Ebay refuses to reimburse me

[rcclan5]

I sold an "as-is no returns" broken crossbow to a man for $47 plus $30 shipping (total of $77).  I mailed it to him on 7/30/20 via USPS ground for $71 (Priority Mail would have cost me $112 and I would have lost $35).  It was supposed to have arrived on 8/5/20.  I tracked the package every day.  By 8/12/20 the buyer was having second thoughts and he started talking about a refund.

Long story short I gave the buyer a full refund on 8/15/20, including his Ebay fees, as it was evident that the USPS lost the package and that was the right thing to do.  I launched two investigations with USPS, which was as effective as spitting into the wind.  All they could do was give me printouts of what I was seeing on my computer.

Then miracle of miracles it showed up at the buyer's house on 8/27/20 (27 days after I mailed it).  He said that if that happened he would pay me again, but instead, he refused it and returned it to sender.

Now I'm out the $71 postage.  Ebay is refusing to reimburse me except for my selling fees, even though the buyer did not fulfill his end of the bargain.  Do I have any recourse other than no longer doing business with Ebay?

[rcclan5]

1.  Ebay estimated that it would cost $38 to mail the crossbow.  I decided to be generous and only charge $30.  The Post Office charged more because the box was "oversized."

2. I had an extensive discussion with folks on Next Door about the delays.  They have been very inconsistent.  For example, it only took three days for the crossbow to arrive back at my house while it took 27 days to get there (I guess it was quicker because it was going downhill).  This is my first experience with such a delay from the USPS in 42 years.  It's still unacceptable.

[rcclan5]

Thank you for your opinion.  I am attempting to pursue it with the post office too but can't ever get them to answer their phone.  I plan to go see them today.

I understand what you said, but the buyer did not honor his commitment.  Ebay should at least be concerned about that.  I no longer will do business on ebay.  But before I go, I'll give the buyer a parting gift of my first negative rating.

[rcclan5]

I did everything right - I posted correctly that the crossbow was non-functional and sold "as-is no returns."  I did the right thing and gave him his money back.  He promised that he would pay be again if it arrived.  He did not.  Ebay is supposed to protect transactions.  If they're not going to then they should stop saying that they do.

[corvettestainless]

You can't give a buyer a Negative...only Positives

[rcclan5]

It arrived three days after he returned it to sender.

[rcclan5]

There was no charge.  Even if there was I would not have paid it and would have told them what they could do with the crossbow.

[rcclan5]

So helpful...

[terrycece62]

Sellers are not  able to leave negative feedback for buyers 

All buyers no matter what have 100%  rating so buyer ratings are useless  except to read comments and ratings left for the sellers they have purchased from

Sorry  you have decided to stop selling 

best wishes

Terry

[rcclan5]

The buyer promised to pay me again if it ever arrived.  It did.  He did not pay me.  That's called reneging.

Yes, I will never mail anything via the Post Office again.

Again, if I had mailed it priority mail I would have lost $35.  Are you in business to lose money?  I'm not.

The buyer's PayPal transaction showed $77 for the bow and $5.20 in fees.  Perhaps they were PayPal fees.

The buyer was very aware of what he was getting.  He sent me around 35 messages discussing the bow at length.  In fact, he wanted to put a string and cable on it (that he ordered) that was too short (in his eyes that would make the bow shoot faster).  I told him that no archery shop would put the wrong string on the bow due to liability issues.

I haven't sold anything on ebay in about 10 years.  My transactions are 99 things bought for one thing sold.  I'm not a "power-seller" and only sell things when I no longer need them.  I normally sell things locally but couldn't find a buyer on my hunting club's website nor on Texas Gun Trader.  

Ebay estimated that it would cost $38 to mail the bow.  It was their estimate that was off, not mine.

The buyer did not do the right thing by any stretch of the imagination.

[myangelandmyprincess]

You can't blame eBay for their estimate.  In order to get a proper estimate/cost  you have to use the correct weight and dimensions.   You didn't do that that is your error not eBay's.   If you had done calculated shipping and had the correct weight dimensions in the calculator it would have charged the buyer the correct price.  The buyer could have done worse but accepting the package and not even repaying.  At least you have the bow back.  

[myangelandmyprincess]

Cancelling because the shipping was higher than the seller accepted would not be the correct thing to do 

[aproudparent2010]

He shipped it back to you so no need for him to pay you again.


Your buyer could have kept the item and the refund so they did the right thing and sent it back to you.

[terrycece62]

OP was fortunate in  that way

[luckythewinner]

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@rcclan5 wrote:

I did everything right - I posted correctly that the crossbow was non-functional and sold "as-is no returns."  I did the right thing and gave him his money back.  He promised that he would pay be again if it arrived.  He did not.  Ebay is supposed to protect transactions.  If they're not going to then they should stop saying that they do.

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eBay does not say they will "protect transactions" and make a seller whole in all situations. 

They do offer seller protection, but in that policy it pretty clearly states that protection only covers a very narrow set of circumstances. 

Nowhere do they state that they will reimburse a seller if a item is delivered after a non-delivery claim has been closed.