Weekly Community Chat, May 3rd @ 1pm PT - General Topics

[Anonymous]

Good afternoon everyone!

Come and join the Community team today for our weekly chat. No set topic for today so feel free to bring your general questions for discussion with the team 

See you there!

[Anonymous]

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@itswickedfun wrote:

Did I post my question incorrectly?  Is it too complex?  Can I get some kind of reply?

http://community.ebay.com/t5/Weekly-Chat-with-eBay-Staff/Weekly-Community-Chat-May-3rd-1pm-PT-Genera...

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You did a great job posing your questions and you'll find the answers on post #45 in this thread 🙂

[vrykalak]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@double1960 wrote:

A buyer already paid on paypal, but now asks if he can pick it up somewhere locally instead of paying shipping, the shipping is $12.99 since its heavy and long item, a barometer.  Should I just say no I dont do that or if I do it how do I get my shipping fee back?

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The choice is yours as to if you want to pursue Local Pickup with your buyer but what I recommend is to comunicate with them, cancel this transaction and then relist the item for them with Local Pickup offered. This way you don't have to worry about shipping costs, partial refunds or calling into eBay to pursue a partial fee credit. Additionally, if the buyer selects Local Pickup at checkout, you won't have to worry about an on time shipping defect.

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But ask the BUYER to request canceling the transaction.
Otherwise, you are likely to get a "defect"
It has happened to me.

[Anonymous]

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@alcoforever wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@alcoforever wrote:

Last week on the Weekly Chat, post #46, you said that a seller that printed a return label is responsible for the package:

Whoever funded the label is responsible for what happens to the item in transit - even when a seller provides the money for a label, they are still in some way stipulating the shipping format and would be liable if the item goes missing. Ultimately, it is in the seller's best interest to either provide a label or fund one that best protects them, as they will be accountable for the item while it is in transit on the way back.
 

Surely this is wrong as at that point in the transaction, the buyer owns the item and will own it until the seller gets it back and refunds the buyer and therefore  the buyer should be responsible for getting the item back to the seller.

If, as you said, the seller is responsible, then all a buyer would have to do is not use the label at all, keep the item, and the seller would be forced to refund.

Also, if what you said is true, then a seller should tell the buyer to return the item at the buyer's expense and the seller would then refund the buyer's return shipping when the item is received.

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Hey there, the seller is required to provide return shipping compensation before the item is shipped so they would not be able to simply have the buyer pay for it and then reimburse upon return receipt. Additonally, the buyer does have to show the item is shipped out before they would be protected, so cannot simply keep the item. 

If the item is damaged or lost in transit and the seller funded the return shipping, they would still need to issue a refund. The seller can elect to pay for return shipping with insurance if they are concerned about the item's return transit.

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How nice.   A double standard where the owner of the item is not responsible.

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There are different expectations for a seller, who is functioning as a business, and a buyer who is the customer in the transaction. There will be a higher level of responsibility placed on the seller when we feel they created a poor experience for their customer, such as when they are being held accountable for a return. When the seller is responsible for return shipping, they are responsible for taking any steps they feel are necessary to ensure the safe return of the item to themselves. 

[ymeagainlord]

Any insight into why in the current round of free listing promotions, some sellers find their listings counting against the promo while other sellers find they are expected to use up their monthly allotment first?

There is NO indication in the TOS verbiage for the promos that the latter would be the case.

This is a very unpleasant "experience" for the sellers who rec'd the latter version of the exact same promotion.

[alan@ebay]

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@odditiesandantiquities1 wrote:

To keep it short, I took a return from a buyer. I didn't have to but unfortunately my accept returns setting was set to accept anything. I went through an Easter weekend with over 30 emails from this buyer, insults and more. Now she leaves absolutely awful feedback, all untrue which I did respond to. 

I also reported. Can you tell me what, if anything, comes out of reporting an abusive buyer. I've never had back up before so I didn't think there was anything I could do?

Eileen

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Hi Eileen, 

Reporting a buyer can result in a number of different sanctions. For example, if they sent abusive messages they could be suspended from eBay. 

