EBay's policy states: "If the buyer is sending an item back because it doesn’t match the listing description or it arrived damaged or faulty, you’re responsible for the cost of return shipping, even if you don’t offer returns. " There is no exception for CC disputes stated here.
Regardless of the merits of this specific case, it appears to me that EBay's CC Dispute procedure is deficient, arbitrary, capricious, and self-serving in the following respects:
1. When notified of the dispute, EBay provides lists the category for the buyer's complaint: ITEM DOES NOT MATCH LISTING DESCRIPTION. The lack of information about the seller's allegations makes it difficult to dispute the allegation.
2. EBay limits your response to a handful of photos, and does provide a field to include a summary of prior communication with the buyer, or supporting documentation that confirm the item status.
3. EBay sets a short deadline to respond to the buyer's allegations, and counts weekend days as well as business days. In my case, I had two calendar days to respond.
4. EBay does not allow subsequent sellers to submit supplemental evidence about the dispute after the initial submission, and does not provide a way to communicate with them about the dispute to identify what additional information they need to make an informed decision.
5. EBay does not state its reasons for making its dispute resolution decisions, making it difficult to challenge the dispute successfully.
6. EBay does not address the issue of buyer returns in its communication, leaving sellers wondering why the item was returned and how to retrieve their item from the happy buyer. EBay's published return policy implies that sellers will receive a return in the event of a refund, provided they pay for shipping.
7. By refunding the entire purchase price plus shipping to the buyer, EBay voids the original transaction and retrieves all proceeds from sellers' accounts. However, they retain the state sales tax they collected for the now-voided transaction, as well as their own hefty transaction fees. This policy is inconsistent with every other on-line retailer, including Amazon. By retaining its share and the state tax share of the transaction proceeds, EBay appears to be violating its contractual responsibilities for backend transaction settlement.
8. EBay's CC refund/return practices do not seem calibrated to achieve a reasonable adjustment of interests between buyer and seller, probably because EBay sellers are a "captive class" with little to no power in this relationship. If a buyer identifies a $10 issue with a $1,500 item that does not affect function or appearance, is it reasonable (or legal) for EBay to force the seller to forfeit the purchase price, the item, and incur double sales tax and Ebay fees?
I'm sure many of you feel that since you haven't been harmed by this practice in the past, and feel that it's "just the way things are done", or "Seller Beware", or "you should have known better". While EBay's written policies and unwritten procedures regarding CC disputes may impact only a small percentage of transactions, this behavior can only encourage buyers to circumvent the standard EBay return policy to obtain our merchandise at no cost.
