I'm confused about this transaction, please help!

[hiiragi_tsukasa]

I sold two games back in December and the buyer initiated a return on them stating not as described so followed all the procedures, talked with the buyer and accepted the return giving them a return label, the buyer shipped out on the 18th December, so I waited...waited and finally a day before the 10th Jan deadline for the buyer to return the product, and received it today on the 9th.

I did a video to check the product to make sure, everything is above board and everything seems OK so I was going to refund the buyer, and noticed there was a closed case so clicked on the details and it clearly says that on the 9th Jan, I submitted an appeal (I didn't) and the case was ruled in my favor stating the buyer didn't return in the required time frame,   I'm confused because I didn't send any appeals - I just got back home at around 7PM and didn't use my computer all day today,  was this appeal automatically generated? 

As a seller, I want to uphold ebay's rules and was going to refund the buyer but now, I'm confused and not sure what to do.

[stainlessenginecovers]

When a buyer fails to ship a return, ebay 'opens a case' so they 'have a case' to close and decide in 'who's' favor, which is always the seller since the buyer didn't ship...but...

The buyer obviously DID ship them, they just didn't use the 'return label' provided, instead paid the shipping themselves. 

You could/should just 'refund' the buyer anyway as that is the right thing to do but that is up to you (although buyer can 'appeal' to ebay and give them the tracking info showing what they did and then ebay MAY reverse the 1st decision etc. etc. or...

the buyer can do a chargeback on their credit card if they used one....which then could haunt you a couple months from now as well as cost you an additional $20 so....

[hartungcards]

Ever heard the one about not looking a gift horse in the mouth?

[hiiragi_tsukasa]

I checked, they did use the return label I provided.  What they did is, they printed out the label on the 18th December and deliberately waited until the last possible time to ship knowing it would/should arrive one day before the deadline. 

[ittybitnot]

the buyer can do a chargeback on their credit card if they used one....which then could haunt you a couple months from now as well as cost you an additional $20 so....

@hiiragi_tsukasa 

In the case of a chargeback, if the OP refunded at that time (accept the chargeback) there would be no $20 fee. 

It is possible that eBay refunded the buyer anyway and let the OP keep the money, too.  

[hiiragi_tsukasa]

I'm just unsure whats going on right now, I've sold quite a bit recently and this issue is entirely a new one for me,  here is the pickle.    We was robbed yesterday, all credit cards/checks and even social was stolen - meaning right now, we have all our bank accounts frozen and waiting new cards, have a credit freeze and in the process of an investigation taking place, yes this is something else entirely but - if the person tried to do a chargeback, nothing would happen since the checking account I use for funds is currently locked right now, even I can't get at the funds, and had to borrow some money to tie our family over until the banking situation gives us new cards. 

So come to think of it, not sure what would have happened if I tried to refund the buyer earlier if it would have even gone through.  In fact, if I sell something...I don't even know if funds can go into our account right now, I have no idea.

[hiiragi_tsukasa]

After getting a nap, since it was a busy day dealing with the fallout of the robbery-  I looked at the ebay details of the case, at 3:19PM the case was generated and at 3:40PM the case was closed not refunding the buyer so I entirely expect them to appeal, however - with the case closed.....is that even possible?    What even is the required time frame to return a product?  From the information on the return, I personally thought it was the 10th Jan 2024 since that is what information it gave me when I kept checking the return information.   Also, can they even do a chargeback because that wouldn't that be against Ebays terms and conditions?

Since I was not home at the time, the case must have been automatically generated so I'm guessing the buyer purposefully waiting so long to mail back the games?  I know some buyers purposefully wait to return products fraudulently to the very last possible moment, but everything seems OK as I had another look. 

This case is now closed

Hi XXXXXXXX

We reviewed this case and have closed it without any refund to the buyer.

The case will not affect your seller performance. Any feedback left for this transaction will be removed.

The buyer did not return the item to you within the required timeframe.

[hiiragi_tsukasa]

Ebay being typical ebay,  the buyer appealed and this time ebay sided with the buyer - I was going to refund but didn't even know if it was possible with the current state of our accounts.    I see ebay really needs to work on this nonsense.

[stainlessenginecovers]

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@hiiragi_tsukasa wrote:

I checked, they did use the return label I provided.  What they did is, they printed out the label on the 18th December and deliberately waited until the last possible time to ship knowing it would/should arrive one day before the deadline. 

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There is NO "return date deadline' EVER given to a buyer. There is ONLY the date of which they must 'ship' by (but MUST show 'received' by the carrier by that date). 

Once shipped 'on time' (and label used) whether it gets there or not, the SELLER is on the hook for the refund...

[harryregician]

yea like that is real help is today's world

[dbfolks166mt]

I checked, they did use the return label I provided.  What they did is, they printed out the label on the 18th December and deliberately waited until the last possible time to ship knowing it would/should arrive one day before the deadline. 

     A lot of this may be just a series of unfortunate timing. While the buyer may have printed out the label on the 18th did you look at the tracking information to see when they actually dropped it off with the carrier? It was also the week before Christmas and a combination of family plans may have presented some conflicts and with the backlog of packages the carriers were dealing with and the weather situations in certain areas of the country the delivery may have taken longer than normal. There would be no way the buyer would know the exact shipping timeline or when it would/should arrive although they could guess based on the tracking information. 

    Since the buyer has since appealed the case and apparently won the appeal the one thing I would check is that eBay did not ding you for anything. Since the buyer won the appeal eBay has probably already refunded them but I would check to see. Also check to see if they refunded your FVF's or if they kept them. 

[dbfolks166mt]

Ebay being typical ebay,  the buyer appealed and this time ebay sided with the buyer - I was going to refund but didn't even know if it was possible with the current state of our accounts.    I see ebay really needs to work on this nonsense.

     Given the status of your financial accounts there is the possibility that eBay was/is not able to refund the buyer that is something you need to check with eBay on. Suggest going through the facebook connection before eBay contacts you with a problem. It's not a lot of "nonsense" most returns are handled fine you just happen to have a lot of complex issues associated with your individual case. It is for sure not the norm.