SMALL CLAIMS COURT/EBAY POLICY
I'm so sadden to see so many inquiring about bringing their transactions to Small claims court. I sold an item, buyer wanted to return..I reached out to eBay several times because it's not many options for the seller or whoever is on the other end of any action initiated and in this case as the seller I needed info to know how to proceed but I got no reply from eBay.
Long story short I have tried several times reaching out because buyer has not returned my item and I see it's no bush to the buyer to return the item. The buyer knew exactly what to say for an open : shut case. The buyer is also rude and not answering my messages but yet I'm in the negative. So I have no choice but to file a court case but I do wish eBay would I enforce their rules both ways.
fab_finds4u
·1 year agoAnother thing is you are still setting yourself up a returned item.
You have a thermal printer listed Used, Untested.
Used items can have cosmetic damage but they must be fully functional. If you don't know if it works you should list it for parts or not working. Untested means you have no idea if it works or not, and saying looks new is meaningless. Leaving it up to the buyer to test it is cra-cra.
Buyers like to use eBay as their parts dept to fix their items and return your item gutted. I can see that happening with that listing.
johnrj1226
·1 year agoThere is a filing fee one has to post and it is forfeited if you loose. Here is the typical fee in Georgia
"In Georgia, the filing fee for a small claims case (also known as Magistrate Court) is typically around $54 for one defendant, with additional fees for serving each additional defendant, which can vary depending on the county; always check with your local court for the exact amount"
Ya might check with Judge Judy - sound like if you audition just right you will get a free plane ride, hotel stay, free meals. If you win you can charge people for your autograph too.
mam98031
·1 year ago@949aisha
How was your INAD processed?
Buyer opens the Request for Return.
Seller has 3 days to respond. Seller should respond by issuing a return shipping label.
Now you wait. If the buyer doesn't return the item, you should NOT be made to refund the buyer. But if you didn't respond in that 3 day period, then yes, Ebay could step in and the buyer would win.
12345jamesstamps
·1 year agoI expect one day I will have a bad sale...and I would do what eBay states to do.
I have had a few small $ sales where I just refund the buyer so I can sleep good that night.
'Small claims court'...we have heard many who say they will do that here but never heard anyone winning yet in years.
It's time and money to do that and if you have 'that 'go for it.
bennotbill
·1 year agoMaybe the first step should be to send the buyer a letter of intent. That may be enough to get the buyer to return the item.
As a buyer I've been given a few forced refunds but at no time has ebay stated to me that the item is now my property to do with as I please. It's more along the lines we have refunded you and we don't require you to return the item. Two completely different things.
eBay may not require you to return the item but the seller, using whatever means at their disposal, may take an understandably different view.
kandf_vintage_finds
·1 year agoGood Luck with your court case. Please come back and let us know how that turns out.
lakefor94
·1 year ago@949aisha
Just in case there is a next time, to be fair to yourself, sellers have to know how ebay returns work.
If the buyer opens a Item Is Not As Described type return case, you have choices.
1. You can refund the buyer now and let the buyer keep the item. eBay refunds the final value fees on the sale to you, the seller.
2. If you want the item back before refunding, accept the return and make sure a prepaid return label is available in the return case. The buyer returns the item and then you refund in full. eBay refunds the final value fees on the sale to you, the seller.
Seller protection:
Top Rated Sellers who accept 30 day returns and sellers who offer free 30 day returns can do partial refunds, up to 50%, if the item is returned in a condition different than when you shipped it.
3. Do nothing, contest the case or allow eBay to handle the case, eBay will close the return, refund the buyer and allow the buyer to keep the item. You also receive a serious defect on your seller account for having eBay step in and refund, thus doing your job as a seller. And, eBay keeps the final value fees for the transaction.
Here is an eBay link with just about all you need to know.
https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/managing-returns-refunds/handle-return-request-seller?id=4115
949aisha
OP1 year agoThank you for your reply and I know the big question is is it worth starting a court proceeding and I'm gonna have to say yes. Because it's no voice sort of speak for as a seller I have to be my own voice. I feel once a buyer make a claim that an item can't be used for its purpose and such item is not returned than refund should be revoked.
I've been with eBay for years and I'm very disappointed in the dismissment. Even after posting in this thread a few items was removed but that's okay.
And forgive me the item in question is the Utech scanner a 500 or so sale.
buyselljack2016
·1 year agoIf the buyer was refunded without the item being returned, then somewhere along the way eBay policy was not followed.
May or may not be, but many times when this happens the breakdown is on the seller's end.
there are exceptions to that, but with just so little information provided it would be hard to determine
albertabrightalberta
·1 year agoHow long ago did you sell this item? I don't see it in your completed listings and in fact, I can't find a single "Utech scanner" (current or completed) listings from any seller.
stainlessenginecovers
·1 year agoApparently the tracking for the return label showed it WAS returned and you didn't process it so ebay did it for you. What does the tracking say for the item returned? Ebay does NOT just refund buyers if they don't 'return' the item OR...
It was a 'charge back' which ebay has no control over- the credit card bank is judge/jury and if they find in favor of their customer, they don't have to return it and they force ebay to give them the money back.
It's all in the brochure (terms and conditions)
monroe67
·1 year ago"I'm so sadden to see so many inquiring about bringing their transactions to Small claims court. . . .
. . . . The buyer is also rude and not answering my messages but yet I'm in the negative. So I have no choice but to file a court case."
Confusing . . . . .
Small Claims Courts are specifically for legal disputes where the dollar amount in question is less than a set amount, nowadays in the thousands of dollars. They serve a very, very valuable purpose in the modern world.
