Do the call center agents actually work for ebay or have any authority?
I have someone trying to do a fraudulent return (used a freight forwarder, wants to return from an entirely different country a month after purchase). Ive spoken to two different ebay reps on the phone and today was told not to accept the return, but wait a few more days for Ebay to automatically step in, and that then the return will be denied and I will be able to keep the funds from the sale.
Do these people actually work for ebay and are they telling me the truth? I am recording the calls on my end for verification since they told me they are a call center only and cannot send me proof in writing via email.
37 comments
chr0mew0rld
OP5 months agoIt will have a signature required delivery, can I just refuse it or never answer the door when the Fedex driver comes to my house? I really dont see how Im responsible for any of this especially after the buyer has already committed two acts that violate TOS (freight forwarding/not using my provided label)
chr0mew0rld
OP5 months agoCan anyone please tell me how to get in contact with an actual human being who actually works at Ebay and can help me?
jonathanbrightlight
·5 months agoeBay can't do anything to help you right now.
If you receive the item back, you can refund them the purchase price. There isn't even a way through eBay for you to refund them for the label they purchased on their own, nor do you need to.
chr0mew0rld
OP5 months agoAnd what about the tariff/duty I will be forced to pay on top of it? That alone could be hundreds of dollars, Can I just refuse to sign for the package?
jonathanbrightlight
·5 months agoDo you know yet if you are being assessed any tariffs? I think you're getting ahead of yourself for now. As @reallynicestamps explained, you hopefully won't have to worry about that at all.
reallynicestamps
·5 months agoWould there also be tariffs charged when shipping from Japan to the US FF?
Normally the sender/buyer would mark the parcel Returned Merchandise, and there would be not further import fees.
Basically the idea is that the transaction did not happen.
I dont have the option to use a chat for customer service. Any time i ask to speak to a person, it only gives me the option to receive a phone call
We complain about the phone reps we get when we call customer service, who are subcontractors
But
The ones who call us are trained eBay employees and can be trusted.
BTW with the Chat you do get a transcript, so you can read what you were told rather than what you thought you were told. So there is that.
I assume you can use the phone? We've had a few sellers who couldn't because they were profoundly deaf or overseas.
gurlcat
·5 months ago@reallynicestamps Last I knew of there wasn't a way to directly call eBay (hasn't been for at least a couple years) and the only way to speak to (any) rep was to request them to call us.
Did it change again? Is there now a 800-number?
gurlcat
·5 months agoThis is nerve-racking. If the FF really is someone the buyer knows, he may get them to simply put junk in a box or envelope and return it to the OP with the return label, then once it it gets the delivery scan the refund will be prompted. I had this happen once, received plastic pebbles back instead of the vintage earrings purchased, all through a FF, and very fast so I know the buyer didn't ship those pebbles from their own country.
I won that case but only because I had a very compelling piece of undeniable evidence that this was a premeditated scam: the buyer filed the return many hours before the tracking got a delivery scan at the FF facility. It wouldn't be so easy for the OP to win.
@chr0mew0rld Unfortunately I have to agree that you must accept the return because the alternative is a guaranteed loss. Please keep us updated on this situation okay?
campanaelia
·5 months agoHave you tried using the chat instead?
Or Instagram? That maybe you're best bet
chr0mew0rld
OP5 months agoI dont have the option to use a chat for customer service. Any time i ask to speak to a person, it only gives me the option to receive a phone call
gurlcat
·5 months ago@jonathanbrightlight You've said you use chat -can you guide the OP on how to start that?
jonathanbrightlight
·5 months agoHonestly I’ve never had any difficulty, I just click through a couple prompts and it pops up. I don’t do it often but it’s not something I would be able to explain that I can think of.
campanaelia
·5 months agoAfter starting your chat , have you tried typing "agent" or "chat with an agent"?
It may take a few times to succeed, but keep trying
gone.c-33
·5 months agoRegardless of policy, if this is regarding one of your $1000+ sweatshirts, I would let the return run its course. You’ll lose the return shipping but your final value fees will be refunded and there’s a good chance you’ll get your item back.
If you fight the return and somehow manage to have eBay close it out without a refund, for that amount of money, the buyer will FOR SURE go to their payment source and file a chargeback which will leave you without the money AND the item.
wpt05
·5 months ago@chr0mew0rld
eBay Money Back Guarantee | eBay.com
"Not covered:
caldreamer
·5 months agoCall center agents are "contractors" who are hired by EBAY (not EBAY employees). They have limited knowledge but try to solve problems but often give wrong information.
I believe EBAY protects you because your customer used a freight forwarder.
However, be aware that customers have 6-months to contact their "credit card company" AFTER they receive your item to get "payment reversed". If that happens, customer get to keep both "money + item".
EBAY has no control over "credit card company".
chr0mew0rld
OP5 months agoBut how do i get them to protect me because of the freight forwarding? Who do I even speak to? And its not a typical big freight forwarding company, rather an individual (likely a friend or relative) of the buyer. The item was shipped to that home then forwarded to Japan. I know this for a fact as I have spoken to the buyer and he has purchased items from me before on other platforms. Who do I speak to in order to actually enact the protection and get the return request denied?
thelongball
·5 months agoDon't trust what they say on phone - they just want you off the line and will say what you want to hear. Recording is a waste of time because you will have no way for anyone that has any authority to hear it. You call in and the person will listen to it and again tell you what you want to hear. Just trying to save you time.
Just do what the rules tell you to do. If it's beyond 30 days, you should be safe.
stainlessenginecovers
·5 months ago@chr0mew0rld First-no and no. Nobody can do anything for you regarding a 'return request'. This site is automated.
