How to appeal an unfair decision taken from a third party institution in buyer`s favor?
Buyer opened a case one year after the sale, through his payment institution, and despite the reassurances I had from ebay`s customer support, that I had provided good documentation for it, this was decided against me in the end. Here I am not provided with an option to attach proof of what I am about to describe for you here, but nevertheless whatever you might need I can provide by email. At any rate, the item in question I had bought from ebay, and had sold it in the exact same condition I had bought it originally. This was a collectible banknote in a protective slab, which comes along with a suggested grade for this paper collectible. Upon receival, the buyer started complaining, that the suggested grade was not representative of its grade, and being positive with my buyer, I decided to refund him an amount of $300 out of the $2000 he had paid, for which he had agreed of course, and actually thanked me about it!
Unfortunately though, the buyer comes back a month after, saying that he has regraded the banknote with some other company, and the banknote came back with a lower grade. Essentially, the buyer had tampered with the item, by removing it from its protective slab, and then sending it somewhere else for regrading. No one knows, and no one can guarantee that no harm has been done to this paper collectible, when it was removed from its protective slab! In all honesty, with my experience with ebay thus far, both as a seller and a buyer, ebay can only refund an item which has remained in teh same state as it was originally bought! This guy essentially had tampered with it, and kept on nagging me about it, despite the fact that I had already refunded him 15% for it! I mean, when is a sale completed?! He received exactly what was shown in my scans, and then kept on coming back for more! In the end, I had to block him, because this was too much for me to handle and accept in all honesty. At any rate though, one year after, the buyer opens up a claim with his payment institution, and despite the fact that I had proven to them that the buyer did not have in his hands the same item as the item he originally bought from me, they ended up closing the case in his favor, without even asking for any clarifications from me!
I have been selling and buying in large volumes from ebay since 2013, and I have never had anything like this happening to me before. Not only I have lost $2000 for this, but the buyer ended up keeping this collectible banknote! If this is not stealing, then I don`t know what is! I am asking for your swift response to this, because I have been the "victim" of fraud by this buyer, who has used a "technical glitch" with his payment institution, which allowed him to open a claim one year after! As a seller, where is my "seller protection"? When can we feel certain that a sale has been completed, when buyers can open claims with their payment institutions, which in turn make decisions without even consulting with ebay, or even me for that matter?! I have been left high and dry on this, for a significant amount of money, plus losing the item on top!
Unfortunately, ebay`s support thus far keeps on coming back with copy-paste answers, and I really needed guidance on how to tackle this around, because the one month period for appeals is less than two weeks away. I have tried via email thus far, because I cannot get to live support, so I was wondering whether I can have a real discussion with a real person!
luckythewinner
·11 months agoAs a seller, where is my "seller protection"?
eBay's seller protection policy states that there is no seller protection when a buyer files a "not as described" case with their financial institution. The outcome is decided by the financial institution, not eBay.
When can we feel certain that a sale has been completed
You can never be certain, because eBay does not control the timeframe that a financial institution offers to the buyer for disputes.
when buyers can open claims with their payment institutions, which in turn make decisions without even consulting with ebay, or even me for that matter?
Under eBay Managed Payments, you were not a party to the payment transaction. The payment transaction was between the financial institution and eBay.
The financial institution 'consulted with' eBay when they opened the dispute with eBay. The financial institution did not consult with you because you were not a party to the transaction and they have no clue who you are and have no reason to consult with you.
lakefor94
·11 months agoMust have been an Amex chargeback if it was from a year ago. EBay discontinued accepting Amex as a payment source in August of 2024. Amex was the only card that I know of that permitted chargeback of that time length.
tobaccocardyahoo
·11 months agoSome banks will process a year old chargeback on a Visa or Mastercard. Other banks will sometimes process a year old chargeback on a Visa or Mastercard. There is a lot of discretion in the credit card rules. The rules are available online.
lakefor94
·11 months agoMy money would be on Amex
stainlessenginecovers
·11 months agoThere is no appealing or fighting a bank decided charge back. End of story. End of thread. Sorry.
tobaccocardyahoo
·11 months agoYou, Ebay, your bank and the buyer have all contractually agreed to allow the bank to decide these disputes in a manner consistent with the payment methods rules.
Most people have only one extreme chargeback experience in a lifetime, which they will remember for years.
The the Ebay customer service rep was predictably incorrect, and should never have been contacted.
Ebay has no role in chargeback disputes other than forwarding your representation after they have notified you of the dispute.
Your only recourse might be filing a lawsuit in the US, and that will cost more than you lost in legal fees since you are not in the country
hotwheelsbum
·11 months agoHonestly, you offering a partial refund, the 15%, $300, right upfront sealed the deal for you right from the beginning. That in itself just says that you "knew" the Banknote was wrong, over valued, not worth the original $2000 price it sold for, so on. Your $300 refund admits partial guilt of knowing this.
Never, never offer partial refunds. The minute it was questioned, Banknote should have been sent back for a FULL Refund. Nothing else. Do not do partial refunds, period. Get item back, full refund only. Partial refunds are basically an admission of guilt as to what the Buyer is accusing you of.
Take this as a lesson learned. You're not out $2000, you're only out what you actually had invested in that Banknote, not the $2000 projected selling price. This is ebay, you lost. There is no recourse. Take the lesson learned and go on about your day.
christworks
·11 months agoThis is not eBay customer support. Nobody here has any power to do anything for you, other than be a shoulder to cry on.
I see you located in Cyprus. I assume your buyer is from the EU? They have different regulations than the U.S. I agree with you that it is insane someone could open up case with their financial institution a year after the fact. I think they actually have 2 years to do so. The EU Consumer Protection laws are insane. I doubt there will be anything you can do other than exercise your right to vote for people who are more business minded.
yiorgoscy
OP11 months agoThank you for your prompt reply. This is an all American fiasco my friend! This is a US buyer, opening a case with a US payment institution for sure. I am sure that nobody here can do much for me, but I was wondering whether somebody could guide me on a correct path to reach out to somebody live, because I really need to express my frustration to somebody at ebay, because this is outright stealing! I do understand ebay`s adherence to whatever market regulations there are out there, but what about protecting its sellers from such situations?! I could have accepted this result, if the item would never have reached the buyer, and I could also accept the outcome if the item was different than what I was showing in my listing! But not like this! The buyer got refunded for something that is not the same as the item he had originally bought from me, after tampering with its plastic holder, and on top he kept it! If this is not stealing, I don`t know what is!