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

[dhbookds]

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@amesrg wrote:

I guess I don't follow.  The first is not in question - eBay has already confirmed the buyer makes the call on whether the label works when it is *not* an eBay provided label.

The second is closer to what I was hoping to get out of this thread but I still don't know: how do I know when a sale is eligible for an eBay return label?

It seems nobody knows, including the people I have access to at eBay.

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devon@ebay 

see above..........I question "eBay has already confirmed the buyer makes the call on whether the label works when it is *not* an eBay provided label."  If that is true......there are alot of sellers using non ebay labels and would seem to open a REAL loophole for abuse.  From what I understand the label was "deemed" valid.....and could have been used.........

[amesrg]

Yeah I agree.  Hence my surprise when I got the email from eBay saying exactly that.  And then it was confirmed when I called them.  Multiple times.

Maybe I have gotten bad info and the refund will not happen.   But the emails and phone calls from/with eBay say otherwise.  There's no ambiguity from them.  Seems unlikely I'd get the same bad info from so many eBay sources.

I guess I'll know in a few days.  It seems there's nothing I can do in the interim.

[a_c_green]

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@amesrg wrote:

"But again, the tracking number MUST be posted to the claim/return request/dispute. "

It was posted to the return request, as confirmed by eBay and the buyer.

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Just to clarify what seems like a gap in the timeline as seen in that screenshot: the buyer started the return on May 7, and then opened a case on May 15. On what date did you provide the return label (and/or its tracking number) to the case? I assume it would have been on or shortly after May 7.

Regarding this buyer saying that the label is "invalid," I can't see any way for him to state that within the return process flow, other than verbally to a Customer Service rep, and what they would be empowered to do about it, I don't know. It seems waaaay too easy for a buyer to win a return dispute by simply claiming that the label is "invalid" despite all evidence (including that of the shipper) to the contrary.

[amesrg]

As I said, I don't recall the exact timing but eBay agrees everything was done per their procedures and response time requirements.  That is not an issue for me, eBay or the buyer.  As I also said above, eBay says the fact it doesn't show on the timeline is not an issue.  Everything is correct in their system.

Again, timing and delivery of the label is *not* an issue in the problem I'm trying to resolve in this thread.  I don't know how to be more clear.

[dhbookds]

@amesrg            so the refund hasn't happened........my error, I thought it had........and you are just assuming ebay will refund? 

[amesrg]

I'm not assuming they will refund.  They stated they will refund unless he agrees that I have provided a valid shipping label.

I copied the text of the email from eBay somewhere along the line.  There are too many tangents and I can't keep track... 

But here's the gist: eBay says he claims the label I provided is *not* valid and it's up to me to resolve that issue.  If I do not resolve that to his satisfaction within four days from yesterday, they will refund him without requiring him to return the lens.

I'm repeating myself too many times... I think I just need to give up on this thread.

[farmalljr]

eBay does not allow you to get a return label on a UPS shipment through eBay. It's happened to me in the past. You will need to buy the label from another label outfit, like Pirate ship, and send the buyer the label through eBay messages. 

If eBay allows the buyer to say the label is bad and allows them to get a refund,  nothing you can do other than take the loss. I just personally, would not list anything else you had to ship that would not ship through USPS in the future. If this is a new loophole buyers can scam with, sellers should just stop giving scammers another way to steal from them. 

[amesrg]

To be clear - I could not purchase an eBay return label using *any * carrier.

[toomuchstuffagain35]

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@amesrg wrote:

The issue is he says the label is invalid.  His reasons keep changing but it doesn't matter.  All he has to do is say it's invalid and eBay refunds him and lets him keep the lens.

I've given him several options to address his claim that the label is invalid.  He ignored all of them because he knows all he has to do is say it's invalid.

At least I know who he is and where he lives so I can get law enforcement and the courts involved.

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But have you contacted the ebay reps through ebay's FB page yet?

Perhaps they can provide you with the answer as to why your label was considered invalid (by the buyer AND the phone reps).

Was it a UPS label? Maybe that's part of why ? I did see it reported elsewhere that ebay now considers Fedex their "first choice" fro return labels.

[amesrg]

Yes, I contacted the FB group this morning.  Thanks for that tip.  Hopefully they respond before I run out of time.

Regarding invalid, as I said, eBay doesn't check.  They take the buyer's word.  EBay only checks to make sure the label was provided per their policies and procedures.  It was, so eBay says their work is done and it's up to me to figure out how to get him to accept the label.

Regarding UPS - I don't have a preference for which carrier is used.  I could not purchase a label from eBay using *any* carrier.

[amesrg]

Update - Carl on the FB group says I have to keep sending labels and hope that he accepts one of them.

If not, he gets refunded and he keeps the lens.  I now have that exact same story in email, via phone support and via the FB group.  That's the way it is.

Which makes my original question all the more relevant: how do I know when a sale is eligible for an eBay-provided return label?

[bonjourami]

Since no one here is able to help you, have you tried your question on Google?

[dhbookds]

What kind of label are you sending him?  UPS? 

So..........did you ask them that question?   

Obviously, USPS return labels on ebay can be provided..........for USPS mailings.........but UPS can't?  There is just something "off" here............what about mailing him the $$ for the label......??

devon@ebay 

this just sounds "wrong".......anyone can say any label "doesn't work".......and he gets a refund and keeps the item? 

[amesrg]

I've given him all sorts of options - they're described in this thread.

The bottom line is he wants it to *not* work.  That's the point, because then he keeps the lens and gets a refund.

Ebay has everything they need to make the determination that he's a scammer and refuse the refund but they *will not*.

I explicitly asked Carl on FB if eBay called UPS to verify that the buyer cannot get the label to work.  He did not answer.  That is an extremely easy thing to do.

Presumably he didn’t answer because eBay doesn't care what UPS says.  Ebay only cares what the buyer says.

[fern*wood]

When I have a not as described return, the options sometimes confuse me. Bottom line I just hit the one that refers to accepting and refunding upon return. I do not have to physically buy a label, other than by accepting the return which prompts eBay to provide the label.  The first time doing this I worried I hadn’t properly provided the label, but it was handled automatically.

I believe there is another option which states something about providing a label, but I never pick that one.   Maybe if you pick that option, then ebay cannot automatically provide the buyer with a return label.

So I’ve never had a return in the US where the label wasn’t possible for eBay to automatically provide.