What happens if you get a return request when your store is on vacation hold?

[dippitydoo]

The odds are unlikely (knock on wood!) but it is good to know what one would do if such a thing occurs?  Thanks!!

-Dippity

[rograc-37]

I would hope that you would be able to respond to the return and allow it to go through and send a refund. Otherwise, eBay will take care of it for you and you will get a ding for it. 

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[dippitydoo]

Hi rograc, thanks for the reply!  I imagine Ebay would understand that some folks might be off the grid entirely during a vacation hold...(?)...and would advise the buyer they have to wait???  (ok, I can sort of hear some thunderous laughter in the background).....this would be ideal.  

-Dippity

[nobody*s_perfect]

Here's your thunderous laughter.

eBay's vacation setting is nothing more than an "Away" message at the top of your listings.  If you opt in, you can block sales, but you cannot block or delay returns.  There is no consideration for this.

[tunicaslot]

So you are always on call 24/7 folks!!

[readabouthorses]

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@tunicaslot wrote:

So you are always on call 24/7 folks!!

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When I'm away from my house I have no way to look at my eBay account, look at my messages or respond to anything.

I thought there was a way to put an automatic message on your messages. I know I can do it with my email accounts but I don't know about my ebay messages.

Perhaps I should buy myself a synth so they can take care of things when I'm out of the house? LOL

[m60driver]

And this why I stop all sales two weeks before going on vacation as I too go completely off the grid on vacation with only occasional Internet access.  I also let buyers know three weeks before leaving that I will be away and communications may be delayed by several days.  I also leave the same message in the now very tiny about me section.

[myboardid]

You are still responsible for dealing with a return within the normal time frame, with no extension.  If you don't have internet access and don't check your account for more than a few days, you could potentially end up in huge trouble with eBay.

[charity_scents]

If you leave listings up while you are away, be sure to change your handling time or you'll get dinged for that. 

[bigdeals.etc]

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@rograc-37 wrote:

I would hope that you would be able to respond to the return and allow it to go through and send a refund. Otherwise, eBay will take care of it for you and you will get a ding for it. 

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Yea, they'll "take care" of it alright. If by take care, you mean having the same outcome as if you do nothing and the buyer escalates and wins.

That's a really good question and concern tho, OP.

[dippitydoo]

Gosh, thanks for all the replies, everybody!!  Looks like I am gonna drag my laptop along with me then.  (frowny face) Ok, going to cancel my one-week-in-a-Native-American-sweat-lodge......

Just kidding! 

-Dippity

[lightlily_arts]

I haven't had a real vacation in 7 years as I'm a private seller.  I've been hospitalized on an emergency basis three times in the past year .  My family thought I was crazy because I insisted that they bring my laptop to the hospital.  I also needed them to mail my packages while I was there as eBay wouldn't care if you were on your deathbed.    Fortunately, I have everything already packaged and labeled with shipping weights on them.   In 2018 we had those massive Thomas fires in Ventura & Santa Barbara counties followed by winter storms that caused severe flooding with mudslides.  There were freeway road closures into Santa Barbara County and the east end of Ventura County.   My exhusband had to take a boat to work for weeks as he worked for a major engineering company in Northern Santa Barbara County.   They had to close three of USPS's regional sorting stations which delayed mail.   The local office was closed for a couple days due to street flooding during the storms.  eBay still dinged my service metrics for late mail.  I could print out labels and  you could drop the packages at the local post office, but they had to truck all the mail to another county for weeks so their scans were all late.  Why? who knows.   During that time I would stand at my mailbox and hand them to the postman as that was the only way I could get my packages scanned immediately.  I also used Fedex for my bigger parcels for awhile.  I called eBay several times  but so many people at eBay don't understand that we can't control all these external events in our lives.  They requested that I submit proof which is utterly ridiculous as they have my address  with zip code on file.  Yet many times in the past I've gotten notifications from eBay when other states were having winter storms, tornadoes, or hurricanes.

[chapeau-noir]

I'm out of cell/internet range for periods at a time when I'm on vacation as I go into the mountains.  I have my returns automated, stop sales a week before I leave, have an automated reply and just trust to luck after that.