Returns

[utilac]

I wish ebay would go back to letting sellers accept returns after 3 days or 5, 7 etc. Forcing it to be a minimum of 30 days keeps me from offering returns. Sorry, but I don't want someone to buy some mint condition shoes, walk in them for weeks only to be returned with visible wear on them. Or sell tools for someone to use on a project, then return them in a few weeks when they are done. 3 days is enough to inspect and make sure you really want it. Even Goodwill Thrift stores have a 7 day maximum return policy, and no return policy at all for their online bid site.

[oldwestgold]

Unfortunately, eBay no longer cares what the sellers think. That will never change. They have chosen to side with the buyers and not the sellers as this was the easiest thing to do. I feel your your pain. We all do.  Good luck.

[inhawaii]

I agree.  30 days is too long. 

And in the case f a credit card chargeback, i believe it's 90 days. 

[flyingmvp]

I wish Ebay would place the best sellers with the most competitive prices, best costumer service records and highest positive feedbacks at the top of the search box and not at the bottom of page 2 because they refuse to pay more for PL's...

We all wish for things 🤔

[bbravo65]

...Costco allows customers to return anytime...

...have seen people returned big screen TVs after football season, also mattresses were dirty with nasty spots without boxes or plastic covers, garden tools with dirt, rotisserie chicken half eating, beaten up sofas, broken dining sets, etc...you can even returned prescription eyeglasses in about 2 weeks after receiving if you couldn't read with them, 100% full refund...(my experience...)

...the hardest return policies and process is Fry's Electronics...ah, they were already out of business...

...I don't encourage that type of return policy...btw, that is Costco, its own business...eBay doesn't have any directly items to sell, it's all from every single individual business...why not letting each particular seller has his/her own decision...???

[utilac]

Would also be nice if ebay let sellers decide how much they wanted to sell their items for. If we want to do an auction listing and also have a Buy it now option, why force us to make Buy it now 30% higher or more? If I have an item I want to start an auction for at $200, but have a Buy it now option for $250, why is this not allowed?

I have also stopped using the Global Shipping Program. At first I thought it was great! Made selling internationally so much easier. Until international buyers started using it to scam sellers knowing ebay would just let them. Got lucky with my last one when I almost got scammed. Buyer wanted to return an item as non-functional. Messaged them multiple times explaining how to correct their problem. (press the volume button) They never responded. Contacted ebay and was told if the buyer didn't respond within the next 3 days, the case would be closed. 30 days later after calling and messaging ebay multiple times and being constantly lied to, they finally closed the case.
I'm just venting. I know nothing will be changed. But it would be nice if ebay would at least read the massive amount of posts about how they are screwing sellers over. I miss the good old days..

[gjs_16]

Yes but the MBG kind of nulls and voids all those arguments.

[fashunu4eeuh]

Consumers are accustomed now to 30 day returns, so in keeping with the trend, eBay expects sellers to adopt such industry practices. Ebay doesn't want its seller’s services to lag behind other e-commerce sites.

[dhbookds]

Couple of points...........of all the complaints on these boards, I read very little about "wear" on returns..... or returns of books (presumably read).........doesn't mean it doesn't happen...........but doesn't seem to be an an acute problem.  I'm sure clothing seller have more than others.

There were a number of studies out when ebay started touting 30 day returns......most said the longer the return time, the fewer the returns.......theory was that people put off returning when they had a long period to do it.....forget, decided to keep......etc.

Best way to judge is not by what you "think" might happen, but your experience.  If you have alot of returns...study them from all angles, not just the time period.......If you have few or none......time period for them probably is going to be meaningless to the number you have. 

[buzzapparel]

Umm my Costcos are not that lenient, though they are generous with their return policy. Having said that, in the real world nothing that I sell is returnable to the stores that sell these items. In luxury goods the vast majority of bags, accessories and current season boutique and haute couture clothing is not returnable. I some cases you can switch sizes or get store credit within 2 weeks. Returns should not be a one size fits all approach. 

