Authenticated Item Arrived to Authenticator Damaged, Approved Anyway and Returned

[thrift_boogie]

I sold a $500 designer handbag which was authenticated through Ebay's Las Vegas center.  It arrived damaged; the box had been completely smashed.  They notified the buyer but did not notify me and the buyer approved the item for purchase anyway.  The authenticator said that only the original box the handbag came in was damaged.  I gave the buyer a $30 partial refund out of courtesy to replace the box and it was shipped to the buyer.  I do not accept returns and this was reflected in the listing.

I had the package insured for the full value but the authenticator only took one photo of the damage to the box so I was only eligible to receive 20% of the insured value.  I was fine with this at the time because the authenticator said that only the box was damaged.

The buyer received the bag and said it had damage that was not disclosed in the listing.  I told them to contact Ebay directly because it had arrived damaged.  The authentication policy states that the authenticator is obligated to approve the item's authenticity and that it matches the description.  I would think that the fact that the package had been crushed would indicate that it needed a closer inspection before shipping on to the buyer.

I contacted Ebay when the buyer messaged me about the damage they found when it reached them.  The representative told me I was not responsible once it left the authentication center.  I told the buyer repeatedly to contact Ebay about the damage but they opened an Item Not as Described case instead.  The handbag was shipped back to the authenticator and approved for a full refund which I am responsible for.  It will be returned to me now without the original box and with apparent damage.

I opened an appeal but I'm not optimistic that anything will be changed at this point.  I am apprehensive to continue to sell anything that will be "authenticated" by Ebay after this.  I have read plenty of posts here and on other sites that were not handled this way so I am not confident that the policy is being applied consistently or fairly for sellers.

[zamo-zuan]

This isn't right, sellers should be protected for using authentication. I hope you get the issue resolved!

[thrift_boogie]

Update #2: My appeal was rejected and the item arrived back damaged and all.  Original box is destroyed, handbag has damage.  Out a $500 bag, $30 partial refund, and $71.48 in fees.  USPS claim was $100.  I'm taking down all of my other listings that would be "authenticated" by Ebay.

Other details I forgot to mention in the original post: The buyer claimed Ebay told them to contact me for the initial partial refund when it arrived to the authenticator damaged.  After I told the buyer to contact Ebay about the damage when it was delivered to them, they said we needed to resolve it ourselves and asked for a $200 refund stating the handbag was now worthless but they would still use it for their upcoming event.  When I told them again to contact Ebay directly, they opened an INAD case.

What a mess.  I sat down to write out a complain to the BBB but I am exhausted at this point.  It wouldn't do any good anyway.  I am just sick about this.  I hope someone sees this and thinks twice about selling anything authenticated through Ebay.

[stephenmorgan]

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@thrift_boogie wrote:

I sat down to write out a complain to the BBB but I am exhausted at this point.  It wouldn't do any good anyway.  

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It may, there have been a couple of Post's where people have said they did get their issue resolved.

I would in addition file a Notice of Dispute to eBay.  The have a form for you to use.

Notice_of_Dispute.pdf

Also read

18 Legal Disputes User Agreement | eBay

Based on what you have stated I think you have a good chance of getting the first two decisions overturned.

[ms.rodriguez*]

When you refunded the 30 dollars , that should have come from the 500 the buyer paid.  When the buyer returned the item to you , the rest of the refund should have been 470, not 500.     Is that what you did or did you just send them the 30 dollar refund as a separate transaction.    Anyway, I would contact Ebay Facebook and ask them to look into this.    The program was designed to help sellers and buyers and you have been thoroughly screwed by ebay.    I would definitely chat with Ebay on Facebook.  If word gets out to the media of what happened to you , that will not be a good thing for ebay.    Anyway,  goodluck.

[rugerskick]

I'm sorry you experienced this.

Never underestimate Ebay's ability to screw over a seller.

This is why their grand plan to save the site with higher value/higher dollar items is going to fail.  For the exact kind of garbage that occurred to this seller, and many others who have had authenticators damage items or failure to follow ebay polices keeping the seller in the loop, and then ebay telling sellers one thing quoting their policies only to reverse their position and screw over the seller in the end.

High dollar high value sellers will NOT sell here after getting screwed over financially and materially by ebay and authenticators. Its (not rare) examples like this will cause them to decide the risk is too great, and the only person who has ANY risk is the seller.  The only way to win is to not play the game in the first place.

[dbfolks166mt]

Yes, USPS only approved me for a partial value claim and I am unable to appeal because there were no additional photos of the damaged package.

Be glad you got the 20% from USPS generally they require the item and original packing to be taken into a PO by the buyer for inspection before they approve the claim and in cases where they do they keep the item and the original packing. 

[albany_sellers]

I would never dream of selling anything that expensive on eBay. I simply do not trust eBay to follow policy and to hold up their end of the agreement if something happens.

I have had them disregard clear cut policies more than once when it came down to them or me being responsible, when their own policy states that I am covered. As long as eBay has the reputation of throwing their sellers under the bus, I will not be risking it.

What makes it worse is being told that if you do not like their decision, you can sell elsewhere over an item sold for less than $100, after giving eBay untold thousands of dollars. This is what happens when quarterly profits are held above all else, you get sellers being ran off to save $50 NOW, not caring that they are missing thousands of more dollars LATER that you would have kept making them, had they done the right thing and helped you out.

[rugerskick]

Simply put, the only group of people on Ebay, that Ebay doesn't care about, are sellers.  They are by defzult tue group that gets the blame, the only group that commits fraud, and the only group that eats it when suffering fraud or damages.

[stephenmorgan]

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@albany_sellers wrote:

What makes it worse is being told that if you do not like their decision, you can sell elsewhere over an item sold for less than $100, after giving eBay untold thousands of dollars. 

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I have read comments where a poster has said something like this, but are you saying eBay has actually told someone this?

[farmalljr]

I'm sorry this happened to you. Doesn't surprise me though, as we have heard similar stories from other sellers.  Most of us don't sell high dollar items, and we don't ship to international buyers. That's on purpose, because no one is protecting us, but ourselves. We each have to decide what risks we are willing to take. 

I would follow up with filing the notice of dispute as suggested. Frustrating as it is, eBay broke it's own policy and they are due to refund you your loss. I would make them pay. 

[pursechase]

I sold a $575 bag.  My first authenticated sale.  Buyer immediately asked for refund claiming hardware "fell off" and was in box...picture sent.

What?  Sent without damage and authenticated.   Packaged by me perfectly and insured.  "In review " by eBay with claim in progress.  I feel your pain.

[kh-vince]

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.