why would ebay auto escalate a case against a seller? i'm the buyer
hi, i bought an inexpensive item, but when i got it i saw the zipper only works very intermittently, most of the time it just won't go up. it's vintage. so i did a return request, clicked that item was defective, wrote a brief explanation, and ebay auto sent me a return label. i dropped the item off at fedex. then the seller emailed me and said i opened a case against him and i wouldn't receive a refund until he got the return.
but i never opened a case against the seller. just did a return request. and i wouldn't expect a refund until the seller actually receives the item back. i checked my purchase history and see the case was escalated - but i didn't do it , just wanted to do a simple return. what is going on? the seller has good feedback, btw.
i tried to call ebay and their phone # says it's outside of business hours even though it was around 9.15 am eastern. the chatbot ONLY let me send an email. i am just so curious, does anyone know what happened here?
and is this the new ebay? no human customer support?
house*of*paws
·4 months agoHi @calicocountry
The meaning of the word ‘case’ has changed on eBay over the years.
At one time, eBay called the opening of an INR or SNAD dispute ‘opening a case’. Later on, ‘opening a case’ referred to the second step of a claim process … the point where eBay is asked to ‘step in’ (by either the buyer or seller).
I’m not sure whether the term is currently used by eBay in a consistent manner in the Help pages or elsewhere.
How are you defining ‘opening a case’? That isn’t really clear in your post.
calicocountry
OP4 months agothat's interesting, thank you. the only meaning i ever knew is the second one you described, the second step, when a buyer has to escalate by asking ebay to step in, which i didnt do at first. all i did was a return request, and the seller sent me a message saying i opened a case against him, which was news to me. i didnt ask ebay to step in that point, just did a return request. but after he messaged me saying i had opened a case i checked my purchase history out of curiousity and next to the item it said somthing like the case had been escalated, and later that the case was on hold (I am not positive of the wording, and now that a refund has been issued the exact wording they used at that time is gone.) oh wait i found it, this is the timeline of what ebay called it:
May 18
The case was resolved
May 11
The case was put on hold
May 11
A case was opened
May 11
You requested a return
so i didnt call it a case on my own, the seller and ebay's wording did. i told the seller that i didnt open a case, i didnt ask ebay to step in, that of course id wait to get the refund for him to get his defective item back - he never wrote back, then didnt refund me. so im glad ebay stepped in. maybe ebay opens a case if you choose item defective for the return reason. but i dont know.
simba6
·4 months ago" so i did a return request, clicked that item was defective, wrote a brief explanation, "
Yes, that is opening a case. What you could have done was use the message the seller button and explain it in the message. That does not open a case.
eoma689485
·4 months ago"so i did a return request"
Yes you did, and it appears that your request was granted - so you opened a case, you are not the first person to do so, and yes, the seller, after receiving the item back will refund you.
So, there really is no issue, no reason to call eBay, and no need for human customer support. It went like it is intended to go, were you expecting something else?
albertabrightalberta
·4 months ago"i did a return request, clicked that item was defective, wrote a brief explanation, and ebay auto sent me a return label. i dropped the item off at fedex. then the seller emailed me and said i opened a case against him and i wouldn't receive a refund until he got the return."
Requesting a return for a defective item IS opening a case. And the seller is smart to wait for the return before refunding.
calicocountry
OP4 months agoapparently depending on what the return reason you request opens a case or not, i am guessing, because another package i ordered arrived broken. i said item damaged (not defective) as return reason, and a case was not opened. yes, of course seller should wait to get the item before issuing a refund, i don't understand why he felt the need to tell me. he told me i opened a case, which i did not. and he received the item on the 13th and never issued a refund. days later, i had to ask ebay to step in and force a refund.
klhmdg
·4 months agoYou opened a "case" by requesting a return.
ANY return is a case against the seller.
Since the seller received the item on the 13th and didnt refund you, YOU escalated the case with eBay and they refunded for the seller.
dryophelia
·4 months ago@calicocountry
A return request is against the seller.
I agree, he is saying he will refund when he gets the item back.
calicocountry
OP4 months agohe did not refund the item when he got the item back. he received it on the 13th, several days later i had to ask ebay to step in to refund me. apparently a case was opened as soon as i did the return, perhaps bc i chose item defective. ebay ended up having to force the refund.
soh.maryl
·4 months agoNo, it was not because you termed the item "defective" that eBay ended up having to force the refund.
It was because you opened a case, the seller sent a return label, you returned the item and then suddenly the seller dropped the ball, who knows why, so eBay refunded you from the seller's money.
Perhaps do some more reading about the way the MBG works.
stephenmorgan
·4 months agoIf you requested a return then I believe that is a case. I think seller was just letting you know they would refund when item is received.