eBay

carbonart0 · ‎12-20-2019

I've had an account in good standing with Ebay since 2004 - pay pal too. For some reason, Ebay has adjusted this date on my profile to July of 2008? Nevertheless, I have had the same account I am using now since February of 2004.

I sold an item in November and it was lost in the mail. Due to suspicious circumstances surrounding the purchase, it ended up taking more than 30 days for the buyer to file an Item Not Delivered Claim and this was largely due to Ebay not responding to my inquiries surrounding the purchase - I had to call Ebay back again for a response to my questions because they never responded after I called them the first time.

Previously, Ebay had told me that they would refund the buyer because I was protected under their seller protection policies. But ultimately Ebay denied the buyer a refund because more than 30 days had passed since the transaction date.

A week or so later, the buyer filed a charge back via Pay Pal and through his CC company (who can blame him?). So, I called Ebay and told them again that the only reason more than 30 days had passed since the transaction date (the reason Ebay denied the buyer a refund) was because Ebay had not responded to my questions about the suspicious circumstances surrounding the purchase. Ebay then agreed to send the buyer a refund and they did so through my Pay Pal account.

There the money sat - withheld by pay pal for over 2 weeks because pay pal was still processing the buyer's charge back from his cc company. Then suddenly pay pal debits my account for the charge back cost (the purchase cost for the item) and then CANCELS the Ebay refund that was sitting there for weeks - waiting to be released to the buyer.

I ended up spending several hours on the phone to both Ebay and Pay Pal and I got the run-around from both companies over several phone calls for literally several hours non stop. Finally at the end of the day, one of Ebay's supervisors agreed to revue the case and find out why my refund was cancelled - and presumably to credit the refund money back to my pay pal account. He told me that Ebay would call me back today - Friday. Well, Friday has come and is now almost gone, and I am still looking at a negative balance in my Pay Pal account - for the transaction purchase price of the item - which for all I know, the buyer actually received as often times, the USPS does not scan every phase in the delivery of a package - including the delivered scan.

This is Ebay service now! This is how Ebay treats sellers (their customers) who've been with Ebay for 15 or more years! I was hoping to be able to report to this forum that Ebay did the right thing by finally sending that money to my pay pal account, but now all I can do at this point is warn other sellers!

I also believe that the problems sellers are having with Pay Pal now (when we didn't have problems before) are due to Pay Pal trying to help Ebay herd sellers into mismanaged payments. I've been using Pay Pal for a very long time and I've never had a problem - not until after Ebay came out with mismanaged payments.

Sellers beware! When things go wrong with an Ebay transaction, the sellers' prospects for a fair resolution are slim to none.

richard1rst · ‎12-21-2019

541 posts sure is a lot for someone who has only been here a couple of months.

carbonart0 · ‎12-21-2019

I sure don't remember joining this forum in 2008. Nevertheless, I wasn't accusing Ebay of wrong doing for what I thought was the wrong date.

The bottom line is, if something goes wrong with an Ebay transaction and you're the seller? You're highly likely to get shafted by Ebay - And Ebay clearly doesn't care how long you've been one of their customers!

carbonart0 · ‎12-21-2019

And another lesson learned that Ebay sellers can benefit from - DON'T BELIEVE THE REFUND HAS BEEN ISSUED JUST BECAUSE IT'S BEEN SENT TO YOU MISMANAGED PAYMENTS OR PAY PAL ACCOUNT - DON'T BELIEVE IT'S BEEN ISSUED UNTIL IT IS RELEASED.

gamersbaystore · ‎12-21-2019

This is why you should always insure anything you ship that's expensive. I've had $100 orders go missing before, got my money right back from USPS and refunded the buyer theirs. Here you're mad at ebay and paypal, yet you could've avoided this issue entirely if you had just paid for insurance. The last I checked it was like a couple bucks for a $100 of insurance, its practically free.

How did you ship this? Was it with priority mail? If it was, you automatically get $50 of insurance, and if its priority express you get $100. If USPS lost the package, they are liable, and you would be entitled to the insurance.

carbonart0 · ‎12-21-2019

Yes. The item was not expensive, but it was only not expensive because I had to drop the price so low in order to get a buyer for it. I sent it first class because priority mail would cut any proceeds I'd hope to gain from the sale by an enormous percentage - relative to the sales price. And Ebay would also feel free to charge me a final value fee for the shipping cost too.

