MAJOR seller issues....

[oystercopy]

Hello everyone.

I used to believe eBay was a great place to sell my unused/unwanted items, and for several years, I had no complaints about the way things worked. I both buy and sell, but its the SELLING part that has me really frustrated at the moment.

Example: I sold an item to a buyer in August. Shipped the item, the buyer received it and claimed there was damage. I was notified via email and accepted the return (this all happened in the same day). Later that same day, I received notice that eBay had "closed my case" and issued the buyer a refund... ??

Now, eBay's own policies is that it is supposed to allow me 3 business days to provide the buyer a shipping label to return the merchandise. Instead, they provided the label IMMEDIATELY on their own, but I had just moved and the item was now being returned to an address I no longer occupied. So, eBay circumventing the process early and providing the label prevented me from changing the label to the proper, new address.

Long story short, I have STILL never received the item back, because, somehow, USPS RETURNED the item to THE BUYER (whom I can no longer get in touch with/contact due to the case being closed) yet eBay is asking me to repay the refund that they gave the buyer of $175... is that not RIDICULOUS?  I don't EVEN have the product back and cannot contact the buyer, if even to send them ANOTHER return label with my correct address!!

When discussing this with the eBay reps on the phone (obviously not in the U.S.), they are trying to stick by their decisions, even though the first rep I talked to about this was very empathetic and acknowledged that eBay should not have circumvented their policies, which started the whole snowball rolling down the hill in motion.

Were this the ONLY recent incident with eBay, I would say, well, they're human and people make mistakes (including myself). But I also lost another $170 recently on an item I had drop-shipped to a customer of mine that I bought on eBay, which never arrived, yet, once again, eBay closed THAT case as well before I could make that case with a police report for the stolen/undelivered merchandise. I apologized profusely to my customer for them not receiving the items and have known them for many years, so there is ZERO doubt that what they're telling me about never receiving the merchandise is fully accurate.

These incidents reek of a lack of integrity in the processes, and I am just looking to find out what options I have as a small, but reputable seller going forward.

THANK YOU all in advance!

[lynnscollectiblesnstuff]

Ebay wants the buyer pleased at any cost. They have been issueing refunds before returns are sent back for awhile now. They also allow the buyer to return the item in a different state then it was sent in???? I dont know how they justify that, but its diffinatly not the ebay of old.

[goodluckselling]

I am sorry you are having problems.  eBay actually notified all sellers in the 2018 summer seller update about the new return process.  Maybe you did not read it?

Here is a link to the info you might not know about  -  Click Here

You should be able to get the buyers address including contact info from the order details page.

Good Luck Selling!

[fashunu4eeuh]

Hi. Looked at several of your listings, all had No Return policy. Of course it is your choice/decision to offer whatever Return policy fits your business model, but you should know that eBay sometimes considers this literally. So they are issuing refunds and not requiring a return because you have stated such in your listings. I’ve seen this done to sellers who post their experience here on the boards, often enough. Not saying it is right or fair, just bringing it to your attention. Good luck moving forward.

[castlemagicmemories]

Hopefully you have gone in and corrected your information to show your correct address?  

[duncanvr]

eBay needs to start supporting its top rated sellers and stop auto refunding any joe blow because everyone of them knows how to abuse the return system and get items for nothing. Returns policies mean nothing as they are, as buyer / scammer can get his money back if not through eBay then through PayPal. Seller friend of mine lost $500 in high value stamps to scammer in China last week. Yes its rediculous. Support the sellers! One thing I refuse to sell high ticket items on here anymore. Stick to stuff under $60 incase of such theft.

[stepmea10]

the item was now being returned to an address I no longer occupied
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And who's fault is it that you didn't update your information?

[castlemagicmemories]

I see your point, but many buyers don't feel TRS means anything due to bad experiences with them; in fact, a very well known, knowledgeable poster who IS a TRS has posted that some buyers, including her, avoid them due to bad experiences.

[stepmea10]

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@duncanvr wrote:

eBay needs to start supporting its top rated sellers and stop auto refunding any joe blow because everyone of them knows how to abuse the return system and get items for nothing. Returns policies mean nothing as they are, as buyer / scammer can get his money back if not through eBay then through PayPal. Seller friend of mine lost $500 in high value stamps to scammer in China last week. Yes its rediculous. Support the sellers! One thing I refuse to sell high ticket items on here anymore. Stick to stuff under $60 incase of such theft.

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Certain things make sense. Shipping high value items to China isn't one of them.

[reallynicestamps]

@oystercopy

but I had just moved and the item was now being returned to an address I no longer occupied.

So did you go to the old address and talk to the new tenants?

When we moved a few years ago, we purchased six months worth of Mail Forwarding for $60Cdn.  But Canada Post will only forward letter mail, and not parcels. I don't know the USPS service standard.

[castlemagicmemories]

IIRC, USPS allows you to forward your mail for a period of one year. There is no charge, and they forward anything.

[missjen831]

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@fashunu4eeuh wrote:

Hi. Looked at several of your listings, all had No Return policy. Of course it is your choice/decision to offer whatever Return policy fits your business model, but you should know that eBay sometimes considers this literally. So they are issuing refunds and not requiring a return because you have stated such in your listings. I’ve seen this done to sellers who post their experience here on the boards, often enough. Not saying it is right or fair, just bringing it to your attention. Good luck moving forward.

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@fashunu4eeuh This is not true at all. eBay does NOT ever take a no returns policy literally. This is an old board myth that refuses to go away. 

The sellers return policy is irrelevant. The only time eBay will refund without a return is if the seller doesn’t pay for return shipping or refuses to accept the return. It doesn’t ever matter what their return policy was.

[missjen831]

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@castlemagicmemories wrote:

IIRC, USPS allows you to forward your mail for a period of one year. There is no charge, and they forward anything.

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Correct. But unfortunately it takes a good 2-4 weeks before they start forwarding your mail so most of the time it’s too late to do that.

[missjen831]

The incorrect return address is likely the reason the buyer got a refund the same day the return was automatically approved. If eBay determines the return shipping address is wrong, they will suspend the MBG and refund the buyer.

[missjen831]

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@missjen831 wrote:

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@fashunu4eeuh wrote:

Hi. Looked at several of your listings, all had No Return policy. Of course it is your choice/decision to offer whatever Return policy fits your business model, but you should know that eBay sometimes considers this literally. So they are issuing refunds and not requiring a return because you have stated such in your listings. I’ve seen this done to sellers who post their experience here on the boards, often enough. Not saying it is right or fair, just bringing it to your attention. Good luck moving forward.

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@fashunu4eeuh This is not true at all. eBay does NOT ever take a no returns policy literally. This is an old board myth that refuses to go away. 

The sellers return policy is irrelevant. The only time eBay will refund without a return is if the seller doesn’t pay for return shipping or refuses to accept the return. It doesn’t ever matter what their return policy was.

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Sorry I need to add on to this! As I’ve learned new info today 🙂

eBay May suspend the MBG if they determine the seller abused or interfered with the process. This can also lead to a refund being issued before the item is returned.