Why is eBay saying I need to purchase and send someone a return label when they already sent one?

[sapphire_studio]

I have it set up so return labels are automatically issued. I have free returns. Somebody told me a skincare device they bought from me was not working. I've sold over 20 of these without complaints and it's over $50 so I asked her if she would file a return so I could inspect what was wrong with it. She opened a return and a label was automatically issued to her. A week later she escalated the case (before shipping it) and eBay said for me not to worry about it they were going to make her ship it back before I refund.

Now I just get the following email telling me that there's a problem with the label and that I need to send another label. I don't remember ever reading anything like this on these forums and I'm pretty confused as to why this has happened. Will I be charged for the first label they issued if she attempted to use it and then also have to pay for a second label?

 

[lakefor94]

You only get charged for the eBay label if it is used. I would buy my own label on Pirateship and see if I could upload it to the case and also send it to the buyer in eBay messages. 

[ittybitnot]

... and eBay said for me not to worry about it they were going to make her ship it back before I refund.

@sapphire_studio 

If you contacted eBay via chat or call back, you cannot really trust what those people tell you.  Following their  advice can often lead to worse problems, especially when they tell you to do "nothing" and they will make the buyer send it back. .  Seems to me, if  "there was a problem with the label" eBay ought to send it again, or send another one.  But that is just being logical, which is not always an eBay attribute when confusion arises. 

There is a chance if the first label is not used, you may not be charged for it, but I would hesitate to purchase another on your own dime.   Can you even do that on eBay through the case?  Was this perhaps an international sale?  Did you ask the buyer what was wrong with the label that was auto sent? 

Best bet would be to contact eBay via one of their social media platforms.  One is to use the blue message button on this page: 
https://www.facebook.com/eBayForBusiness

It puts you in contact with actual eBay employees based in the US who have the authority to take care of business.  (You may wish to post late at night tomorrow or early Monday morning for the best results).  Explain as you have here, and see what they say.  In the meantime it is best NOT to let your new deadline expire if you don't get instant results.  

I am not certain, but if it comes down to it, you can purchase a return label on Pirateship that won't be charged to you unless it is used.  They have good customer service that can advise you and do save a copy of the download should you pursue that route. 

Lots of out of the ordinary glitches around here the past few days, so there is really no telling what is actually going on.  If you find out, do come back and let us know in case the problem surfaces again.  

[kako_5344]

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@sapphire_studio wrote:

She opened a return and a label was automatically issued to her.

A week later she escalated the case (before shipping it) 

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Once a return has been accepted and a return label issued, the buyer does not have a button to escalate. Instead, they have to fabricate a reason why they cannot use the label when they contact eBay.

This buyer for example pretending that the post office won't take a First-Class RETURN SERVICE label weighing over 16 ounces (the limit is 70 pounds) but eBay has to take the buyer at their word, put the case on hold, and write telling the seller to arrange the return for the refund.

The buyer knows that eBay cannot monitor whether this has happened, since the seller will be, for example, sending a prepaid return label by email, which eBay cannot see. eBay is depending on the buyer to voluntarily tell eBay that they got a satisfactory label. Instead, the buyer will go silent, the deadline passes, and eBay will force the refund.

So it's vital that you reply to that eBay message, saying that you've issued that label (get that at Pirate or here) along with that tracking number, to stop that clock.

[12345jamesstamps]

What would I do so I can continue with my every day routines?

Just do a full refund and block the buyer.

Won't get a "ding" on your account. If eBay does the refund you will.

Losing 50 bucks means I have to sell more....just my own opinion.

Why would you want something back opened? And pay for return shipping?

It's just a bad buyer perhaps...and would you actually get what you mailed?

Plus...usually doing a refund the buyer usually leaves no feedback vs. the negative.

Give a buyer the runaround and we can assume it will not be a positive feedback.

[ittybitnot]

@kako_5344 

Interesting insight.  Thank you! 

[orangehound]

I had the same thing happen before with a customer - that is, for some reason they could not access the return shipping label, and eBay was clueless how to help them.

I just got a label on PirateShip and uploaded a PDF of it to the eBay return.  The customer eventually returned the item with the label I provided.

[lakefor94]

"you can purchase a return label on Pirateship that won't be charged to you unless it is used."

When I buy from PirateShip,  they charge my credit card right away and if they label goes unused, I would have to go back into PirateShip and void the label. They do allow more than 5 Days but I can't remember exactly how long.

