EIS return at 59 days?

Experts,

An international buyer has contacted me about returning an item 59 days after the sale (I have a 60-day return policy). It was shipped under the EIS program, which I think has a 30-day return policy. I was not aware of this distinction and apparently neither was the buyer.

I'm going to write him back and tell him to file the return request, but I can see some disappointment and/or confusion down the line. I'm OK with handling the return myself (the buyer is in a nearby country so the postage will not be too bad) but that would be outside the usual eBay/EIS process and likely to cause more complications.

I would appreciate any inputs!

Mike

argus_museum

234 View listings

Posted 4 months ago·Last reply 4 months ago

12 comments

chapeau-noir

·4 months ago

No bad meows!6575 View listings

@argus_museum I understand your being the face of the museum and would take this pretty seriously, too. It seems like one of those oddball situations that only crops up once in a blue moon, but I'd skip the speculation and take the return, particularly since the shipping won't be too bad. Who knows why they waited until the 59th day - seems sketch to me, too, but if you get the lens back exactly as it was shipped, then it's a moot point.

IMHO, depending on their reason they can pay the shipping back and you don't have to refund the outbound shipping. If you have Paypal you can send your ID, Venmo or whatever.

onlinecentral

·4 months ago

15305 View listings

It was stated earlier that the menu choice to return eventually disappears off the buyer's Purchase History page.

It will be a headache to process a refund outside of the eBay process.

a) The Final Value and International fees are not refundable, to you.
1) Will you eat those?
2) Drop a bomb on the buyer that they have to eat those?
3) Who pays for the original and return shipping?

b) Exchanging contact information such as your/their Paypal handle to send a refund might not be possible after 59 days. Exchanging contact information through the eBay Message Center can get you a warning or a suspension.

I would not worry about a buyer from a nearby country attempting to tarnish the reputation of your museum.

In summary, 'forget about it', the whole tardy refund thingy.

Edited to add: What about the taxes, customs broker fees and VAT? Who will pay for that? Original and the return shipment.

ten_o_nine

·4 months ago

7497 View listings

Key EIS Return Rules

30-Day Limit: Regardless of your personal 60-day policy, eIS items generally only allow for returns up to 30 days after the actual delivery date.
eBay Handles the Cost: If a return is initiated within the eligible window, eBay refunds the buyer, and you keep the sale proceeds.
The Item is Not Returned to You: eBay typically liquidates or resells returned eIS items rather than shipping them back to the original seller.
Protection from Disputes: You are protected from the obligation to refund the buyer.

argus_museum

OP4 months ago

234 View listings

Thanks @ten_o_nine . The bullets are definitive and complete. Mike

@ten_o_nine wrote:
Key EIS Return Rules
30-Day Limit: Regardless of your personal 60-day policy, eIS items generally only allow for returns up to 30 days after the actual delivery date.
eBay Handles the Cost: If a return is initiated within the eligible window, eBay refunds the buyer, and you keep the sale proceeds.
The Item is Not Returned to You: eBay typically liquidates or resells returned eIS items rather than shipping them back to the original seller.
Protection from Disputes: You are protected from the obligation to refund the buyer. Thanks @ten_o_nine .

ten_o_nine

·4 months ago

7497 View listings

@argus_museum

As an early adopter of eBay International Shipping, I can say it’s been a total game changer. I had previously quit international sales due to the high costs and buyer abuse, but eIS has made it viable again. Without it, I simply wouldn't sell outside the US.

stuff4divas

·4 months ago

7575 View listings

@argus_museum when sellers use EIS, buyers go thru ebay directly, the seller is never made aware of any problems the buyer may have, so i am wondering if the buyer is reaching out to you directly bc ebay already disapproved the return for being out of their return timeline window.

Here is ebay policy re EIS >

Am I (seller) responsible for international returns?

No, eBay handles them for you with eBay International Shipping.

Once your item is received undamaged at the domestic shipping hub, your sale is considered complete. If the buyer opens a return, your item will be returned to a third party service provider or liquidated and you will keep your sale.

In the event a buyer contacts you and asks for a refund, let them know to choose the return option in their order history. Learn more about how your buyer can request a refund.

Note @argus_museum The above info was taken from this ebay link>

https://www.ebay.com/sellercenter/shipping/ebay-international-shipping#update-your-current-listings-today

gurlcat

·4 months ago

1986 View listings

@stuff4divas Excellent point. And if the EIS return window already expired, the buyer wouldn't even see an option to return.

So this makes me wonder, if a listing's (domestic) return window is longer than the EIS one, can EIS buyers see that? If so that would make it ripe for situations like this, where the buyer sees one thing on the listing and another thing on their Purchase page.

argus_museum

OP4 months ago

234 View listings

@gurlcat wrote:
So this makes me wonder, if a listing's (domestic) return window is longer than the EIS one, can EIS buyers see that? If so that would make it ripe for situations like this, where the buyer sees one thing on the listing and another thing on their Purchase page.

@gurlcat , @stuff4divas

Exactly!

Mike

argus_museum

OP4 months ago

234 View listings

@gurlcat and @stuff4divas

Thanks for all the good information!

I wrote the buyer back and told him to go to Purchase History and to try to initiate the refund, and informed him about the eBay/EIS 30-day policy.

In reply to @stuff4divas 's observation/question: yes, it does sound a little like this buyer already tried to request the refund and was turned down. It's impossible to know for sure. But ...

I think what I would like to do is to refund the buyer even if eBay refuses the request. (I can see how the 30-day EIS return policy would be confusing/disappointing given that the listing says prominently "60 days." I can make that clear in subsequent listings, and in this one I can take the inconvenience.)

Any ideas about how I could do that?

Mike

gurlcat

·4 months ago

1986 View listings

@argus_museum None of my business exactly, but would you care to say why you feel so certain the buyer deserves a refund? Like what kind of item is this, what about it was fine until the 59th day, and did they provide any proof of that complaint? I just find the timing super uncanny. Not saying they're a scammer, but they're doing exactly what a scammer would do.

argus_museum

OP4 months ago

234 View listings

@gurlcat

@gurlcat wrote:
@argus_museum None of my business exactly, but would you care to say why you feel so certain the buyer deserves a refund? Like what kind of item is this, what about it was fine until the 59th day, and did they provide any proof of that complaint? I just find the timing super uncanny. Not saying they're a scammer, but they're doing exactly what a scammer would do.

I share your skepticism. The item was a lens in near-new condition, sold just below the going price, shipped the next day, robustly packaged. As you observed, it was fine for 59 days and now the buyer wants to return it.

It's a stretch to give the buyer the benefit of the doubt. We (my wife and I) are doing it because we are eBay Charity Sellers who feel we are a "public face" of the Argus Museum in Ann Arbor. It is worth it to us to go out of our way to establish/maintain the image of the Museum and its activities.

But we are "gritting our teeth" as we do it.

Mike

gurlcat

·4 months ago

1986 View listings

I don't know if the EIS return window aligns with a listing's stated window, but as long as there is a 'Return this item' button available to the buyer, they can start a return.

But the good news for you is you won't have to refund the money, and that's true regardless of when the buyer files. eBay handles all EIS returns/refunds themselves. You didn't know that?