Will this INR close in my favor?
I think I've had only one other INR before and it was years ago, so forgive me if this is a no-brainer question. Actually I would assume it's no-brainer, except I don't like the wording of this update from eBay. FYI, the buyer filed on Sunday and their package was delivered today, so within the 3 days deadline. I can't imagine any reason why they would need the buyer to "confirm" the delivery, and considering this buyer has been a bit cantankerous (like she stated in the INR case that it had been "almost a month" when it had really been 17 days) .... it would surprise me if she actively does anything to close it.
So, if she doesn't respond to the prompt from eBay, will the case still close in my favor, and get my funds released?
36 comments
robbie31415
·1 year agoIm just going to say that eBays messaging is bad.
It causes confusion and unnecessary worry on basically all aspects of returns and INRs.
If a user isn't well versed in the policies I could easily see someone doing something wrong like refunding early.
gurlcat
OP1 year agoPretty astute summary. I feel sorry for people who don't know about the Community and have no idea where/who to get help (or just do all their business based on the fear that eBay's bad messaging sows).
inhawaii
·1 year agoI say it's a slam dunk win for you ... and i'm only wrong about 50% of the time. 😉
12345jamesstamps
·1 year agoBuyer filed an INR...so was this a buyer who was antsy in regards to receiving their package late...
Opened up INR within the 'estimated date of delivery' oe after the date.
There is always that dispute with a credit card from 'drama' buyers like these.
We assume eBay will close the INR on your behalf...with artificial intelligence.
My boss always said 'expect the unexpected'...sure hated every time I heard that.
My open 'remorse return' after 35 days with no tracking or item received did not close and I was only able to do a refund or wait out the 4 days...I gave in to the refund a day before for afraid of artificial intelligence not going in my favor. Kind of a scaredy cat here.
sin-n-dex
·1 year agoI too refund if I think there's a chance I might loose.
I had one INR going to a house in Toronto and they did a delivery scan at the depot before delivering it. buyer, who was a repeat buyer, said he didn't have it. The zip code didn't match up, so I thought I might lose and refunded. I made an insurance claim and was told I would win if the buyer agreed with me that he didn't have his item. Buyer decided to go silent, so I blocked them for being a jerk. Canada Post gave clear instructions on all he had to do for me to get the money I refunded him returned to me. I don't need uncooperative buyers.
C.
wastingtime101
·1 year agoReally hate when buyers do not cooperate with the claims process. True they are not required, but it shows a lack of human decency when they refuse, especially when it's so easy to respond - generally all they have to do is reply to an email or something similar to satisfy the liability claim process.
wastingtime101
·1 year agoIn case you find this helpful for next time: you do not have to refund a return the buyer never shipped back.
That return would have auto-closed due to inactivity. Funds would not have been pulled from your account. I've been through it a zillion times with returns buyers opened then never followed through.
gurlcat
OP1 year agoSame here! It's awesome when they file but then don't ship back the item. Well, not as awesome as if they didn't file in the first place, but still ....
12345jamesstamps
·1 year agoSo we assume...not from what I got from reading these.
The item has not been returned...there was no tracking...it was about 35 days this was open.
And I should do nothing?
wastingtime101
·1 year agoAh, yeah - I've been there for sure @12345jamesstamps . Those messages are so misleading! What's key is the wording on that first message.
First screenshot:
"We've asked the buyer to send the item" - not that the buyer actually returned the item.
"The item should be delivered" - not that the item was delivered.
Second screenshot:
Completely a scare tactic! If the item was returned it would show tracking number and delivery.
When the buyer actually returns something the messaging and screens are very different.
That's eBay's way of trying to scare you into refunding the buyer and it works a lot of the time. I completely understand why you or any other seller not used to the process would go along with it. I really hate the way eBay presents that info - it's only gotten worse over time - and unfortunately, unless you've dealt with a lot of returns (or ask experienced sellers here), you'll never know there's a difference.
If you had contacted eBay CS they would (rephrase: should) have confirmed you didn't have to refund because there was no tracking and nothing was returned. Sorry to hear you got hit by eBay's intentionally misleading messaging.
Edit to add: Unless I'm mistaken, the messaging displays that way when the buyer has printed the shipping label.
12345jamesstamps
·1 year agoSo, why, in a 'remorse return'...it had me to pay for return shipping as well on the item return?
I should have been only refunding for the item...but wasn't in this case.
I just think artificial intelligence came into play and wasn't going to play fair...LOL
wastingtime101
·1 year agoSounds like a tech issue - I would have reached out to CS on social for assistance. I wouldn't go through the chat reps for that one.
At this point you already refunded so it's a done deal, but if anything like that happens again I'd definitely recommend contacting the social CS reps before taking action.
Sorry to hear that happened. ðŸ™
It's the original shipping that makes it so odd.
The other part - the misleading displays - that I've seen many times before. Unfortunately.
gurlcat
OP1 year agoThat scare tactic thing is really disgusting; I can't believe they've resorted to such a low-down trick. I wonder when they started doing that though. -I guess it has been quite a while since I had an un-returned return case. I don't get many returns, period, but it has probably been at least since 2020-2021 that I had anybody fail to ship the item back. Back then I still had clothes and shoes in the mix, so returns were way more frequent overall, and some of those just procrastinated it away. But I sure don't remember that bullsh "Delivered" screen.
