I sell a lot of small items, under $20. If possible I use Ebay Standard envelopes for some seller protection, in other cases I use other shipping providers that offer IMB tracking, and in some cases items are sent with stamps. Most items, even without tracking, are delivered and customers are happy. Sometimes things are delayed, but most of the time when someone says they didn't receive an item it was either overlooked or they're simply going by the Ebay status that doesn't show "delivered".
In any case, if a buyer wants to ask about delivery status Ebay forces them to open a formal "not received" request. In the email sellers receive it says "If the buyer’s request is not resolved by [DATE], they can ask us to step in and make a decision."
Problem is, this is a lie. Even if the buyer DOESN'T ask Ebay to step in, Ebay will automatically escalate this request into a dispute if you don't have tracking for the item. Even if the customers says they found it, or it was delivered, or if they say they'll wait for it. If they don't close the request it is atomically escalated and refunded. This happens if you enter a valid USPS tracking # that is still in transit, or an Ebay standard envelope tracking #, or no tracking at all.
Sellers are sent an email when the case is escalated stating:
"Case # xxxx: Buyer contacted Customer Service"
and
"The buyer has asked eBay Customer Service to review this case and make a final decision."
This is also not true, the customer DID NOT do this in most cases. It was automatic. Unless the buyer formally closes the request Ebay will automatically do so. Contrary to what they're stating.
You would think someone would actually review the dispute then, and see that the buyer maybe confirmed delivery, or wants to wait a few days, but no.
In my opinion this borders on fraud, or misleading business practices, and a the very least is misrepresenting buyers and stealing from sellers. Ebay needs to change the wording in the request & disputes, or stop auto-escalating these requests.
If ebay is going to automatically create disputes, why not say that and spell it out in the request emails & other policies instead of being sneaky about it and making it seem like the buyer chose to create the dispute?
Luckily I've been able to successfully appeal most of disputes like this, but it usually requires calling Ebay and wasting a lot of time on something that shouldn't have happened in the first place.
