eBay

andrew547 · ‎06-13-2020

I'm confused...

Buyer initiated a return on April 28. He never returned the item. A shipping label was created and status is "USPS awaiting item".

Today, day 45, I got a message from ebay presenting me with two options: refund the buyer or escalate to a "case".

I thought buyers have 30 days to return an item, and if they fail to return it within that time, their return is automatically closed.

Any idea why ebay is pushing me into this corner?

nono-8172 · ‎06-13-2020

@andrew547 wrote:
Buyer initiated a return on April 28. He never returned the item. A shipping label was created and status is "USPS awaiting item".

Today, I got a message from ebay presenting me with two options: refund the buyer or escalate to a "case".

If you count 21 business days from April 28:

From Tuesday, April 28, 2020 + 21 business days
Excluding eeekends and public holidays
Result: Thursday, May 28, 2020

@andrew547 wrote:
There is a new message from Ebay on the return details page:

"Be sure to check the item carefully when it arrives and refund the buyer by Jun 22, 2020"

If you count 15 business days from May 29, the next day:

From Friday, May 29, 2020 + 15 business days
Excluding weekends and public holidays
Result: Monday, June 22, 2020

Your return won't automatically close until after June 22, 2020. This is because the current policy here says:

How much time are buyers given to ship returned items?
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.

But it has been extended due to the pandemic, like this:

How much time are buyers given to ship returned items?
When buyers are sent an eBay-generated return label, the return is closed if the label is not printed within ~~10 business days~~ 21 business days. If the buyer prints the label, we allow the return to remain open an additional ~~5 business days~~ 15 business days to ensure shipping scans are captured.

Finally, there are other posts which report that if you escalate now, eBay will send a reminder to give the buyer more time to return. DO NOT ESCALATE!

View Best Answer in original post

lv1967_123 · ‎06-13-2020

Because eBay is out to punish sellers whatever way they can. Ebay rules & policy, what rules, no policy, as far as sellers are concerned. I am telling you from personal experience

disneyshopper · ‎06-13-2020

I thought the return would be automatically closed if the buyer never returned the item after the last "drop dead" date. I would Ask ebay to step in, if that is what they are suggesting.

I have a return pending as well. I provided the return label over a week ago, and still no update.

disneyshopper
Volunteer Community Member

dhbookds · ‎06-13-2020

I would imagine that escalate the case is the way for you to close the case since it was not returned........ However, I would contact ebay to be sure that's what the proper step is in this case..........

southern*sweet*tea · ‎06-13-2020

For heaven's sake, don't escalate. We all know how well that goes for sellers. 😭

I'd be getting in contact with someone, either via phone or email or one of the social media pages, and get that thing closed out in your favor.

You would **think** that with an absence of tracking for over a month it would automatically close. I guess that's asking too much.

The easier you are to offend the easier you are to control.

We seem to be getting closer and closer to a situation where nobody is responsible for what they did but we are all responsible for what somebody else did. - Thomas Sowell

fab_finds4u · ‎06-13-2020

Escalate the case. eBay will then decide if the buyer returned the item and force you to refund or they'll decide it wasn't returned and they'll close the case in your favor. Are you aware once a case is opened if the buyer doesn't escalate or ask eBay to step in the case by 21 days it will close with no refund? That info is in the money back guarantee full policy link.

gwzcomps · ‎06-13-2020

Yeah the cases never close on their own. You have to call customer support. I don't understand why eBay is so insistent on setting their sellers up to fail?

gracieallen01 · ‎06-13-2020

What crossed my mind, since sellers know how bad it is for them to escalate a case, perhaps ebay has set it to close the case, knowing that sellers won't use it and refund instead. Buyer happy, ebay happy, the world is wonderful.

Not saying 'NO' doesn't mean 'YES'.

The foolishness of one's actions or words is determined by the number of witnesses.

Perhaps if Brains were described as an APP, many people would use them more often.

Respect, like money, is only of 'worth' when it is earned - with all due respect, it can not be ordained, legislated or coerced. Anonymous

andrew547 · ‎06-13-2020

@southern*sweet*tea wrote:
For heaven's sake, don't escalate.

This ^

The analogy that comes to mind is russian roulette. Sometimes fewer bullets in the chamber, sometimes more, but always the chance of a very bad outcome.

gracieallen01 · ‎06-13-2020

Hmmmm, OP says it has been 45 days. Perhaps ebay uses a different calendar for MBG?

Not saying 'NO' doesn't mean 'YES'.

The foolishness of one's actions or words is determined by the number of witnesses.

Perhaps if Brains were described as an APP, many people would use them more often.

Respect, like money, is only of 'worth' when it is earned - with all due respect, it can not be ordained, legislated or coerced. Anonymous

andrew547 · ‎06-13-2020

@gracieallen01 wrote:
Hmmmm, OP says it has been 45 days. Perhaps ebay uses a different calendar for MBG?

Ebay return policy:

"We’ve also temporarily extended our returns timelines and adjusted our eBay Money Back Guarantee policy to help you if you need to return an item during COVID-19. You’ll now have 21 business days from when a return is accepted or a return shipping label is provided to you to send your item back."

If I remember right, ebay used to give me an option to simply close out a failed return after the time expired. Now it seems they want me to escalate? After 45 days? The return window expired 24 days ago.

southern*sweet*tea · ‎06-13-2020

@gracieallen01 wrote:
Hmmmm, OP says it has been 45 days. Perhaps ebay uses a different calendar for MBG?

yeah, they use this one:

The easier you are to offend the easier you are to control.

We seem to be getting closer and closer to a situation where nobody is responsible for what they did but we are all responsible for what somebody else did. - Thomas Sowell

gwzcomps · ‎06-13-2020

Lets just hope they aren't Venus days.

mtgraves7984 · ‎06-13-2020

@andrew547

I thought that eBay wasn't forcing the closing of returns right now due to the pandemic. Am I wrong?

silvergemjewelryetc · ‎06-13-2020

@andrew547 wrote:
I'm confused...

Buyer initiated a return on April 28. He never returned the item. A shipping label was created and status is "USPS awaiting item".

Today, day 45, I got a message from ebay presenting me with two options: refund the buyer or escalate to a "case".

I thought buyers have 30 days to return an item, and if they fail to return it within that time, their return is automatically closed.

Any idea why ebay is pushing me into this corner?

this happened to me as a buyer, USPS lost the return package & the item is awaiting acceptance with no update on the return tracking for nearly a month. perhaps this is what happened to your buyer as well?