eBay

coffeebean832 · ‎12-26-2020

Tagging in @bigdeals.etc as you're a regular poster here that I think would be most likely to have dealt with this before.

Here's the timeline-

12/5 buyer requested a return. Remorse return, free returns listing, return shipping label provided on 12/5.
12/10 buyer shipped.
12/25 this return now appears in my Tasks list on the SH Overview page as "respond to return request" and the return status page says, "The item should already have been delivered. Please inspect the item carefully upon receipt and issue a refund to the buyer by Dec 30. "
The last tracking scan was 12/10 at the buyer's local sort facility.
12/21 I opened a where's my package case with USPS- they closed it on 12/22 with no communication whatsoever.
Finally, a new tracking scan appeared around 10:00 last night 12/25 in my state- however that facility is backed up so I'm not confident the package will be delivered by the 12/30 deadline eBay is showing. I have some outbound packages sitting at that facility for 10-12 days now.

I'd prefer to wait for the package to make sure there are no issues before refunding. If I wait for the package to arrive, but it's not delivered by 12/30, what can happen?

If the buyer escalates on 12/31 will eBay force the refund and give me an unresolved defect?
If the buyer escalates on 12/31 will eBay extend the time I have to refund since tracking shows recent movement and the package wasn't delivered yet?
Will eBay force the refund on 12/31 and give me a defect without even requiring the buyer to escalate?

I provided the return label so I know that ultimately I'm responsible for refunding if the package is lost- but the package isn't lost. It is moving and is finally in my state with a recent tracking scan. It's just delayed along with every other package right now, and I haven't seen eBay address returns in the announcements- just INRs.

Thanks to anybody who can provide some specifics on this.

bigdeals.etc · ‎12-29-2020

Hm, yea I’m not sure exactly what that screenshot should look like in the situation I explain. I photoshopped my shot to match my recollection, but I forget what the verbiage shows. I wish I had one open return case currently that falls under this so I can reference to it, but I don’t so I’m going off my memory.

If you want to be better safe than sorry you can always call CS or even live chat and ask them to confirm if they see the package as delivered or not. The whole “should have arrived” status is so lame.

coffeebean832 · ‎12-29-2020

I actually decided to do that shortly after my post because the big green delivered check mark was absurd and the wait time for a CS callback was only 1 min.

The rep sounded like one of the CS in Dublin who are usually great- he said on his end that it still showed in transit so I shouldn't worry. Then he said it also showed out for delivery. I asked- since a delivery attempt is equated with a delivered status in eBay's eyes- is this out for delivery status why the return is showing delivered on my end? I asked- why was it showing out for delivery which contradicts the tracking scans?

He didn't have an answer so I asked him to look at the return through Seller Hub the way I was- so he did and said he could see why it was so confusing- since the item wasn't delivered and the last in transit scan was 4 days ago but there was a big green delivered checkmark with a deadline to refund by tomorrow.

He offered to extend the window 10 days. I was hesitant because this package could easily take more than 10 days to get here. I didn't want to prematurely escalate to a case and get stuck on that timeline.

So he checked into it further and said he could extend to a max of 15 days- and if there is an additional transit scan in that 15 days but the package hasn't arrived yet they could do one further extension (if I do another callback) to extend 15 days from the last scan. Beyond that he said the item would be considered lost and the case closed. He believed eBay would refund the buyer since I didn't receive the return- though I'm not entirely sure if he was 100% on that answer.

Then the return disappeared from my Seller Hub overview page and from my open returns page. I found it on my closed returns page- that's not confusing at all! Talk about an easy way to forget about something.

When I opened the details it said escalated and on hold until 1/13 to allow time to provide additional documentation. There was no option for me to refund. Not confusing at all.

zamo-zuan · ‎12-29-2020

This is a case where you have to call eBay and report this to them.

Typically they will put it on hold to allow extra time.

Others have mentioned that they will force the refund through, now the automated system might force a refund through, or an employee might mistakenly do it.

But do not worry! As long as you have evidence that the item was not delivered, eBay WILL assist you with this type of case.

With that said, there's definitely been an issue with USPS scans lately. It seems like any type of random scan that eBay can not identify is being triggered as "Delivered" by the automated system. I have one shipment that USPS updated it to "Delayed" and eBay is reading that as "Delivered".

So just try not to worry about it too much; keep an eye on it and if you see anything decided against you, eBay will definitely assist you, removing any potential defects and/or giving your money back if the item indeed does not get delivered.

coffeebean832 · ‎12-29-2020

We've passed absurd. The return has now been moved to the Resolution Center since it's technically an escalated case because of the extension- that's fine- but the reason says it's now a SNAD. 🙄

Reminder- this is a buyer's remorse return that was correctly opened as a remorse return.

glasser · ‎12-29-2020

f you haven't done this I would email the buyer and explain as simply as possible the situation. Let them know you are more than willing to refund but it is part of eBay to have the item back in your hands before you do so. Let them know the timeframes eBay has outlined and that you are keeping a watchful eye on the whole process.

This could help down the road.

Believe PP handles these issues a bit better. I had a long delay and worked with buyer and PP was ablet to keep the case open for quite a while since the buyer agreed to wait. eBay should allow for a case to be extended by mutual agreement of buyer and seller.

Why should eBay care if the buyer and seller agree to a different timeframe?

coffeebean832 · ‎12-29-2020

@zamo-zuan wrote:
With that said, there's definitely been an issue with USPS scans lately. It seems like any type of random scan that eBay can not identify is being triggered as "Delivered" by the automated system. I have one shipment that USPS updated it to "Delayed" and eBay is reading that as "Delivered".

So just try not to worry about it too much

That's good to know about tracking scans. I'm not worrying at all as it's under $20- I'm using this as a learning experience so I know what will happen should this ever occur with a higher value transaction.

glasser- I did message the buyer yesterday to mention the shipping delays and that the item was finally in my state, but could still take a couple more weeks. I reassured them that I will refund within 24 hours after the return is delivered. No reply from them which is fine- it was just an FYI to let them know their return is on my radar.

Of course now that I can't refund through the return now that it's been put on hold with an extension this may prove to be more challenging to resolve. Hopefully that option will reappear with a delivery scan so I don't have to request a callback from CS again to remove the hold.

If you guys are interested in hearing how this progresses I'll post updates as things change.

coffeebean832 · ‎01-05-2021

The package eventually arrived but I was unable to refund due to the hold- I wasn't going to make the buyer wait until mid-January so my only other option was to ask CS to issue the refund which resulted in an unresolved case defect. I'm still waiting for the defect removal and fee credit. What a pain!

ra_201044 · ‎01-05-2021

@coffeebean832 wrote:
The package eventually arrived but I was unable to refund due to the hold- I wasn't going to make the buyer wait until mid-January so my only other option was to ask CS to issue the refund which resulted in an unresolved case defect. I'm still waiting for the defect removal and fee credit. What a pain!

You can't make this stuff up.