@*eponymous* wrote:
@siayan wrote:
I demand a second opinion.
What is the defect for? What is the name of this defect?
I am goingto sneak this question in on the next chat. See if we get the same answer.
While you're at it, ask the same thing for Trinton's statement in yesterday's chat that refunding more than 20% of the transaction disqualifies it for an "automatic" fvf credit. Of course, we know that there is no automatic credit (instead of cash, which is what the seller paid!) of fvf on ANY partial refund!
@Anonymous"A full refund = a full credit of FVF. Anything less will either be prorated or only be for the value of the item depending on what the circumstances are. Anything less than 80% would not automatically receive a fee credit."
Hello everyone, I apologize for the long post but I wanted to address everyone's concerns in one response so we can clear up the confusion that has occurred here. As a result, I may repeat some points a few times within this post.
I want to start out by being clear that while a partial refund without explanation within eBay messages can lead to a defect, this is not a new procedure. This has been in place since we began recording defects. A refund is typically an indication that there was something wrong with the transaction, which is what a defect represents. If a refund is issued without explanation either in eBay messages or through a Cancel Transaction/eBay Money Back Guarantee case, then we may have reason to believe there was an issue and record a defect.
I understand that this may not have been a situation that anyone here has run into so it may seem new or indicate a change has occurred, but this is not the case. If you have not run into an issue with a partial refund recording a defect, then you have been taking appropriate steps to communicate with your buyers.
@*eponymous* it looks like we got this flipped around a little. When I mentioned that anything less than 80% would not automatically receive a fee credit I was indicating refunds that were less than 80% of the total sale price, not refunds that were more than 20% of the total sale price. Refunds that are less than 80% of the sales price would not automate a Final Value Fee Credit.
You mentioned refunds that are less than 20%, but this would not be completely accurate. Less than 20%, 20% and anything between 20% and 80% would not automate a fee credit. A partial refund of up to 80% issued through a Return Request would provide a Final Value Fee credit proportional to the amount of refund issued. This would be automatically issued without any further steps required from the seller. For refunds of 20% or less of the sales price, our customer service team can review for potential credits. If no Return Request was opened and a partial refund is being issued of 80% or more, just reach out to Customer Service so we can have a credit reviewed.
@siayan, I spoke directly with our Policy team on this topic to ensure I was providing the correct information. You will receive the same answer if you ask in future chats. We have recorded refunds through PayPal without an associated Cancel Transaction or eBay Money Back Guarantee case as Seller initiated defects since we began recording defects. A separate classification for partial refunds would not be necessary. As I've mentioned earlier in this post, if a seller refunds this is a sign that something went wrong with the transaction. A defect is a record of a transaction that did not go ideally. If you have not run into an issue with this kind of defect in the years that we have been recording defects, this is an indication of how infrequently this kind of issue arises.
Asking that an explanation be recorded within our system for a refund has always been our expectation and since you cannot offer a partial refund through a Cancel Transaction, nor would it be the appropriate case format for most situations (such as shipping discount refunds), we expect there to be some record within messages to explain the partial refund.
@bubbleman2010, contacting a buyer to say, "Shipping was cheaper than estimated so I'm sending you a partial refund via PayPal. Thank you for your purchase!" would not result in a warning about taking transactions off the site. These warnings are related to sharing contact info or otherwise seeking to set up a sale off of eBay. Notifying a buyer of a partial refund would simply be good communication and serve to keep eBay informed of what is going on in the transaction, both being something that we expect.
@retrose1, as we have discussed in other threads, our expectations are made clear to sellers, there simply may be specific scenarios that are not outlined. The example I believe you are referencing is a conversation regarding a sellers expectations for return shipping when an eBay label cannot be provided. I misspoke in that thread when I referred to how we handle specific situations with the word "policy". While internally our guidelines and workflows are referred to as policies, I should not have used this word as our Community uses the word policy as a synonym for expectation. Though it is not specifically stated on the eBay site how a seller can cover return shipping when an eBay label is provided as this is ultimately up to the seller, it is clearly stated that we expect a seller to cover the cost of return shipping when an item does not match the description. If an eBay label cannot be provided due to the transaction being international or the item not being eligible due to it's dimensions, then a seller would still be expected to cover return shipping costs. I apologize again for the confusion that my word choice caused in that conversation and am happy to discuss this further with you via email or over the phone if you would like. Just let me know how you would prefer to discuss this so we can work to be on the same page on this topic.
@keziak, while eBay and PayPal are separate companies we do communicate about certain matters to better protect our communities.
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In short, it should come as a surprise that eBay would need to see why a refund was issued to a buyer. Communication is a clear expectation of ours. You are all empowered to issue a partial refund where you see fit, just take a few seconds to send a message about why. Do what is right for your customers and we will support you.
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