Is this a glitch? Item too hazardous to ship back?

Posted 2 years ago · Edited 2 years ago·Last reply 2 years ago

43 comments

broto_64

·2 years ago

Was this item listed under "No Returns Accepted" policy?

If the answer is Yes this is what happens if a buyer simply doesn't ship the return and waits for the case to time out then "asks ebay to step in." At this stage the MBG automatically kicks out the refund as it does not require a tracking "delivered" status for the refund to be processed.

If it was an international sale, the return shipping is an arrangement between the buyer and the seller, however once again the MBG does not require for delivery to be completed in order to kick out the refund upon escalation. This would hardly be the first time a seller lost money this way, it is the reason most sellers do not sell internationally (except EIS).

The MBG only requires return delivery confirmation on 50-state and territory sales with returns accepted policy.

iamalwaysright

OP2 years ago

@broto_64 wrote:
Was this item listed under "No Returns Accepted" policy?

If the answer is Yes this is what happens if a buyer simply doesn't ship the return and waits for the case to time out then "asks ebay to step in." At this stage the MBG automatically kicks out the refund as it does not require a tracking "delivered" status for the refund to be processed.

If it was an international sale, the return shipping is an arrangement between the buyer and the seller, however once again the MBG does not require for delivery to be completed in order to kick out the refund upon escalation. This would hardly be the first time a seller lost money this way, it is the reason most sellers do not sell internationally (except EIS).

The MBG only requires return delivery confirmation on 50-state and territory sales with returns accepted policy.

@sextons-sweet-deals domestic sale, not international. I have free returns on this item. One interesting thing I just noticed when I looked him up, heâ€™s actually a return customer. He bought a different colored hoodie from me back in early 2020 and that sale went fine without a hitch, no return, no communication between us, no feedback, nothing.

Maybe Covid aftermath affected him on how to be a consumer, who knows.

broto_64

·2 years ago

@iamalwaysright wrote:
@broto_64 wrote:
Was this item listed under "No Returns Accepted" policy?

If the answer is Yes this is what happens if a buyer simply doesn't ship the return and waits for the case to time out then "asks ebay to step in." At this stage the MBG automatically kicks out the refund as it does not require a tracking "delivered" status for the refund to be processed.

If it was an international sale, the return shipping is an arrangement between the buyer and the seller, however once again the MBG does not require for delivery to be completed in order to kick out the refund upon escalation. This would hardly be the first time a seller lost money this way, it is the reason most sellers do not sell internationally (except EIS).

The MBG only requires return delivery confirmation on 50-state and territory sales with returns accepted policy.

@sextons-sweet-deals domestic sale, not international. I have free returns on this item. One interesting thing I just noticed when I looked him up, heâ€™s actually a return customer. He bought a different colored hoodie from me back in early 2020 and that sale went fine without a hitch, no return, no communication between us, no feedback, nothing.
Maybe Covid aftermath affected him on how to be a consumer, who knows.

That is odd, maybe the buyer is one of many seriously uninformed customers who ended up calling ebay customer service all worried they wouldn't get their refund, and the linguistically challenged CS pushed a button or did something that erroneously awarded the refund to the buyer.

Something along these lines:

@tobaccocardyahoo wrote:
If i had to guess, an Ebay employee found a trick to clear a customer problem quickly by checking a box for hazmat.

When an Ebay employee goes rogue they have no bot to handle it.

To the OP:

Any chance you can appeal the ruling?

Have you tried facebook ebay for business group?

iamalwaysright

OP2 years ago

@broto_64 wrote:
That is odd, maybe the buyer is one of many seriously uninformed customers who ended up calling ebay customer service all worried they wouldn't get their refund, and the linguistically challenged CS pushed a button or did something that erroneously awarded the refund to the buyer.

Something along these lines:

@tobaccocardyahoo wrote:
If i had to guess, an Ebay employee found a trick to clear a customer problem quickly by checking a box for hazmat.

When an Ebay employee goes rogue they have no bot to handle it.
To the OP:
Any chance you can appeal the ruling?
Have you tried facebook ebay for business group?

