I hate ebay & paypal so much right now

[aaa1sales]

I am so frustrated right now.  I sold a creamer & sugar set.  The buyer says the sugar bowl arrived with handle broken off.  BUT, they didn't file a damaged report with ebay, they filed a "item not as described" claim with paypal...  I check my ebay account every day, but I don't (in the past) check my paypal account every day... So it was 3 days before I saw their complaint, after they negged me hard as being a terrible seller,etc. 

I replied to their paypal claim that I was upset they had negged me, but of course if the item arrived damaged I'd certainly give them a refund.  I asked for photos showing the damage so I could file a postal insurance claim.  The buyer never responded to me!  I waited over a week and nothing, no photos, no messages, no nothing....  After a week went by I figured I'd ask paypal to resolve the claim since the buyer wasn't responding.  I also complained to ebay about the neg feedback since I did not deserve it.

Now a week later, no response from ebay about neg feedback... and paypal has REFUNDED THE BUYER IN FULL.  **bleep**?????   I hate ebay & paypal so much right now.

[creoleorchid]

Do you ever read the policies regarding returns on eBay and PayPal? 

Anyway, it’s a good thing for you that they bypassed eBay and went straight to PayPal to open the claim. EBay would have made you pay the return shipping cost and given you a defect for not accepting the return in 3 days. 

Neither eBay nor PayPal considers your position of not getting a response with or without photos from the buyer. They say the item was broken, it’s pretty much a given. 

[aaa1sales]

I would have been fine with getting the items back and giving a refund.  I probably would even have been fine with giving a partial refund without photos if the buyer had said they couldn't take photo for some reason.  But the buyer didn't reply to me AT ALL.  No offense, but no, it is not OK to just demand a refund without either being willing to return the item or provide some proof of the damage (or if an exception needs to be made, then some explanation and discussion of why!)...  From the way they wrote their paypal claim, sounds like they glued the handle back on and went ahead and kept it.  NO IT IS NOT OK.

[plumbingspecials]

Always respond to the cases in ebay and Paypal, even if you don't agree. Fight after you've accepted the return...

[creoleorchid · Accepted solution]

I agree, it’s not OK with me either. Problem is, it IS OK with eBay and PayPal. 

[aaa1sales]

Exactly.  They don't care & I hate them.  Just venting, I know there's nothing I can do. 

XD

[cubano4u]

Anytime you sell a breakable item such as your beautiful set, you must realize you are taking a chance that it arrives safely, and eBay policy puts that onus onto the seller. That is just one of the perils of selling online. Sometimes even with the best of packaging fragile items arrive with damage. Sellers need to be less surprised when a fragile item arrives broken. However your buyer paid over $50, yes I’m including shipping because that is what the buyer paid for this set, and expected to receive it unbroken.
Not every buyer is trying to commit fraud, sometimes they respond in anger because they paid and waited a week only to get their item damaged. I also don’t check my PayPal account everyday- but moving forward I shall as well.
Buyers aren’t required anymore by eBay to provide photos of the damage. Your reply certainly doesn’t help you with potential customers. By your reply you are practically calling them a scammer, saying they claimed a broken handle but “refused to provide photos showing damage”.
You are pushing potential sales away from yourself by replying that way because you come across as a difficult seller. Maybe it makes you feel better but the only damage you do is to yourself. That buyer won’t buy from you again and probably will never see your reply either. Always remember you don’t need to reply to a neg, and if you do, choose your words carefully as that is what potential buyers will be reading more than the neg.
Vent away here where buyers probably won't see it but not in your own FB. Good luck to you....

[aaa1sales]

Thank you, I understand you are replying in a helpful spirit.   I do realize that almost inevitably, eventually, a breakable item will get broken in transit...  However, I don't agree that it is unreasonable to expect to either get the item returned to me OR get a photo showing damage.   Even then, as I said, there might be some sort of extenuating circumstance and I'm not ruling that out, but that would by far be an exception.    My point is that ebay & paypal should support a seller who is asking for a reasonable and fair resolution.  I'm not expecting the customer to pay the return shipping.  I'm not expecting anything but a return of the merchandise if they want a refund!   OR photos showing that an item was damaged. 

Why, why, why, would a customer who was so angered that it took me 3 days to reply, then not reply to me at all??? (I sent multiple queries to buyer and waited over a week with zero replies from buyer).  

As a creamer & sugar bowl set, one handle broken off the sugar bowl certainly is bad, but I would still have been able to sell the creamer by itself.   OR, if the buyer had deigned to reply with a photo, I would have given them their refund and done my best to get some sort of insurance refund from USPS.  What makes this absolutely infuriating to me is that now they are keeping the set, getting a full refund.   I care about being fair and generous to customers, but I HATE being taken advantage of.

[sam9876]

You didn't follow the rules that you agreed to, so you lose.

[aaa1sales]

What are you talking about?  Of course I abided by the rules.  The BUYER didn't follow the rules, but they still got refunded.  That's the point I am making.   The point is that ebay & paypal suck and they don't abide by the rules that they set up themselves. 

The rules being:  you get something with a problem/you don't want it/its damaged/other problem then you RETURN IT for a refund! 

[sam9876]

The PayPal User Agreement says: "You must respond to PayPal's requests for documentation and other information in a timely manner as requested in our email correspondence with you or in our correspondence with you through the Resolution Center. If you do not respond to PayPal’s request for documentation and other information in the time requested, you may not be eligible for Seller Protection".

[fashions4passionint]

Did you respond to the PayPal case?

all you needed to do was click on return for refund. Buyer pays to ship the item back. 

You don’t refund until you get the item back. 

[kitschy*loot]

When you asked Paypal to resolve the claim, what was their response? I'm surprised that they would grant the buyer a full refund without returning if you had been responding to the case in a timely manner.

Sometimes buyers aren't required to return shards of glass or other broken material, but it sounds like only the handle was broken and a complete or partial return would have been allowed. Was it ever explained to you why the buyer was not required to return?  

[aaa1sales]

I responded to the buyer, they never responded to me.  I guess I should have clicked "return for refund" button, but I didn't see it.  I escalated it to Paypal after a week of waiting, because I thought they could get the buyer to respond if they wanted a refund.

Instead, without any further actions, info, or contacts, Paypal simply refunded the buyer in full. 

Believe me, I check Paypal every single friggin day now.

[ohbuoyboatright]

I feel you.   There are buyers out there just waiting for the opportunity to get something for nothing.   They know how the PayPal and eBay systems work and exploit it for all they can get then create a new identify and start all over.  They do the same thing on Amazon. 

The only advice I can give you is check your PayPal and eBay every single day.  Twice a day if you need to.  And make your replies to your buyers sweet as honey so they do not have any shred of anything to stand on.  Apologize profusely and make nice even though you are thinking of poisoning their water [J/K] ... That way,  PayPal and eBay will not have ANY reason to take their side  or tip the scales in the buyer's favor.   Even if you are a half a day in responding,  apologize for the delay ... the buyer can't use that against you.

Just remember,  the world might be great in some places but eBay and Amazon attract the scum and scammers of the earth.  Be aware, be prepared.