eBay

stacy_pme · ‎05-23-2023

I am currently knee deep in an Authenticity issue. This is the first item I have had that qualified for this program, even though I have been paying for it since roll-out since I sell lots of silver and a little bit of gold on this platform.

Buyer purchased the item on April 17, and I sent it to authenticators. When I noticed the item was scheduled to be delivered I messaged the buyer to remind them that they would need to be there to sign for the item. Buyer messages me the next day and says "I stayed home from work all day, but they never delivered my package", I can't wait for it again tomorrow because I cant take any more time off work, can you change it to be delivered to my work place. I tell the buyer to contact eBay customer service, that I don't know how to change the delivery at this point. I track the package, and it shows that delivery was attempted, but no one available to sign for package. In the meantime I call customer service myself, and they confirm that the buyer needs to call them and ask for the Authentication Dept. Before I can relay that information the buyer responds back that they called customer service and customer service refused to deal with them, saying that they had to contact the seller because the seller is the shipper. Buyer again tells me to send the item to their place of work and gives me the address. I informed the buyer I was no longer the shipper and that they would have to contact eBay customer service and ask for the Authentication Dept, because the Authenticators are the actual shippers and the only ones who can change the delivery address, and that they won't let me change the address, that they will only change it by talking to the buyer. Buyer then states they are done with this, that they have done enough already and are not going to do anything else, and that it's all on me. Buyer continues that if they aren't there to sign for the item and it doesn't get delivered, it will just be returned back to me. I tell the buyer again, that it is actually on them, that they need to contact customer service and speak to the Authenticity department because the Authenticators are the shipper, and the only ones that can change the shipping address. I then messaged the buyer again and suggested that they try and get the item picked up from their local fed-ex place. The buyer never responded back to me after that.

I call the Authentication Dept. and tell them all of what I am dealing with, and they said, if the buyer isn't there to receive it, it will go back to Authentication and they will reach out to them and get a good address to resend. I explain that my fear is that I will end up with a return, and I don't want a return.... that I did the math and after the shipping charges, the eBay final value fees (15%), the boosted listing fees (9%), my cost for shipping material, etc, that I was only ending up with about $20 over what I would have gotten to just scrap the stupid necklace. The agent at the Authenticity dept told me I would not get a return, and assured me that eBay would take care of me. The necklace wasn't being delivered tracking showed numerous attepts and each time showed no one there to sign for package for delivery, and it was finally returned to the Authentication Dept after like 5 days of attempted deliveries, and was actually sent back on April 27, and delivered to Authenticators on May 2. I then got an Item not received case that was opened. I called customer service again and got to the Authentication Dept. they closed the return saying that the buyer was actually receiving the item the following day, that they had gotten the item back and had reached out to the buyer and gotten the address changed. By this point it has been weeks since the item was originally purchased.

The following day after the item was received the buyer sent a return request stating they wanted to return the necklace, that it "didn't look as pretty as it did in the photographs". I called customer service Authentication Dept. back up and the agent listened to my story so far, and said to me, upon hearing about how uncooperative the buyer was... "we don't tolerate that behavior from buyers", I am closing this case right now, eBay will take care of you. So I thought great! EBay is taking care of me. And I thought that up until yeaterday....

Without notice or warning I got a box in the mail yesterday, it was a cruddy taped up, recycled box, full of used bubble wrap.... i thought someone sent me a box of used bubble wrap & trash, and in the bottom of the box was a cheap gold paper box...and inside of it was the gold necklace in a used ziplock bag that was half falling out of the cheap gold paper box. I was in shock. Last time I knew of the case was closed, and I would not get a return on this. I spent 2 hours on the phone with 2 different people in the Authentication Dept last night which ended up lasting until 10:30pm.

The return is going through... and apparently when the return case was closed it wasnt closed properly... and over a month after the sale and distribution of funds, I have to pay it all back. Now that gold prices have gone down a bit, and I refigure costs including the shipping and insurance fees I had to pay to ship the item to the authenticators, it seems I can't even get even by scrapping the necklace, I will still owe $68.00 over what I can get out of it for scrap. Not including the money I spent out for nice new boxes, etc. Those were thrown away (or most likely reused for someone else), my item was shipped back to me in other people's used packing material.

It looked like a box of trash. It made me wonder what is this "premium packaging" material that they supposedly sent it to the buyer in.... if it looked like this, this would be a HUGE reason why she would have returned it. Presentation is everything. Even when I sent it to the authenticators to start with, it was in new boxes with new zip lock baggie and new bubble wrap. I am totally flabbergasted at what I have been paying 15% final value fees on.

So now after a month past the actual selling date, they are going to pull this money out of my account, that I don't have now, I spent it on bills, because I was told that they wouldn't allow a return, and not to worry because eBay would take care of me.... now they are going to overdraw my account to pull the money out that I don't have anymore...

I feel like I was lied to by multiple agents in the Authenticity Dept. And now I am the one that has to pay the consequences for their total ineptitude from start to finish.

This is a mess on multiple levels. First because the Authentication Dept. is in California. I'm in Indiana. The buyer was on the East Coast. This necklace had to go clear across the country for Authentication, back east for delivery, when it wasn't delivered, it had to go to California again to then be resent back east for delivery to new address. When buyer wanted to return, it was sent to California again for reauthentication, and then finally back to Indiana. It made 6 trips across the United States. And that takes a LOT of extra time. Secondly because if they are sending our sold items like it was returned to me, we are being totally screwed not to mention being sent back to me that way, in worse package and condition than I sent it, is disgraceful. Finally I was told, no matter *WHAT* our return policy is (Mine was set for 15 days), that they will force us to accept returns for 30 days (even if we set it for no returns), especially used jewelry going through Authentication. That no matter what, if someone wants to return it, even if it matches the description, they will be granted a return. So our return policy is null and void with the Authentication program, even for "changed mind" returns, they are granted and we get to pay for them!

I have always dealt with returns begrudgingly. I figured take the little returns and deal with it... but this one really bugs me. I was misled to believe that eBay would protect me from that return that I had a bad feeling was coming. It had scam written all over it from the buyer saying they were home and the item wasn't delivered (when tracking showed buyer was not home), to the buyer asking the shipping address be changed to some other address that wasn't in their ebay account, amd their refusal to simply contact the Authentication department regarding changing the address like they wanted done. This whole experience has been crap.

I have sold on this platform for YEARS and bought on here too. I have been a good buyer, and a good seller. I am VERY DISAPPOINTED!!!

Someone please message me a better platform to sell jewelry at! I tried Etsy A year ago, just to try it out, and they aren't geared for pre-owned items really, and the workflow is confusing and I can't seem to figure out how to sell pre-owned items that I did not make myself.

Lesson of the day, wait 60 days to spend your earnings now. Authentication slowed everything way down....