What the actual .. Ebay? Massive waste of time on customer service- completely useless- Anyone else?

[27teamswords]

I'll post the short version here. Buyer( with under 15 feedback) purchases $10.99 of seeds from me. I send with USPS Ground advantage. Item is out for delivery and comes back insufficient address.... I purchased the label via ebay and the address was not damaged or covered or different in any way than provided by the buyer. Item gets returned to me- so I contact ebay and want to find out if I am liable for a refund. So-

Conversation one with ebay is about 30 minutes and ebay rep assures me if the buyer does open a case of INR against me- that I will NOT be responsible for a refund because I did what I was supposed to as a seller- and the buyer provided a bogus address.

Two days later- the buyer opens INR case against me so I once again contact ebay support AGAIN- and was told by an ebay rep that they would contact the buyer and also reassured me that the refund would NOT be taken from me, nor would the case side in the buyers favor, but mine- but that I just had to wait 2 days for the case to close.

Well come to find out today I go look and they "clawed back" $10.99 from me, and sided the case in the buyers favor? What the actual ****? I spent over an hour so far getting told by Ebay reps that this would NOT happen... two seperate reps.

So I get back onto ebay support and now the ebay rep just told me they have to "escalate it to a specialist team" that can take up to 48 hours to respond? because the case is closed they can't act?  then what was the point of the first two chats!?!

I can not express how frustrating, backwards-ass, and absolutely ridiculous this has gotten to- and I honestly can see why so many sellers are quitting, leaving the platform, and dropping out because of Ebay policy, and not to mention the massively flawed "Ebay standard envelope" system which is a massive joke and should have been closed years ago and is also ruining sellers.

Wake up ebay! you need sellers too to make $$$

Anyone else had to deal with something like this?

[pjcdn2005]

I've read about it happening every once in a while.   If you appeal, eBay should give you a courtesy refund.

[dhbookds]

did you answer the case? or just call ebay and talk about it.......  ?  I agree they should refund you if you appeal and put the information in that the item was returned as insufficient address. 

[tobaccocardyahoo]

There was no point to the first two chats.

There is nothing you can rely on associated with contacting Ebay support.

I would have refunded the cost of the item less shipping, as soon it arrived back. I would have included a message to the buyer that the address was undeliverable.

If there are repercussions, it is unlikely they would be any worse than you are seeing, and there is a chance my way would not be reversed.

[27teamswords]

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@dhbookds wrote:

did you answer the case? or just call ebay and talk about it.......  ?  I agree they should refund you if you appeal and put the information in that the item was returned as insufficient address. 

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Yes! I answered the case FOUR times, by providing updated tracking twice, and also Twice to show messages to the buyer about how ebay was supposed to be contacting them about what to do and that I was not liable for a refund. I even messaged them the conversation where ebay rep told me so.

So. explain that!

[27teamswords]

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@pjcdn2005 wrote:

I've read about it happening every once in a while.   If you appeal, eBay should give you a courtesy refund.

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Thank you, but that's sort of not the point. Now this shows up on my account as ANOTHER Item not received and I've wasted over an hour and all this frustration- when there is clearly a breakdown in the communications systems of Ebay.

The point is that, I should have never had to contact ebay even the first time, but now we are THREE support ticket conversations in, and now another 48 hours just to wait for a "Courtesy" refund? I'm sorry but that is terrible customer service, unacceptable, and frankly this is the second time something similar happened to me recently.

[albertabrightalberta]

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@27teamswords wrote:

I'll post the short version here. Buyer( with under 15 feedback) purchases $10.99 of seeds from me. I send with USPS Ground advantage. Item is out for delivery and comes back insufficient address.... I purchased the label via ebay and the address was not damaged or covered or different in any way than provided by the buyer. Item gets returned to me- so I contact ebay and want to find out if I am liable for a refund.

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Totally unnecessary to call ebay. You should have just waited for the INR to be filed.

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@27teamswords wrote:

Two days later- the buyer opens INR case against me so I once again contact ebay support AGAIN- and was told by an ebay rep that they would contact the buyer and also reassured me that the refund would NOT be taken from me, nor would the case side in the buyers favor, but mine- but that I just had to wait 2 days for the case to close.

Well come to find out today I go look and they "clawed back" $10.99 from me, and sided the case in the buyers favor? What the actual ****? I spent over an hour so far getting told by Ebay reps that this would NOT happen... two seperate reps.

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When the buyer opened the case, what you should have done is respond to the case with the tracking number (in the appropriate field) and in the notes section, "delivery was unable to be done due to buyer supplying an invalid address."

Had you done that, the case would have closed in a couple of days in your favor. 

Calling ebay was the wrong way to go about addressing the issue.

[toysaver]

"Item gets returned to me- so I contact ebay and want to find out if I am liable for a refund."

Why on earth did you not contact the buyer first?  I would have.  Maybe the address needed an apartment number, building name or a floor or something.  You can even google the address and if it's incomplete google might show what is missing.   I would have refunded and let them buy again.  If it was originally free shipping, charge for it the second time to cover your loss.  

[ten_o_nine]

It's not just you who has experienced issues with eBay's policies and customer support. Many sellers have shared similar frustrations, and it's important for eBay to acknowledge and address these problems to maintain a healthy and fair marketplace.

