be presented with the option to withhold up to 50% of the refund depending on the amount of damage caused by the buyer.

Read more here and make sure to expand all relevant sub-sections for details:

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/selling-policies/seller-protections?id=4345

You can find the deduction guidelines (what % you can deduct) on this page:

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/managing-returns-refunds/handle-return-request-seller?id=4115#sect...

If you have more questions come back and post them, but we'll need more details about how the transaction unfolded as mentioned above.

[thesewingdoll]

I CALLED immediately and spoke to BOB, who advised me to wait until the return timed out & for me to communicate with the buyer, put photos on the return case...etc. etc.  Then to call when it had indeed timed out...So on the advice of EBAY. I followed their instructions. I was not advised to with hold the 50%. And the entire reason for the call was for getting clarity on the proper actions. So There's THAT. 

[thesewingdoll]

I have transcript of that by the way....

[wastingtime101]

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@thesewingdoll wrote:

I CALLED immediately and spoke to BOB, who advised me to wait until the return timed out & for me to communicate with the buyer, put photos on the return case...etc. etc.  Then to call when it had indeed timed out...So on the advice of EBAY. I followed their instructions. I was not advised to with hold the 50%. And the entire reason for the call was for getting clarity on the proper actions. So There's THAT. 

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Hey kyle@ebay - can you have that CS call/chat reviewed to see if that rep needs additional training? Based on info in this discussion, it appears they gave some wrong info to this seller.

Rep advised the seller to let eBay step in instead of advising the seller to follow the TRS seller protections process when an item is returned damaged (report buyer, deduct part of the refund). Seller followed CS advice, then filed a request to be credited for the forced refund and was apparently denied.

[ebooksdiva]

I’m sorry..you called?? How on earth would you do that since eBay took their phone number off the site? Did you Google it? If that what you did, you weren’t talking to anyone from eBay.

[thesewingdoll]

Actually went through CHAT first, requested to speak to a rep, and then was given a call. SORRY.  I made the contact to talk via telephone, but did not actually dial a number myself...Several times in fact...

[thesewingdoll]

I don't have many returns...This was the first time in 20 years on Ebay, I have had a problem with damage...If we are going to ask Ebay to retrain the reps? Better have them look into each one I spoke with or had e-mail response from. NOT ONE was up to the job (wrong directions & lack of action due to zero follow through). The left hand has no clue what the right one is doing. Seriously Frustrating. And certainly not up to the standards of Customer service I expect. Shame...I have had good experience when I have needed Information or Help with something over the years. Just a few transcripts from my contact....I have yet to have any e-mails with legitimate information about what is happening with this? 

SR# 1-465547056521,

SR# 1-465546427472,

SR# 1-465655537671, SR# 1-466348679851

[uniwarehousewares]

Based on my selling experience from years, i would say, there is no protection now onward for sellers because ebay is loosing sellers and buyers both because of experimental policies changing every two month new policies. so no one know what is policy, ebay want buyers and seller to keep learning about new policies instead of focusing on business and listing. 

policies are not clear and some policies are left based on situational decisions by cs. so how buyer or seller will know about policies. 

seems ebay is not satisfied with its own policies so they keep changing every month or two. not stable.

[kyle@ebay]

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@wastingtime101 wrote:

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@thesewingdoll wrote:

I CALLED immediately and spoke to BOB, who advised me to wait until the return timed out & for me to communicate with the buyer, put photos on the return case...etc. etc.  Then to call when it had indeed timed out...So on the advice of EBAY. I followed their instructions. I was not advised to with hold the 50%. And the entire reason for the call was for getting clarity on the proper actions. So There's THAT. 

---

Hey kyle@ebay - can you have that CS call/chat reviewed to see if that rep needs additional training? Based on info in this discussion, it appears they gave some wrong info to this seller.

