Closing a return when the buyer doesn't ship the item back

[bossesale77]

Back on May 30th I had a buyer open a doesn't work/defective return on an item, the return was automatically accepted and the buyer was sent a return label by eBay as per my return settings and eBay's MBG policy. The next day the buyer contacted me asking if I'd send him another shipping label because he was unable to print the first label at home and had to do it at his office, I contacted eBay and they resent him the label. The buyer had until June 15th to send the item back and as of about 20 minutes ago this morning (June 16th) the return status is still showing as "waiting for buyer to ship item". So what's my next step? I don't see any option to ask eBay to close the return and I'm about 99% positive that if I call eBay CS they'll just tell me to give the buyer  more time.

[1tuna]

ebay made it a special point a few months back to tell sellers not to call ebay about retuns that are open

they give the buyers extra time and there is no real way to hurry it up.

if you have monet being held up it can be tuff.   but we are supposed to just wait

that is the official response from ebay about this exact matter

wish I had better news

@bossesale77 

[bossesale77]

@1tuna 

So how much extra time is eBay giving buyers to send a return back? Or is that info another one of those things that eBay feels sellers don't have a right to know?

[mcw1627jed]

Yes,I had one on a sports card sale & they closed it a week later then the return date Ebay had listed.

[1tuna]

its top secret.........is covid still a problem?

they were allowing additional time due to covid.its been a while since they aded it all up but it used to be like some big number , 29-31 buisness days..maybe 4-6 weeks depending upon   the phases of the moon.

you coud always try to call in or use the FB contact thing.

up until October I had funds now with paypal so it did not bother me much

[bossesale77]

@mcw1627jed  @1tuna 

Thanks for the info.

Yay, the Covid excuse strikes again. So it could be another 1-2 weeks if I'm lucky and if the buyer does send the item back I'll still only have 48 hours after tracking shows delivery to issue a refund. Gotta love the eBay mentality that buyers need all this extra time due to Covid but sellers are still required to operate as normal.

[jaja_2942]

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@bossesale77 wrote:

Yay, the Covid excuse strikes again. So it could be another 1-2 weeks if I'm lucky and if the buyer does send the item back I'll still only have 48 hours after tracking shows delivery to issue a refund.

Gotta love the eBay mentality that buyers need all this extra time due to Covid but sellers are still required to operate as normal.

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On eBay @bossesale77 the pandemic extensions began on Wednesday Mar 25, 2020 and returned to normal on Wednesday July 1, 2020 since the pandemic was already over. The Spring Update, not this  Spring but the previous Spring well over a year ago, sets the timeline:

How much time are buyers given to ship returned items?
When buyers are sent an eBay-generated return label, the return is closed if the label is not printed within 10 business days. If the buyer prints the label, we allow the return to remain open an additional 5 business days to ensure shipping scans are captured.

Changes to handling return requests that appear abandoned
Starting [April Fools’ Day] April 1, 2020, we will no longer close returns early at the request of a seller when the buyer has not shipped the item back. Instead, we will wait to ensure buyers have sufficient time to provide proof items they requested to return were shipped back.

So yes, it's not new, and not CV19: The buyer has one more calendar week to show that the item was returned.

[kensgiftshop]

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@bossesale77 wrote:

So what's my next step?

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Just wait until Ebay decides to close the case.

[48hrs-clothing]

In my experience on labels supplied by eBay they allow approximately 5 additional days from ship by date for item to reach sellers.

Charge for use of these labels is triggered when they are scanned at start of their journey or when they get delivered.

I had a case where 1st scan was 4 days past ship by date and a few hours before delivery which means item progressed through the postal system without being scanned till it reached my local DO which is less than 1 mile from me.

In the event that there is no scan of item being received at a PO or package being delivered 5 days past the ship by date then eBay will close the case without a refund to buyer and this can and will be reversed if buyers advises a tracking number that shows item delivered to sellers address.

[stacy_pme]

The even more fun topic is that even if they buyer does not send the return back, and ebay closes the return in your favor.... it still counts against your service metrics 😛

[cad777864]

I don't care what anyone else says, call ebay and insist they close the case.  Keep calling them until you find someone that will close it.  It is unethical to lie about these dates to sellers.