eBay

cssurplus · ‎07-30-2024

$2,500 analyzer item was new.

Buyer is in Columbia, used Freight Forwarder (not drop shipper that I put before) which took more time for him to get it,

Filed return request at about 35 days, states 1 button doesn't work.

Looking for people's experiences with denying return and dealing with possible cc/pp chargeback.

Thanks

cssurplus · ‎08-03-2024

This case is now closed

Hi

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

The case will not affect your seller performance.

This item isn’t covered by the eBay Money Back Guarantee.

View Best Answer in original post

gurlcat · ‎07-30-2024

When you say drop shipper, did you mean freight forwarder? As in, his shipping address was somewhere in the U.S. but that was the address of a business that forwards packages to other countries?

krazzykats · ‎07-30-2024

Accept the return. They may be fishing for a partial. Hope you get back what you sold in the same condition as sold.

Then resell it. You may take a loss from the original sold price, but at least you can recoup some money.

The more you fight it, the more chances you will end up with a damaged unit and more monies lost.

KrazzyKats • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1998

meekamaye · ‎07-30-2024

Drop shipping is a bad business. If it was a freight forward company, as in the address you shipped it to was in the USA, this will take longer to get to your customer.

Take the return, don't fight it as it will cost you more money than a return label. If the address you have for the customer is in the US, the label could be tricky. The customer would have to get the item to the FF on their own dime and I doubt most of these companies deal in items shipped back to them because they would need your address to get it back to you.

I am always amazed that people will ship such expensive items out of the country and then have problems after the sale.

ittybitnot · ‎07-30-2024

Filed return request at about 35 days, states 1 button doesn't work.

@cssurplus

Buyers that use Freight Forwarders give up the right to file eBay Money Back Guarantee claims. Unfortunately, eBay won't tell you when a freight forwarder is used, and they treat it like any other sale, and the buyer can still file the claim.

Claims can be filed by the buyer for 30 days after delivery to the US Freight Forwarder address. So I would assume the deadline has not yet passed. Watch the timeline if you are required to send a return label. It will only be to the frieght forwarder address in the US, which they can't use.

Do not bother contacting customer service via eBay call back or chat. These are outsourced call center reps that have no authority to do anything, and will certainly tell you what you want to hear instead of what you need to know.

Though in might sound contrary to common sense, you need to contact eBay right away through one of their social media portals. Use the blue message button on this page:

https://www.facebook.com/eBay/

or one of these

https://www.instagram.com/ebayforsellers/

https://x.com/askebay

m60driver · ‎07-30-2024

Buyer used freight forwarder which pretty much negates Ebay's MBG. You can always tell buyer to return the item, on their dime, and then refund. But it will be much less money for them to find someone to repair said button if it is indeed defective.

ittybitnot · ‎07-30-2024

The customer would have to get the item to the FF on their own dime

@meekamaye

That is likely not what will happen. Read some of the links at the bottom of post #5.

gurlcat · ‎07-30-2024

@cssurplus

What @ittybitnot didn't say outright in message 5 is that this buyer is very likely attempting to scam you, and the way they they would succeed would start with you giving them a return label. On the other hand, if you do nothing in the short window that eBay gives you to respond to the case, then the same bad outcome (refund without returned item) would occur. So you MUST do what she recommended, contact eBay through one of those social media routes, and report what is going on, IMMEDIATELY.

I only hope you didn't wait too long already, before making this post.

gurlcat · ‎07-30-2024

@krazzykats wrote:
Accept the return. They may be fishing for a partial. Hope you get back what you sold in the same condition as sold.

Then resell it. You may take a loss from the original sold price, but at least you can recoup some money.

The more you fight it, the more chances you will end up with a damaged unit and more monies lost.

Please consider withholding this advice in similar future posts. A return label is exactly what an overseas scammer wants, so they can have a face mask, packet of flower seeds or empty envelope tracked and delivered as the "return" to the seller, automatically requiring the seller to issue the refund.

ittybitnot · ‎07-30-2024

Accept the return.

@krazzykats

Not necessarily the best plan if a freight forwarder was used. It is best to get the case dismissed PRIOR to the deadline to "accept and provide a return label". One may have to due to time restraints, but the return will only be to the freight forwarder. The buyer doesn't have to use it, or can get someone in the US to use it, tweak the addresses, and send anything to the seller's Zip Code, and the eBay bot will provide the refund to the buyer.

If this was an EIS sale, the seller would never even here about this. From the other listings of the OP, even though they show some "will ship to" continents, they appear to only ship to the US anyway.

meekamaye · ‎07-30-2024

You overlooked the rest of the statement where I state the FF probably doesn't accept returns and wouldn't have the seller's address to return the item.

gurlcat · ‎07-30-2024

FWIW, I use EIS and have no country restrictions beyond theirs, yet I still get buyers who sidestep EIS and use a FF instead, all the time. I think in some cases they are able to get the item delivered cheaper that way. I've never been a zip code scam victim (knock on wood) so I don't bat an eye when I see orders addressed to FF's, but the cases I've read here are certainly chilling. Thing is, there's no way to avoid them, but providing EIS shipping to as many countries as possible definitely gives buyers an option that is best for us sellers, since EIS returns are automatically handled by eBay, with no threat to our money, our reputations, or account statuses.