Here's a nifty idea, eBay -- how about a centralized area in the US to investigate buyer returns?!?

[1786davycrockett]

Everyday on these boards, we read of eBay buyers making "item not as described" claims against eBay sellers, demanding refunds and returns.  And, all too often in the recent past, the returns have NOT been of the items originally purchased by the buyers:  instead, the buyers have been returning rocks, or garbage, or newspapers -- and sometimes just an empty box -- all on the seller's dime!  And eBay immediately refunds the buyer from the seller's account -- & the buyer keeps the stolen merchandise. 

And the seller gets a reminder from eBay to provide positive feedback to the thief!

So eBay rewards theft, while telling eBay sellers that "it's just the cost of doing business."

But what if eBay were to become more proactive for eBay sellers, and became more involved in overseeing the eBay returns process -- a process similar to eBay's Global Shipping Program.

Here's how it might work:  an eBay buyer makes an "item not as described" claim against an eBay seller.  Instead of notifying the seller (as is the process now), eBay immediately sends the buyer a return shipping label (on eBay's dime -- and NOT the seller's!), to be mailed to a central eBay investigation center in the United States (NOT the Philippines!), where the return will be examined against the original order.  The buyer will have to include the original mailing container, as well as the original mailing label (to compare shipping weights between the shipped item and the returned item).  

At the eBay examination center, eBay employees compare the returned contents against the original order.  If the contents don't match the original description for the item, the buyer is notified that the claim has been denied, without appeal from the buyer -- and the buyer is billed for the return postage, and for making a spurious claim.  The buyer does NOT receive a refund, and is not allowed to leave feedback for the seller, and the seller's account remains untouched.  The buyer is banned from further eBay sales made from the buyer's address, or under the buyer's name, as well as other personal identifiers from the buyer's account information.

Oh, yes -- one more little thing -- eBay does not notify the buyer that the "item not as described" claim will be investigated by eBay.  And eBay will notify the buyer's credit card company that the buyer has tried to file a spurious claim, so that the credit card company will not simply refund the buyer without investigation.

Sure, it still has some holes in it, and "Maybe I'm a dreamer," as John Lennon sang.  But wouldn't it be nice to have eBay side with the sellers a lot more, rather than legitimizing and being an active and eager participant in outright theft?

[eburtonlab]

If the contents don't match the original description for the item, the buyer is notified that the claim has been denied

Isn't "the contents [not] match[ing] the original description" exactly what the buyer is claiming? So the buyer would automatically lose any complaint?

Assuming you meant "if the contents DO match the original description" -- how would this prevent the situation you initially described where the buyer receives the correct item but returns a box full of rocks matching the correct weight? And how would a random eBay employee know how to correctly identify whether the item matches the description or not in the case of a clever forgery or a knock-off that is not obvious? What actual tests do you expect the random eBay employee to do to determine a match? While some items might be easy to identify, there are many, many items where detailed specialized knowledge and expensive tools would be required. For some items, the only way to fully test would require the destruction of the item.

If such a system has any flaws or weaknesses, the scammers will find and exploit them, and legitimate buyers and sellers will bear the brunt of the costs.

[titipeo]

A systems like this will cost money. Money hat eBay is not willing to spend. Other platform which starts with A has a similar product where the buyer can send via mail, or drop off in a partner store. Once item is verified received, refund is issued. eBay does not have a partner store not remote lockers where you can return items. 

[soh.maryl]

There's a fairly steady flow here of sellers complaining that eBay fees are too high.

What do you figure your plan would cost eBay and who do you think would bear the cost?

At least there would have to be a ton of new employees measuring and weighing everything and validating whether that antique is the genuine article or a copy.

[house*of*paws]

Hi @1786davycrockett 

Although the problem is very real ... I foresee some kinks in your solution.  Here's a few:

• Items being lost or damaged in transit to the 'Investigation Center'.
• The IC having no way to know whether buyer or seller were at fault if the item doesn't match the listing description.  Did seller ship the wrong item originally ... or did buyer return a different item?
• Huge increase in fees to pay the IC staff salaries ... as well as the extra postage involved.

[popblox]

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@soh.maryl wrote:

There's a fairly steady flow here of sellers complaining that eBay fees are too high.

What do you figure your plan would cost eBay and who do you think would bear the cost?

At least there would have to be a ton of new employees measuring and weighing everything and validating whether that antique is the genuine article or a copy.

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I wonder if there could be an optional service that sellers could choose to pay for (or not)? Similar to an Authentication Center, except more like a 'Verification Center'. Sellers could send items there first, where the contents could be verified, then on to the buyer. If the buyer files a return (or chargeback) INAD, eBay has to deal with it.

I'd be more than willing to bet plenty of sellers would pay for it, especially since they'd be able to list those higher value items, and eBay could easily cover the cost with those additional fees. Just a thought 💃

[soh.maryl]

And who would be responsible if the item went missing between the seller and the verification center?

Or between the verification center and the buyer?

In addition to that, again, wouldn't eBay need some experts in various areas like antiques, fine china, sports cards, various electronics, etc, etc, etc, and the list goes on and on and on? 

[popblox]

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@soh.maryl wrote:

And who would be responsible if the item went missing between the seller and the verification center?

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I would guess the same entity that's responsible for it now - the seller and/or USPS if insured and/or a program similar to GSP where the seller is only responsible for getting it delivered to the facility. I'm sure somebody could figure that part out without having to employ a rocket scientist 🤗

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@soh.maryl wrote:

In addition to that, again, wouldn't eBay need some experts in various areas like antiques, fine china, sports cards, various electronics, etc, etc, etc, and the list goes on and on and on? 

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Sure, kinda like shoe authentication specialists and handbag specialists. I wouldn't expect it to cover every single category from the jump, but I'd say an electronics specialist would be a great place to start.

[soh.maryl]

Exactly! And there are sellers here daily complaining about current fees.  If people don't understand Managed Payments, or state sales tax, how will they comprehend paying extra for authentication? 

[simba6]

Still would not work. eBay would have to be between buyers and sellers. The item would have to go to some eBay "inspection site" and be compared to the description before being sent  on to the buyer. Of course that "point" would have a staff of experts that would know about every single item  sold.

That would take weeks, cost a lot of money and be unworkable.   There are such things for high end art and antiques.  But flea-market items?  I don't think so.

[joycecooperjoyce]

What a wonderful ideal! My latest return is downright scary! Let someone eBay is paying be exposed to the kind of returns we're sent! Still want to send the gown that was just returned with hell who knows what to the very top CEO! Keep dreaming my friend! Sometimes dreams come true!