How do I determine if a sale is eligible for eBay-provided return labels?

[amesrg]

I got scammed by someone who purchased a camera lens and wanted to return it.  I tried to purchase the return label through eBay but was not able to do so.  I called eBay and they said they don't know why the sale was not eligible for an eBay-provided return label.    This was a US buyer in Florida and I had no issues purchasing the initial label through eBay.

So I purchased a return label directly from UPS but the buyer claims it does not work.  Of course, it does: you can enter the tracking number on the UPS website and it says "awaiting shipment".  The issue is that eBay says it's up to him to determine if the label works or not.  If he says the label doesn't work then he keeps the lens and gets a full refund.

Obviously, this is a scam.  Well, it's obvious now...

So, how do I know if a sale is eligible for purchasing a return label through eBay so I can prevent this from happening again?

Furthermore, how do I refuse those kinds of transactions?  I can't find anything that seems remotely close to that option.

Thanks

[sin-n-dex]

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@amesrg wrote:

When I selected the button for "get return label" or whatever it's called I got three options, none of which was an option to purchase a label.  One option was "upload an image of a label", which is what I did.  I don't recall what the other two options were but neither was an option to purchase a label.  I think one was "confirm label was sent outside of eBay" or something like that.

As I said above, I called eBay and they told me the transaction was not eligible for purchasing a return label through eBay.  They could not tell me why.  But they did confirm I could *not* purchase a return label through eBay.

So, indeed, there are transactions where eBay will *not* provide you with a return label regardless of who purchases it - seller or buyer.  And, again, this was a buyer in Florida.

What I'm trying to figure out in this thread - if we can shift the focus to my question - is how I know when that's the case so that I can protect myself in the future.

Again, how can I determine if a sale is eligible for a return label through eBay?

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I'm going to go out on a limb here... but that lens was $2700. I'd hazard a guess you couldn't purchase a label through eBay due to the value of the item.

C.

[amesrg]

Pics above.  There was no change of address.  Item was paid for. Return label used my name for "from" and "to" per direction from UPS and eBay.  I am not aware that buyer drop shipped to anyone - doesn't matter.  Original shipping info shows delivered, the guy acknowledges he got it.

Again, the issue has nothing to do with the addresses or whether it was drop shipped somewhere else.  The simple fact is that he says the shipping label I provided is not an actual shipping label.  And eBay believes him.  And, therefore, they're going to refund him and let him keep the lens.

[amesrg]

Yes, original label was purchased through eBay.

[r_lresale]

@amesrg ok so I think I understand now. Is this correct: your buyer asked you for a refund and you agreed before he formally opened a case? If so that is why (I think) you coudn't buy one from ebay.

Apparently the buyer maybe couldn't use the label you sent and decided to actually open the case to get a verified label. 

See if you can cancel the original label and accept the return the buyer just opened and either will ask you to get a label through ebay or ebay will automatically issue it and proceed as normal. 

 Another possibility is that the buyer has opened a case with thier CC or bank??

[amesrg]

No - not the camera.  The lens.  Buyer paid $819 or thereabouts.

Regardless, eBay provided the ship-to label with no issues.  So it's not an item value problem.

[sin-n-dex]

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@r_lresale wrote:

@amesrg ok so I think I understand now. Is this correct: your buyer asked you for a refund and you agreed before he formally opened a case? If so that is why (I think) you coudn't buy one from ebay.

Apparently the buyer maybe couldn't use the label you sent and decided to actually open the case to get a verified label. 

See if you can cancel the original label and accept the return the buyer just opened and either will ask you to get a label through ebay or ebay will automatically issue it and proceed as normal. 

 Another possibility is that the buyer has opened a case with thier CC or bank??

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Reading through, I now see it was a dispute for $812. I still say the label couldn't be purchased because of the value of the item (as signature is required over $750, perhaps that couldn't be purchased). That's the only reason I can think of with all the info I've read.

Back to this return... he opened a return to send the item back, and the return timed out without him having a label he thought he could use, so he asked eBay to step in, which is why it's a case. Now that it's a case, eBay will refund the buyer with no return happening, and the seller will get a strike on his account.

