As we announced in the 2018 Summer Seller Update, eBay will now begin auto-accepting returns and issuing return labels in instances when the seller already accepts returns and the seller pays return shipping. This change will shorten the processing time of the return, help sellers manage returns in a more efficiently, and avoid defects should the buyer ask eBay to step in to help with a case. It also allows a better, faster experience.
This process occurs for all return reasons, except in instances of "Arrived damaged" and "Missing parts or pieces". For those return reasons, we ask sellers to review and approve the return as they may be able to work out the issue directly with the buyer.
For all other return reasons, the new auto-accept process works like this:
- Buyer requests a return.
- Buyer is immediately issued a return label to ship back an item to you.
- Inspect the returned item and issue a refund to the buyer.
- When tracking shows the returned item has been delivered, but not yet refunded to the buyer, eBay will automatically issue the refund after two business days on your behalf.
- If you offer free returns, you can now offer partial refunds in increments of 5% to 50% if the item comes back to you in a different condition than when you shipped it. Click here for details.
Click here for more details on the new returns process and here to create basic rules to automatically approve returns or send immediate refunds
As always, we encourage sellers to set a buyer-friendly returns policy like 30- or 60-day free returns, but sellers are free to choose the return policy that works best for their business.
Thank you for selling on eBay.
