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

OK, so what I'm getting now is the OP sent the item to a reshipper who sent it on to a buyer outside the US. So now even if the OP sends them a return shipping label it's only going to get it from the reshipper to him, correct? Buyer would then send the item back to reshipper to return. But should they be out that money because the seller sent the wrong item? This is not accusatory, just thinking of this with the addition of it being forwarded makes my head spin a little bit. Definitely a reason to not deal with a forwarder I guess. But then really how often does this happen.

Sorry this happened to you, OP. I realize you were just trying to do the right thing. This is all so complicated though, even more than usual with the freight forwarder.

missjen831 · ‎10-08-2018

I didn’t see where the buyer said it was. Reshipper? Just that the names on eBay and PayPal didn’t match? Did I miss it?

One life is all we have to live
Love is all we have to give

**Formerly known as MissJen316**

castlemagicmemories · ‎10-08-2018

OP, in recent years, I had a seller contact me saying that they sent someone else's item to me and mine to them. Would I send the item when I got it to that buyer (she gave me the name and address) as the other buyer had already received my item and had agreed to send it to me. Of course I said yes. So each of us sent the item we got to the other. Both items arrived fine. Seller was so grateful she had two cooperative buyers, she couldn't thank us enough. She paid for the shipping for all this. Positive feedback all around.

But again, not everyone will be cooperative. I hope that this still works out for you and your buyer cooperates.

cherry*fizz · ‎10-08-2018

Jen, I thought they buyer had posted that he shipped to NJ but the item ended up elsewhere, but at this point I am not feeling well and maybe that was in another thread completely. I just latched onto that thought as I read the newer replies here and my mind was getting all kinds of boggled. I apologize if I confused things even more lol. I will go back and try and find what I was talking about.

bubbleman2010 · ‎10-08-2018

ebay just needs to debit the card buyer has on file. They have all the messages as to whats taken place and need to do what it takes to enrich their customers service....

stardust_kitten · ‎10-08-2018

*meow*

missjen831 · ‎10-08-2018

@cherry*fizz wrote:
Jen, I thought they buyer had posted that he shipped to NJ but the item ended up elsewhere, but at this point I am not feeling well and maybe that was in another thread completely. I just latched onto that thought as I read the newer replies here and my mind was getting all kinds of boggled. I apologize if I confused things even more lol. I will go back and try and find what I was talking about.

If he said NJ then yeah sounds like maybe a reshipper. I think I missed a few replies, I was trying to follow too many at once 😞

One life is all we have to live
Love is all we have to give

**Formerly known as MissJen316**

cherry*fizz · ‎10-08-2018

OK it's too late to edit, but on page 2 the OP says he mailed it to NJ and it ended up in a PO Box in Nantucket, which I realize is in the US. I think when I read this I was thinking "Timbuktu" and that was a placeholder for "some other country" and that it wound up outside the US. So sorry to confuse things up even more in this thread.

**on a side note, I am still unable to logout on the forum page, but somehow it just posted under my roommate's ID. She has not used this computer for hours, she uses a separate window, and for some weird reason it logged me out (when I've been posting from after the time she used her ID) and logged her into the forums. These forums have been wonky for me for a week or so, but this was really a new one!

tyler@ebay · ‎10-08-2018

@castlemagicmemories wrote:

@pzdamus wrote:

Im confused cause thats what eBay customer support has been telling me to do. Basically they said they would be willing to assist me with the claim and provide any and all information if IC3/FBI requested it. This information came from a supervisor at eBay customer support.

I'm sorry you were told that. You can always ask questions on this Board as well.

tyler@ebay

Sorry for the tag! This OP was advised by CS to file an IC3/FBI claim against a buyer when the OP sent the wrong item to the buyer, and sent the right item without requiring a return or having the buyer open a item not as described case. The law states that anything received by a buyer that was not requested is a gift. It would have been nice if the buyer sent the item back but this was not their error. Now the OP has filed a false IC3 FBI claim against the buyer. Please advise us here. Thank you so much for your help!

Hi @castlemagicmemories - thanks for the tag.

I'm going to have the interactions you had with Customer Support reviewed @pzdamus, as we shouldn't ask you to file an IC3 report in a situation like this. I'm sorry that you've had such trouble on this one, and I appreciate you taking the time to share your experience.

