So, basically, it's OK to be a dishonest seller because no one can report you to eBay?
I recently bought a hard drive for a decent price; the seller wasn't new and had a 35+ rating so I felt safe. It's condition was "Open Box" and the seller's description said "UNTESTED BUT IS NEW." As someone who has purchased hard drives often this is completely normal -- sellers often buy bulk packages of sealed drives direct from the manufacturer and sell them in individual boxes. When the drive is new this is a great option for buyers (and sellers).
This seller, however, sent the hard drive only in a bubble wrapper with no extra cushioning. 😮 The drive (surprise, surprise) arrived unworking -- not even enough to be seen by my computer for a SMART report and diagnostic testing. When I messaged him he curtly responded "the listing says no refunds."
😮 No it doesn't, I pointed out. It also says "Open Box" and he actually wrote "UNTESTED BUT IS NEW" (duh. If you plugged it in for testing it wouldn't be 'New') (the original listing is at /itm/267419111090)
I left honest feedback to warn others; I saw another buyer had left similar feedback a day or two earlier that obviously wasn't there yet when I transacted with him. I couldn't find any way to report bad/dishonest sellers. I'm sure there used to be a way to do so -- I've been using eBay for decades. [<sigh> Really, I'm THAT old. 😞 ] I used Venmo so I called them and sent them pics of the packaging, the listing, etc. The Venmo rep said this definitely qualified for a "Dispute" so he opened one for me.
Hopefully I'll get my money back, but...
How can I report this seller to eBay to protect victims?
leehurst
·6 months ago[Removed by mod for violating Community Guidelines, notably call to action]
buyselljack2016
·6 months agoReport buyers that can not follow simple policy? OK
roccotacodad54
·6 months agoI'll just add. That sellers 91.4 feedback score is terrible.
Try to aim a little higher, like at least above 98%.
bonanza125
·6 months agoYou are missing what everyone is saying here. You had a 30 day money back guarantee which Ebay provides. If the item is not as described you can file a return through Ebay and return the item. Instead you decided not to go that route and went through your payment source. That's not what you were suppose to do. Now you are relying on your payment source to make a decision which is no guarantee. This is a lesson learned. Just because a seller says "no refunds" doesn't mean that they can't be force to. They clicked submit listing and so the terms states you have a right to your money back in this case.
tobaccocardyahoo
·6 months agoYou did the right thing.
That charge back will cost this seller more than it would have if he was responsive to your complaint.
He will pay a penalty fee and not receive a refund of his Ebay fees.
Ebay will have his lost chargeback dispute as part of the history of his account, and if it is part of a pattern of behavior, he will be punished.
As an Ebay seller, I loath chargeback disputes. I loath them more than I loath returns. I also loath Ebay sellers who can't manage to properly pack, and attempt to avoid responsibility for their failures.
12345jamesstamps
·6 months agoBetter to do a dispute with eBay or Venmo?
Guess which one will be faster to get that refund?
You would have to open a claim and send it back and then wait and wait for that refund...whilt Venmo might refund in 8 days....
mamacassidy
·6 months agoAs others have mentioned, you should have opened a return request and used the reason Item Not As Described or Damaged.
When sellers get these types of returns, they cannot deny them even if they "don't accept returns". The seller will also receive a defect on their account, and if they receive enough defects, they will be hit with a financial penalty or they will be removed from the platform entirely.
This is one of the ways that ebay protects buyers as well as holds sellers accountable for their products/ service.
You can still report them by going to the transaction and hitting the button for Report Seller, however, I'm not sure what good that would do.
shiftyparadigm
OP6 months agoThe seller marked 'No Returns' on the listing so I couldn't start a Return request.
It was the 'Report Seller' button that I couldn't find anywhere. I distinctly remember seeing it -- with an eBay rating of 473 after said decades 😞 of use I remember using it once or twice in the earliest years, but it's been very long since then.
Where is it now?
kathiec
·6 months agoYou can start a return request even if the seller has a no returns policy. Just go to the item in your purchase history and click Return under More actions. In this case you would have selected that the item wasn't as described as the reason. EBay's Money Back Guarantee would have overridden the seller's no returns policy.
The Report Seller link is here. But as others have stated the only effective way to have reported the seller would have been through a Money Back Guarantee case. You might want to read up on the MBG: https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy?id=4210
glenvonnie
·6 months ago"The seller marked 'No Returns' on the listing so I couldn't start a Return request."
He can mark or say anything he wants, that won't override eBay's money back guarantee, simply open a case for SNAD. There is no such thing as "no returns" unless it's your fault, didn't like, didn't fit, bought wrong item, etc.
az93
·6 months agoYou may have noticed that ebay does not want to hear about it or get involved in spats. They just want you to request to return it. There is no such thing as no returns on ebay. Any seller who believes they can get off thr hook by saying no returns is very wrong. Delusional even.
house*of*paws
·6 months agoYou are mistaken @shiftyparadigm You really do not understand much of how eBay works, which is why I told you to read eBay's Money Back Guarantee in my earlier post. You had far more options than you realized.
[I mainly tagged you so that you could read the latest answers you received.] 😊
house*of*paws
·6 months agoHi @shiftyparadigm
You missed the opportunity to report the seller to eBay when you contacted Venmo to open a dispute. It would’ve been far better to open a ‘return request’ with eBay … where you could have reported that the item was ‘not as described’.
That said, you can continue your claim with Venmo and get refunded.
I’m very sorry this happened. I STRONGLY recommend that you read eBay’s Money Back Guarantee so that you understand that you are FULLY protected should you ever encounter a similar problem in the future.
[You have 30 days from delivery to open a return request. You have 60 days from delivery to leave feedback. Leaving feedback really should be done AFTER you have filed your claim for a refund so that you can describe the full encounter with the seller.]
Happy holidays! 😊
kensgiftshop
·6 months agoYou file an INAD through Ebay.
Now that you went to your payment source, Ebay won't be any help.