Refund Fallout...

[neat-solutions]

I sold an item to an individual and had a problem develope where I had to issue a refund of the payment. I have been selling on eBay since 2003 off & on but had not sold anything since 2012 and had forgotten or was never aware that payments to sellers are not available to them until the buyer has received the item and inspected their purchase and indicated satisfaction with the transaction at which point eBay transfers the seller payment for the item.

I am 63 years old, unemployed and have multiple sclerosis. I receive public assistance with my healthcare and an EBT card but no cash assistance.

I had been counting on taking part of the payment for the item I had sold and use it to pay for the shipping. When I realized I would not be receiving my payment and could not generate or borrow the necessary shipping amount within the several days alotted to me I had no choice but to refund the buyers payment in full.

The buyer had his money back within 24 hours. He asked what had happened and the reason for the refund and I explained the situation.

I wrote in eBay messaging: " I'm basically broke and had not sold on ebay since about 2013. I had forgot about the payment being held pending buyer approval and I did not have the money to ship the item nor could I get it in the time allotted so the only thing I could do was to refund your payment."

He did not seem upset at the time.

However he left this feedback: Seller flaked out...total waste of time.

I had never received even a neutral feedback much less a negative one buying or selling. I am not capable of nor have I ever flaked out on or off ebay.

I felt this feedback was a vindictive, hateful lie that has tainted me on eBay and is not in any way a reflection of the situation as it exists.

I have 377 positive feedbacks and 1 negative one. Now my rating has dropped from 100% to 85.7%.

Of course I had not become aware of this feedback until after the 30 days allotment to respond to it had expired.

Factoring in the full details of the situation I think eBay should see their way clear to remove my only negative feedback since 2003.

Let me know...

[dryophelia · Accepted solution]

@neat-solutions 

The feedback seems appropriate. Can’t blame them for wanting the item they purchased. 

A lot changes in 10 years. eBay and PayPal got divorced. Payments, when they are released, go to your checking account now. 

[bonjourami]

"I had been counting on taking part of the payment for the item I had sold and use it to pay for the shipping. When I realized I would not be receiving my payment and could not generate or borrow the necessary shipping amount within the several days alotted to me I had no choice but to refund the buyers payment in full."

Im sorry for your troubles, but you could have taken the shipping fee from your pending funds. The link to do that is right on the check out page.

[bonjourami]

Yes, eBay sellers can use pending funds to pay for shipping labels when using eBay Labels. These pending funds are the money that eBay is holding for the seller but haven't yet been transferred to their linked bank account. 

Here's how it works:

• Pending Funds as a Payment Option:

  When purchasing a shipping label on eBay, sellers can choose to pay with their pending funds. 
• Location of the Option:

  This option is usually located at the bottom of the shipping label purchase page, where you select your payment method. 
• Automatic Deduction:

  If the seller has enabled the option to use pending funds for shipping, eBay will automatically deduct the cost of the label from the seller's pending funds. 

[tinsoldierunderground]

I'm sorry for your health issues.  That said, most of us on this forum are seniors, with ailments of one form or another, myself included.  It seems to me you could have avoided the problem here if you took the time to bone up on the current ebay policies in place.  As @bonjourami states and documents, you could have used pending funds to ship.   I'm not trying to rub salt in the wound, but this situation could have easily been avoided.

[bonjourami]

I really hate it when op's play the age card.

[tinsoldierunderground]

👍................🙄

[kensgiftshop]

---

@neat-solutions wrote:

I am 63 years old, unemployed and have multiple sclerosis. I receive public assistance with my healthcare and an EBT card but no cash assistance.

---

Not sure what all that has to do with you canceling the order?

Sellers that haven't sold in awhile, need to do a little reading and catch up on changes.

[soh.maryl]

So I shouldn't share with you that my age is 92? And that I was planning on using that as an all-round excuse for everything I do on eBay?  

[mommaknows]

Sometimes you people are just mean.

This person was explaining their circumstances. Using an "age card"!?  Really...

They made a mistake and didn't do their due diligence before listing and maybe just needed a bit of redirection. We all aren't as versed as you all.  

As the saying goes, "Kindness matters." 

@neat-solutions  I  hope that, I think it was,  @bonjourami  helped you understand that you can take the shipping from your pending funds.

Don't give up. We all make mistakes. Best to you moving forward. Ps...Your feedback will be what it is.

[inhawaii]

---

@soh.maryl wrote:

So I shouldn't share with you that my age is 92? And that I was planning on using that as an all-round excuse for everything I do on eBay?  

---

The older you are, the wiser you are.    😉

[soh.maryl]

So shouldn't I be near genius level by this time? All evidence currently available, however, states otherwise. 

[pickapaper]

@neat-solutions 

I'm sorry about the health problems you are having, but as someone else said, there are many of us on this board who are older and many, like you, have serious health issues.   Unfortunately, with 18 Million sellers on eBay, eBay does not know and does not care what a seller's personal issues are, they just want the sellers to take care of business promptly and properly.

I understand you explained to the buyer what your circumstances are and why you could not ship.  But that doesn't make it right.  A buyer does not know if a seller is even telling the truth when "explaining" and actually, they don't care.  They just want what they ordered, shipped promptly, and received as described.  If this isn't fulfilled, they do just what your buyer did: leave a negative.  And actually, he's right, it was a waste of his time. 

[tinsoldierunderground]

If you spend enough time on these boards, I'm talking years, decades, you'll develop a hard edge.

Over the years, we've been able to categorize  OP personality types.  What you refer to as mean, is just the forum member's ability to recognize what type of person we're dealing with.  We've seen untold numbers of buyers and sellers who come here playing the sympathy card.   We've seen untold numbers who scream and yell, hurling insults at everyone offering help.  We've seen untold numbers who couldn't be more wrong about ebay policy, but respond to every volunteer on their thread that they're right. 

We've seen untold numbers who come here insisting ebay policy be changed to suit their needs, and berate every volunteer because we don't have the authority to do so.

  Everyone who volunteers here has their own life with their own problems, medical and otherwise, yet we try to offer solutions to people who come to the forums with a problem.   Many times people are glad they came here.  Many times people are told what they don't want to hear, and become abusive.  We're not prone to coddling, we just try to offer solutions.  If you really see us as mean, all I can say, is that you should have been on these boards 10 or 15 years ago.       

[mtgraves7984]

---

@soh.maryl wrote:

So I shouldn't share with you that my age is 92? And that I was planning on using that as an all-round excuse for everything I do on eBay?  

---

@soh.maryl 

You know you don't 'play' the age card. You use your age to your advantage. That's why I'm on your Team. 😊