Tyler,

castlemagicmemories · ‎10-08-2018

tyler@ebay wrote:
@castlemagicmemories wrote:
@pzdamus wrote:
Im confused cause thats what eBay customer support has been telling me to do. Basically they said they would be willing to assist me with the claim and provide any and all information if IC3/FBI requested it. This information came from a supervisor at eBay customer support.
I'm sorry you were told that. You can always ask questions on this Board as well.

tyler@ebay

Sorry for the tag! This OP was advised by CS to file an IC3/FBI claim against a buyer when the OP sent the wrong item to the buyer, and sent the right item without requiring a return or having the buyer open a item not as described case. The law states that anything received by a buyer that was not requested is a gift. It would have been nice if the buyer sent the item back but this was not their error. Now the OP has filed a false IC3 FBI claim against the buyer. Please advise us here. Thank you so much for your help!
Hi @castlemagicmemories - thanks for the tag.

I'm going to have the interactions you had with Customer Support reviewed @pzdamus, as we shouldn't ask you to file an IC3 report in a situation like this. I'm sorry that you've had such trouble on this one, and I appreciate you taking the time to share your experience.
tyler@ebay

Tyler, thanks for the help and clarification. This had become a confusing issue so your stepping in was definitely most helpful! I didn't think it was appropriate to file an IC3 under the circumstances, but I can be wrong. Wouldn't be the first time! Thank you so much, Tyler!

castlemagicmemories · ‎10-08-2018

Actually I believe you did indicate you spoke to multiple reps, I just didn't process that completely. It just seemed that you were blaming everyone else to me, again, my apologies.

Anonymous · ‎10-08-2018

@missjen831 wrote:
@pzdamus wrote:
From what I understand, after he requests the return I have the option of selecting an exchange. This would allow him to generate a mailing label, which I would pay for but he would generate on his computer.
Ok that is correct. He can initiate a return and ask for a replacement. But I think that’s asking a little too much when you can simply purchase a label and send it to him. It was your mistake so you should make it as easy as possible for him to return the wrong item.

@pzdamus, here's more info about offering a replacement or exchange:

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Announcements/Sellers-New-Replacement-and-Exchange-Options-Now-Availab...

You are probably out of luck with this transaction since you told the buyer you reported them to the government for fraud. If you hadn't done that I would have suggested calling the buyer and asking them if they would return the item as long as you sent a prepaid return label. If they agreed then send the label.

You learned this lesson the expensive way. At least you know you can come to this board for advice before you take action next time.

castlemagicmemories · ‎10-08-2018

With all due respect, bigger fish, many buyers really hate to be called, especially when they know Ebay encourages using their message system. I know that in this case, the buyer has been unresponsive to messages, but it might be best to have that paper trail if needed. Just a thought, and of course it is up to the OP as to how to handle it, and the seriousness of the situation may drive her to do that. We can agree to disagree.

But I do agree it will be hard if not impossible to walk back the statement that you have been reported to the government for internet fraud and crime.

lunalapin1912 · ‎10-09-2018

@missjen831 wrote:
@pzdamus wrote:
Is it not theft? I mean on some level it has to be, right?
It’s not the kind of theft those agencies get involved with. He didn’t set out to scam you. You sent him the wrong item. And actually the FTC rule doesn’t really apply here either. What this would be if anything would be unjust enrichment.

No, it wouldn't be unjust enrichment because the person has to have the chance to reject the item. The buyer had no chance so there is no legal obligation here.

What unjust enrichment ISN'T

There are two principles which help to refine the circumstances under which a plaintiff cannot bring an unjust enrichment claim:

gift principle
The plaintiff cannot give the defendant a gift, and then sue the defendant, under unjust enrichment, for not giving anything in return
choice principle
The plaintiff cannot confer a benefit upon the defendant without giving the defendant the choice to reject the benefit, and then expect something in return from the defendant
ex: The plaintiff cannot paint the defendant's house in the middle of the night when defendant is sleeping, and then expect the defendant to pay the plaintiff for the plaintiff's efforts (assuming that the two parties had not contracted for this service to be performed at this time).