Why does a buyer get two weeks to return and item? Everything else I read said 5 days

[1971camaroguy]

First and foremost, I HATE selling electronics on eBay because it always ends up biting me in the ass. I think I am going to have to stop doing this.

Sold a working PA amplifier, did a final check on workability, double boxed it, packed well and sent it out the next day. Arrived three days later.

Two days after that with no contact from the buyer prior that they had any issues, I get a eBay message that a return has been initiated. Looked at the return details and it was that amplifer and the buyer said, not as described. Doesn't work. And attached a picture of it hooked up to something, but it was powered on.

Of course this froze my fund acount

So I immediately messaged the buyer and asked what was wrong with it and told them I wished they would have contacted me first before filing the claim.

They responded and said that it had static in the amp, and wanted to return it. So I told them ok, and said they should be getting a return label shortly as I would like to get the amp back. This whole ordeal is going to cost me around $60-70 in shipping costs both ways. But the amp is worth a few hundred dollars.

I accepted the return, but i never got a confirmation that they got a return  label. I messaged him and asked if he got it, but he didn't reply this time.

The claim was filed on august 31st and I checked the claim status and it just says waiting on buyer to ship the item back, so I assumed he got the label. 

But here's the kicker, he hasn't made any attempt to ship it back yet and according to ebay he has until september 15th. 

I guess I am different, if I wanted my money back I would be shipping pretty quickly.

I am just wondering why he has two weeks to ship back, and should I be looking for anything to protect myself?

My concern is that I get something else back, or my amp has been tinkered with since it hasn't been shipped yet.

And I took great care to double box this and pack it well, concerned it's going to come back to me banged up.

I have 100% positive feedback and always try and do the right thing, just want to make sure I don't get burned here. With either my merchandise or feedback.

[friskya]

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/managing-returns-refunds/handle-return-request-seller?id=4115&mkev...

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it's actually 3 weeks (15 business days) that the buyer gets. And others here have reported that if they don't return within that time, eBay will generally extend it. The page linked above says  the buyer can have as long as 35 business days if they don't upload the tracking (which several people have indicated is an impossibility).

5 days is, I believe, only in reference to how long you have to wait before a seller can cancel and relist an item (or have eBay do it automatically)

[1tuna]

ebay gives sellers a long time to do the return and they do nt want sellers calling and asking to have the case closed early.

sellers were instructed that we have to wait for as long as it takes............meanwhile the money is on hold

maybe this will time out by the fall and close by itself

I wish I had good news but the return system is just a waiting game

[1971camaroguy]

ok, thanks both of you. I'll see what happens next week.  

[thescarletpimpernel]

Sellers on here are treated very poorly.  Can you imagine selling at a swap meet or yard sale and being required to accept returns weeks and weeks later?  A reason I no longer sell, just buy if an item is wanted.

[haha-607197]

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@1971camaroguy wrote:

I accepted the return, but i never got a confirmation that they got a return  label. 

The claim was filed on august 31st 

according to ebay he has until september 15th. 

I am just wondering why he has two weeks to ship back

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Actually @1971camaroguy your buyer has 3 weeks plus any holidays (Labor Day) to ship the return i.e. until Sep 22.

eBay used to say 10 business days to print the label plus 5 additional business days to see it was scanned. But now they're not splitting hairs anymore and just say 15 business days.

What happens if the buyer doesn't send the item back?

http://ebay.com/help/eBay/punish/sellers?id=4115

Once you've accepted a return, the buyer should send the item back to you as soon as possible. If we don't see any indication that the item is on its way after 15 business days, we may close the return and protect you from negative feedback. Returns cannot be closed at the request of a seller.

[1971camaroguy]

Looks like they finally decided to ship the amp back yesterday, tomorrow would have been the deadline. So two weeks later they decide to send it back.

Question now is what am I going to get back? Is it going to be what I sent?  Something beat to hell? Or hopefully I get back exactly what I sent, packed as it was sent to them.

And what kind of feedback will I get, if any? 

[wear.that.again]

Ebay's return policy is horrible for the seller. Even if the buyer is clearly lying they can return an item. I'm going to start focusing on other platforms.