Is this how automated returns are going to work?

[mokie11559]

Return started 3/23 automatically for does not fit.  Waiting for a tracking # & for item return to refund buyer. Says buyer must provide tracking by 3/30. OK, nothing so far.

Away from pc today, come back to check & within minutes buyer changed to not as described & asked ebay to step in. Buyer refunded automatically! WTH? What happened to having a chance to respond?

Got US rep & asked how can a fit/remorse return started be changed to nad & refunded within minutes without item return? Told me give them 24-48 hours.

Within minutes got a courtesy refund from ebay. How is this allowed to happen in the 1st place?

[jpcustomsonline]

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@coffeebean832wrote:

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@jpcustomsonlinewrote:

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I do not have free returns. I am talking about buyers remorse returns being automatically accepted. That, is the problem here. Half of my buyers remorse cases could be SOLVED, but you guys decided it would be better to just automatically accept them instead, and close off the in case communications to the parties completely.

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I'm not saying I agree with automated returns for all sellers, but eBay isn't going to change that. If you find this to be a problem in your category try doing something different to combat the problem. Including a card in every purchase asking buyers to contact you if they have questions is one idea you can try.

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Sure, they won't change anything, if everyone thinks that ebay won't change anything. I've been on ebay since 1999. I've seen them change plenty of their moronic policies back to what they were, once enough people told them how moronic they were. I love the word moronic. lol

[rixstuff]

If you accept returns you take them for any reason even stupid ones.  I have a no return policy but I also know that if it is my fault that somethng is wrong, I am going to take it anyway.  I always deal with any disputes though depending on getting the item back before refunding.  If you leave it to Ebay you not only give the refund but you may also end up with defects AND Ebay letting them keep the item.

[stuff4divas]

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@Anonymouswrote:

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@stuff4divaswrote:

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Hi @stuff4divas, if the buyer does not return the item within the timeframe provided (in your case, by the end of the day on March 27th) then you can ask eBay to step in and we can close the case in your favor. The option to do this should be available on the site within the return itself, and you can also contact Customer Service to discuss this in more detail if you would prefer 

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Hi trinton, thank u for any part u had on this case. ebay closed it yesterday, without me having to call, in my favor since there was no return follow-thru nor any contact from the buyer 🙂 

[sylvan_belle]

"if the buyer does not return the item within the timeframe provided (in your case, by the end of the day on March 27th) then you can ask eBay to step in and we can close the case in your favor. The option to do this should be available on the site within the return itself"

With all due respect, Trinton, this is not true.

There is no way for a seller to close a return "within the return itself" after the return mailing deadline.

There should be.

And, the advice to call customer service has not been helpful in my case.

Every time I have called, the customer service agent refuses to close.

They say that the buyer actually has THIRTY business days to return, in spite of language within the return.

The return supposedly automatically closes out after that time if the buyer never mailed back the item.

On a few occasions, I've had to call after the thirty days, though, and THEN the CS will close the return.

I've read other posts on here where sellers were able to persuade a CA to close after the seven day window, but I've never had this happen in my own experience. They ALWAYS tell me I have to wait 30 business days.

I should point out these were never "item not as described" returns - they were for "changed mind" or "doesn't fit."

I really wish this could be fixed. It is very inconvenient and annoying.

[michael_atw]

I've paid $200000 the last decade to eBay - as a seller... and generated probably another $30000 ON TOP of that in the form of bidding on items up and above what the top winner would have been without me (so not counting that FVF value but my contribution).  

They're losing me mile by mile. 

[michael_atw]

I will simply change to "no returns" and state in the listing that my return rate is .38% (if I recall properly).  So having no returns might be beneficial to me.  As long as the aforementioned isn't outlawed today (or tomorrow, considering how they love to move goalposts).  Who knows, I don't keep up anymore.  I do my work and get my profit.

[Anonymous]

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@sylvan_belle wrote:

"if the buyer does not return the item within the timeframe provided (in your case, by the end of the day on March 27th) then you can ask eBay to step in and we can close the case in your favor. The option to do this should be available on the site within the return itself"

With all due respect, Trinton, this is not true.

There is no way for a seller to close a return "within the return itself" after the return mailing deadline.

There should be.

And, the advice to call customer service has not been helpful in my case.

Every time I have called, the customer service agent refuses to close.

They say that the buyer actually has THIRTY business days to return, in spite of language within the return.

The return supposedly automatically closes out after that time if the buyer never mailed back the item.

On a few occasions, I've had to call after the thirty days, though, and THEN the CS will close the return.

I've read other posts on here where sellers were able to persuade a CA to close after the seven day window, but I've never had this happen in my own experience. They ALWAYS tell me I have to wait 30 business days.

I should point out these were never "item not as described" returns - they were for "changed mind" or "doesn't fit."

I really wish this could be fixed. It is very inconvenient and annoying.

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Hi @sylvan_belle, definitely getting this looked into! Something may have changed that I am not aware of, but I can confirm that the option for a seller to ask eBay to step in after the return timeframe given to the buyer was at one point in the return request itself. Either way, while a request will close on it's own after 30 days, we should be able to close this on your behalf when we are contacted and we see no indication the buyer has returned the item. If you are not receiving this help when you call in to us, please let me know so I can provide appropriate coaching and help get those situations resolved.

[michael_atw]

Something may have changed that I am not aware of

The irony of this fact is not lost on me in the face of my comments in this thread and how you've treated me and others in the midst of ebay's constant failures to communicate even the most basic policies. 
How you could now say what you did is atrocious.  I speak TRUTH of what I've been told.  

If you don't know your own company's policies, how in the world do you expect your customers (US!!!!) to abide by them or sort the situations properly?  Incredible.  

[sylvan_belle]

Thank you Trinton. All our complaints must seem insurmountable, but thanks for hanging in there.

And....not to beat a dead horse...but ANOTHER irritating problem within the automated return process is, that :

When a buyer has initiated a return, and has never sent the item back (and they have never communicated, either,) toward the end of the 30 day window, Ebay begins sending out "reminders" to the seller.

The language in those reminders is unfortunate. They state something like "The buyer has indicated that they have returned the item. Please refund."

These reminders come multiple times on each item. It is disconcerting.

The first time I got one of these, I panicked. But in fact, in the handful of cases I've had where the item was never returned, I know for a fact that the buyer never "indicated that they have returned the item." One of them had even contacted me and said that they had changed their mind and would not be returning.

This is obviously a form letter that should be corrected to something like "The buyer indicated that they WOULD BE returning the item. Has it arrived? If not, would you like to close this return request now?" AND THEN actually have a button to click where the seller could close the case  easily and conveniently, without having to call (and taking up Ebay customer service time on a simple straighforward matter.)

That would be so much more accurate to the situation, and it would be a respectful way to treat the seller, your customer.