eBay forced me (buyer) to pay for Return Shipping for a defected Item Not Described claim

[surfingagent]

I opened a return because the item I received was defective and not the same as described from the photos, but the seller was only offering me partial refund which I declined.  I escalated it to a claim because I want to return for a full refund.   The Seller told eBay he would “send me funds” for me to buy my own shipping label.  Now eBay writes to me saying “Seller choose to send you funds, and they did get in touch with you and ask for your email address. We highly recommend you to provide your PayPal address in order for the seller to issue the funds needed to return the item back.”

The problem is when I send my email address in an eBay message, it tells me “We can’t send your message because it may include contact info. We review all messages and repeat attempts could lead to an account restriction.
{e178493-1112478x}” eBay prohibits sending an email in a message so how can the seller send me funds?

Since I didn’t hear back from the Seller after escalating to claim, I am now at the next step where eBay is telling me to “purchase a label using the funds provided by the seller you can return the item back on their registered return address. please do not forget to upload the return tracking number within 9 days. Failure to upload the tracking number will result to case closure and we won't be able to issue you a full refund.“

The Seller never intended to send me any funds to pay for a shipping label.  Why wasn’t eBay able to send me a Return Label that I could print out and use to return? I thought that was standard procedures. This is the first time eBay is saying that the Seller would PayPal me money to buy a shipping label.  What happened to the Seller paying for the shipping label and sending me the PDF to print? I’m so confused.  Furthermore, they are saying I only have 9 days.  Since this was an international sale from China, International shipping from US to China can take up to 21 days for delivery.  It seems like eBay is going to want to make a decision based on the tracking number in 9 days when the Seller most likely wouldn’t even receive the package by then.  I don’t get why eBay even has an option that allows a Seller to send funds with PayPal.   It just seems like a loophole to get out of paying for return shipping. I feel like I might not be able to return this just because I don’t want to be out $30+ for international shipping. Is there anything I can do in this situation?

[robbie31415]

Contact Ebay on facebook.com/eBayForBusiness and let them know.

All you would have had to do is tell them that you are unable to purchase a label and the seller didn't provide you one.

The case would have been closed in your favor and you would have been issued a full refund and keep item.

[surfingagent]

The Seller claimed he would send me funds to cover return postage but I never got any funds sent to me. eBay already closed my case saying that I would be given a full refund when I add tracking and it shows delivered. But what I don’t understand is why it’s so difficult for me to get a return label.  Isn’t it the Sellers responsibility to pay for a shipping label and send me a paid label that I can print out and use to ship this return? I don’t know when this whole “Seller choose to send you funds for shipping cost” option came into play

[robbie31415]

I've had multiple china sellers pull this on me. I get an email that seller is unable to provide a label, blah blah...

What I do is ignore it. I wait the 3 days. I ask eBay to step in and help, and tell them the seller is responsible for label as it's INAD/defective.

The CSR rep escalates the return to a full case and puts it on a 5 day hold. If the seller doesnt provide a label in 5 days then I'm issued a full refund and get to keep the item (they never typically provide a label).

Easy, I don't know everything you been doing but I think you just didn't understand the process and made things harder on yourself.

Can't trust anything sellers tell you as it's not in their interest to tell you what is correct.

[surfingagent]

That’s what I thought would happen when eBay steps in.  However, after stepping in they gave me 2 options now. 1. Send the seller my email so they can issue me funds and 2. Add Tracking, and once it shows Delivered they will refund me.  But they think the Seller is actually going to paypal me money is ridiculous. The seller has been ignoring me ever since I’ve been asking for the shipping label now.  If my case doesn’t show “Delivered” in 9 days, they are going to close it in favor of the seller and I don’t get a refund.  Is it possible for the rep to change this to a full case where the seller needs to provide a shipping label or is it too late now?

[robbie31415]

I Never talk to seller, and always open cases as soon as the system allows and contact eBay on the Facebook information I provided you on the first post I made. I've never had an issue.

It's better not ask me what they can do, instead just contact them asap.

[surfingagent]

Same, I pretty much did all the same steps. I requested to return item was defective. The seller offered me a partial refund, I declined and escalated to claim after 4 days. Then eBay stepped in saying they gave the Seller 5 days to “Send me funds”, “Send full refund with no return”, the Seller chose to “Send me funds”, now the last step eBay is telling me “Add tracking” and they will refund me after the item is shown delivered.  But they failed me, failed to see the problem now is the Seller never intended to send me any money on paypal for the shipping.  I don’t even know why they give this option for them.  Instead of sending me funds to buy the return label, they should tell them to buy the return label and upload me the PDF to print out so I can put it on the box and ship.  Now I typically wouldn’t mind paying for shipping if this was domestic, but since the seller is in China and shipping with International Shipping is making the cost out of my pocket to return a 2lb box cost $50 and I’m not paying for that.

