Time window for item to come back

[iamalwaysright]

This is a first for me. A buyer returned an item but it's been almost 3 weeks since the acceptance scan and it hasn't arrived yet.

Ebay is doing the "you must refund by 10/16" scare tactic trick. If you click into the return details it says you SHOULD have received the item by now despite the tracking shown on that page clearly shows it hasn't arrived back to me yet.

What happens if it never comes back to me and the tracking for the return never shows delivered?

[slati_2013]

When the return is delivered it is updated on eBay' s end and the clock starts to run for you to refund the buyer. If it never shows delivered eBay will not refund the buyer. Of course the buyer could escalate the claim with eBay but I think you are safe. Do not refund until you get the item back. 

[iamalwaysright]

Yes but my question is mainly what happens if it never shows up as delivered, I don't have the package, and the buyer doesn't escalate. Does the return remain open forever?

[ladyindecadence]

The real question though. Was the return opened as an item not as described or as a buyers remorse return?

The reason is that ebay bases who would win in this case on who paid for the return shipping label. In the case of not as described where you purchase the return shipping label for the buyer ebay expects you to issue a refund even if the item gets lost or damaged in shipping. So once the return gets an acceptance scan it becomes your responsibility to cover the refund even if the item never makes it back to you.

If it was a case of buyers remorse and the buyer paid for the return label then they are responsible for any loss or damage in shipping. And ebay would not require you to issue a refund in that case.

Further if you are a top rated seller or offer free 30 day returns you can likely deduct 50% from the return as its a faulty return since the item was lost in shipping.

[iamalwaysright]

Buyers remorse return but I have free returns. But when will I be actually “required” to issue the refund if the buyer never asks eBay to step in?

[femmefan1946]

If there is no Proof of Delivery on the returned item, eBay considers the item Not Delivered and does not demand the refund.

Which is the same as seller shipping without tracking, when we do that, we have to consider the cost of possible INR claims against the definitely higher cost of tracked shipping.

Canada Post charges me a maximum of $5.57 for Lettermail anywhere domestically, but a minimum of $12 for regional tracked packages, more for national and even more for 'isolated' like Nunavut or NorthwestTerritory addresses.

So if your buyer did not return the item, you win the claim.

If the buyer returned and the shipment does not arrive by the deadline, you win the claim.

What is the last estimated date for the return delivery given by eBay?

If that has passed, go to the claim and ask eBay to step in and close it in your favour.

[iamalwaysright]

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@femmefan1946 wrote:

If the buyer returned and the shipment does not arrive by the deadline, you win the claim.

What is the last estimated date for the return delivery given by eBay? I believe there is no such thing. The exact verbiage for another return where the buyer hasn't shipped yet is "If the buyer doesn't ship the item back by Oct 26, we may close the return automatically and you will not be required to refund the buyer." The deadline is for ship by date, not arrival date.

If that has passed, go to the claim and ask eBay to step in and close it in your favour.

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What shipment arrival deadline? Ebay doesn't give a buyer a date to have the returned item arrive to the seller, they just give a deadline for them to drop off/scan accepted tracking to the carrier. 

Once the buyer ships the item back and scans it in, the "ship by" deadline date disappears from the return details page. So I don't recall what date that was for this particular return. All it says there now is "The item should already have been delivered. Please inspect the item carefully upon receipt and issue a refund to the buyer by Oct 16." We all know that verbiage is broken for so many years now. I still believe it's a scare tactic for ebay to try and trick sellers to prematurely refund buyers because this has been mentioned in multiple previous posts as well as me reporting the page and talking to my concierge agents, yet ebay still doesn't feel the need to correct that verbiage. But that's another story.

[a_c_green]

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@iamalwaysright wrote:
Once the buyer ships the item back and scans it in, the "ship by" deadline date disappears from the return details page. So I don't recall what date that was for this particular return. All it says there now is "The item should already have been delivered. Please inspect the item carefully upon receipt and issue a refund to the buyer by Oct 16."

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While it should already have been delivered, it has not, and eBay is indeed waiting to see a Delivered status on the Return tracking number before going forward with starting the clock on you to refund. Nothing will happen just because the buyer got an Acceptance scan on the label (other than you now being billed for the label if it's a Not As Described return).

I would be curious to know whether the Acceptance was an actual in-network USPS scan done at a carrier pickup or Front Desk at the post office, or was simply a provisional scan of the label done at the PO lobby Self-Serve Kiosk by the buyer, who then did not actually send back a package. What is the exact wording of the latest scan of the Return number, as shown on the USPS.com website?

[ma-647837]

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@iamalwaysright wrote:

A buyer returned an item but it's been almost 3 weeks since

1. the acceptance scan and it hasn't arrived yet.

Ebay is doing

2. the "you must refund by 10/16" scare tactic trick. 

Buyers remorse return but I have free returns. But when will I be actually “required” to

3. issue the refund if the buyer never asks eBay to step in? 

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1. If this is an eBay-issued return label, after a scan at an APC kiosk eBay sends:

Track your return: [...]
Hi [...],
Thanks for shipping your item [...]. The seller should issue a refund within 3* days of this being delivered.
View the return details to find the latest status.

*policy states 2 business days

2. If this is an eBay-issued return label, eBay sent to the buyer:

Has the seller refunded you for [...]
Hi [...],
We've notified the seller to issue a refund by now. If you haven't received it, contact the seller.
If you need help with this return, you have until [...] to ask us to step in and help.

3. If this is an eBay-issued return label, the buyer will get either a voluntary seller refund or an automatic eBay refund even if the return bounces or is never delivered as long as it gets at least one scan.

Refund issued for order [...]
Hi [...],
Thanks for providing tracking information that shows the item was successfully* returned to the seller's address.
Here's a summary of your refund. You should receive it in 3-5 business days.

*it wasn't, and still isn't