I'm not super experienced with returns, but I've escalated a few (INRs) so I pay attention to what happens. When a case is opened, it's for eBay to decide. The seller no longer has a chance to work things out with the buyer.

C.

[r_lresale]

@amesrg I think you should not have put your address on both to and from. I'm not sure that affects anything but as a buyer that would have freaked me out and I would have assumed that I was the one getting scamed

[sin-n-dex]

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@amesrg wrote:

No - not the camera.  The lens.  Buyer paid $819 or thereabouts.

Regardless, eBay provided the ship-to label with no issues.  So it's not an item value problem.

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Buying a label on eBay you can put all sorts of options. I'm thinking that on the return you have to provide your own label with the insurance you want and signature.

$819 is still above the $750 threshold. CSRs don't know everything. They said your item is not eligible for an eBay paid label, I'd say it's because your item was above the threshold for an eBay paid label.

I've purchased my labels on eBay, and you can add whatever services you want with USPS (courier services too I'm sure). But if you provide the buyer with a label that doesn't meet eBay's requirements for proof of delivery, the buyer loses their request. eBay is making sure that can't happen by not providing a label to the buyer and making you provide the correct type of label.

I can't comment on why the buyer says they can't use the label. For returns I upload one (because I'm in Canada and I'm paying US return postage to Canada, so I need to do this manually). But I don't sell items above $750.

C.

[amesrg]

I got an email from eBay saying a buyer requested a return.  So I went to my eBay page and did whatever it said to do.  I don't recall, but it was all handled through links on my eBay page, not messages with the buyer.  During that process, I tried to purchase a return label through eBay and could not.  So I called eBay and they said the transaction was not eligible for a return label from eBay and I had to buy one separately and upload the image.  So that's what I did.  On the return page under the "return label" section there was an option to upload an image of a label.  That's what I did.  A few days later I got an email that the buyer opened a case and that's where it said the return label is not valid.

But I don't think any of that matters.  He has received a return label.  Nobody is disputing that fact.  Not me, not the buyer, not eBay.  He says it's an invalid return label.  And there's nothing I can do about that.  His word is taken as truth by eBay because it's not an eBay-provided label.  I can send him 100 labels, all verified by UPS, and as long as he says they're not valid then eBay believes him.

All you have to do is plug the tracking number into the UPS tracking webpage and it shows it's 100% valid and "waiting shipment".  But eBay doesn't care.  If he says it's invalid, it's invalid.  And they're going to refund him without requiring him to return the lens.

[amesrg]

So why was I able to purchase an insured, signature-required label from eBay for the shipment TO the buyer?

[itscalledapostingid]

When you uploaded label image to return case was there a place where you selected the carrier and added the tracking number too?

(As prescribed in ebay help pages about return shipping labels:

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/managing-returns-refunds/return-shipping-sellers?id=4703)

[inhawaii]

I give up.

I'm stumped.

Have you maintained a good rapport with the buyer?

Any chance that the buyer will send you back the lens even though he is not obligated to?

[amesrg]

Yes.

Again, nobody denies I sent the label.

All he has to do is say it's invalid.  It's obviously not, but eBay doesn't care.

[a_c_green]

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@amesrg wrote:

All you have to do is plug the tracking number into the UPS tracking webpage and it shows it's 100% valid and "waiting shipment".  But eBay doesn't care.  If he says it's invalid, it's invalid.  And they're going to refund him without requiring him to return the lens.

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I feel like I'm playing catch-up here so apologies if I'm saying something that was already covered, but my understanding was if the label was provided through eBay but not used for return shipment within... I don't know, 5 days, something like that, then the return request would time out and the seller would not have to refund. Having the buyer phone up eBay and say that the label is "invalid" wouldn't seem to have any bearing on the process, which is basically automated.

This might need to be sorted out, or at least clarified, by eBay's Facebook for Business team, unless you've already tried contacting them.

[amesrg]

The label was *not* provided through eBay because I could *not* provide it through eBay.

That's the crux of his scam.  He knows how to set up the transaction so you *cannot* get a return label through eBay.  Then all he has to do is say the label you provide is not valid and eBay believes him.