So, I effectively had to agree to get cheated on the price in order to sell it, then it was either lost (most likely stolen) in the mail and then I had to pay for the buyer's loss only to have Ebay back out of the refund they sent (leaving another one of their own customers - the sellers - up a creek without a paddle), and then Ebay and Pay Pal sent their bills for getting cheated. I not only lost the item, but also ended up paying about 1 1/2 times the price of the item on top of losing the item...

The above has become and increasingly common experience now for even the most experienced sellers, and then Ebay wonders why traffic, listings and sales are all declining. Adding mismanaged payments to the mix is like another nail in Ebay's coffin.

mam98031 · ‎12-21-2019

Yes. The item was not expensive, but it was only not expensive because I had to drop the price so low in order to get a buyer for it. I sent it first class because priority mail would cut any proceeds I'd hope to gain from the sale by an enormous percentage - relative to the sales price. And Ebay would also feel free to charge me a final value fee for the shipping cost too.

Ebay has been charging FVF on shipping stated in our listings or at the time of payment, for a decade now, you method of shipment you actually use . One would think that is plenty of time to get use to it. If a seller chooses to decrease pricing, that is the seller's decision to make.

So, I effectively had to agree to get cheated on the price in order to sell it, then it was either lost (most likely stolen) in the mail and then I had to pay for the buyer's loss only to have Ebay back out of the refund they sent (leaving another one of their own customers - the sellers - up a creek without a paddle), and then Ebay and Pay Pal sent their bills for getting cheated. I not only lost the item, but also ended up paying about 1 1/2 times the price of the item on top of losing the item...

Again, any adjustments is price is up to the seller and only the seller. Ebay plays no part in it.

Especially this time of year, packages get lost in the mail. The sheer volume that USPS is handling is mind boggling. I too have had one go missing. You said it wasn't an expensive item, so chances are it wasn't stolen but just lost. As I tried to explain to you before, when a package is lost in the mail or otherwise never gets delivered to the buyer, the seller is responsible. The only exceptions to that is if the buyer refuses the package or it is undeliverable due to address issues provided by the buyer. Sellers are not responsible for any item that gets delivered per the tracking and then stolen. This has been the rules here for a very long time.

The above has become and increasingly common experience now for even the most experienced sellers, and then Ebay wonders why traffic, listings and sales are all declining. Adding mismanaged payments to the mix is like another nail in Ebay's coffin.

I ship a lot of packages all year long. USPS typically does a fantastic job in my experience. In 2019 I have only had 2 or 3 packages lost in the mail. That is a fraction of a fraction of the number of packages I ship yearly, so in my opinion, they have a very good track record. Of course your experiences may be different as other sellers may have other experiences as well. That is just mine.

mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999

carbonart0 · ‎12-21-2019

Ebay is screwing their own customers. Let others read your long, drawn out rationalizations for EBay's misconduct. Look around you...sellers (EBay's customers) are not happy. Ebay is not working.

Ebay has set their system up to screw buyers over. Ebay has done this while simultaneously training the sellers' customers (the buyers) to expect to get item for less and less money over time...this forces sellers to indeed get cheated in order to make a sale - the losses to Ebay sellers are in fact, Ebay's fault.

mam98031 · ‎12-21-2019

@carbonart0 wrote:
Ebay is screwing their own customers. Let others read your long, drawn out rationalizations for EBay's misconduct. Look around you...sellers (EBay's customers) are not happy. Ebay is not working.

Ebay has set their system up to screw buyers over. Ebay has done this while simultaneously training the sellers' customers (the buyers) to expect to get item for less and less money over time...this forces sellers to indeed get cheated in order to make a sale - the losses to Ebay sellers are in fact, Ebay's fault.

You had a buyer that did not receive their package. Tracking shows it was not delivered. The rules are simple on this even though you want to make it more complex, you as the seller are responsible. I realize you don't agree, but that is not the point. You can disagree all you want, the rules are simple when it comes to this and you are responsible per Ebay. Personally I agree with this particular policy and it is one that other sites have as well that I sell on.

