@partfinds wrote:I had this for navigation about a year + ago. Guy stated it doesn’t fit his car which he said is what I listed it should fit. I asked for vin and part matched his car . Case was listed as not as described. I accepted returns so it wasn’t claimed that way to force accept return.
not every „doesn’t fit” return is treated as not as described but some are.
@partfinds just to be clear, when you say "doesn't fit" returns are sometimes treated as not as described, do you mean that the buyer states in a message or their comments that it didn't fit or that the actual reason selected and shown on the return was specifically "doesn't fit"?
If the actual return reason listed is "doesn't fit", how are you determining which ones are being treated as not as described?
I definitely understand that people use wrong return reasons sometimes (either intentionally or by mistake), but I'm specifically trying to figure out if returns where the buyer actually chose the "doesn't fit" return reason are being counted as not as described here in the US.
@valueaddedresource wrote:@zamo-zuan wow that's a crazy glitch. No wonder fitment is so confusing for buyers and sellers.
Yep, and it's easy to find the cause. If you look at the text they have in the "engine" box it doesn't match what is in the chart.
The problem is, if we end that listing or reselect the vehicles, we are selecting the correct vehicle in the list. But in the listing itself, the search box lists the Cubic Inches and the actual vehicle in the chart doesn't:
Obviously when they updated their vehicle data, they mixed up the variables somewhere and/or didn't update the data in both places.
But this has been going on since 2019! And they've updated their vehicle data since then. So for years, they haven't actually resolved the issue by simply copying the CORRECT data to both places...?
That's insanity. Especially when eBay owns one of the largest automotive catalogs in the country.... And they still can't even get their data correct:
@valueaddedresource wrote:Thinking through this some more, I wonder how/if the new policies are being communicated to buyers in those markets.
It seems like the primary concern for many parts sellers on this issue is actually returns that should be "didn't fit" but are incorrectly filed by buyers under a different return reason (in my experience most commonly "wrong item sent" or "doesn't match description").
In some cases where the seller has a no return policy or buyer pays return shipping policy, some buyers may intentionally wrongly select those reasons because they know through experience it will force the return to be accepted and the seller will have to pay for shipping.
In other cases, it may be inadvertent or the result of buyers not really reading or understanding the listing or return process (not maliciously trying to get around seller return policy, just honestly confused or believe they received something different than they ordered).
In either case - unless eBay actively educates buyers that there has been a change, I'm not sure it's going to significantly change how buyers currently act in these scenarios.
In the absence of other information, those who just want to force a return or not pay for return shipping will likely continue using reasons they know will allow them to do so.
Those who are confused by the process will also likely continue to be confused by it without any additional direction or explanation.
And if buyers continue to use those other return reasons, for whatever reason, sellers will not see much benefit from the protections since it only covers returns for "doesn't fit my vehicle".
If the goal here is to provide a better buyer experience *and* more protection for sellers, I think eBay is going to need to do much more in the way of education and directing buyers through the flow from completing purchases all the way through the entire return process.
It's definitely an issue where many people will pick something to displace any blame from themselves. There's many times we could see the vehicles the customer was searching by (it leaves an order note if they search by vehicle), and then after having issue with fitment, they share a VIN# showing they entered the wrong vehicle. But then they pick a reason blaming us anyway.
"Wrong item" is by far the most selected one (of the "bad" return types) but we actually have a double verification process in our software, where two different people check the contents going in to the box and image verify them before shipping. It's VERY difficult for us to send a wrong item. Not to say it doesn't happen (some items look very similar) but realistically, that option should be one of the smallest percentages. And this applies for "Doesn't match description or photos".
Not authentic is another one... If the item is being shipped directly by the manufacturer, how on earth is it not authentic...?
As a seller in Los Angeles, many of the people who order from us (especially locally) aren't even native English speakers, and will often choose wrong return reasons. I'm not sure what could be done about people choosing the wrong reasons.
Although one thing that would be very helpful is if eBay would allow ADJUSTMENTS. Instead of triggering service metrics/protections through a choice the buyer made when opening the case, how about correcting things when the buyer makes a mistake?
