eBay

pzdamus · ‎10-08-2018

Hi Everybody,

I am a very infrequent seller on ebay and recently had a buyer who i sent a wrong item to. AFter being notified of the wrong item being sent, I sent out the correct item without requesting a return request. I didnt know that return requests had to be initiated before the correct item could be sent. Buyer has since got MIA since receiving the correct item. Because i didnt have the buyer enter a return request ebay has said that they cannot do anything to assist me. Mulitiple calls to ebay support and emails to the buyer have resulted in nothing but stress and frustration because i feel that ebay should be doing more for me then basically telling to enter a IC3/FBI claim. The shipping labels clearly show 2 packages being sent out from me and the ebay messages clearly show that the buyer disappeared after receiving the item.

I would love to hear back from anyone who could provide any additional information or suggestions. I feel that the buyer is protected with multiple levels but the seller has to depend on specific scenarios for them to be protected. I was told my mistake was that i didnt wait for the return to arrive before sending out the correct item. Because i have never had this situation arise in the past, i sent it out thinking that ebay would clearly see that i sent 2 items out and protect me, at the very least, by charging the buyer for multiple purchases.

Thanks in advance for the advice and suggestions

-RK

cherry*fizz · ‎10-08-2018

It's your responsibility to know how things work here. You can't just assume that eBay is going to do anything. As you've learned, the time to ask how things work is not after you have tried to remedy the situation. eBay can't force the buyer to return your item at this point. You are just going to have to take the loss. I know it doesn't help this situation but next time you run into trouble, come here first and ask questions.

emerald40 · ‎10-08-2018

You took the high road by immediately rectifying your mistake and sending the correct item.

But it was your mistake. While you can appeal to this person's decency, neither you nor ebay can force him to return the other item.

Yes you should have waited until the wrong item came back first before sending the correct one. But in your case, at the end of the day, decency and honesty pervail and Karma is a B.

Block this person, and move on.

a_c_green · ‎10-08-2018

@pzdamus wrote:
I didnt know that return requests had to be initiated before the correct item could be sent.

They don't; none of this is the fault of the buyer, and you're not allowed to hold their paid item hostage until the one you sent them by mistake is returned.

Best you can do at this point would be to send them a return label in PDF form at your expense, ask them to stick it on the package and send it back to you. They're under no obligation to actually do so, unfortunately, but maybe with enough diplomacy (or a phone call, if you think it might work), you may get the item back anyway.

pzdamus · ‎10-08-2018

I agree with you that i should know how things work and its a hard lesson to be learned. I was just wondering if anyone out there had any different results or other options.

femmefan1946 · ‎10-08-2018

You are not required to accept returns.

You are required to make refunds.

HOWEVER, if you request the Thing be returned and the buyer does not return it, you don't have to refund.

This is true whether or not you have a published policy of No Returns.

NO REFUNDS WITHOUT RETURN.

After that it comes down to who pays for the return.

If the buyer opens a Not As Described Dispute, eBay will require the seller to send return postage.

If the seller does not, she loses the Dispute, the buyer keeps the Thing, and gets a refund.

If the buyer does not use the return postage to return the Thing, the buyer loses and there is no refund. (The price of the unused shipping label is eventually returned to the seller.)

If there is a Buyer Remorse request the Buyer pays for return shipping, and the seller refunds on arrival, no matter what her policy on returns is.

YOU CAN REFUSE RETURNS BUT YOU CANNOT REFUSE REFUNDS.

If the buyer opens a Dispute through Paypal, the buyer always pays for return shipping.

emerald40 · ‎10-08-2018

@a_c_green wrote:
@pzdamus wrote:
I didnt know that return requests had to be initiated before the correct item could be sent.
They don't; none of this is the fault of the buyer, and you're not allowed to hold their paid item hostage until the one you sent them by mistake is returned.

Best you can do at this point would be to send them a return label in PDF form at your expense, ask them to stick it on the package and send it back to you. They're under no obligation to actually do so, unfortunately, but maybe with enough diplomacy (or a phone call, if you think it might work), you may get the item back anyway.

IMO, this is throwing good money after bad. The buyer has gone MIA. Sounds like a person who is not going to cooperate in the least.

pzdamus · ‎10-08-2018

Thanks for the reply. I guess i can only hold on to the fact that i feel i did the right thing and tried to rectify it.

emerald40 · ‎10-08-2018

@pzdamus wrote:
I agree with you that i should know how things work and its a hard lesson to be learned. I was just wondering if anyone out there had any different results or other options.

Yes I am sure others have had different results because they were trading partners with decent honest people who realized a mistake and returned the wrong item.

As far as options, no there are none because other than appealing to this person's sense of decency no one can force him to return the other item.

plumbingspecials · ‎10-08-2018

Even if the person had opened a return request, ebay's automated system does not fully understand exchanges, even if that is the chosen method of resolution. (You will receive a late shipment, and possibly an automatic refund if the buyer doesn't do what he's supposed to do on his end of things). It's risky to resolve issues like this without involving ebay, because, as you found out, there is nothing they can do as far as protection for you since there is really no formal record of the buyer's "case". Write it up as a loss, and a lesson, and put this person on your block list.