Rep advised the seller to let eBay step in instead of advising the seller to follow the TRS seller protections process when an item is returned damaged (report buyer, deduct part of the refund). Seller followed CS advice, then filed a request to be credited for the forced refund and was apparently denied.

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Hey @wastingtime101 thanks for bringing this to my attention.  We'll definitely address this with the agent who provided that info.  

As for the rest of the situation, a manual refund request was the correct move at this point, so it sounds like this will be resolved pretty soon.  

[wastingtime101]

Thanks for the assist on the CS end kyle@ebay .

Come back to let us know once this is resolved @thesewingdoll - hopefully it will work out in your favor.

[thesewingdoll]

Hi, Kyle, Perhaps someone at EBAY can look into it? Just a FYI...some of the reps who I chatted with confused this case as one of the buyer not ME as the SELLER. Just OMG. Don't they take notes???? From the beginning, I followed the rep at EBAY's INSTRUCTIONS. Bob assured me I would have Ebays assistance in taking care of it once the return timed out. Look at the transcript conversation.  I have been chasing this since JULY 13th. I have been told at least 5 different stories about what was happening/happened, When the discussions were over Every person said they have handled it. Have received ZERO e-mails of confirmation said to be in 48 hours or confirmation of action promised since Janaine said she took care of it on July 13th?  Just thanks for contacting us when I tried to follow up. We will try appeal????  Appeal what? It was supposed to be taken care of? Never have had any e-mail confirmation of any appeal either??? Never received progress e-mails in 24-48 as promised? None of the details are on the return file. I even had one rep tell me I had already been refunded? That incompetent was referring to the refund issued to the BUYER. There has been ZERO credit to my Ebay seller account reflected. Zero  EBAY mystery refund to my connected bank account.  I Have the e-mail that said Janaine at EBAY had handled it? That should have been it. PERIOD. This is a 24 hour fix...Not OVER A MONTH.  Will anyone do ANYTHING? I'd like to believe this is just some fluke? Hard with all the contact I have made and the continual **bleep** I have received. This was not a expensive item...But, I do sell some higher end things. I have ZERO confidence in solution if I ever have a problem like this again. I feel like I have wasted so much time with incompetency.  Bad, bitter taste at this point. 100% positive feedback seller, with over 16,000 transactions, 20 year buyer and seller.  If Me, with that under my belt, gets THIS? One does not need to be a psychic to know what others are experiencing when they need help with something.  

[thesewingdoll]

In dealing with the reps in this situation? My impression is...They have farmed a lot of REP jobs out of the US.  You may or may not deal with someone in the Country of where your account is based. The people you do talk to are polite, uninformed and have no clue what your prior contacts with other reps have told you. The left hand has no idea what the right one is doing. This is not good for either the seller or the buyer.  

[wastingtime101]

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@thesewingdoll wrote:

OVER A MONTH. [...] with all the contact I have made [...] This was not a expensive item...But, I do sell some higher end things. I have ZERO confidence in solution if I ever have a problem like this again.

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For whatever it's worth Sewing Doll:

I totally get your frustration here and you're not the first seller to encounter a CS rep that gave incorrect info that resulted in a financial impact. Been there myself. I'm not diminishing that or brushing away the problem.

What I can offer is a suggestion to come here if you run into this type of situation again, immediately after the buyer makes contact or files a claim. There is a ton of knowledge and experience on this board. Sellers here can tell you how these types of cases are handled and point you to the policy pages to back up the actions they're advising you take.

I know at this point it may be more about the principle than the money, but for this transaction, with all the time you spent the last month, consider what it's worth to keep pursuing this specific transaction. Between the time and stress sometimes moving on is a better option than continued pursuit. Not in any way saying what happened was right and not defending the bad advice. Just trying to offer another perspective. Being an ecommerce seller isn't easy and it's important to check the stress levels. See the big picture and let the occasional smaller matter go, taking away information to help you with the next time. In this line of work, there's practically a guarantee there will be a next time.

[thesewingdoll]

Thank you! You have been helpful.