2nd; did the buyer open an official return more than 30 days after delivery (not purchase date)
3rd- if they did, you can deny; if inside 30 days, you may have to approve depending on a.) reason b.) if you accept returns within 30 days.
christworks
·5 months agoLet me get the "it may be illegal for you to record calls without the other party's consent" knock out of the way because someone will get on their high horse and do it anyway. 🙄 Recording the call does you no good though.
As far as your problem, a buyer can return an item for INAD within 30-days of delivery. That is part of eBay's Money Back Guarantee. Did you ship the item out of the the U.S. to start with? If so, did you use eIS? If so eBay handles that return, not you. This may be why eBay told you to sit tight, but we need more info to know for sure.
What type of return did they open? If it is an INAD, you have to provide the label and it is going to have the address you sent it to on it, not whereever they are now.
To answer your question, most of the reps work for 3rd party companies. I think there are some U.S. reps who work for eBay, but rarely do you get to speak with them on the phone.
powell-collectibles
·5 months agoAgreed that recording calls does almost nothing. I wouldn’t be worried about consent. The vast majority of states are one party consent. Even if you’re dealing with an operator in a state that isn’t, they should have that warning at the beginning of the call – calls may be recorded for quality and training purposes. The CSR is already on notice the calls might be recorded – that’s the consent that one needs.
chr0mew0rld
OP5 months agoI shipped it to a freight forwarder in the US. The buyer is in Japan, and intends to do the return from Japan. I have message of him saying so as proof. Its been 30 days since purchase but not since delivery. The return request is a 'item is defective' case. I do not have the option to deny it, only to accept or to offer partial return.
reallynicestamps
·5 months agoThe return label goes to the freight forwarder.
Which is the only address you have for the buyer.
It is up to the buyer to get the item to the USA and to persuade the forwarder to (find and ) use the label you sent.
If they can't-- no refund without return.
And eventually you will be credited for the unused Return Shipping Label. Eventually.
chr0mew0rld
OP5 months agoI get that, but Im more interested in shutting down the entire return process before it even starts. In Ebay terms of service is straight up says money back guarantee is void if a freight forwarder was used. It wouldn't be very hard for the buyer to just send the label pdf to the forwarder
marnotom!
·5 months agoWhat about the part where the buyer has to get the item to the forwarder in the first place?
chr0mew0rld
OP5 months agoInternational shipping is very simple, I do it often
marnotom!
·5 months agoBut your buyers are paying you for shipping the item to them. This is going to come out of your buyer’s pocket.
Also, if the item is indeed a high-ticket one, I doubt your buyer has any experience shipping something valuable to the US where tariffs and duties may have to be paid on it. I somehow doubt CBP would buy that the item is being returned.
Shipping to the United States has become a lot more complicated in the past couple of years. Your country’s CEO has made sure of that.
🇨🇦
campanaelia
·5 months agoWould there also be tariffs charged when shipping from Japan to the US FF?
chr0mew0rld
OP5 months agoi have no idea since the tariff policy seems to change every single day lol, regardless i wouldnt be responsible for paying it
broto_64
·5 months agoWell, so...
Your best bet is to accept the return, issue a return label and then go radio silent.
The buyer must get the item back to you, if this buyer used an FF then the chances of that happening are pretty much zilch, zip and zero. So this is where the waiting game begins.
If you do not accept the return, the buyer can escalate the case (aka "ask ebay to step in") and the MBG will issue the refund without requiring the buyer return the item - If this were a scammer buyer they may be trying this tactic just to see which seller falls for it, they fully intend to keep the item but opening a return, should a seller refuse to accept it, results in a full refund and they get to keep the item so why not?
I realize this isn't how we're used to having things work out, but this is ebay.
Granted if the item does arrive at your location then you have to issue a refund, but then again that is what the Money Back Guarantee stands for and if a buyer wants to return something they should be able to do that.
kensgiftshop
·5 months agoThey have 30 days from the time it was delivered to the freight forwarder to file for a return.
Since they used a freight forwarder, they'll have to -pay to return it to the freight forwarder and probably have to pay the freight forwarder to ship it hack to you.
Accept the return and provide a shipping label.
Once they find out how much it'll cost to ship back to the freight forwarder, you might not hear any more from them.
chr0mew0rld
OP5 months agounfortunately things have taken a turn for the worst. i accepted the return and provided the return label (from the original USA address). The buyer freaked out and messaged me 10 times saying they cant use that label. Then they contacted ebay and opened a case and are now returning the item FROM japan via EMS/Fedex with their own label and are demanding I compensate them for their own (Expensive) shipping label
kensgiftshop
·5 months agoIf they want to pay return shipping from Japan, that's on them.
You are only responsible for return shipping from the address you shipped it to.
Since they are using their own shipping label, if anything happens to the package (if it gets lost), that's on them also.
chr0mew0rld
OP5 months agoThey chose an expensive international shipping service and there's a chance I will be responsible paying the duties/tariff for the package if I accept it. Do I just have zero recourse here at all?
reallynicestamps
·5 months agoIf they properly marked the package as Returned Merchandise, there should be no further duties.
As for random Tariffs, who knows?
If it is not marked as Returned Merchandise, there will be import fees. You may be able to fight those with Border Services if you have lots of paperwork.
Your success depends on the agent's whim. Are they working without pay?
How much do you earn an hour? How many hours would you have to work to make up for your loss on this transaction? Principles aside, is there any economic benefit to you?