Refunded buyer but they have now received items, and now I am being ignored…EBay say they can’t help

[amourbeaux]

Hello all, 

I really need some advice as eBay have been no help at all and I’m unsure what to do. A buyer opened an ‘item not received’ case and since seeing on the tracking there had been no movement for a while, and the expected received by date had passed, I concluded that the item must have got lost/damaged in transit and refunded the buyer. The next day, I just happened to take a look at the tracking as I still had the page open and saw that the items were delivered that day. The buyer confirmed this also in a message. I replied and explained that being as they had now received their items, could they please repay the refund they received from me. I had no response. So I spoke to eBay via live chat, explained what had happened, only for them to tell me that the case the buyer opened was now closed and that there is nothing they can do! I feel this is so unfair as I was trying to be in EBay’s eyes the ‘good seller’ by resolving it promptly like they encourage, only to be left out of pocket. They then proceeded to basically tell me it was my fault because I sent the refund without speaking to them first, and that  next time before I respond to any cases I should contact them first?! I am really at the end of my tether with eBay, I feel like we as sellers get no help or protection and they are all for the buyers! Due to postal delays over lockdown, I have been penalised for having late deliveries even though they were dispatched on time and it was out of my hands, for late deliveries, they give out unrealistic receive by dates to buyers (I once sold an item and they told the buyer it would be delivered by the next day! Even though I have a 3-5 day courier service stated!), and the way buyers are allowed to open cases for anything and everything is ridiculous, and we again get penalised for it! I once had a buyer open an item not received case the very next day of the purchase to ask when the item will be arriving?! Sorry, I have gone off topic here but i am so frustrated. I have messaged the buyer again, asking politely to pay for their items and gave them my PayPal id if they prefer to use it, but still I’ve heard nothing. I don’t know what to do, I think i am out of options and I will just have to accept I have been done, but I just wanted to hear if anyone has had a similar situation or any suggestions? I feel that us sellers get treated as an inconvenience when we have problems, and the systems they have in place need reviewing to make it fair and protecting for both parties. 

sorry for the long rant, over the last year I’ve had problem after problem and I’ve just had enough. I am considering stopping selling on here altogether but unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be many other options out there.

Thankyou everyone, any help/suggestions you may have is greatly appreciated x

[dbfolks166mt]

     EBay has always though they owned or were part of the logistical process involved with shipping when in reality they have nothing to do with it. The delivery dates eBay publishes are often far from reality given the current issues with USPS, hurricanes, fires, COVID and any other of a multitude of issues.  They have even ignored holidays on at least a couple of occasions.

     There are some scammers out there that leverage the shipping issues to open, and often win, INR cases. When a buyer opens a INR case you have several days to respond and address. The first action should have been to upload the tracking information showing the item was still in shipping channels. The second action, depending on the class of postage used would have been to open a lost or missing mail case with USPS  based on the timeline. 

     The closer we get to the holiday season the bigger this problem is going to become. Last year it was a total fiasco and I don't expect this year to be any better. I fully intend to shutdown my listings somewhere around Thanksgiving and will not resume listing till sometime after the first of the year. 

[amourbeaux]

Thankyou @dbfolks166mt , I appreciate your very prompt reply 🙂

[caldreamer]

I agree with you...many sellers are losing money because of shipping delays (we have no control over  USPS).  EBAY will NOT help you recoup your money.   Only thing you can do is politely ask this customer to send money to your PayPal account.

Or you could take the customer to PEOPLE'S COURT (Judge Marilyn) you would definitely win your case.   Judge Marilyn has ruled in favor of EBAY sellers many times.   She was shocked by EBAY policies and doesn't believe customers should get items "for free".

[downunder-61]

If you voluntarily refund the buyer within 3 days of the case being opened, you are eligible for reimbursement from eBay on appeal if the item is delivered to the customer within 30 days of the case being closed. More details on the process here. 

[dbfolks166mt]

     Thank you for the link to the other thread. You posted this back in June where you mentioned you had 6 cases open. I was wondering if eBay refunded you for all 6 of those once you appealed the INR. This is still nowhere in the official policy so I am just wondering how long eBay will continue to cover this out of their own pocket. 

     With the holiday season approaching and after what happened last year ,with the delivery services every seller may want to hang onto your conversation for reference. What always amazed me the most is the seller is still on the hook for looking into a problem that eBay should easily be able to address on their own. There should be no reason the seller has to upload tracking information when eBay is already pulling that from the USPS official site and importing it into their order information. 

[chriinghi66]

How did this work out for you? I am going through with this right now!

[joadol_74]

Hi Chriinghi66,

After creating this post, have since closed down my eBay account as I finally had enough of customers taking advantage of eBay’s refund policies and being out of pocket!  The end result was I did not get my money back and eBay did not refund me either despite me sending them screenshots of the tracking showing delivered! The final insult was it even said ‘delivered’ next to the order on eBay and they still didn’t want to know. I would report the customer on eBay and give them negative feedback if they are ignoring the fact they owe you back the refund. Alternatively maybe try the link provided above and seek to be reimbursed from eBay? I hope you have better luck than I did and you get your hard earned money back! 

[kh-belma]

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread HERE if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.