If we take action on a buyer who is reported for policy violations, any transaction defects created by that buyer are automatically removed. We let sellers know if they have had defects removed on their Seller Dashboard.

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

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@buyselljack2016 wrote:

Thanks for the correction ------ credit, not coupon 🙂 I knew that.   Hands faster than head when typing.

Unsupported caregory----    other items in same category.  Auto parts with a different brand application. 

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I've sent you an email asking for specifics so I can dig into the items in the same category that aren't showing up to see if there is an issue!

[d-k_treasures]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@alcoforever wrote:

Last week on the Weekly Chat, post #46, you said that a seller that printed a return label is responsible for the package:

Whoever funded the label is responsible for what happens to the item in transit - even when a seller provides the money for a label, they are still in some way stipulating the shipping format and would be liable if the item goes missing. Ultimately, it is in the seller's best interest to either provide a label or fund one that best protects them, as they will be accountable for the item while it is in transit on the way back.
 

Surely this is wrong as at that point in the transaction, the buyer owns the item and will own it until the seller gets it back and refunds the buyer and therefore  the buyer should be responsible for getting the item back to the seller.

If, as you said, the seller is responsible, then all a buyer would have to do is not use the label at all, keep the item, and the seller would be forced to refund.

Also, if what you said is true, then a seller should tell the buyer to return the item at the buyer's expense and the seller would then refund the buyer's return shipping when the item is received.

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Hey there, the seller is required to provide return shipping compensation before the item is shipped so they would not be able to simply have the buyer pay for it and then reimburse upon return receipt. Additonally, the buyer does have to show the item is shipped out before they would be protected, so cannot simply keep the item. 

If the item is damaged or lost in transit and the seller funded the return shipping, they would still need to issue a refund. The seller can elect to pay for return shipping with insurance if they are concerned about the item's return transit.

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But if shipping is a large amount, what is to stop the buyer from keeping the compensation(if it's not a prepaid label) and not sending anything back?

What if a seller selects an ebay generated label? Ebay would be the one funding the return prior to invoicing the seller.

[itswickedfun]

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alan@ebay wrote:

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We let sellers know if they have had defects removed either on their Seller Dashboard.

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Was there supposed to be an "or" to follow that "either" or is the Seller Dashboard the only way we're notified of defect removals?

[Anonymous]

Hey everyone!

The chat is now closed for the week. Thanks for joining us 🙂 

As usual, we will spend time replying to all unanswered questions and look forward to seeing you next time!

[alan@ebay]

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@itswickedfun wrote:

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alan@ebay wrote:

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We let sellers know if they have had defects removed either on their Seller Dashboard.

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Was there supposed to be an "or" to follow that "either" or is the Seller Dashboard the only way we're notified of defect removals?

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Thanks for the correction. When we remove defects in bulk, for situations like extreme weather, we may notify sellers by email in addition to the Seller Dashboard. 

[Anonymous]

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@golfingaddict wrote:

Last month I had a buyer open a false SNAD claim.  She said that the item just wasn't what she wanted and she needed a different style.    Since I am in the new return program, I figured that it was no problem.  I would refund her, less the shipping when I got the item back.

After about 15 days, I had not received the item back and she had not used the provided label so I called support and they closed the case in my favor.  All good?  I thought so.

However, about 5 days later I got the item back.    Of course I could not keep her money and the item so I refunded her.  I could not refund through ebay because the case was closed so I refunded through Paypal, which she had used to make payment.     I did not get my final value fees back.  Shortly after I refunded, ebay charged me for the return shipping.  

When I called ebay to ask about the possibility of getting the return shipping reversed and the final value fees credited I was told it was no possible.

And when I asked what I should have done, the CSR told me that I should not have refunded the buyer at all.  That since the case was closed, I did not need to do anything.

I just wonder if there was a better answer?  I do not think it is ethical to keep the item and the money but perhaps that CS rep did not feel the same. 

So what should I have done to get my FVF and shipping?

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I believe you did the right thing by refunding your buyer as this is what we expect if you get the item back later. I'm happy to take a look at these fees for you, look for an email from me here shortly.