Yea I already had it appealed last week and ebay paid me out. The agent agreed that it's really weird that 1) the buyer was able to ask ebay to step in ahead of time like that and 2) why this item has a hazardous to return excuse on it at all as he told me that excuse is usually for liquids or broken glass and not soft clothing. He said heck, it's so non hazardous you don't even need any packing material for it. No idea if he tagged it for further investigation or not. He also said he wasn't sure if he was able to remove the "no seller resolution" defect I got for this case but he'll try. Meh @wastingtime101

wastingtime101

·2 years ago

@iamalwaysright wrote:
Yea I already had it appealed last week and ebay paid me out. The agent agreed that it's really weird that 1) the buyer was able to ask ebay to step in ahead of time like that and 2) why this item has a hazardous to return excuse on it at all as he told me that excuse is usually for liquids or broken glass and not soft clothing. He said heck, it's so non hazardous you don't even need any packing material for it. No idea if he tagged it for further investigation or not. He also said he wasn't sure if he was able to remove the "no seller resolution" defect I got for this case but he'll try. Meh @wastingtime101

Not only did they make a wrong determination on the buyer refund, but they also escalated it to a case before the time to ask eBay to step in? eBay should definitely be removing the unresolved case defect on that one. Let us know what happens @iamalwaysright . Hopefully the rep you spoke with flagged that buyer for abuse. At least you got a credit on it.

isaiah53-57

·2 years ago

961 View listings

@iamalwaysright wrote:
So I got a SNAD return (that I believe is false) for a sweatshirt that the buyer complained that one sleeve is so defective that the seam on that sleeve doesn't run down the bottom. He included a photo of him wearing it and he clearly intentionally twisted one of the sleeves around his arm to make it look tighter and shows the seam running a spiral effect around his arm.

Anyway, I told this guy to return for refund and accepted his false SNAD. A few days later I get notice that the buyer was somehow able to ask ebay to step in thus converting this to a case. 15 minutes later I see that ebay awarded the buyer the refund and most likely gave me a "no seller resolution" defect. This was the reason I was given.

Lol. Too hazardous to ship back? It's a hoodie. Unless the buyer dipped it in toxic waste, I don't see how this item would ever be hazardous to ship. I wonder what the buyer did or say to ebay to pull that off.

Just one more reason this place sucks, in my most humble opinion.

deltilogical

·2 years ago

10754 View listings

When nothing is illegal there is no crime, right?

sextons-sweet-deals

·2 years ago

11053 View listings

I'm guessing this was an international sale and can be a common scam.

It's now hazardous to ship back to seller but was not hazardous to ship to the buyer.

Photo easily shows the sweatshirt was twisted. You can't even see the left shoulder seam because it is pulled back.

It may take time, but Karma will get the buyer.

anjofak

·2 years ago

Some synthetic blends have actually been deemed toxic and placed on prohibited ðŸš« import lists..

iamalwaysright

OP2 years ago

@anjofak wrote:
Some synthetic blends have actually been deemed toxic and placed on prohibited ðŸš« import lists..

The buyer and I are in the same country. Is cotton and polyester on that list?

anjofak

·2 years ago

Can't recall my experience with that was US to Cuba.

mementomoria

·2 years ago

1787 View listings

This is a new ebay trick. The buyers can now call and basically get a refund immediately. I had a buyer return a pair of earrings because they were too big. I have free returns. The minute the earrings were scanned delivered back to me, she called ebay to get her refund plus shipping. I was not going to give her a refund on the shipping since the measurements were included in the description. I asked why ebay stepped in as sellers get 72 hours to refund after receiving the return. No one could explain it to me. I insisted that I should not have a defect from this as I wasn't given a chance to act on the case. Ebay just keeps on screwing with the sellers. And now I have to pay an extra 10 cents per sale.

12345jamesstamps

·2 years ago

8755 View listings

This is so out of line.

Maybe it was an eBay employee who bought it and submitted for a refund and got the refund.

Never heard of a article of clothing to be dangerous to return.

wastingtime101

·2 years ago

Appeal that garbage!

