"Mark as shipped" button does not work
Summary: hangup23 experienced an issue with the 'mark as shipped' button on eBay, leading to a 404 error. Customer support did not seem helpful or interested in resolving the issue, causing frustration. mam98031 attempted to clarify procedures related to seller responsibilities and explained that refunds typically occur after the item is returned and inspected. However, hangup23 highlighted potential fraud by sellers using fake tracking numbers. Despite initial difficulties, a supervisor eventually approved the refund after escalation. Another participant, powell-collectibles, noted that sellers must refund lost returns if the buyer uses a provided label.
When i click on the 'mark as shipped' button on the 'return item' page, I get the following page:
https://pages.ebay.com/markAsShipped which for me is a 404 page / "We looked everywhere."
I spoke with two customer support agents and they have no interest in this information!
I feel like e-bay support is just telling you what you want to hear (either "refund will arrive in a few days" or "the information on this page does not change right away, just wait" or "you will get a refund tomorrow") while they don't or can't actually do anything. They just know that you'll either give up or some other agent will tell you the same thing tomorrow, so they can just 'get out of this conversation' and then you're someone else's problem.
Has it always been like this? I've been a customer for 27 years but I haven't used support in a while.... I'm seriously considering just not using ebay anymore.
mam98031
·1 month agoThe correct link for Marked As Shipped is https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/shipping-items/tracking-items-youve-sold?id=4088#section2
If the response you got from the CSR [customer service rep] was "they have no interest in this information", how does that mean they are "just telling you what you want to hear" That doesn't make sense to me.
Why would you be getting a refund? What exactly are you trying to do. Are you the Buyer or the Seller? If you are the buyer, you can't mark any transaction as shipped.
Be detailed and describe what you are trying to do and why please. Then we can more accurately assist you. I think there is a simple misunderstanding here and we CAN help if you let us @hangup23
hangup23
OP1 month agoI'm a buyer, the link you've posted is for selling. I've initiated a return. Seller has provided me with a return shipping label which I used to ship back the item. However, the return does not move into the 'refund' state until the item is marked 'shipped', which is exactly what I can't do. When i click on the 'mark as shipped' button I get this 404 page.
mam98031
·1 month agoYou are NOT refunded because you have shipped. The seller is intitled to receive and inspect the item BEFORE issuing a refund. So just follow the tracking, your seller will likely take care of issuing the refund within a day or two of getting it back. Sellers do NOT have to refund before actually receiving the item make.
Oh and there is no need for you to try and mark the Return Claim as shipped. You are fine if you used the label the seller provided you through Ebay.
hangup23
OP1 month ago · EditedThe seller in this case will never inspect anything. The return label they provided me with was from amazon. It is one of those international sellers that ships from amazon, so returns also go there. In order to trick ebay, the seller buys a fake fedex tracking number and provides it to ebay. So when the item is shipped to you, it looks legit to ebay.
When I explained all of this to ebay customer service reps, they had 0 interest. So the platform is plagued by these sellers who add 0 value. The item was misrepresented and I wasn't careful enough.... Every purchase on ebay needs to be an OSINT job i guess :(
And no, the refund won't happen automatically because the item is marked as "Your action is required" on ebay's customer service page: https://www.ebay.com/help/ip?topicId=4667
mam98031
·1 month agoThere are MANY sellers on Ebay that also sell on Amazon. And there are MANY sellers on Ebay that use Amazon to store and ship THEIR inventory, not Amazon's. The seller owns the inventory and pays AMZ to store and ship for them as they direct.
Still the seller does NOT have to refund you until the item is back at the return to address.
I never said the refund will happen automatically. I said the seller does NOT have to issue you a refund until the item is received back. So just follow the tracking. Within a day or two of the package arriving at the address, the seller should be refunding you. If they don't, Ebay can step in and force the refund, but that is likely not going to be necessary.
hangup23
OP1 month ago · Editedfollow what tracking? the UPS store provides a 'tracking/reference' number that is INTERNAL TO AMAZON!
as far as I know, nobody other than amazon can use it. The e-bay rep i'm on the phone with right now (3rd rep so far on this) sure can't. they want a real UPS tracking number. which UPS store does NOT give for the Amazon 'no box no label' shipping label that I was provided by the seller.
I shipped it over a week ago, so the item has been delivered by now, most likely.
In your opinion, is it 'cool' for a seller to buy a fake tracking number on the black market and provide it to e-bay? Totally fine with the EBAY terms of service? Not something a seller should be banned for?
Update: I've escalated this case to a supervisor who said that they approved the refund and it should be coming in the next few days. The supervisor actually was interested in the fake tracking number story, so perhaps it's just the 1st level support that needs some additional training.
Update2: I got the refund.
mam98031
·Sep 14, 2026 at 6:19 PMI'm glad you got your refund.
powell-collectibles
·1 month agoAbsolutely not true. If a buyer returned something and it is lost in transit, the seller has to refund. That’s the way it works on eBay. It is if the buyer uses a return label provide provided by the seller – not just sending on his own.
mam98031
·Sep 14, 2026 at 6:44 PMThis is absolutely correct. The rule that controls this is who issued the shipping label. Meaning if the seller, even via Ebay, provides the shipping label for the return, then the seller is responsible for that packages return trip just like they were when it originally shipped.
If the buyer were to purchase their own return label, then the buyer would be responsible until that item reached the seller.