Done listening to eBay employee directives

[discountdeals_4u]

 2 out of the last 3 times on I received false directives from eBay employees that cost me everything on a sale. The 1st time I was told that the return would automatically turn into a case when the time allotted to refund the buyer ran out. That was not true. the buyer was refunded everything including shipping both ways after defrauding me on a return. I learned from that experience that if a case is NOT opened before the refund time expires, one will NEVER be opened.

The second time eBay told me the same thing. I repeated that I did not trust them and told them what had happened in the past. They swore it would not happen in this case and I was blown away when a case actually opened after the time ran out for the refund. I won the case.

Well after receiving a fraudulent return Thursday  I was told the same line. Given that it worked out the previous time I trusted the directive. I woke up today to see that the buyer had been fully refunded and a case was never opened. I contacted eBay and of course was told there was nothing they could do since the buyer had already been refunded. I'm done  trusting eBay advise. If a case is not opened before item for refund expires, it WON'T be. Sometimes eBay will allow you 100% of your money back, sometimes only half. But it's better than losing ALL OF IT as I did today. The shipping both was $56.

Thanks for nothing.

[discountdeals_4u]

I meant 2 out of the last 3 times on I received false directives in the first sentence.

[kensgiftshop]

No reason to get Ebay involved, just accept the return and provide a shipping label.

When you contact them, they already know whats going to happen.

They tell you what you want to hear, to get you off the phone faster and get to the next caller.

[ckimodog]

@discountdeals_4u 

If you are referring to eBay customer service, allow me to extend some advice.  eBay customer service is poor at best and about as useful & productive as a 3 legged horse in the Kentucky derby.  You are much better off posting you issue here where we have many seasoned, knowledgeable, veteran sellers who could advise you much better than outsourced non eBay employees who are located in other countries and read from scripts.  Just something to think about....😐

One more thing...don't use stock photos for items that are listed pre owned or open box.  Many buyers consider it deceptive. Photograph the item with your camera and post your own photos. Much less drama & problems. 

[rugerskick]

As a seller, ebay as a rule, doesn't have your back.

[fashunu4eeuh]

@ckimodog wrote:
“One more thing...don't use stock photos for items that are listed pre owned or open box.  Many buyers consider it deceptive...”

Adding on to the good advice that @ckimodog shared, there is another compelling reason to not use stock photos for used or pre-owned goods. It is a violation of eBay’s picture policy. (See link below.)

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/listing-policies/picture-policy?id=4370

[mam98031]

Well you are always welcomed here.  There are lots of seasoned sellers around to help you through most anything you come up with.  

You have a good amount of sales, are you just recently getting your first Requests for Returns?  You haven't had them in the past?  Why didn't you go and read the policy page on how to handle a Request for Return?  You would have likely saved yourself grief the first time.  And avoided the Defects that hurt the health of your Selling account.  Plus you still have to pay the FVF to Ebay when Ebay steps in and forces the refund.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/managing-returns-refunds/handle-return-request-seller?id=4115#

IDK what "case" they are talking about that gets opened at some point after a Request for Return is opened.  There simply is no such animal.  The Request screen gives you information too.  Remember to look at them closely.  The above link will help you for the future.

Are you keeping an eye on your Seller Dashboard?  If you aren't, you should check it at a minimum of every week.  You need to see if you are at risk for getting your Selling status lowered because of the Defects.  

https://sellerstandards.ebay.com/dashboard?region=US

Good Luck.

[discountdeals_4u]

I've been selling for about 15 years.  I know the ins and outs but policies and actions on returns change. I did make the mistake of believing that what they did for me last time would be done again as they seem to treat sellers a little better than they did say 5 years ago. Yes, I use stock photos on most open box items but have a disclaimer that buyer's should see the photos of the actual item before purchasing. I always denote any defects in text as well if any. Ebay has actually treated me pretty well with returns over the past few years,  had hope this time, my mistake.

[mam98031]

For me, I'm not as concerned about "stock photos", but if there are defects on the item, you should be taking pictures of that too for the listing.  Verbally explaining the defects isn't adequate.

I still don't understand why after 15 years of selling that you only recently didn't understand about how the Request for Return process worked??  Did you not have Request for Returns in your previous years of selling?

I apologize, but I just don't understand how a seller with your experience did not know how to properly process a Request for Return.