Is this new? Buyer gets a refund immediately after the return label is scanned.

â€ƒ

I had 2 recent returns as a buyer for damaged items. As soon as I dropped off the returns and had them scanned at the post office (at the kiosk), I was immediately refunded. That's great on the buyer's side. But how is this new policy going to affect sellers? We are supposed to be able to inspect the return before refunding the buyer. But since the refund has already been issued by Ebay, how would we be able to reduce the refund by 50%, if they send it back damaged or replace it with a box of rocks? Or just scan it at the kiosk and walk away with the box and never actually mail it back...it still triggers the refund! Have any seller's experienced this new procedure yet? What are you seeing on your end? Thanks.

truelove091500

6106 View listings

Posted 9 months ago·Last reply 9 months ago

16 comments

reallynicestamps

·9 months ago

2499 View listings

First : Most people are honest.

That means most returns for refund are because the buyer was not satisfied with the product.

And gets their money back.

It's a cost of doing business.

And tax deductible.

Second: The customer was unhappy with the product.

A fast refund means they are likely to be happy/ish with the refund.

I have a few positive FB for failed transactions. It happens.

And it's a POSITIVE FB.

And my costs are tax deductible.

Not every transaction will go perfectly.

bashort

·9 months ago

12014 View listings

If i have what I feel is a legit snad return I will usually just refund on the first scan, especially if it is not a really expensive item, I do not really see much of a downside

xadexane

·9 months ago

0 View listings

@stainlessenginecovers wrote:
@xadexane wrote:
Yup, that's fake news. eBay gives the buyer 2 choices on how they want their refund:
-- either as an eBay eGift Card that can be spent on another purchase the same day
-- or as a PayPal refund a few days after the seller receives and inspects the return.

That is WAY old.
Refunds now go back to how it was purchased (paypal, gift card, credit card used etc.) and NOT just 2 choices.

If you had been conceived @stainlessenginecovers in July 2025

-- same as that choice of a refund as an eBay eGift Card

you will be born in April this year. How old is that?

And wondering what other choices would you see

in addition to those 2 choices, for How would you like your refund?

stainlessenginecovers

·9 months ago

5572 View listings

@xadexane wrote:
If you had been conceived @stainlessenginecovers in July 2025
-- same as that choice of a refund as an eBay eGift Card
you will be born in April this year. How old is that?

And wondering what other choices would you see
in addition to those 2 choices, for How would you like your refund?

I have no clue what all that babble was about but...

This picture is all the ways a buyer can pay (Payments) and if they return for refund they do NOT have a choice of 'how' they get refunded- it goes back to the way they originally paid.

payment types.jpg

valueaddedresource

·9 months ago

5 View listings

@stainlessenginecovers wrote:
I have no clue what all that babble was about but...
This picture is all the ways a buyer can pay (Payments) and if they return for refund they do NOT have a choice of 'how' they get refunded- it goes back to the way they originally paid.

@stainlessenginecovers this has not been true since June 2025 when eBay made another stealth policy change that allows buyers to choose either having the refund go back to the original payment method or to a gift card.

https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/returns-refunds/returning-item?id=4041

refunds629 (2).jpg

https://www.reddit.com/r/eBaySellerAdvice/comments/1ljt78g/ebay_seems_to_have_tweaked_the_return_flow_for/

xadexane

·9 months ago

0 View listings

@stainlessenginecovers wrote:
@xadexane wrote:
If you had been conceived @stainlessenginecovers in July 2025
-- same as that choice of a refund as an eBay eGift Card
you will be born in April this year. How old is that?

And wondering what other choices would you see
in addition to those 2 choices, for How would you like your refund?
I have no clue what all that babble was about but...
This picture is all the ways a buyer can pay (Payments) and if they return for refund they do NOT have a choice of 'how' they get refunded- it goes back to the way they originally paid.

eBay added eGift cards as another choice for the refund, starting July 2025.

It's not "That is WAY old."

inhawaii

·9 months ago

Ebay's most handsome seller.5032 View listings

It really doesn't matter.

Even of you were to send back a completely different item, a broken item or a box of rocks, ebay will find in favor of the buyer and refund them. What does it matter if that refund comes now ... or later?

onlinecentral

·9 months ago

15332 View listings

Plenty of new or returning sellers start discussions about payment holds delaying their payouts. There must be buyers with cash flow/liquidity issues that appreciate a prompt refund. This is way for eBay to increase buyer goodwill with minimal expense. Sellers are not being deprived of due process or having the funds deducted earlier than before.

lakefor94

·9 months ago

122 View listings

@onlinecentral

I find the same with my AMZ returns as a seller. I think..... if the item is under a certain price, they auto refund after a carrier scan.

