Do buyers get reminders to ship returns back?

[leareamc]

Curious if buyers who start a return get reminder messages from Ebay if the system shows an item as not had the return label printed out?  How often do they get reminders if that is the case? I have a buyer who now has ten more days to ship the item back for a remorse "just decided I didn't want it" reason and I will end up paying shipping both ways so hoping they miss their window honestly. I may stand a good chance but only if big brother doesn't step in with a notification a couple days before the deadline. If they do get them, do they come as just emails or do they get push notifications on their phones(of course if they have that option setup on ebay)? Still can't believe Ebay give buyer 21 business days to return an item... it should be 10 business days. It actually can work to buyers advantage to have a longer window because many will procrastinate and forget... BUT ONLY if Ebay doesn't babyi them with reminders. 

[slippinjimmy]

I do not know if they send a notification but I suggest you presume they do as they send reminders for many things to both buyers and sellers.

I am sure that in many cases such as yours (remorse return) some buyers change their minds again and decide to keep the item. They could close the return request but I doubt many buyers think they need to so it just eventually times out.

I was under the impression, not sure and I can't find the specifics on the help pages, the buyer has 10 days to USE the return label you provided, the 21 days is the amount of time you have to wait before you can ask eBay to close the request/case.

[leareamc]

Can anyone confirm whether or not a buy has 10 business days from the day they request a return is started to print out the label, and if they don't, what happens/what are the seller's options?

[slippinjimmy]

Whatever time limit there is, the printing of the label isn't relevant, buyers should use the provided label but they don't have to. Of course they could print a label immediately but never send it back. What might matter is the date the return package gets an Acceptance scan.

[kensgiftshop]

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@leareamc wrote:

Can anyone confirm whether or not a buy has 10 business days from the day they request a return is started to print out the label, and if they don't, what happens/what are the seller's options?

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Don't know how long they have to print the label, but if they don't get the item shipped back by the date Ebay gave them, the case will time out and close a few days after.

Sellers options are to wait and see what happens.

[albertabrightalberta]

After receiving the label, the buyer is given 15 business days to send the item back. That amounts to 21 calendar days because weekends and holidays don't count as business days. 

[albertabrightalberta]

@leareamc 

Please enlighten me. I'm not sure I understand what the big deal is. 

You offer free returns on 233 of your 237 listings so presumably, you do welcome returns. (I do understand that it's a PITA if they wait to return but that's your policy that you've agreed to.)

So you know, you won't be charged for the "free" return shipping label unless the buyer uses it, i.e., that it gets scanned. 

[b86fiero]

Hi,

In response to your situation, a couple of months ago I had a buyer who decided to return an item using the reason that she changed her mind. Based on my return policy eBay automatically sent her a paid return shipping label. 

She was given 21 days from that date to return the item. On day 20 she decided to ask eBay to step in and find the case in her favor. She did not ship the item back. She wanted to keep the item plus get a full refund.

The return deadline had not passed when she asked eBay to step in - 1 more day to go. She had not yet shipped the item back. eBay waited until the deadline passed and on day 22 ruled in my favor.

I got to keep the money she paid for the item. She got to keep the item she paid for - and no refund was given. If she left any feedback eBay must have removed it.

My advice is to sit tight and do not contact the buyer in this situation. If, when you receive the item back you can proceed with the refund process. If you do not receive the item back by the day after the return deadline you can ask eBay to close the case in your favor.

Personally I would give the buyer an extra couple of days after the deadline to ship it back because, well, things happen (hospital stay, death of a loved one) and sometimes a buyer may not be able to ship back a return in the given amount of time. 

Best of luck with this return.

[gwens*4saleitems*]

It just boggles my mind that people wait sometimes for the entire length of time they get.

I don't know but if I bought something that I didn't like or for whatever reason and I want my money back, I wouldn't hesitate to send it back. 

I mean, it would be repacked into the same box, labeled and into the mail stream next day. 

[leareamc]

Ok so I guess forget about the aspect of the amount of days they get to print the label out an all that. The main thing I really want to know from anyone's knowledge is about whether of not buyer's get reminders. I buy things from time to time on Ebay but have only once filed for a return... and I shipped it back quickly so Ebay didn't have time or reason to send me a reminder. Does anyone know if buyer get reminders and at what points during the 21 business day process do they get them?

[yo0339 · Accepted solution]

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@leareamc wrote:

Ok so I guess forget about the aspect of the amount of days they get to print the label out an all that. The main thing I really want to know from anyone's knowledge is about whether of not buyer's get reminders.

Does anyone know if buyer get reminders and at what points during the 21 business day process do they get them? 

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The buyer has 10 business days (14 calendar days plus holidays) to ship the return, if eBay attaches the prepaid return label to the second email and hence cannot tell if the buyer has printed the label.

Then 4 calendar days before that deadline and on the day of the deadline, eBay sends the buyer a reminder to return the item.

And when the buyer ships the return, eBay sends a track your return email, another when the return is delivered to the seller or undeliverable then delivered back to the buyer, and one more when the refund is issued.

Even if the buyer ignores the threat of no refund and misses the 10-business-day deadline, eBay still waits until 15 business days for the return to ship, before automatically closing the abandoned return. And this might be how eBay tries to help the seller get a return shipped sooner.

[inhawaii]

I recently had a return as a buyer.

I waited about a week to send the item back.

During that time I did not receive any reminders to send it back.

[leareamc]

Thanks for that info

[monster-deals]

I get reminders as a buyer and I get updates as a seller like: "your buyer should have shipped your item back" & "you should have recieved your item by now" and "have you received your item yet?" 

I sure wish they wouldn't.

It has been some time since I have noticed, they might have done away with all the incessant messaging.