No seller protection
Summary: disneykat26 expressed frustration with a platform's seller protection policies, feeling misled by customer service regarding return disputes. shire123 and others pointed out the limitations of seller protections, noting that buyer claims often take precedence. Another participant shared a similar experience but felt their issue was resolved when evidence was reviewed. Suggestions included offering free returns to potentially minimize disputes and improve protection. The discussion highlighted widespread concerns about the reliability of customer service advice and the challenges of ensuring seller protections.
Hey ebay. If you aren't going to honor your own seller protection guidelines the least you can do is be honest and change your policy to "sellers have no protections" period. When a buyers lies about a return reason and customer service says to accept the return, report the problem and appeal that should cover the seller. But no, there is no appeal option if you accept the return, so the seller has no recourse for a buyer not following the buyer agreement in the same t.o.s. we all agree to. At least be honest and say "we plan on screwing all sellers who do business on our site".
inhawaii
·3 weeks agoThere ARE seller protections.
It depends on the situation.
jgmicromanufacturing
·3 weeks ago · EditedIt's true. There's no seller protection at all. I've just dealt with a nuissance buyer named k*********n (not supposed to name them either to protect other sellers? FFS!) who acted like he was the second coming, got verbally abusive, demanded I call his phone number (most likely to get more abusive off the record outside of a text communication). Even after fixing the initial problem and being as decent as I possibly could, he's now committing actionable slander via feedback and continuing to be abusive through the feedback system even after blocking and reporting him. Sure, he has a 100% positive feedback, but only because he's a buyer. And since buyers can't get negative feedback ever on this platform, he realizes there's no actual consequences to his actions.
(EDIT) Turns out he was dumb enough to send me a regular letter to my PO box here in Maryland *with postmarks from the USPS in Chicago verifying authenticity* to move the purchase of multiple units of my fences off ebay to "get a better price" and "avoid your tax & ebay fees" which is already several red flags. I've already reported this and now I sit and wait to see what happens.
adamcartwright
·3 weeks agoThere's little we can do to change eBay's MBG, but what you can do is report any buyer who abuses the policy by lying about NAD or returning something different. Enough reports and hopefully there will be a big fat juicy punishment.
dbmm-media
·3 weeks agoyou do not have to accept a return, but you do have to refund
tobaccocardyahoo
·3 weeks agoThe only protection a seller can rely on is what he does to remove reasons for a buyer to return a purchase.
It is a perfect situation but it works better than thinking you can state no returns and enforce that policy.
I state no returns on my listings, I accept all returns. Even if the buyer is a liar, and I know it in my heart, I am not going to sue and try to get a court to accept my proof he is a liar.
And Ebay isn't going to do it either. It is not worth their time and money, any more than it is worth mine or yours.
Ebay sellers have had a desire for protection ever since PayPal coined the phrase. PayPal did so without realizing that the credit card companies and various regulatory agencies limited their actions against buyers.
PayPal started off trying to claw back the refunds they refused due to seller protection.
PayPal started eating the cost after the credit card issuers threatened to cut them off.
christworks
·3 weeks agoCan't say it better than @gurlcat . Free returns is the best way for most sellers. If you have never tried it, change to it and give it six months.
gurlcat
·3 weeks agoOne of the easiest ways to get seller protections is to have Free Returns. Then not only does a buyer not have to lie about their reason to force a return, but if the item is in worse condition than you sent it, you can withhold up to 50% of the refund. Free Returns is also key to either winning card chargebacks or having eBay cover the refund for those out of their own pocket, rather than take the money from you.
Contrary to what you might assume, Free Returns does not result in more returns. Many sellers including myself found the opposite, surprisingly. I think it is a psychological thing, where a buyer knowing they have nothing to worry about ... doesn't LOOK for things to complain about.
Also note that Free Returns is one of the sorting filters buyers can use when searching for something. If they use that filter and you don't have FR's, your item won't even be shown to them.
disneykat26
OP3 weeks agoClearly you are missing the point that following what EBAY INSTRUCTED ME TO DO TO BE COVERED left me with no recourse since what ebay tells you to do literally is meant to not cover you.
stainlessenginecovers
·3 weeks ago@disneykat26 who?? instructed you. A phone rep?? From a 3rd World country and does not have any pull nor most of the item, no correct answers?
You did NOT need to, and should NOT have to 'talk' to anyone about a return.
The system is automated.
You need to read the '30 day money back guarantee' on all listings to understand that buyers ALSO have protections.
Since you do not accept returns, simply means any buyer in the know can just use a 'not as described' reason to force a return.