Doubtful that would happen, as "streamlining and simplifying" customer service basically means they remove the capabilities of CS so there's less they can do. But that's the type of system that would be needed to actually protect sellers while allowing buyers to not have to worry so much about what they choose.
We actually have to do Free Returns to keep people from lying as much on their returns. If we switched off of Free Returns, that number would shoot upwards, which itself is a sign of how abused the systems are. I'm sure eBay has statistics on that, but will they actually do anything about it...? Realistically, those statistics were likely considered before making the decision for these "protections", and that's likely why they are applying it to "doesn't fit" only...
@zamo-zuan wrote:
@valueaddedresource wrote:Thinking through this some more, I wonder how/if the new policies are being communicated to buyers in those markets.
It seems like the primary concern for many parts sellers on this issue is actually returns that should be "didn't fit" but are incorrectly filed by buyers under a different return reason (in my experience most commonly "wrong item sent" or "doesn't match description").
In some cases where the seller has a no return policy or buyer pays return shipping policy, some buyers may intentionally wrongly select those reasons because they know through experience it will force the return to be accepted and the seller will have to pay for shipping.
In other cases, it may be inadvertent or the result of buyers not really reading or understanding the listing or return process (not maliciously trying to get around seller return policy, just honestly confused or believe they received something different than they ordered).
In either case - unless eBay actively educates buyers that there has been a change, I'm not sure it's going to significantly change how buyers currently act in these scenarios.
In the absence of other information, those who just want to force a return or not pay for return shipping will likely continue using reasons they know will allow them to do so.
Those who are confused by the process will also likely continue to be confused by it without any additional direction or explanation.
And if buyers continue to use those other return reasons, for whatever reason, sellers will not see much benefit from the protections since it only covers returns for "doesn't fit my vehicle".
If the goal here is to provide a better buyer experience *and* more protection for sellers, I think eBay is going to need to do much more in the way of education and directing buyers through the flow from completing purchases all the way through the entire return process.
It's definitely an issue where many people will pick something to displace any blame from themselves. There's many times we could see the vehicles the customer was searching by (it leaves an order note if they search by vehicle), and then after having issue with fitment, they share a VIN# showing they entered the wrong vehicle. But then they pick a reason blaming us anyway.
"Wrong item" is by far the most selected one (of the "bad" return types) but we actually have a double verification process in our software, where two different people check the contents going in to the box and image verify them before shipping. It's VERY difficult for us to send a wrong item. Not to say it doesn't happen (some items look very similar) but realistically, that option should be one of the smallest percentages. And this applies for "Doesn't match description or photos".
Not authentic is another one... If the item is being shipped directly by the manufacturer, how on earth is it not authentic...?
As a seller in Los Angeles, many of the people who order from us (especially locally) aren't even native English speakers, and will often choose wrong return reasons. I'm not sure what could be done about people choosing the wrong reasons.
Although one thing that would be very helpful is if eBay would allow ADJUSTMENTS. Instead of triggering service metrics/protections through a choice the buyer made when opening the case, how about correcting things when the buyer makes a mistake?
Doubtful that would happen, as "streamlining and simplifying" customer service basically means they remove the capabilities of CS so there's less they can do. But that's the type of system that would be needed to actually protect sellers while allowing buyers to not have to worry so much about what they choose.
We actually have to do Free Returns to keep people from lying as much on their returns. If we switched off of Free Returns, that number would shoot upwards, which itself is a sign of how abused the systems are. I'm sure eBay has statistics on that, but will they actually do anything about it...? Realistically, those statistics were likely considered before making the decision for these "protections", and that's likely why they are applying it to "doesn't fit" only...
In many areas of eBay the choices a buyer or seller get to use are NOW extremely limited. Forcing either party to guess, choose incorrectly or other cases tell little white lies. And not like there is much of a process to correct after the fact. Basically 1 kick at the cat. Apologies to cat lovers!! 😉 Only an expression. Some sort of "Other...Creative term for 'Splain yourself?" if it were available would be awesome but unable to see that in the tea leaves. One of the skills I would love to have...Being psychic!! It would be extremely useful for many of us!! Guess I will have to stick with being neurotic/paranoid with a side order of 🦇!!!
-Lotz