Screenshot says eBay got a document from the buyer saying it's too hazardous to ship so - what - buyer falsified a USPS document and CS did not even look at the fact it's a shirt? ðŸ™„

dhbookds

·2 years ago

1682 View listings

Report the buyer (in dropdown list on the paid/shipped page).........THEN contact the Ebay for Business on facebook..........

rosszonebricks

·2 years ago

9599 View listings

I hate to say I'm starting to see what I would describe as 'How to get X,Y,Z for Free' videos on social media.

Unfortunate examples include tutorial videos for getting things for free on eBay.... But I've never seen any clips that include how to get your item flagged as 'too hazardous to ship back'.

Saw another for 'how to get a free food at Walmart' and all it was was picking up the pre-made meals from their grab-n-go hot station and then... just walking around the store eating it, leaving the container and any waste on a shelf somewhere and walking out. ðŸ˜ž

iamalwaysright

OP2 years ago

@rosszonebricks wrote:

Saw another for 'how to get a free food at Walmart' and all it was was picking up the pre-made meals from their grab-n-go hot station and then... just walking around the store eating it, leaving the container and any waste on a shelf somewhere and walking out. ðŸ˜ž

Omg just after I read your reply I saw a post on Facebook mentioning the same thing.

While there were some people who commented negatively towards it basically saying itâ€™s stealing, there were also a good amount of people justifying the action. Some mentioned thatâ€™s why Walmart raises prices to cover for the loss while others disagreed saying itâ€™s a big corporation and they have insurance for this thus will never lose money from it so their price raising is just out of pure greed. I wonder if thatâ€™s what some buyers think when they see me raising prices.

broto_64

·2 years ago

https://www.facebook.com/eBayForBusiness

@iamalwaysright wrote:
@rosszonebricks wrote:

Saw another for 'how to get a free food at Walmart' and all it was was picking up the pre-made meals from their grab-n-go hot station and then... just walking around the store eating it, leaving the container and any waste on a shelf somewhere and walking out. ðŸ˜ž
Omg just after I read your reply I saw a post on Facebook mentioning the same thing.

While there were some people who commented negatively towards it basically saying itâ€™s stealing, there were also a good amount of people justifying the action. Some mentioned thatâ€™s why Walmart raises prices to cover for the loss while others disagreed saying itâ€™s a big corporation and they have insurance for this thus will never lose money from it so their price raising is just out of pure greed. I wonder if thatâ€™s what some buyers think when they see me raising prices.

The fact is insurance covers our losses and then raises our premiums because like ourselves insurance is a business and they are in business to make money. So it does in fact cost Walmart to cover the loss even if the insurance pays for it originally because they raise their rates so then Walmart has to pay more and more every year to the insurance company.
Also in most cases if a company is smart enough they will self-insure because it's actually cheaper to cover these losses out of pocket, but either way the retailer has to raise prices to cover said cost. And the price raise would in fact be less if the retailer self-insures so the logic of people who think that it's free money so long they have insurance is erroneous.

fern*wood

·2 years ago

10508 View listings

Helps explain the need for an extra 10 cents from us.

tobaccocardyahoo

·2 years ago

5531 View listings

If i had to guess, an Ebay employee found a trick to clear a customer problem quickly by checking a box for hazmat.

When an Ebay employee goes rogue they have no bot to handle it.

mike_jayroe

·2 years ago

236 View listings

This has got to be the craziest thing I have ever seen on e-bay.

Seller approves refund after it's returned and then get's told its to toxic to return. Absolutely disgusting.

carlmarxx

·2 years ago

10954 View listings

Well I though I seen it and read it All on eBay so far on crazy buyer returns ! This one is nut's and eBay refunded out their own pocket .

gator08041971

·2 years ago

954 View listings

@carlmarxx wrote:
Well I though I seen it and read it All on eBay so far on crazy buyer returns ! This one is nut's and eBay refunded out their own pocket .

You mean the seller's pocket.

buzzapparel

·2 years ago

37 View listings

What a complete crockâ€¦..

dentalsales4u

·2 years ago

802 View listings

Sorry this happened to you.

I would contact eBay via their Facebook page.

Just click the "message" icon and leave a detailed message on what transpired.

They will get back to you and request you verify yourself.