You CAN report the buyer AFTER you approve the sale, and all that does is:
If buyer gets numerous reports, ebay could stop them from 'returning' things in the future. COULD. And, you are NEVER told and this does NOT allow you to 'appeal' or 'ignore' a return.
gurlcat
·3 weeks ago@disneykat26 I was not talking about any past issues you've had; I meant for future seller protections, you should have Free Returns. I'm not preaching you some morality doctrine, just the facts. It's what eBay wants you to do, and they reward you if you go along with it.
Take this information or leave it, no skin off my neck.
christworks
·3 weeks ago@disneykat26 Nobody missed the point but you. eBay has clearly defined policies that apply to every seller. You don't get special treatment by talking to an eBay rep.
One little life lesson for you: Customer service reps, whether they answer the phone for eBay, your cable provider, etc., are trained to show empathy. They also have to meet time requirements for calls. Telling you what you want to hear is a common tactic employed by CSRs. Unless you have something in writing, what you are told holds no water. The only thing in writing is eBay policy.
lakefor94
·3 weeks ago@disneykat26
Read @gurlcat 's post a few more times as YOU are missing the point.
And, you have no point as your transaction turned into a complete loser.
If you continue with how you "think" eBay should work, expect the same results.
florida_parts
·3 weeks agoIts been like this for over a decade
bonanza125
·3 weeks agoThat's not how seller protection works. You are talking about two different things. Ebay has buyers protections where the buyer can return an item not as described among other things within 30 days for a refund. You are talking about the reasoning behind the return. There is no protection. Your buyer has 30 days. When selling online there is always a risk. Your no return policy means nothing when it comes to buyers filing a case for return.
stainlessenginecovers
·3 weeks agoSeller protection DOES have guidelines- as you stated. Does NOT mean '100% protection' and NEVER did.
kensgiftshop
·3 weeks agoWhen a seller doesn't accept returns, buyers know all they have to do is lie and file an INAD to return the item for a refund.
shire123
·3 weeks agoEbay is unable to determine who is lying. All you can do is report the buyer for abusing the return process. If the buyer does it a number of times they will be removed from ebay.
Your only option is to take the loose and report that as a business expense on your taxes. For just about all sellers these instances are very few and far between. But that is one of the risks of ecommerce. No site will 100% protect the seller. And even if should find one, there will always be the chargeback issue available to all buyers.
disneykat26
OP3 weeks agoWhen an item is as described and they report for damage, yes, ebay CAN determine if a buyer is lying. You are missing the point of ebays customer service specifically told me over then phone to proceed as I did and I would be covered because they looked at the listing and said "yes the buyer was lying". So no they don't follow their "guidelines" either.
dnsrmpl_2
·3 weeks agoI just talked to ebay having the same problem with a buyer not being truthful and they looked at our converstion and pics and they said I was protected and if the customer leaves bad feedback, they would remove it because it’s obvious by the pictures and what she said was a lie. I was glad that they actually took a look at what was going on. I sent a customer at Jade necklace and she told eBay that it was plastic I’ve been buying and selling vintage for years, and I know the difference between plastic and stone. I would never sell someone plastic claiming it was Jade.
shire123
·3 weeks agoAs you have found out, ebay CS will often say what you want to hear to get you off the phone. This has been reported many times here.
So while they say you are protected, you found out you still had to refund.
What I said above still stands. The buyer will always get a full refund no matter what a CS says. (unless of course you accept 30 day free returns and are able to deduct 50%)
disneykat26
OP3 weeks agoMy original point still stands then and they should state "sellers have no protections". Offering free returns in order to have maybe 50% protection, which will be disputed by buyers and ebay will accept that dispute in favor of the buyer, means NO PROTECTIONS.
gurlcat
·3 weeks agoWhen a buyer disputes receiving less than 100% refund from the seller (because the seller used their protection), eBay MAY issue the rest of the money, but they pull it from their own revenues, not from you. I just had a case like that a couple months ago, and several previous ones over the years.
With Free Returns, you absolutely get to withhold some of the refund if the buyer sends the item back in worse condition, and you absolutely get to keep that money. Period.
bonanza125
·3 weeks agoYou are missing the point of ebays customer service specifically told me over then phone to proceed as I did and I would be covered because they looked at the listing and said "yes the buyer was lying".
Key words you mention "Ebays Customer service specifically told me." They tell you stuff like this to get you off the phone. You are now in a community of experienced sellers and buyers who are telling you the facts and are knowledgeable to your situation. Absorb the information.
disneykat26
OP3 weeks agoOh right cause expecting the company I'm doing business with to provide guidance on how to handle something according to their "guidelines" clearly is my fault. Like say it's my fault for getting punched in the face just cause I chose to stand in front of someone and ask how do I avoid getting punched in the face by you, do everything they say and they still punch me in the face.
gurlcat
·3 weeks agoNobody is blaming you. We're telling you things you didn't know before you started this post.
You're welcome.
kensgiftshop
·3 weeks agoHow is Ebay supposed to know if it's damaged or not, they don't see the item.