eBay

sir.koinz · ‎07-11-2023

Could someone please give me some advice on how I should set up my return policies.

I had a buyer who won the auction on a roll of wheat cents mixed with IHC, etc... They really wanted the roll badly because they kept bidding higher and higher and I had a feeling this may happen. It's surprising that so many buyers think that a $50 item will magically become a $300 item if they throw enough money at it.

Anyway, the buyer way over bid on the roll but once they received it they were very happy with it and gave me a nice + fb. Well 17 days later I get a message from eBay telling me the buyer wants a return on the roll now and the reason they used was "changed my mind". And the buyer wrote in the message that they did not open the roll. Ok then how could they tell me they were so happy with the coins? Fishy... So when the roll comes back and I discover the buyer has cherry picked the roll and replaced the good coins with crap I'm screwed.

So my question is, can i set up my return policy to protect myself from fraudulent returns like this? It does no good to report it to ebay and from the way the return policy is geared towards protecting the buyer and not the seller, will a strict return policy even matter? As it is right now ebay approves the return before even notifying me that a buyer wants a return, then if the seller finds an issue with their returned item and does not click "refund" but instead reports the issue to eBay they seller winds up with a violation on their service metrics for not refunding in time and eBay steps in and does it anyway, without even contacting the seller to discuss the reason for the report. Is there any way at all not to get screwed by buyers that abuse the return policy, or know the tricks? Short of not selling on here anymore or changing sales commodities what can a seller do to protect themselves? (and i don't want to hear anything about lubricants, it doesn't make it any better).

Any magic fixes by fellow numismatists?

stainlessenginecovers · ‎07-11-2023

Nothing you can do about it in the past, present or future.

Thieves are everywhere. They could've shipped you back a rock and there is nothing you can do (although you can reduce the refund by 50% if you accept returns and are TRS.

fashunu4eeuh · ‎07-11-2023

Hi @sir.koinz For return fraud, you are already doing what i recommend to loved ones i am teaching to sell on eBay.

Since you offer free returns, that essentially means you accept a return for any reason. If the buyer chooses to return it, it must be honored. But there is an exception, and it does offer the best “insurance” available on eBay against return fraud. The exception is that an altered item can be refunded up to 50% of the original transaction price. So you are somewhat protected against a nefarious buyer who might alter the roll.

Have seen multiple sellers use these popular “mystery” rolls to attract buyers, though they fall under the Chance Listing policy. eBay is updating this policy and is now not allowing them to be sold, except by pre-approved sellers. There is a link in the policy with more info on how to garner pre-approval.

It used to be permissable to give a rough outline of the items included in the mystery box, and it would be allowed. But this is no longer the case. The policy link is shown below, with the changes.

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/prohibited-restricted-items/chance-listings-policy?id=4311&norove...

greatmidwestcoin · ‎07-11-2023

I have been selling coins here for over 23 years, mostly under another eBay ID. I heat seal almost everything. I would guess this would take care of a penny roll item also. Heat sealers are cheap, $20-$30 depending on the length you want. Heat-sealable bags and flips can be found inexpensive also in quantity.

Obviously, the buyers can still get around this by several different ways, but I would include it in your descriptions and return policy to possibly ward off the majority of scammers. If the heat seal is broken, the item is not returnable. This is the industry standard with coin dealers. Just a thought.

greatmidwestcoin · ‎07-11-2023

I don't believe a roll of wheat pennies would fall under this policy. There is nothing to chance like a rare one unless advertised as such.

greatmidwestcoin · ‎07-11-2023

Yeah, after reading your description of the penny roll I would just say you are stretching the truth by more than a little(as a Pastor, you state?!?). "HIGH GRADE COLLECTORS ROLL!" I never heard such hype before. With that wording, it would fall under the eBay link(mystery box) another replier posted. Just my opinion. Good luck!

fashunu4eeuh · ‎07-11-2023

@greatmidwestcoin wrote:
Yeah, after reading your description of the penny roll I would just say you are stretching the truth by more than a little(as a Pastor, you state?!?). "HIGH GRADE COLLECTORS ROLL!" I never heard such hype before. With that wording, it would fall under the eBay link(mystery box) another replier posted. Just my opinion. Good luck!

Hi @greatmidwestcoin , thank you for the insider knowledge.

Was just reading your response post upthread and was deferring to your point of view —coins arent my thing—when i saw this current message. So did the wheat penny roll in question contain other items that were not wheat pennies?

sapphire_studio · ‎07-11-2023

On another store I run with my friends we were selling junk drawer boxes. Everything that they received was photographed in the listing but one buyer filed a false INAD and even admitted that they just didn't like it. Then they sent back everything but the high value Pokemon cards that were in the box. Ebay said that's just the cost of doing business and to write it off on our taxes and the seller still got their refund because they returned something to us. So what I did was stop selling junk drawer boxes to try to eliminate those type of scammers.

sir.koinz · ‎07-11-2023

Ok, I already know about the new policy and preapproval but i wasn't asking about that. I was asking if I should change my refund policy, i am aware i have it set at FREE RETURNS but i wanted advice on how is the best way to set up my return policy that will protect me the most. Thank you for the other info though

sir.koinz · ‎07-11-2023

I like that idea. But if my policy is "No refunds if opened" those words don't mean a thing do they? Or will ebay honor it? After reporting altered return i was ignored and it's been weeks, i never even got an email, nothing. Just a statement about how ebay can't tell me what they decide because it breaks privacy rules, then nothing.

dqdistribution · ‎07-11-2023

I would say free returns is best, and since you are a TRS, and they used a buyer remorse, did you give partial refund and report the buyer ?

There is no such things on eBay as no refunds.

mtgraves7984 · ‎07-12-2023

@sir.koinz wrote:
Ok, I already know about the new policy and preapproval but i wasn't asking about that. I was asking if I should change my refund policy, i am aware i have it set at FREE RETURNS but i wanted advice on how is the best way to set up my return policy that will protect me the most. Thank you for the other info though

@sir.koinz

You're in the best spot you can be right now. As a TRS offering 30-Day (or better) Returns, you have the ability to decrease the amount of the refund by up to 50%. It's one of the last seller protections left; use it. Good luck to you.

fashunu4eeuh · ‎07-12-2023

@sir.koinz wrote:
Ok, I already know about the new policy and preapproval but i wasn't asking about that. I was asking if I should change my refund policy, i am aware i have it set at FREE RETURNS but i wanted advice on how is the best way to set up my return policy that will protect me the most. Thank you for the other info though

Hi, @sir.koinz The first two paragraphs of my post directly addressed your question. It said that you are placed in the safest position to deal with return fraud by having Free Returns.

Then i included observations of activity that could perhaps affect your standing on eBay. I regret that it annoyed you when it was meant for your benefit.