You just don't like it. I respect that. But it changes nothing. You were responsible to refund your buyer in full.

mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999

carbonart0 · ‎12-21-2019

Ebay doesn't agree with your comments here. They sent me a refund to issue to the buyer. I've already said so now at least 3 times.

Ebay even labeled the refund with the buyer's account name. It sat in my pay pal account for weeks. 2 different reps and then a supervisor all told me that I would be covered under seller protections and then the supervisor said she would issue the refund to my buyer - via my pay pal account. And then she did - within minutes of our conversation.

At the last minute, Ebay and Pay Pal worked together to screw another one of Ebay's customers over - ME.

Again, Sellers beware! Even @mam98031 agrees not sell anything expensive on Ebay... Think twice before selling anything - even if it's inexpensive, your time is not. And time is what Ebay will take from you when a transaction goes wrong or when one of Ebay's scam buyers tries to screw you over...

mam98031 · ‎12-21-2019

@carbonart0 wrote:
Ebay doesn't agree with your comments here. They sent me a refund to issue to the buyer. I've already said so now at least 3 times.

Ebay even labeled the refund with the buyer's account name. It sat in my pay pal account for weeks. 2 different reps and then a supervisor all told me that I would be covered under seller protections and then the supervisor said she would issue the refund to my buyer - via my pay pal account. And then she did - within minutes of our conversation.

At the last minute, Ebay and Pay Pal worked together to screw another one of Ebay's customers over - ME.

Again, Sellers beware! Even @mam98031 agrees not sell anything expensive on Ebay... Think twice before selling anything - even if it's inexpensive, your time is not. And time is what Ebay will take from you when a transaction goes wrong or when one of Ebay's scam buyers tries to screw you over...

We aren't getting anywhere. So lets get you information from someone else. It won't happen until Monday, but they will get to it.

Clarification Please.

tyler@ebay

@Anonymous

brian@ebay

mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999

carbonart0 · ‎12-21-2019

I already got the information (and a refund) from Ebay. Then Pay Pal cancelled it and Ebay left me up a creek without a paddle.

tyler@ebay · ‎12-23-2019

Hi @mam98031 - thanks for the tag! Not sure exactly what more I can add to this topic, but I can reiterate:

Responsibility for the delivery of the item rests upon the seller - which is why tracking numbers are crucial for us to protect you in a Not Received request
If tracking doesn't prove attempted or actual delivery and an eBay request is opened we would usually ask the seller to issue a refund if we were asked to step in
A buyer's eligibility for the eMBG is limited to 30 days after the item was received or 30 days from the estimated delivery date, and a request opened after that time period would be closed out if we were asked to step in. Such a closure would protect the seller's performance by not counting this request in their cases closed without resolution
If a buyer chooses to open a dispute through a different channel (like with their credit card or via PayPal), we do not have any input into that decision
There is no stated Seller Protection for financial compensation in the event of a chargeback or dispute

With all those things said, I will say that there are times when exceptions are made. Those are considered one-offs and would be something that CS would be able to review on a case by case basis. Thanks!

Tyler,

carbonart0 · ‎12-23-2019

tyler@ebay wrote:

"With all those things said, I will say that there are times when exceptions are made. Those are considered one-offs and would be something that CS would be able to review on a case by case basis. Thanks!"

Hi Tyler. I must have been one of the exceptions because the ebay reps and a supervisor told me that Ebay would send the refund to my buyer via my pay pal account out of Ebay's pocket - And they did send it.

Maybe you can use your pull with Ebay management to get them to do something about my case? They sent the refund for my buyer and directly to my pay pal account - there it sat until it was cancelled. Later I talked to another supervisor named Tristan, who told me that he would call be back by Friday (last week), but then he never called me.

Thanks for any assistance you can provide. I have been left up the creek without a paddle here - it's not right.

carbonart0 · ‎12-23-2019

It might have been trinton@ebay that said he would call me back after reviewing my case - and find out why the refund was cancelled. I think he said his name was Tristan but maybe it was Trinton?