Regardless of the appeal's outcome, treat it as a learning experience. If I were in your shoes, I would have reached out to the buyer directly to inform them that the package was returned due to an insufficient address. They may provide a corrected address and even offer to cover the cost of reshipping. It's important to have direct communication with the buyer before involving eBay's customer support.

eBay should be the last resort, not the first.

[27teamswords]

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@albertabrightalberta wrote:

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@27teamswords wrote:

I'll post the short version here. Buyer( with under 15 feedback) purchases $10.99 of seeds from me. I send with USPS Ground advantage. Item is out for delivery and comes back insufficient address.... I purchased the label via ebay and the address was not damaged or covered or different in any way than provided by the buyer. Item gets returned to me- so I contact ebay and want to find out if I am liable for a refund.

---

Totally unnecessary to call ebay. You should have just waited for the INR to be filed.

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@27teamswords wrote:

Two days later- the buyer opens INR case against me so I once again contact ebay support AGAIN- and was told by an ebay rep that they would contact the buyer and also reassured me that the refund would NOT be taken from me, nor would the case side in the buyers favor, but mine- but that I just had to wait 2 days for the case to close.

Well come to find out today I go look and they "clawed back" $10.99 from me, and sided the case in the buyers favor? What the actual ****? I spent over an hour so far getting told by Ebay reps that this would NOT happen... two seperate reps.

---

When the buyer opened the case, what you should have done is respond to the case with the tracking number (in the appropriate field) and in the notes section, "delivery was unable to be done due to buyer supplying an invalid address."

Had you done that, the case would have closed in a couple of days in your favor. 

Calling ebay was the wrong way to go about addressing the issue.

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Ok, so I did exactly what you said. Once the INR was opened I contacted ebay and updated the tracking. If you go back and read a little deeper you will see. THAT is why I am so upset. Ok so maybe contacting them the first time was not necessary, but the second time I showed them the tracking, ebay rep agreed and said case would side in my favor but we had to wait 2 days. Do you now see the frustration/confusion when the money was clawed back unexpectedly?

[27teamswords]

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@toysaver wrote:

"Item gets returned to me- so I contact ebay and want to find out if I am liable for a refund."

Why on earth did you not contact the buyer first?  I would have.  Maybe the address needed an apartment number, building name or a floor or something.  You can even google the address and if it's incomplete google might show what is missing.   I would have refunded and let them buy again.  If it was originally free shipping, charge for it the second time to cover your loss.  

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My bad! I forgot to mention. This is exactly the first thing I did. And I contacted them multiple times after that. No reply. But yet they have the time to open an INR and then escalate the case? Some people.... maybe it's karma or just a lot of bad people out there.

Glad I could clarrify that I did contact them

[27teamswords]

This was the VERY first thing I did. I contacted them and offered to send the seeds instead with a simple envelope, should they provide me with a correct addresss. No reply.

That's when I contacted the Ebay rep the 1st time - because I just knew an INR was on the way, and sure enough.

And then the train wreck

[27teamswords]

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@ten_o_nine wrote:

It's not just you who has experienced issues with eBay's policies and customer support. Many sellers have shared similar frustrations, and it's important for eBay to acknowledge and address these problems to maintain a healthy and fair marketplace.

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Maybe for starters Ebays representatives should not straight up lie to it's customers in a customer service chat transcript- and next do away with Ebay standard envelope( an unrelated beef of mine) because EsuS is costing ebay a lot of money, and revenue, over time. Maybe they don't see it that way because they blatantly allow such a broken system to exist for over 3 years or so now!

Thanks for sharing that I am not alone in my frustrations and that you everyone for the level-headed and wise /kind advice. Always the best community!

[ebooksdiva]

Calling eBay to have them get involved in your INR, what did you expect the outcome to be? When they are asked to intervene, it doesn't matter if you call them or the buyer, they will 100% of the time side with the buyer. If you just uploaded tracking into the INR and did nothing else the case would have closed in your favor. 
The image below is a screen shot from Money Back Guarantee Policy it means the buyer is not covered. 

[albertabrightalberta]

@27teamswords wrote:

Two days later- the buyer opens INR case against me so I once again contact ebay support AGAIN- and was told by an ebay rep that they would contact the buyer and also reassured me that the refund would NOT be taken from me, nor would the case side in the buyers favor, but mine- but that I just had to wait 2 days for the case to close.

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@27teamswords wrote:

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Ok, so I did exactly what you said. Once the INR was opened I contacted ebay and updated the tracking. If you go back and read a little deeper you will see. THAT is why I am so upset. Ok so maybe contacting them the first time was not necessary, but the second time I showed them the tracking, ebay rep agreed and said case would side in my favor but we had to wait 2 days. Do you now see the frustration/confusion when the money was clawed back unexpectedly?

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@27teamswords 

You didn't say that you responded to the case with tracking. Go back and read your quote (in red) where you said that after they opened a case, you contacted ebay again. Contacting ebay is NOT the way to respond to the case and if you don't respond TO THE CASE and WITHIN the case, the buyer will get a refund. 

In the case of a bad or incomplete address or attempted delivery, ebay considers it to be delivered and you aren't obligated to issue a refund, but if you get the item back, my opinion is that the buyer should get a refund of the item price less any fees that aren't reimbursed and no shipping refund since that money was spent to send it.