[bbravo65]

...eBay's buyers badly abuse the MBG policy...

...in some certain high-dollar-value items, better have a third-party with similar role model of real estate escrow company to legally processing the sales contract between seller and buyer, that would helpfully eliminate any potential of scams...it might cost a portion of fees to compensate the service, but it's worth every pennies instead of losing both, item and money to a scammer...

[kennys-kollectibles]

I think comparing retail stores with an online Auction site 

is like comparing apples and oranges.   It's a bad, out of context comparison. 

-Ebay unlike Amazon does not have a warehouse full of new merchandise.  

-An auction of a vintage 80 year old watch  is completely different than

a brand new HD television sold at walmart or costco.  

-Look up auctions that are online such as proxi-bid which are just like 

ebay, and they offer no returns, no refunds, and they charge the BUYER

10-18% buyers premium for the priviledge to bid on their site. 

Ebay tries to be amazon but the business model is totally different, so

when the policies of amazon are put forth on ebay, they are out of place

and they make no sense, other than to scam sellers out of money. 

Someone already mentioned the goodwill site.   

I've been on ebay for 20 years, so I am very comfortable with

how it runs, but I never agreed to these policies when I signed up 20 years ago. 

The only reason I stay with it is because I have regulars and a steady flow of customers. 

Any seller just starting out on ebay today, doesn't have a chance to build it's business 

like I did.   

And to  

 

fashunu4eeuh

Rockstar

"Consumers are accustomed now to 30 day returns".

That may be an industry standard for brick and morter stores, but

it's NOT an industry standard for Auction houses selling vintage collectibles.  

You think you buy something from those big auction houses like Southebe's like

a guitar owned by John Lennon for $500, 000, and you decide you want to return it, you

think they will look at you seriously?  Not a chance because buying vintage items, normally used,

is a completely different scenario than buying a new bluray on Amazon.  

Everybody in the world knows this except ebay.  

And every small local auction houses also don't have these rediculous return policies in place. 

For example, you can't go a storage wars type auction, buy a storage unit, go thru it, and decide

it wasnt' worth the money and want a refund, can you?  Or maybe you can, if you paid with a credit card. 

But how many times can you do that locally before they ban you?  Many returns are down right criminal.   

[kennys-kollectibles]

"Consumers are accustomed now to 30 day returns".

That may be an industry standard for brick and morter stores, but

it's NOT an industry standard for Auction houses selling vintage collectibles.  

You think you buy something from those big auction houses like Southebe's like

a guitar owned by John Lennon for $500, 000, and you decide you want to return it, you

think they will look at you seriously?  Not a chance because buying vintage items, normally used,

is a completely different scenario than buying a new bluray on Amazon.  

Everybody in the world knows this except ebay.  

And every small local auction houses also don't have these rediculous return policies in place. 

For example, you can't go a storage wars type auction, buy a storage unit, go thru it, and decide

it wasnt' worth the money and want a refund, can you?  Or maybe you can, if you paid with a credit card. 

But how many times can you do that locally before they ban you?  Many returns are down right criminal.   

[dugoldstuff]

why not letting each particular seller has his/her own decision...???

I left eBay and now sell on a site that does.

[dugoldstuff]

At auctions, nothing is returnable. There are no come-backs. That's true for most of the antiques / collectibles market.

At our largest thrift store around here, there are also no returns, and there are no exceptions.

[buzzapparel]

What’s funny about trying to refute the “industry standard 30 day return”, is that its complete bullocks here. I have had buyers send me returns much later, they just show up at my address. I’m forced to refund despite the buyer not going through the returns process adequately. Also, 30 day returns to eBay means the buyer has 30 days to START a return after receiving the item. They have another 3 weeks to provide a scan for the return, in reality they can push that forward by simply calling eBay.  Buyers don’t have to be scammers but they can easily trash expensive items when they know there’s no recourse. This is why LV, Gucci, Dior, Chanel, Hermes etc don’t have return policies.