Extreme return policy, I quit

[layersofmyheart]

Dear Ebay, 

In 15 years,  I have had about 3 return item cases against me.

Didn't it used to be that eBay would take a look at the messages sent between the buyer and seller, take a look at the listing, photos, etc, and make a decision?

Now, they require the buyer to send the item back to the seller first thing, without any consideration to the situation. All a buyer has to do is send in the request, and bam, it's done.

  I have to report to eBay what they sent back, and the condition of it. I don't understand why I have to do this when it's cut and dry, plain and clear, that it is the buyers fault. In the messages, they even admit to it. I posted very clearly that the screen is cracked. Why do I have to go through all of this and possibly have to refund the buyer anyway?

On the phone, I asked the eBay rep, what if the item is exactly the same? What happens then? Do I have to refund the buyer?  I asked her about the different variables and possible situation where I have to refund the buyer. She couldn't answer me. She said since I've been a seller for 15 years,  I should know. 

The old way should be step one. And if it is not clear, only then have buyer send the item back to the seller. 

I understand that you are trying to protect the buyer. But it has gone too far. For example, there are Grassroots efforts in society to protect victims. At some point though, it goes too far and victims get priority that supersede anyone else. And thus, creating  an imbalance  in the other direction. There is a name for this, and it is no solution.

This is what eBay is doing.

As a seller of 15 years, I quit.

[gwzcomps]

You are doing pretty good if you have only has 3 returns in 15 years. Your frustration is not unfounded or uncommon. This is the result of years of bad eBay policies.

[mypostingid15]

As a seller of 15 years, I quit.

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You're quitting 15 years of selling because of a return?

[jojitsusensei]

I'm sure the buyer knew the screen was cracked since you pointed it out in your listing. he probably took parts from it and is claiming the crack screen is a reason to return knowing eBay will side with them.

The system sucks, I quit back in June also

[maxx63]

I agree. It did not use to be this way. Without sellers, there is no Ebay.  That's the bottom line. They make their money off of us.  I spent over 20 years in retail management, the customer is NOT always right. Having a return policy does not mean anything anymore. We are supposed to take the item back and get hammered with the return shipping fees. If we are lucky, we get the item back as we sent it, but in my latest dilemma, the item came back damaged. In the end you have a damaged item and had to pay all shipping fees. It isn't going to take long for scammers to go crazy on this. I understand broken items due to the shipping service, but this goes far beyond that. Shipping isn't cheap. If I have another episode like I did, I'm out as well. 

[mam98031]

I am on the threads frequently voicing my opinion of the current state of the return system that we must work under as sellers.  To say it is a hot mess is such an understatement.  There is so much room for improvement it is hard to decide where to begin.

The new seller protections for TRS member with a 30+day return policy that started Oct. 1st, 2019 was a good start to fixing this mess.  But there is much more work to be done and Ebay does know this.  And those in charge of this policy has said we will see improvements this year, but no commitment as to when those changes might come or what they will be, so we wait.  

Now with all that said.  I am always amazed at how many active sellers do NOT stay current on rule changes.  Much of the SURPRISE that some seller experience would not be a surprise if they would just read the emails Ebay sends out and the announcements.  

The Return Process dramatically changed to what it is today in the early Fall of 2018.  It was announced in the Seller Update in the Summer of 2018.  

I can't stress how important it is for all sellers to ALWAYS read through Seller Updates that Ebay releases and make sure they understand all that it contains.  It will help to stop many of these nasty surprises.

[mam98031]

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@mypostingid15 wrote:

As a seller of 15 years, I quit.

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You're quitting 15 years of selling because of a return?

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So TRUE!!!  Well said.  Why in the world would someone stop selling for this reason when they only have had 1 every 5 years.  It can't be cutting into the profits so much that one in FIVE years has that big of an impact.

[dippitydoo]

I think it's clear the OP is quitting not because of 1 refund, but on the principle that someone can purchase an item with a known defect, but return it because of the described defect as "damaged", plus additional damage they added to the item, return it and the seller is out the return shipping AND can no longer re-sell the item.  And the cherry on top is that they got no love from CS.

-Dippity

[sfg_sports]

Exactly.  If you get so worked up over a return, I don't think reselling is right for you.  I expect 2-4% of my sales to result in a return or some type of issue.  You got to factor that into your business model and be ok to eat it and move on.  No point dwelling on it as it will eat you up.

[layersofmyheart]

Good Heavens no. I'm quitting because of eBay's new policy.

[layersofmyheart]

Thanks for pointing that out. I didn't even think of it.

[layersofmyheart]

When I talked to the customer service rep at eBay, she said they have made these changes because sellers were scamming. It doesn't matter if it's the buyer or the seller, there will always be scammers. But the way they changed it, is not good. It's no solution. Like I said in my post, they needed to have the old way done first, and then have the buyer send the package back to the seller. But they should not have done away with taking a look at the messages, and the listing.

[layersofmyheart]

You make a good point. I should have quit eBay after I read the notice. And not just go ahead and list something like a tablet.

[layersofmyheart]

I think you may be missing the point. It's eBay's policy is why I'm quitting.

[layersofmyheart]

You got it. I don't think people are reading my entire post