Screwed by ebay appeal process.

[bernie301]

I sold a product to a customer. It was the 5th product for this particular car.  All the other customers were happy. This customer goes on and on about how the product is totaly wrong and how it could not possibly work.  I appealed to ebay. I was hopping the customer would realize the product was good and was a good value.  ebay rulled againts me and told me I had 7 days to send a return.

they also had a link to appeal again.  It did not say I would loose my right to demand a return. Yes it probably does say this in somewhere in the contract.  It is amost impossible to cntact ebay to get advice over the phone.

 ebay rulled against me again but this time just gave the buy the money back and unless I can get the buyer to return the item I am out over four thousand dollars as they will not hold up the refund till the buy returns the good

they did not warn me that appealing their first decision would jeopardize my right to return.

Suggestions? class action suit?  Anyone other seller had a similar experience?

[soh.maryl]

Perhaps  you didn't know this:  When an eBay buyer opens an item not as described case, the best thing a seller can do is send him a prepaid return label and refund when the item is received back.  Otherwise, you run the risk of eBay refunding the buyer from your (the seller's) money and allowing that buyer to keep the item.  

[dbfolks166mt]

      It is generally pointless to fight a NAD claim as soh.maryl mentioned. At this point eBay probably considers the matter closed. Not sure how far the buyer is from you but file a police report with their local police department. If they are not far for that amount of money I would go recover the item(s) getting the police to accompany you. You could also file a small claims court case. Suing eBay, while possible, would be a long drawn out process and you would probably spend more on legal fees than the items are worth.

[mr_lincoln · Accepted solution]

Hi @bernie301 

Your issue is that your listings are set for No returns accepted, if you decline a return request or appeals eBay will side with the Buyer and give them their money back and let them keep the item.

We see this a lot from Sellers who THINK they can avoid returns and be protected because they have No returns accepted set on their listings.

eBay has work arounds for that setting.  I have been pushing for them to limit what items that can be used on, like only for items sold for Parts only or For Restoration.

Anyway, consider Free 30 day returns and know your Seller protections to help cut your loss when bogus returns happen ... and they will regardless of your return setting:  Seller protections | eBay

[bernie301]

No ebay allowed me to appeal their decisions and then turned me down and gave me 7 days to initiate a return process.

HOWEVER, THEY ALSO HAD A LINK THAT ALLOWED ANOTHER DISPUTE. i ASSUMED THEY WOULD ENTEND THE RETURN REQUIREMENTS WHILE THEY MADE ANOTHER DELIBERATION. THAT WAS NOT THE CASE AND THEY HAD NO NOTIFICATION THAT THIS WOULD NOT BE THE CASE.

Once I clicked the 2nd dispute link; after I looked up the case it said there was nothing to do.

One would think they would want to decrease appeals;  by stating you will loose your ability to insist on a return before we refund the money to your customer. They did not do this.

If anyone from ebay is reading this they should fix this immediately and stop my customer refund till he returns the merchandise.

I will pursue every legal and pr remedy to rectify this situation.

Hint: You will not like it if you do not take responsibility.

[hartungcards]

File a police report with their local police department?  Seriously?  On what grounds?  I didn't understand the INAD process, so help me go strong arm this guy?

[hartungcards]

"I will pursue every legal and pr remedy to rectify this situation."

I hope you have a lot of free time on your hands, as you will get nowhere with any of this.

[mr_lincoln]

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@bernie301 wrote:

No ebay allowed me to appeal their decisions and then turned me down and gave me 7 days to initiate a return process.

HOWEVER, THEY ALSO HAD A LINK THAT ALLOWED ANOTHER DISPUTE. i ASSUMED THEY WOULD ENTEND THE RETURN REQUIREMENTS WHILE THEY MADE ANOTHER DELIBERATION. THAT WAS NOT THE CASE AND THEY HAD NO NOTIFICATION THAT THIS WOULD NOT BE THE CASE.

Once I clicked the 2nd dispute link; after I looked up the case it said there was nothing to do.

One would think they would want to decrease appeals;  by stating you will loose your ability to insist on a return before we refund the money to your customer. They did not do this.

If anyone from ebay is reading this they should fix this immediately and stop my customer refund till he returns the merchandise.

I will pursue every legal and pr remedy to rectify this situation.

Hint: You will not like it if you do not take responsibility.

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@bernie301   Please don't shoot the messenger ... many here do NOT want to see you fail because many are Sellers too.  We also have the benefit of reading literally hundreds (or more like thousands)

of stories like yours on a regular basis.  I have had a number of bogus returns and claims over the years, it's part of retail sales.  My approach is simple, use as much protection as the eBay venue allows to help cut the loss when it happens, not "if" it happens but when.  

I sincerely hope your efforts are fruitful and you can recover your loss.  Let us know how that works out.

[kensgiftshop]

Sorry, if you wanted it returned before refunding, you should have accepted the return and provided a shipping label.

As a seller, it's never a good idea to get Ebay involved when a buyer files an INAD.

[asset_liquidators]

You can report it as a stolen item as long as you have the serial number.

[hartungcards]

A stolen item?  How do you steal an item when you file an INAD and the seller fails to deal with the INAD process?  You're gonna have to buy this guy's local police department quite a few donuts to go along with this one.

[dbfolks166mt]

File a police report with their local police department?  Seriously?  On what grounds?  I didn't understand the INAD process, so help me go strong arm this guy?

     Theft. It is analogous to CC chargebacks and friendly fraud. 

[dbfolks166mt]

A stolen item?  How do you steal an item when you file an INAD and the seller fails to deal with the INAD process?  You're gonna have to buy this guy's local police department quite a few donuts to go along with this one.

     It's friendly fraud. The police may take little action which is why I suggested using small claims court. 

[mr_lincoln]

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@asset_liquidators wrote:

You can report it as a stolen item as long as you have the serial number.

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@asset_liquidators 

I am a little confused ... I can see where the Buyer could report an item that a Seller sold as stolen property providing they have the initial Police report of the stolen property WITH the serial number.

I cannot see where a Seller can file a Police report that a Buyer stole from them when in fact the Buyer purchased the item from the Seller as recorded on the eBay site.  

[asset_liquidators]

and then got their money back and kept the item (not saying it's the right thing to do but it can be done). It is a problem created by ebay since they did not disclose at the time of the appeal that it could result in a refund without return. Ebay simply needs to have a pop-up warning there. Most sellers (the smart ones anyway) would wind up selecting "return for refund" and issuing a return label.