I am very disappointed with e-bay right now and probably will not sell anything on it again. I did not realize that you had or could screen buyers as potential scammers. I have a very long message chain with the buyer as I was trying to help the buyer but here is the short of it.
The buyer contacted me before purchase and asked if the item could be delivered in time for his son's trip (a jacket). I stated I would be able to get it out next day and since the buyer stated they were only 60 miles away, unless there was a catastrophe, there should not be a problem getting the item there in plenty of time.
The buyer purchased and clearly stated they wanted the item shipped to a friend at a particular address. It was a hotel that was even closer to me. I sent the item off that day using e-bay shipping label and it arrived in a day or two. Seven days prior to the deadline for the son's trip. Tracking showed delivered to parcel locker. I tried contacting e-bay for guidance on the issue but the chat bot never gave an answer for my situation and would not allow live agent contact.
Days after the trip deadline the buyer contacts me and asked if I could help as the item was not received. I stated that it showed delivered and that it showed to be placed in a parcel locker. Considering how odd it was that I was being asked where the item was, I stated that they should check for a parcel locker, contact USPS and file a claim with them as need be. Many more messages ensued where I tried to guide the buyer to contact that local post office, the hotel, etc. In this I find the that stated friend did not arrive at the hotel until seven days after the package arrived. All quite pecular.
The buyer filed a claim with e-bay. I immediately contacted e-bay and was able to get a live agent now that a claim had been made. The agent was very helpful, looked at the message chain, the USPS proof of delivery and confidently assured me the buyer would not get a refund, my seller rating would not be impacted negatively and that I would be getting an email stating this. I got the email stating the same in a couple of hours. I was happy to be part of the email community again!
The next morning I received a follow up email stating the case had been appealed and I lost. Full refund to go to the buyer. I tried to contact e-bay to state my case and the bot provided no answers and told me I could not get a live agent.
Subsequently, I pulled everything I have for sale and never plan to try to sell anything on e-bay again (member for 22 years, sporadic seller). I don't know what else I could have done. Where did I go wrong?
disneyshopper
