Seller told me to wait until PIP deposits insurance claim into their account for a refund, is this normal?
Summary: ti-4530 shared their experience with buying a used gaming PC on eBay, which arrived empty and tampered with. They initially refused the package and were uncertain about the refund process. stainlessenginecovers advised using eBay’s return process for "Not As Described" items, noting that the seller should refund within 48 hours of receiving the returned item. jonathanbrightlight further advised against refusing packages in the future, as it complicates the case with eBay. ti-4530 expressed gratitude for the advice and mentioned the seller decided to refund them despite potential case closure in the seller’s favor. soh.maryl recommended reviewing eBay's Money Back Guarantee for better understanding of buyer protections.
I'm new to buying from eBay, so please bear with me if this is just common sense.
EDIT: DO NOT REFUSE THE PACKAGE LIKE I DID. Ebay will not refund you 99% of the time if you do this. I got incredibly lucky with a seller that was willing to do the right thing. Accept the package.
TLDR: If the seller says they have to wait until their PIP claim is either accepted/deposited to issue a refund, is that normal, or can I open a case to escalate it? The only reason I didn't do that earlier is that I thought eBay would dismiss the case if I tried.
For context:
I bought a used gaming pc from the seller, and the package arrived empty, torn, and clearly tampered with in transit. The label listed it as 33 pounds, but the only thing inside was bubble wrap and a thin metal mesh.
I refused the package on delivery, and the seller contacted FedEx for an investigation + filed a claim with Ebay. That was 3 weeks ago.
The seller told me that I didn't need to wait until both the Ebay shipping claim/PIP and the FedEx investigation were complete to get a refund, and as soon as the Ebay claim was approved, they'd issue a refund. During the last 3 weeks, there's been back-and-forth communication on the status of the claim, but after it was accepted, they moved the goalpost to issuing the refund after their insurance claim gets deposited.
I opened a missing item case today on the order and let them know I'd like a refund regardless if PIP gets back to them this week. (The seller didn't tell me to open a case, and I thought talking to the buyer directly would've opened one, but submitting it myself just completely slipped my mind for some reason.) The seller's been very responsive and cordial so far (which is the only reason I've had the patience to wait this long), and did mention that this was their first time handling this (despite having hundreds of reviews?), but I think I've just been a total doormat. There was a lot going on these past 3 weeks, so I didn't have it in me to harass them constantly for a refund until now.
kathiec
·1 month agoUnfortunately, since you refused the package it's highly doubtful eBay will refund you. There's a specific exclusion in the Money Back Guarantee if "The buyer refused delivery of the item". Harassing either the seller or eBay will only raise your blood pressure.
If eBay should find in your favor you can just return an empty envelope, since that's what you received. If they find against you because you refused delivery just dispute the charge with your payment source.
And to drive home the lesson, the only time you can refuse a package without voiding the MBG is if it arrives postage due.
stainlessenginecovers
·1 month agoThat is not how it works- you do not have to 'wait' for anything:
The way returns work is like this:
You do NOT contact seller
You DO open an official return for 'Not As Described' (using 'missing parts' as the reason)
Ebay will force a paid for return label.
You ship back the box (record the tracking)
Seller has 48 hrs to refund you- if they do not THEN is when you 'return to return case and click 'escalate to ebay'.
ti-4530
OP1 month agoThank you so much for clarifying! I don't have a box to send back as I refused it on delivery, but I do have a record of the seller confirming FedEx lost the package in transit. I'll definitely be escalating it as soon as the option is available. Ebay's only letting me escalate it in a few days from now since I opened a "item not received" case, despite it going missing weeks ago.
jonathanbrightlight
·1 month agoFor the record, never refuse delivery in the future. Accept it, file a return request for Item Not As Described, and send back something. That goes much more smoothly in eBay's system. Since you filed "Item Not Received" but FedEx's tracking will show the package was refused, eBay may very well close that case in the seller's favor.
ti-4530
OP1 month agoI really wish I'd known that sooner, the seller got back to me informing me of this, but thankfully decided to refund me despite it not being covered anymore. I got incredibly lucky.
soh.maryl
·1 month agoAll of the information about eBay's Money Back Guarantee is available for buyers. You might want to take a moment to review it just in case there's anything you've missed. The MBG offers very good protection to those who use it correctly.