Other posters in this thread have questioned which of your recent sales is causing this, and perhaps it is the "MK" jewelry sale. So, let's say that you are "in the negative" in the amount of $24.00 or so.
I took a minute and googled "small claims filing new york" and found that you would have to pay a court filing fee of $15.00 just to file your complaint, get a case number, and get into the court's computer system. Then you may have to pay somebody to personally serve the defendant (hand-deliver a copy of the complaint to that rude buyer). I have no idea anymore how much an attorney service would ask you to pay them for personal service, but I think $9.00 would be a dirt-cheap price.
So right there, with the filing fee and (low estimate) personal service fee, you've paid $24.00 just to get a chance to stand in front of a judge and try to get that buyer to pay you -- $24.00.
But if the principle is that important to you -- go for it.
fern*wood
·1 year agoYou need to become familiar with the ebay money back guarantee, which is on all the items we sell, and familiar with how to handle a return covered by the MBG. I don't see lots of people taking their transactions to small claims courts.
albertabrightalberta
·1 year ago@949aisha
It sounds like the buyer opened a return case and it sounds like it was for "not as described." Is that correct?
But instead of responding to it, you "reached out to eBay several times" to ask how to proceed. Is that correct?
I don't know what (if anything) ebay advised, but you should have accepted the return. But if the buyer got the refund without your accepting the return and providing the return label, you erred because you didn't respond to the case as you should have and the buyer found it necessary to have ebay step in.
krazzykats
·1 year agoThere are so many fakes, copies, and counterfeits, and often owners are unaware they possess them.
This issue will last forever, as these items have already infected countless collections.
á“šá˜á—¢
monica-sells
·1 year ago"... as the seller I needed info to know how to proceed ..."
563 Feedback Score, obviously been around a few years, sold many items on ebay. and you needed to know how to proceed with a simple, routine return? It is all spelled out, "play-by-play" in the help pages, in addition to a plethora of posts in this very forum......
We can do better, people...come on
P.S. You have no case, in spite of what the internet lawyers may tell you
youn2240
·1 year agoI still support the pursuit of the court case instead of doing a return. the buyer was rude and ebay didn't care about the rudeness so it was mean time.
dhbookds
·1 year agoWas the return in a message or in a case? Did you ok a return and send a label?
albertabrightalberta
·1 year agoBTW, was the return request for the (not) Michael Kors jewelry?
krazzykats
·1 year agoI was just about to flag you on that one. lol!
Fake?
albertabrightalberta
·1 year agoLOL! There are several current and completed "fashion" items with designer logos.
albertabrightalberta
·1 year agoIf the buyer filed a return request for NAD (not as described), you should have accepted the return and upon receipt, issued a full refund.
It sounds like you didn't do that so ebay had to step in, issue the refund (from your money) and let the buyer keep it.
There's nothing to sue for -- you didn't do what you should have done.
youn2240
·1 year agothey did everything right and are going to prove it in court.
949aisha
OP1 year agoThanks for your reply. Some of that is true or the routine of eBay. And regardless of what I do or don't it's eBay policy to issue the refund, which is what was done. My problem is that it's flaws in the process and some users know how to play the rules good. I just think it's unfair that the buyer gets to keep an items that they say they can't use.
krazzykats
·1 year agoHave you tried just asking your buyer politely to return the item? You should offer to pay the return postage also.
Or is conversation with the buyer completely off the table?
á“šá˜á—¢
949aisha
OP1 year agoYes I've tried asking and paying for return and asked what carrier would be convenient for them but no reply. And buyer was pretty rude in the beginning anyway...And it's no push on buyer to return..the buyer gets choice to keep apparently and seller no choices at all.
inhawaii
·1 year agoIf/when you take this to court, make sure to tell the judge that the buyer was rude.
That should weigh heavily on the outcome.
fern*wood
·1 year agoOn my last not as described return, I had the choice. I could refund or pick the option to provide the label and refund when it was received back to me. I carefully read the choices given to pick which I want. I have just refunded before on a broken item that I didn't want to pay to have returned.
monica-sells
·1 year agoThis is not how it works....you don't "ask" the buyer what carrier....the buyer gets no "choice"..... once you provide a return label to them. If they don't return it, you get to keep the funds.
now, if this is a chargeback situation, your claim is with the buyer and then maybe small claims if you want to pursue it...not ebay
fab_finds4u
·1 year agoWhy do you want an item returned that has something wrong with it?
You do have that right but did you provide them with a return label within 3 days or not? It sounds like you did not and eBay stepped in and refunded the buyer.
You need to go back and read the user agreement you signed which says you agree to eBay's decisions. You say there are flaws in the process and some buyers play the rules. Not sure what you mean by that but it is true some buyers will file a chargeback which is almost a guarantee they get a refund and aren't required to return it. Or they can escalate the case and say you did not send a return label and eBay will refund and let them keep it.
I don't believe small claims court will force them to return anything, You will get no satisfaction there. Judges know eBay's user agreenent and MBG policy unless they're totally clueless, which I doubt they are clueless. Most judges are attorneys and they're well informed on online purchases, returns, refunds, etc.
Were I the buyer I would get my 3 continuance and jerk you around for all it's worth. Traveling to their jurisdiction numerous times will get old and expensive. Fighting over something broken is pure dang stupid.
youn2240
·1 year agoyeah take em to court over the 20-30 dollar item. sounds like an excellent use of your time.
chariot_badges
·1 year ago... and get permanently deactivated.
949aisha
OP1 year agoIt wasn't for a 20 or 30 item it was a couple of hundred of dollars and if it was it would be the principal of a few factors on every side involved.