So, what do you mean when you say it has gotten worse over time?
wastingtime101
·1 year agoHope you don't mind the hijack @gurlcat. Still on returns. 😂
Thinking about James' odd situation on original ship cost I was going through screenshots of a few recent returns and noticed something I didn't register before. Typically there is a slider to toggle on/off ship costs for remorse returns.
Looking at a screenshot from a refund I processed 4 weeks ago, that toggle was there.
Looking at a screenshot from a refund I processed 2 weeks ago, the toggle was not there. I didn't have the option to refund original shipping on a remorse return, just item cost. I wonder if that was a new change or a tech error. As luck would have it, I haven't screenshotted other recent returns to know if that was a one-off or a change.
I currently have 2 incoming remorse returns (1 shipped, 1 not yet shipped), both on items that had a separate ship cost, so I'm going to pay closer attention to those return options.
eBay has been making changes with returns to the buyer's flow - and even offering an option where buyers can get an instant refund in the form of an eBay gift card (essentially a credit on that account to use for a future purchase) and the seller (to my knowledge) doesn't have visibility when that option is selected - they just process the return as usual. Maybe that's a factor somehow.
Also makes me wonder if James' situation (forced refund of original shipping on remorse) was a potential blip of a tech error in the middle of changes being made to the returns process. That's entirely speculation, obviously, but not so far off from what we've seen before with tech errors occurring during site changes.
I guess I should start screenshotting all of my returns during this transition. When processes change even in minute ways, my brain won't stop until it knows how everything works. Now I'm itching to know if things have changed again on the seller's end or if these are all coincidences or one-offs. Darn my recent busy schedule and inattention to return details. 😛
gurlcat
OP1 year agoWait are you saying you refunded even though the buyer never shipped the item back? Why on Earth??
12345jamesstamps
·1 year agoeBay said it was returned...what was I suppose to do?
I posted where it said to 'issue refund'..
I replied to eBay...and did not get the profit...LOL
gurlcat
OP1 year agoShe can file a chargeback if she wants, I'll win that too, or at least get a courtesy refund.
dhbookds
·1 year agoCould also be misdelivered in same zip........down the block, street over.....we know that has happened...
@wastingtime101
@gurlcat
That message scare me.......right now dc is an automatic win for seller.... If we get buyers, perhaps honestly, claiming non delivery despite dc......and ebay accepts their word?????? The answer has (to me) been dc shows delivery so if you didn't get it, need to contact the PO as they have the exact location of delivery.. Bluntly, we pass the problem to the PO........if ebay gets in the middle of that......going to be a problem.
wastingtime101
·1 year agoThis process (buyer has 24 hours) has been in place for so many years. I don't think there's any reason to be alarmed. If it was causing problems for sellers you'd have seen the impact long before now.
It's not much different from the buyer filing an INR after the delivery scan (as opposed to before the delivery scan which is what happened with the OP). eBay finds in seller's favor with tracking confirming delivery.
I wouldn't worry about it or over-think it. In fact, I'll edit my above post to remove the mis-delivered to a different state example since it's causing unnecessary alarm.
gurlcat
OP1 year agoWhat does 'dc' mean?
wastingtime101
·1 year agoDC, in context, is Delivery Confirmation. The other poster can correct me if I'm wrong in interpretation.
As for the "Why on Earth?" - we've all seen eBay's system behave in ways we didn't expect and if someone is new to a process it's easy to be wary about what's going to happen. So yeah, I can understand being unsure and if the $ isn't too high maybe refunding rather than risk a defect of some sort. Hopefully the info we provided will be helpful for go-forward. Buyer doesn't return = no need to refund.
vintage-camerastuff
·1 year agoThe buyer doesn't have to do anything. Ebay will close it in your favor in 24 hours. Nothing else for you to do.
wastingtime101
·1 year agoYes.
The window is there for good reason (think: scammer seller uses tracking for a different address in the buyer's zip so buyer gets document from carrier to prove fraud).
Since you're not a scammer, the INR will auto-close in 24 hours and your funds will be released.
gurlcat
OP1 year agoTHANK YOU!
They should change that update message. It makes it sound like it's contingent on the buyer to do the right thing, when really it should say something more like "We've let the buyer know and they have 24 hours to dispute the delivery, then the case will close."
wastingtime101
·1 year agoI think saying the buyer has 24 hours to dispute delivery would be much more alarming to sellers.
Saying the buyer has 24 hrs to confirm delivery and if they don't hear back they'll assume all is good is much better, in my opinion. 🤷
jonathanbrightlight
·1 year agoThe buyer is able to confirm delivery and close the case sooner, but it’ll close in your favor if they don’t. I agree that I’m not sure why that’s really helpful (a buyer screwed by a scammer with fake tracking would still have to go through several steps to prove that anyways), but that’s what the message is saying. (Sorry if that’s already been said, haven’t read all the comments yet.)
gurlcat
OP1 year agoAhhh, that makes sense. So in other words, a buyer could be cool but they don't have to, and if they're bratty like this one of mine, as long as they don't try to throw a wrench in the process, it'll only go on for 24 more hours.
dhbookds
·1 year agosince the carrier did not mis-deliver, @wastingtime101
How do we know that it wasn't mis-delivered?
wastingtime101
·1 year agoYou can ask the OP that. I'm pretty sure she would have mentioned if delivery scan was to a different zip code. She's typically fairly detailed when she posts questions.