Dispute over returned items - what does eBay do to find the "right" individual

[Anonymous]

I recently bought an item, received a much less valuable item, and returned it. The seller claims that I am scamming them. I got the shipping weight from USPS that the weight of the items didn't match, but being I didn't pay for the shipping I can't get anything on paper. 

I also sympathize that a buyer would pull this kind of bait and switch deal. 

Being this is something around $600 and a he-said-she-said situation without the shipping receipt and intimate information about the item, I'm interested in knowing how eBay assesses these situations.

How does eBay assess who is actually in the right in this situation?

[jack-falstaff]

eBay simply does not investigate things like this.  They aren't the police.  The buyer opens up a case that says 'not as described' and goes with a return procedure.  eBay really only will look at tracking to confirm delivery.  That is really all they use.

[stephenmorgan]

If you follow the return procedures seller will send you a shipping label and once item is received back by buyer they will have to refund you within a few days.

If seller wants to dispute that you did not return the same item then who knows how that will end.

[jefrob6179]

Thank you Sir, for your information .
I'm trying to be careful. I choose the customers I will sell to. I'm recording a video while packing.

[soh.maryl]

Feel free to record whatever you want.

But, in the case of a dispute, all the videos in the world mean nothing to eBay.  They will side with the buyer most of the time.  

[Anonymous]

Why?

Factual evidence is factual evidence, can you take them to small claims court later?

[1tuna]

the problem with factual evidence is that there is no one to present it to

the CSR team does not care about evidence..................only the MBG

no one at ebay is investigating evidence..the rules for who to side with are very clear cut.

if the buyer wants a return they are going to get it....thats what the CSR team does for a transaction

[shado-x]

eBay could drop the return time from 3 weeks to 3 days---like it used to be.  Covid-19 is done, and buyers have plenty of time in 72 hours for an item to be returned so that sellers can repost them, or do the books in other circumstances.

[kako_5344]

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@shado-x wrote:

eBay could drop the return time from 3 weeks to 3 days---like it used to be. 

Covid-19 is done, and buyers have plenty of time in 72 hours for an item to be returned

---

The eBay return time was never 3 days.

1. It was 3 weeks, 10 plus 5 business days, in the Spring 2020 Update, before the pandemic:

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.

2. Then it went up to 21 plus 15 business days during the pandemic:

We have increased the number of business days buyers have to ship a return back to you to 21 business days, starting the moment you accept a return request and the buyer receives a return label. The extended timelines apply to returns opened on or after March 25, 2020 until further notice.

3. After the pandemic ended in 3 months, eBay continued to provide buyers and sellers additional support by going back to the original 10 plus 5 business days:

Additional support during COVID-19 for buyers and sellers on eBay. As of July 1, 2020, you'll have 10 business days from when a return is accepted or a return shipping label is provided to you to send your item back.

If you don't see it yet, eBay has mastered "Significantly not as described" and is "on top [deleted] of it" for all of us.

[Anonymous]

that's pretty messed up for sellers

[dariudaudery_0]

If you got scammed as a buyer it is fairly easy to deal with. Open case > Return > get money back. If for some reason you don't get the money back do a chargeback or work with eBay CS to get it.

If you got scammed as a seller you will need to jump over 100 hoops before anything happens.

Depending if you are scamming the seller - seller may take legal action against you and something bad could happen.

If seller is scamming you all you need to do is return whatever you got and keep evidence of weight, conversations, etc. Only reason would be in case seller actually tries to go further with the scam and try to take legal action/falsify legal documents or similar kind of stuff. Usually taking any further action for scamming seller is not worth it.

[mtgraves7984]

"I recently bought an item, received a much less valuable item, and returned it. The seller claims that I am scamming them."

"How does eBay assess who is actually in the right in this situation?"

@Anonymous 

Upon return, you received a full refund for the item you bought, no? Usually, eBay just finds for the buyer... no 'assessment'.