[pjcdn2005]

You said that you weren't allowed to send an email address in a message,  was that for this transaction or for one in the past?  You are allowed to send your email address if you are already in a transaction with the seller so you should be able to send one in this case.  If it isn't working through regular messages you could try send one through the claim.

It is standard procedure to be provided a return label IF both buyer or seller are in the US. eBay does not provide return labels for an international sale and sellers in other countries can not usually buy usps labels.  I understand that it is frustrating but it is possible that the seller genuinely wants to send you money for the label so if possible, you should tell them the amount required for Priority International and your PP address.  First class international does not have tracking to China.  If you give the seller the info that they need and you still don't receive the money, then contact ebay customer service on Facebook before the 9h day.

Based on what you wrote, your parcel needs to be in the mail system before 9 days. It doesn't need to have arrived there by then.

[kalyoth]

First, Glad it worked out for you.

In my direct experience in this situation, you only encounter this when the seller resides outside the continental USA. NEVER ship before receiving funds. Always use an international service with tracking (for those countries that carrier provides tracking services for). That is the big con of sellers internationally to avoid sending you the funds.

To provide an email address around ebay mechanics, send it in 2 to 3 parts, in multiple messages. I send it as 1) account email name@ 2)the service name 3) .extension. You can also get creative with a sentence: "My cat459 is sick at the google hospital & I have company over to watch the kids while I go visit. Thanks!" Can italics or bold the key words.

International shipping labels are not a thing from country to country around the world. I have encountered sellers that tell me to ship & provide a picture of the receipt for funds. This was also ebay customer support agent directive to me. When I provided the document, they suddenly get very bent out of shape at the cost & refused to send funds. You get the refund as you can prove item was returned. However, you never get the return shipping reimbursed.

When you wait to ship until you get funds from the seller, should they fail to provide the funds, the case is decided in your favor, refund received & you do not need to return the item in most cases (up to a certain dollar amount, the seller is insane to not pay for the return of valuable merchandise). I absolutely refuse to ship without funds sent now after being burned on a $90 return for Priority International due to it weighing over 4 lbs (8lbs. 6 ounces). Not every ebay agent tells you the same information. So also reference here for information as you have discovered. There is a very good chance one of us has been in your shoes before.

[little.font.lord.leroy]

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@robbie31415 wrote:

I've had multiple china sellers pull this on me.

When I read this I thought you meant "people who sell china (dishes)" not "people from China" or "Chinese sellers".

[robbie31415]

Technically, the sellers don't have to be from China, or be Chinese sellers.

The sellers could be from Israel, etc.

Was more reference about goods being shipped from China.

[surfingagent]

So just a quick update on this..

Now the seller contacted me at my paypal email that I provided and wrote “Please check how much the shipping cost to this US address” and provided me with a US address.

is it safe to ship to this US address? I feel like since eBay says “Please ship the item back by Jul 28, We’ll send a refund when tracking shows the item is delivered.

Ship the item to:”

And they give me a China address.  I went on USPS click-n-ship for this China address and the total cost for postage with Priority Mail International is $66.  

What should I do in this situation?  Should I respond to the seller and say I am not allowed to ship to a different address that eBay provided me with?  The deadline of July 28 is coming up soon and if I don’t add tracking details and my return doesn’t show delivered to this case, does that mean my return request is going to be closed in favor of the seller and I won’t be able to get a refund because there’s no tracking that shows delivered to his address?

[rseuqinh]

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@surfingagent wrote:

So just a quick update on this..

Now the seller contacted me at my paypal email that I provided and wrote

“Please check how much the shipping cost to this US address” and provided me with a US address.

is it safe to ship to this US address? 

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Yes @surfingagent when the seller is paying for the return shipping 

eBay allows any return shipping address, foreign or domestic.

Add your tracking number to the escalated case, then a few moments after the online tracking shows delivered, eBay will issue the refund.

[surfingagent]

Alright, I will let the seller know that I will ship it back to the US address he provided, even though it is different from the China address that eBay provided me to return the item to.  I will add the tracking details to the case details and hopefully I will be able to get my refund once the tracking to the domestic address shows delivered. I just was worried that he could claim that it wasn’t his  address and it would disqualify me for a return and I would be out of the item and not be able to get a refund, so hope this is good.

[robbie31415]

I question that screenshot when it's a buyer paid label.

The seller is free to provide a label to any address, and when it's in the eBay system that the seller provided the label, then the buyer is protected 100% as long as a drop off scan is made.

I would never buy and provide my own label with seller paying me for it with communication outside of eBay.

For the Op I'd have the seller tell you the address in official eBay messages "please send to this address..."

But that's just me.