I have not had them do a auto refund on an expensive order. I don't know what the trigger price is.

caldreamer

·9 months ago

4057 View listings

eBay may sometimes issue a refund to your buyer on confirmation the return is on its way. When this happens, weâ€™ll wait until the item is back with you before deducting the amount from you.

valueaddedresource

·9 months ago

5 View listings

This is not fake news and it's not new - eBay has been providing advance refunds to some buyers since at least August 2024.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Returns/Advanced-refund/m-p/34639890/highlight/true#M48243

Since that time, eBay's refund policy page has stated:

ebayrefund823 (2).jpg

eBay may sometimes issue a refund to your buyer on confirmation the return is on its way. When this happens, weâ€™ll wait until the item is back with you before deducting the amount from you. This doesnâ€™t impact your protections as a seller.

Once you've inspected the item, you can complete the refund process from the return details and close the return
If you donâ€™t send the refund in the time frame provided in the return details, weâ€™ll automatically deduct the amount from the total of your Available, Processing, and On hold funds

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/managing-returns-refunds/refunding-buyers?id=5182#section1

xadexane

·9 months ago

0 View listings

@kibble-net wrote:
@truelove091500 wrote:
I had 2 recent returns as a buyer for damaged items. As soon as I dropped off the returns and had them scanned at the post office (at the kiosk), I was immediately refunded.

That's great on the buyer's side. But how is this new policy going to affect sellers? We are supposed to be able to inspect the return before refunding the buyer.

But since the refund has already been issued by Ebay, how would we be able to reduce the refund by 50%, if they send it back damaged or replace it with a box of rocks? Or just scan it at the kiosk and walk away with the box and never actually mail it back...it still triggers the refund!

Have any seller's experienced this new procedure yet? What are you seeing on your end? Thanks.
As a buyer I've not had a return refunded automatically.

But as a seller, I have occasionally refunded customers early if (A) the item is on its way back, and (B) the item is worth under $10.

Yup, that's fake news. eBay gives the buyer 2 choices on how they want their refund:

-- either as an eBay eGift Card that can be spent on another purchase the same day

-- or as a PayPal refund a few days after the seller receives and inspects the return.

In the screenshot above for example, eBay only offers those 2 choices if the buyer paid with PayPal.

@kibble-net wrote:
Ebay doesn't give the buyer your money automatically,

eBay doesn't give the buyer your money automatically,

refunding with its own money instead to the buyer's PayPal account as they're walking out of the post office, viz.:

@kibble-net wrote:
you are still able to wait until you get the item back in case you want to check the condition and/or make adjustments.

You are still able to wait until you get the item back in case you want to check the condition and/or make adjustments,

then issue the refund as usual (which goes to eBay, or eBay will take it themselves).

stainlessenginecovers

·9 months ago

5572 View listings

@xadexane wrote:
Yup, that's fake news. eBay gives the buyer 2 choices on how they want their refund:
-- either as an eBay eGift Card that can be spent on another purchase the same day
-- or as a PayPal refund a few days after the seller receives and inspects the return.

That is WAY old.

Refunds now go back to how it was purchased (paypal, gift card, credit card used etc.) and NOT just 2 choices.

uwantuneedgiftsandgoods

·9 months ago

302 View listings

These are all great things to know thank you both for sharing,

kibble-net

·9 months ago

8324 View listings

@truelove091500 wrote:
â€ƒ
I had 2 recent returns as a buyer for damaged items. As soon as I dropped off the returns and had them scanned at the post office (at the kiosk), I was immediately refunded. That's great on the buyer's side. But how is this new policy going to affect sellers? We are supposed to be able to inspect the return before refunding the buyer. But since the refund has already been issued by Ebay, how would we be able to reduce the refund by 50%, if they send it back damaged or replace it with a box of rocks? Or just scan it at the kiosk and walk away with the box and never actually mail it back...it still triggers the refund! Have any seller's experienced this new procedure yet? What are you seeing on your end? Thanks.

As a buyer I've not had a return refunded automatically.

But as a seller, I have occasionally refunded customers early if (A) the item is on its way back, and (B) the item is worth under $10. Ebay doesn't give the buyer your money automatically, you are still able to wait until you get the item back in case you want to check the condition and/or make adjustments.

sin-n-dex

·9 months ago

12356 View listings

@truelove091500 wrote:
â€ƒ
I had 2 recent returns as a buyer for damaged items. As soon as I dropped off the returns and had them scanned at the post office (at the kiosk), I was immediately refunded. That's great on the buyer's side. But how is this new policy going to affect sellers? We are supposed to be able to inspect the return before refunding the buyer. But since the refund has already been issued by Ebay, how would we be able to reduce the refund by 50%, if they send it back damaged or replace it with a box of rocks? Or just scan it at the kiosk and walk away with the box and never actually mail it back...it still triggers the refund! Have any seller's experienced this new procedure yet? What are you seeing on your end? Thanks.

The seller themselves may have voluntarily refunded you when you dropped it off (and they saw movement on the package). Pending on the reason for a return and how much I trust the buyer, I have been known to refund when something is coming back (knowing whenever whatever is in the package gets delivered I would have to refund anyway).