ebay Preorders Never Fulfuilled & No Refund

[ragnbull]

A seller that still sells on eBay had graded comic book pre-orders. So I made three separate pre-orders with this seller totaling over $450 on March 1, 2021, on March 5, 2021, and on May 21, 2021.  The seller had 100% feedback and I felt like it was safe given the money-back guarantee.

I did not realize this at the time of buying, but eBay apparently has a policy that says that pre-orders must be filled within 30 days of ordering.  I (as the buyer) also only have a limited time frame to file for my money back.  When asked for updates, the Seller kept stringing me along saying that "the items were coming".  Several friends of mine actually did receive their pre-orders from the same seller, but mine never arrived.  He has since not responded to any communication requests since November 16, 2021.

How is it possible that this seller is still allowed to sell on eBay?  He still has pre-orders for purchase on eBay, and eBay will do nothing to refund me since their pre-ordained window has closed.  His pre-orders CLEARLY violate eBay's own policies on pre-orders.

brian@ebay - I would appreciate any help.  @valueaddedresource recommended I contact you.

I have attached the three separate pre-orders for evidence (with the order numbers scratched out for privacy).

-John (ebay user ragnbull)

[soh.maryl]

Sorry, but my knowledge of pre-orders is somewhat limited.  Does a pre-order not include an estimated delivery date? Or can you not open an INR case if you've not received it within 30 days?

Since the time to file an INR case with eBay has probably expired, why not open a case with Paypal if that's how you paid, or do a charge back on your credit card? 

You have been an eBay member for over 20 years with 1314 FB, mainly as a buyer.  Hard to understand why you would not use the Money Back Guarantee.

[soh.maryl]

PS:  The seller is still allowed to sell on eBay because perhaps buyers in your position make no attempt to solve the problem with eBay until it's too late.  You had the same length of time, 30 days, to open an INR case with eBay that any buyer has when they do not receive their purchase. 

[kensgiftshop]

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@ragnbull wrote:

His pre-orders CLEARLY violate eBay's own policies on pre-orders.

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Instead of buying from those sellers, buyers should be reporting them.

[ragnbull]

Yes this is something I have done already.  I did not KNOW that there was a 30-day limit on pre-orders when I purchased these items.  I was also strung along by the seller stating that the items are "in process" and "coming soon".  Why does eBay allow for these types of items to even be sold on their platform and why is it on the buyer to know when the arbitrary cut-off date is?

These pre-orders are also FTC violations of online pre-order rules and are in direct violation of eBay's own selling standards and policies.  None of these facts are apparent to a buyer when we see listings from a seller with 100% feedback and the big "ebay money-back guarantee" stamp on the listing.

At the end of the day, eBay washing their hands of the situation and saying "sorry, the time limit has passed" while allowing the seller to still have these pre-orders up for sale on eBay...well...that seems idiotic at best, and reprehensible at worst.

[ragnbull]

Super unhelpful, thanks!

[mtgraves7984]

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@ragnbull wrote:

Super unhelpful, thanks!

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@ragnbull 

The truth hurts sometimes. As you posted, "I did not realize this at the time of buying"... @soh.maryl explained that it's all in the MBG. Surely it is somewhat  helpful, as you didn't already know it, no?

[kathiec]

There are more than a billion listings on eBay on any given day. That means it's impossible for eBay to vet each individual listing. They weed out bad sellers and illegal listings through 1) listings being reported and 2) cases filed. The problem with this kind of preorder listing is that the long timeframe prevents cases from being filed. Most of the time these transactions also extend past the 60-day deadline to leave feedback. So that leaves member reports, which, now that you know the rules, you should always do on each listing that's in violation.

Now you need to turn to your payment source. You only had 180 days to open a case with Paypal. So hopefully you funded the purchase with a credit card and can dispute the charge. Beyond that, you can take this as a lesson to never buy something with that long a delivery time.

[valueaddedresource]

@ragnbull  - I tagged the community staff in on this in the chat today and they are escalating the reporting of the seller for review based on the fact that they are *still* violating presale policies.

As far as the other members here stating there is nothing else to be done, eBay community staff have also confirmed in the past that customer service *can* still assist with presale violations, even after the MBG timeframe has passed.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/eBay-Promoted-Funkoween-Presale-Violations/m-p/32013380/highli...

eBay absolutely can and does provide "courtesy credits" in these situations - don't let them tell you otherwise.