International return thru eIS... need to know what to do, if anything.
Greetings, Fellow Sellers,
Today I received an eBay message from one of my buyers in Portugal. She says that Portuguese Customs denied to further process or deliver my small shipment to her, and they notified her it is being returned back to the US. She wants a refund upon its return (no problem there, as I'll process a refund when I eventually get it back).
I sent it thru eBay's EIS system, and I assume the return will be sent from Portuguese Customs back to eIS, and maybe eIS will ship it back to me from there.
This is the first time I've had an eIS shipment returned, so I have no experience with it.
Should I just wait for some kind of message from eIS, or is there something I need to do right now? I've only had a message from the buyer as to what she has been told by Portuguese Customs, and I have no reason to believe there is any kind of scam going on.
Any other seasoned sellers from the usual gang here have experience with an international return thru eBay's eIS? I'd appreciate some advice as to what I can expect the process will be...
Thanks, Guys (and Gals),
Cheers, Duffy
duffy4444
OP10 months agoHey Everybody,
Thanks for all the input! I've notified the Portuguese buyer she needs to open an INR case with eBay, so that no stone is left unturned.
Now I'll just sit back and let eBay eIS handle the return, refund, and disposition of the item, as they say they will. I've also told the buyer that I will not be able to send a replacement, as the same thing may happen again with Portuguese Customs.
Cheers, Duffy
jonathanbrightlight
·10 months ago@duffy4444
Sounds like you’ve got this! Great plan to let her know you can’t send a replacement either.
ittybitnot
·10 months ago@duffy4444
If you used EIS (eBay International Shipping) and not EISD (eBay International Standard Delivery) you should be fine. You typically will not need to do anything. You keep your sale, don't get anything back, and eBay deals with your buyer.
gloryglorygifts
·10 months agoEbay will handle everything for you, since you used the EIS. Here's an excerpt from the policy on international returns:
Returns and refunds
All eBay International Shipping returns will be processed on your behalf. International legal requirements mean that buyers can return items sent by eBay International Shipping up to 30 days from the date the item is delivered to them, so we automatically apply a 30 day return policy for items shipped with eBay International Shipping.
When a buyer opens a return, we'll refund your buyer and you'll keep the sale. When the return is received at the eBay International Shipping inspection hub, it will be inspected to make sure it's in the same condition. We'll then issue the refund to the buyer's original payment method, usually within 5 to 7 business days of the item being received at the hub. Returned items and items that couldn't be delivered to the buyer may not be returned to you.
If you receive negative or neutral feedback related to item handling during international shipping, we'll remove it."
Definitely have your customer open an item not received case. If you are interested, here's a link to the policy itself: https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/shipping-items/setting-shipping-options/ebay-international-shipping-program?id=5348&st=3&pos=5&query=eBay%20International%20Shipping%20program&intent=international%20returns&lucenceai=lucenceai&docId=HELP1704.
tobaccocardyahoo
·10 months agoEbay may not wait for return to the US hub to refund.
The item may not be returned to the US hub.
They may not require the return occur at all.
What you can count on is that you need not do anything.
kensgiftshop
·10 months agoThe return will go back to the EIS hub and they'll take care of everything and refund.
Tell the buyer there's nothing you can do since it was shipped by EIS and once it's returned to the US hub, Ebay should refund.
wirkaholic
·10 months agoI've never had a return through EIS, but here is what is in the Ebay Help section:
Returns and refunds
All eBay International Shipping returns will be processed on your behalf. International legal requirements mean that buyers can return items sent by eBay International Shipping up to 30 days from the date the item is delivered to them, so we automatically apply a 30 day return policy for items shipped with eBay International Shipping.
When a buyer opens a return, we'll refund your buyer and you'll keep the sale. When the return is received at the eBay International Shipping inspection hub, it will be inspected to make sure it's in the same condition. We'll then issue the refund to the buyer's original payment method, usually within 5 to 7 business days of the item being received at the hub. Returned items and items that couldn't be delivered to the buyer may not be returned to you.
If you receive negative or neutral feedback related to item handling during international shipping, we'll remove it.
jonathanbrightlight
·10 months agoTypically, eBay will handle everything and you'll never see the item but also will not be the one issuing the return. You can actually just advise the customer that they can speed the process along by opening a case for Item Not Received, and that case will not reflect in your metrics. Since eBay received it at their hub, and then the problem happened after that, they take full responsibility, but my understanding is that they then take the item and liquidate/resell it to recoup the costs when possible, which means it doesn't get sent back to you.
EDIT: We just had a EIS return over the weekend, which is similar but not identical, but I thought you might like to see some of the wording.
The message we received from eBay was just titled "We have details about a return request".
The header said "We took care of the return for you".
And then I'm not including personal details here, but the body of the message mostly consisted of this: "
We're contacting you about a return request your buyer opened. This order was sent through eBay International Shipping, so we handled the return on your behalf.
You don't need to take any action and you won't be charged for this refund."