mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999
@tunicaslot wrote:
First off - wishing you two and the rest of the team a Happy Thanksgiving!
I've noticed a couple of situations that up on the boards lately that are very upsetting to buyers and is alienating them. As a buyer and seller for 20 yrs here - I've experienced it myself and am appalled at the info delivered to us by the blues when the threads are on these topics.
We have seen many threads wherein the buyer is charged for priority shipping with the listing specifically stating priority - only to have their package arrive parcel or first class and from what we have been told - as long as the item gets there in the specified time - it's not a concern of Ebays. Well it should be as if priority shipping is charged than the buyer has the expectation that what they pay is for priority shipping - not first class or parcel and that seller is then pocketing the extra funds which in my eyes is wrong. Whether the item is indeed delivered within that specified time period - the seller made a commitment through his listing to ship a certain way. It's one thing if both seller and buyer agree that a package may be better sent ground vs air - but that is something that is decided between both parties.
The second problem which I've experienced and I see it only getting worse during the holidays is people drop shipping from Amazon and abusing their personal prime accounts. We know that some sellers have Prime accounts for Business with Amazon and also warehouse their items there so if they sell on Ebay - a buyer may receive the item from Amazon fulfillment. But lately many sellers are just dropshipping from Amazon using their Prime account which is against the rules for personal Prime. I reported one such seller to Amazon and they did take notice and gave me a $15 credit there. Many buyers do not like Amazon and do all their shopping on Ebay. They are very discouraged to receive an item dropshipped from Amazon by sellers here who do not use Amazon fulfillment and they are fearful of buying anything on Ebay anymore.
We need all the buyers we can get as sales have been extremely slow lately given the holiday season and I'd hate to see these sellers go elsewhere because of these problems.
Thanks for the well wishes @tunicaslot - to you and yours as well!
In the situation you mention regarding different shipping services, I want to be clear: we do not consider the item to be Not as Described. If the seller's choice of shipping service results in a significant delay, there may be grounds for a Not as Described return. This is definitely a situation in which appropriate feedback regarding a seller's business decisions should be left. I see your point however, and I appreciate your insight into this.
The second issue is one I've run into personally as well and one I don't like either. I don't have an answer or solution to this as yet, but will absolutely keep you posted as I hear anything back!
1. In a remorse return situation you would be able to withhold charged shipping from the refund to the buyer, and any restocking fee stipulated in the listing. If you use 'free' shipping, you wouldn't be able to withhold an additional amount as the buyer was never charged anything, this is where the restocking fee comes into its own.
You are feeding into the inaccurate theory that Free Shipping meand it is actually free. That as most of us knows is certainly not true. It is Shipping Included since we roll the cost of shipping into the purchase price. And this isn't what you said last week.
2. A return request will stay open for up to 30 business days from the last action taken before it will time out (at which point we would close it). In this situation you'd want to escalate it to us for review, as we would typically find that in your favor. I realize that this is another piece of work for you in this busy time, but that's the quickest way to resolution. You could always message us on Facebook or Twitter and our teams there could work to help to save you a call!
So it that new too. It is NOT what the screen says for the claim. Plus that isn't they's rule. The buyer has a certain number of days to ship the item back. If the buyer does not do that, then case can be closed. The 30 day period is if the buyer is just not responding to the seller. They haven't agree to return the item or whatever. But once the label is issued the buyer has [I think] 5 business days in which to ship it back.
This is from the MBG: The buyer must ship the item back to the seller within 5 business days from when the buyer starts the return.
https://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/money-back-guarantee.html
@golfingaddict wrote:
I had a buyer purchase an item on Friday Nov 10 at 11PM PST. Saturday was Veteran's Day so no shipping. I shipped the item on Monday Nov 13 and the pick up was validated in tracking on that same day.
Fast forward to this week, the buyer opened an "item not received" claim stating that the tracking showed delivered but they did not get it. I advised them of what we could do and then called ebay to close the case. No problem, as far as ebay is concerned I did what I need to do and the case was closed in my favor.
Except:
In the case details, I got this note:
We received tracking information from you that shows the item was in transit or delivered to the buyer's address. However, the date scan is after your stated shipping and handling time. In the future, please ship your items as soon as possible.
I was completely shocked and blindsided. I work very hard and I am diligent about getting my packages shipped in my 1 day handling, often in the same day as purchased. I have NO late shipping marks. My carrier scans everyting.
When I think back to that holiday weekend, I remember some pretty odd ship dates, shipping information regarding sales that week.
Of course, ebay customer service said "do not worry" but if there is something going on that is thinking I am shipping late, I am worrying. It may not be affecting me on a one off situation, but it is the big picture that we need to look at. Something caused that note to pop up in the case details and I want to know what it is and how it will be resolved so that it does not happen again.
Thank you.
Hi @golfingaddict - I don't have an answer for you on this right now, but if you'll include the case number in your other email to me I will see what I can find out. Thanks!
@golfingaddict wrote:
I would also like to bring up the topic of blocked buyers.
Sellers have the ability to block buyers if they do not want to do business with them. We have a BBL for up to 5K users.
That is great, except buyers can now simply log out of their account and buy as a guest buyer.
I had a buyer last night ask why he was on my blocked bidder list. Within an hour he used a guest buying account.
I can report the buying account, but there is no way in the report to connect the two IDs nor do I think it does a hill of beans.
If I cancel the transaction, I get a defect for cancelling.
What point is the blocked buyer list if the buyer can get away with using a guest account to buy anyway?
I realize that this limits sales but I did not want to do business with this guy anymore and blocking him made no difference. My items, my business, I should be able to depend on the BBL.Thank you.
Hi @golfingaddict, while I understand a situation like this can be upsetting, we do expect the transaction to be completed. Cancelling it would result in a valid defect since this can cause a bad experience for the buyer. From what I've experienced, it's uncommon for a buyer to use a guest account to bypass a block. In most cases buyers will find the item from another seller and purchase it from them. With that said, we can offer protections if we have clear evidence that the buyer intended to disrupt your business by going around this block. Since this evidence isn't typically available at the onset of a transaction, we can't take preemptive steps to cancel it or remove defects.
From what I've experienced, it's uncommon for a buyer to use a guest account to bypass a block. In most cases buyers will find the item from another seller and purchase it from them.
@llllady wrote:
Why is condition no long applicable in the China and Dinnerware category? If any category needs to have condition listed, it is surely this one.
Chips, repairs, crazing, cracks, utensil marks...all very much need to be addressed.
Hi @llllady - not sure why condition wouldn't be there for you, as I agree that for fine china and porcelain condition is very important. I'll get it reported. Thanks!