@sapphire_studio 

I agree that after sending the label thru eBay messages to contact eBay thru Facebook and have them verify you sent the label and to update the case.

[sapphire_studio]

So to clarify the first time eBay told me not to worry and they were making them return it was not a phone call that was an automatic email sent after she somehow escalated the case.

Just now I requested a call back and I'm not sure if I can trust the advice I got or not. He did seem very confident. He said that for some reason the label was not issued originally and they only issued it yesterday when she called and escalated the case. He said that it takes a couple days for the label to actually show up for the buyer and so she called again today. He told me that the eBay representative today was wrong to ask me to send another label and that I am still covered with the label that they sent yesterday. He told me to take no further action and that it is up to her to either return the item or not.

I also did respond to the original email I got from ebay and explained that it was eBay who had issued that original label not me.

It's not even showing up as an open return right now. It's showing up as a case that is on hold for 5 days.

He wrote everything in the notes that he told me and he said if I wanted I could call back in 4 days if she hadn't mailed it back yet.

She opened the account the sams day that she bought this from me and has not purchased from anybody else. It is not an international sale.

If I genuinely thought something was wrong with it I would just refund her. I just have a gut feeling she's trying to get this for free especially because of how many I've successfully sold. Plus it was odd the way she initially communicated to me demanding a refund with very little details.

Thanks for everyone's help.

[sapphire_studio]

I just got a second call back and I didn't request it. She was an American and she laughed and said sometimes the system does that. So I took the opportunity to run everything by her and she agreed with everything the first representative said earlier. She said it was some sort of glitch that the first label was never sent like it should have and that they did Issue a label yesterday and that there's nothing I need to do. She also agreed that the representative made a mistake when they sent me that email telling me that I need to provide a new label.

[12345jamesstamps]

"She was an American"...who lives where....

I usually ask on the phone how's the weather there?

I wish you the best of luck...but never heard on this platform it was an American in the USA....but maybe in another country.

And I usually read all posts here every morning over coffee. Could be a first in years.

Good luck and let us know what happens.

[sapphire_studio]

I had an ebay phone number for a few years that connected to the American call center. I pulled it from a Daily Refinement YouTube video. I think they gave that number to people who had attended eBay Open and it was called concierge service. It stopped working a few months ago. Since the second call back itself was a glitch maybe it glitched out and had the American call center (maybe Anchor Suport?) reach out to me. She was definitely American and for some reason it was just a lot easier to trust what she was telling me. I will probably still call in 4 days though to be safe.

[lakefor94]

Don't hesitate to use the eBay for Business on Facebook. 

When it comes down to it, those reps can get problems fixed if they choose to do so.

They seem to have a lot more tools at their disposal and probably access/permissions the overseas reps do not have.

[ise710]

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@sapphire_studio wrote:

Just now I requested a call back and I'm not sure if I can trust the advice I got or not. He did seem very confident.

He said that for some reason the label was not issued originally and [ 2. ] they only issued it yesterday when she called and escalated the case.

He said that [ 1. ] it takes a couple days for the label to actually show up for the buyer and so she called again today.

It's not even showing up as an open return right now. It's showing up as a case [ 3. ] that is on hold for 5 days. 

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It seems @sapphire_studio that you've been played, 2 reps in a row.

1. An eBay return label appears immediately

a. on the buyer's Returns page during a return request, to print, email, or download

b. when it is re/issued within the case which was escalated from a return request -- never 2 days later.

2. When an eBay return label is sent to the buyer within a case, a new deadline gives the buyer 240 clock hours (10 days) from that hour and minute it was issued to get the label in the mail.

And when tracking shows that the label was delivered/undeliverable somewhere in your area, eBay forces a refund* a few minutes later, instead of allowing you the usual 2 business days to voluntarily refund.

3. The fact that you still see the case on hold for the original 4 or 5 days indicates the buyer did not get a return label, and eBay will force a refund* with no return needed after that deadline.

*including your FVF, because it was escalated

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@sapphire_studio wrote:

She opened the account the sams day that she bought this from me and has not purchased from anybody else. It is not an international sale. 

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It's not a new buyer.

[nenu-5410]

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@sapphire_studio wrote:

It's not even showing up as an open return right now. It's showing up as a case that is on hold for 5 days. 

He wrote everything in the notes that he told me and he said if I wanted I could call back in 4 days if she hadn't mailed it back yet. 

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Has there been any update @sapphire_studio? Has it been mailed back yet, or is it still showing up as a case that is on hold.