They don't respond immediately, so be patient.

These are US trained Reps.

Good luck to you

kensgiftshop

·2 years ago

389 View listings

That's been coming up lately and they get a refund and keep the item.

If they make you refund, I would fight that carp.

There is nothing hazardous about a hoodie.

epowerbargains

·2 years ago

3356 View listings

I agree this is nonsense. What is also a problem is how difficult it is to get eBay to provide customer service support to address a case such as this - it almost looks like a "bot" determination that was based on "garbage in garbage out" - it should not be so easy to declare that an item of clothing is so "toxic" that it cannot be returned to the seller.

toomuchstuffagain35

·2 years ago

Didn't we all say this was going to happen, once we saw the first one come up here?

wastingtime101

·2 years ago

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/EBAY-STOLE-44-FROM-ME-AND-GAVE-IT-TO-A-THIEF-RETURN-REFUND/m-p/28742103

@toomuchstuffagain35 wrote:
Didn't we all say this was going to happen, once we saw the first one come up here?

When was the first one? I've seen this for years here on this forum, but usually it's with something that actually is hazardous to ship (per USPS) like broken glass - not with a hoodie, clear case of fraud.

Example from 2018 on claim of broken glass (broken items were a buyer swap):

Example from 2020 on claim of dead fish:

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Shipping/Buyer-wants-to-return-damaged-dead-items-without-any-proof/m-p/31266787

Example from 2022 on claim of broken tail light (that buyer admitted to breaking themself on installation):

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Ebay-doesn-t-care-about-their-sellers/m-p/33071162

I've seen a lot of reports from dish sellers over the years where this is often used. I've never seen such blatant fraud as using it on a hoodie which is clearly not hazardous.

Let's hope this isn't the new scam trend of 2024.

toomuchstuffagain35

·2 years ago

The one I'm thinking of recently wasn't anything remotely hazardous, not even the old broken glass etc excuse, and ebay approved it.

wastingtime101

·2 years ago

@toomuchstuffagain35 wrote:
The one I'm thinking of recently wasn't anything remotely hazardous, not even the old broken glass etc excuse, and ebay approved it.

I figured there was something more recent; I don't read the bulk of discussion threads here so I miss a lot. If you come across it again, let me know - tag me or send a PM. I'm interested to read it. Thanks in advance @toomuchstuffagain35 .

buyselljack2016

·2 years ago

107 View listings

Seems there was one about a laptop. Battery issue??

Got to buyer, but buyer claimed too hazardous to return??

wastingtime101

·2 years ago

Solved: Buyer claims the nintendo switch he/she recieved i... - The eBay Community

@buyselljack2016 wrote:
Seems there was one about a laptop. Battery issue??

Got to buyer, but buyer claimed too hazardous to return??

Interesting. Laptop batteries can be shipped, but they do require hazardous material markings on the package and a specific class of mail (Ground). Now I'd definitely like to read more and see exactly what happened. If I have time I'll try to find the discussion later. If someone else finds the thread in the meantime please post the link.

buyselljack2016

·2 years ago

107 View listings

brain skip on my part.

This was the hazardous item

toomuchstuffagain35

·2 years ago

But according to usps etc the batteries installed IN a device are ok, which this was.

It's like the old scam of alleging an item is fake and it's "illegal" to return it through the mail (which it's not) so the buyer can keep the item AND the refund.

toomuchstuffagain35

·2 years ago

Yeah, I know it was something with a battery and the seller even got proof from usps that it was ok to ship.

I just can't remember the title of the thread.

anjofak

·2 years ago

My imagination kinda lit on fire with ideas of what the loon might have sent pictures of happening to the hoodie to have it deemed so..

iamalwaysright

OP2 years ago

@anjofak wrote:
My imagination kinda lit on fire with ideas of what the loon might have sent pictures of happening to the hoodie to have it deemed so..

Your reply here made me wonder something somewhat off topic. What happens when a buyer files a return for like a pair of tighty whiteys with the reason â€œit doesnâ€™t fitâ€? Would eBay deem that too hazardous to ship back? Sorry for the visual.

anjofak

·2 years ago