How Will Ebay Handle Refund If I Don't Manually Approve It?

[1nicebuy]

A buyer returned a product as I allow returns but I'm on vacation and won't be able to test the product until beyond the date Ebay says I need to issue the refund by.  I haven't had to issue a refund in years and the form of payment they use is different than how the deposited the money so the charge for the refund isn't going to go through until I update the payment method if they try to issue the refund automatically.

I have a negative account balance due to the hold for the refund amount.  I'm wondering, if I'm not able to change the payment and process the refund until after the date Ebay requested me to issue the refund by, will they automatically refund the buyer using Ebay's own funds or does the buyer have to manually initiate a dispute to request the refund then Ebay will find in their favor and issue the refund leaving my account with a negative balance? Or will they use the bank account information that they use to deposit funds from sales?  In other words, do they only do ACH deposits and not debits? (only debit a credit or debit card?)

The other thing I'm wondering is in thousands of transactions I've never had a dispute against me.  If they have to file a dispute to force Ebay to issue the refund would that negatively affect anything else about my Seller account other than the account balance? 

[a_c_green]

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@1nicebuy wrote:

A buyer returned a product as I allow returns but I'm on vacation and won't be able to test the product until beyond the date Ebay says I need to issue the refund by.  I haven't had to issue a refund in years and the form of payment they use is different than how the deposited the money so the charge for the refund isn't going to go through until I update the payment method if they try to issue the refund automatically. 

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They're just going to refund the buyer out of their own pocket and then come after you to reimburse them, so in effect, you won't be owing the buyer anymore; you will be owing eBay.

[chapeau-noir]

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@cashmeredelight wrote:

no need test it as Ebay would not believe you anyway and will give the buyer back their money.If you do dispute in all probability you would loose and then have to pay a $20 extra fee. Ebay is for the buyer!!!

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$20 is for credit card disputes, not returns on eBay.

[mam98031]

In that case and hoping it isn't an expensive item, I would just refund the buyer and not require the return.  Or you could gamble on it as you won't be able to inspect the package, have them return it and refund without inspection.  That is about all you can do.

What you DO NOT want to do is not respond and the buyer has Ebay step in.  Ebay will force the refund, may or may not require the buyer to return the item, you will not be refunded your FVF and you will have a Defect for not taking care of a claim on your Seller Dashboard.

I hope whatever you choose to do works well for you.  Good Luck.