[Anonymous]

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@vrykalak wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@buyselljack2016 wrote:

Did I fall asleep for a week and miss the chat on the TRS $30 promotion coupon issue?

Wife never got the promotion on her TRS account.

My promotion campaign attempt will only show 1 item to promote when I have several listings with multiples.

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The $30 promotion is not a coupon, it is actually an invoice credit. You may see this on May's invoice if you are billed on the 15th of each month. 

Your other listings that are not showing up for promotions may not qualify if the are in an unsupporte category. I recommend reaching out to customer support with examples to have these reviewed specifically!

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FWIW, I am a TRS+ seller, too, and I never heard about this either.
Where can I read about it?

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This was a part of our 2017 Spring Seller Update. Check out: http://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/seller-updates/2017spring/performance-standards.html for more details 🙂

[Anonymous]

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@fern*wood wrote:

I never received any email about the $30.00 promoted listing credit, but can I assume I do have it since I am TRS?  I sure hope so since I sold six sponsored items near the end of April and hope to see those extra fees credited back to me.

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Heidi is looking into the communications around this promotion. If you are TRS you should see this credit on your next invoice, but definitely keep us posted!

[Anonymous]

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@vrykalak wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@double1960 wrote:

A buyer already paid on paypal, but now asks if he can pick it up somewhere locally instead of paying shipping, the shipping is $12.99 since its heavy and long item, a barometer.  Should I just say no I dont do that or if I do it how do I get my shipping fee back?

---

The choice is yours as to if you want to pursue Local Pickup with your buyer but what I recommend is to comunicate with them, cancel this transaction and then relist the item for them with Local Pickup offered. This way you don't have to worry about shipping costs, partial refunds or calling into eBay to pursue a partial fee credit. Additionally, if the buyer selects Local Pickup at checkout, you won't have to worry about an on time shipping defect.

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But ask the BUYER to request canceling the transaction.
Otherwise, you are likely to get a "defect"
It has happened to me.

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Want to step in and clarify that the buyer does not have the ability to request this on their end beyond the first hour after purchase (and only up until it is marked as shipped). If you and your customer work out a resolution like what was discussed here, you simply have to open a cancellation and say that the buyer requested it, as they would have clearly agreed to the cancellation in messages to work out a local pickup situation 🙂

[Anonymous]

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@d-k_treasures wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@alcoforever wrote:

Last week on the Weekly Chat, post #46, you said that a seller that printed a return label is responsible for the package:

Whoever funded the label is responsible for what happens to the item in transit - even when a seller provides the money for a label, they are still in some way stipulating the shipping format and would be liable if the item goes missing. Ultimately, it is in the seller's best interest to either provide a label or fund one that best protects them, as they will be accountable for the item while it is in transit on the way back.
 

Surely this is wrong as at that point in the transaction, the buyer owns the item and will own it until the seller gets it back and refunds the buyer and therefore  the buyer should be responsible for getting the item back to the seller.

If, as you said, the seller is responsible, then all a buyer would have to do is not use the label at all, keep the item, and the seller would be forced to refund.

Also, if what you said is true, then a seller should tell the buyer to return the item at the buyer's expense and the seller would then refund the buyer's return shipping when the item is received.

---

Hey there, the seller is required to provide return shipping compensation before the item is shipped so they would not be able to simply have the buyer pay for it and then reimburse upon return receipt. Additonally, the buyer does have to show the item is shipped out before they would be protected, so cannot simply keep the item. 

If the item is damaged or lost in transit and the seller funded the return shipping, they would still need to issue a refund. The seller can elect to pay for return shipping with insurance if they are concerned about the item's return transit.

---

But if shipping is a large amount, what is to stop the buyer from keeping the compensation(if it's not a prepaid label) and not sending anything back?

What if a seller selects an ebay generated label? Ebay would be the one funding the return prior to invoicing the seller.

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We recommend providing a label to avoid the risk of a loosing funds, as we are not able to reverse this if an issue arises. Additionally, a seller will be invoiced for the return shipping once the label is used, and eBay is not funding this at any point.