Why are reports about sellers dealt with quickly but reports about buyers not dealt with at all?

[kennys-kollectibles]

It seems to me that ebay only cares if a buyer gets scammed out of money. 

But if a seller gets scammed they don't seem to care. 

And why is it ok for a buyer to lie on the report to get thier refund? 

IE...reporting items not as described, when they just were too lazy to read the ad, and

it was described in detail.  It has happened to me once again. 

So, I am out shipping both ways.  When is this rediculousness going to end?   

Why can't there be a 50-50 fair way of doing returns?  

Why can't ebay follow it's own rules and policies?  

Simply tired of getting robbed.  

And I don't want to hear from one person saying it's the cost of doing business. 

This is different....If I was robbed in real life it would be because of one scammer

using a big corporation as an accomplice in a crime.  

Now I have to call ebay once again and argue my case. 

I have reported the buyer, but it's not a transparent system, and the reason its not

transparent is because nothing is ever done with those reports.  

Why is reports on sellers dealt with immediate actions and reports about buyers

are never dealt with at all?  Again this is so lopsided.   And i can't even feedback them accordingly. 

And they can lie about the feedback as well.  

[bluefirebreather]

Hi there,

I am having a similar problem, a buyer is already lying about high value items he bought of 14K gold and 18K gold, and he is claiming they are not even 14K gold, he bought it approximately 11 days before making this fraudulent claim. They are hallmarked and being highly detailed antiques, impossible to replicate. Ebay pressured me under their money back guarantee to accept a return which I did. The buyer is taking time to return the items but he has until May 3rd and 4th. I am concerned, since he is already lying, that he will send a package that is empty or with a couple of junk objects. In the return request I initially countered him with images of the hallmarks, but now I can not find any record of this on my eBay site. I also reported him, but same no record to be found on my eBay site ! It used to be easy to contact American eBay representatives who used to be extremely helpful, now eBay makes it extremely difficult to even contact their foreign representatives ! I already had a so called buyer who never paid and began to write to me that my item was fake so I cancelled the sale, leave me a negative feedback, which an eBay representative said they would delete, but never happened ! Any advice would be extremely appreciated ? 

[bluefirebreather]

I already had a so called buyer who never paid and began to write to me (fraudulently) expressing that my item was fake so I cancelled the sale, leave me a negative feedback, which an eBay representative said they would delete, but never happened ! Any advice would be extremely appreciated ? 

Edited so as not to be misunderstood.

Best regards,

GC

[luckythewinner]

When is this rediculousness going to end?

Not until eBay decides that the departure of sellers affects them more that than the departure of buyers.

Sellers have demonstrated for years that they are willing to put up with this. After all, you are still here. 

[luckythewinner]

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@kennys-kollectibles wrote:

These ebay policies are so complicated  

---

There are only two eBay policies that matter, and both are in the user agreement: 

"You agree to comply with the policy and permit us to make a final decision on any eBay Money Back Guarantee case"

"We reserve the right to refuse, modify, or terminate all or part of our Services to anyone for any reason at our discretion." 

[coolections]

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@kennys-kollectibles wrote:

You are another one not focusing on the problem here. 

Actually I was focusing on your problem. The better the description and the better the pictures you provide to potential buyers the less returns you will have.

---

[gurlcat]

If you offer FREE returns, you DON'T have to pay for shipping twice.  Now pay careful attention to what I'm going to explain, because every detail matters.  
First of all, don't list your items as Free Shipping, no matter what psychological benefit you think it brings in getting sales.  Returns are just one of multiple reasons to charge shipping as a separate line item, and if you want more, just ask; I'll list them.  
You have 3 options for returns: Not accepted, Returns Accepted with buyer paying return shipping, and Free Returns.  The first one, I don't even know why Ebay gives sellers the false sense that they can refuse returns, and you have illustrated that you already know why I'm saying that.  The 'buyer pays return shipping' one is a little more complicated.  When the buyer initiates the return, they get a pull-down menu that asks why. It doesn't STATE this next to the choices, but here's the reality: If they pick a "personal" reason such as "just didn't like it," or "didn't fit properly" (things they could have gotten clarity about before ordering), then your intention of them paying for return shipping will be honored, because it wasn't your fault.  But if they pick 'arrived damaged' or 'not as described,' then you will pay for return shipping despite your stated policy, because these reasons are considered your fault.  I USED TO think this was the best policy for a seller to utilize, because at face value it sounds the most logical (like okay sure I should pay for my own mistakes, but not buyer's remorse or a buyer who was too lazy to read the description).  .......Then I had a buyer purposely destroy an expensive pair of designer boots just to claim they arrived that way, to avoid paying for return shipping. 
That incident was so demoralizing, I decided to change all my listings to Free Returns, because I'd rather lose $10 on shipping than a $100 item I can't relist.  But then I ACCIDENTALLY found out that "Free" isn't what it sounds like.  Yes, the buyer gets to ship the item back for free, and yes Ebay will charge you for the return shipping label (although it is cheaper than we would pay for the initial shipment, because Ebay gets a good bulk discount from USPS, and only charges the seller that wholesale rate).  BUT, when Ebay gets the delivery scan that the item has reached your house, it sends you a notice to refund the buyer.....and if you notice, it is only for the ITEM PRICE, not the item plus the original shipping that the buyer paid.  The first time I paid a return after switching to Free Returns, I didn't even notice this discrepancy; I was in a hurry and just hit the SEND button.  Next thing I know, the buyer is emailing me, angrily asking why I didn't refund their original shipping. And before I even saw the email, they had also opened a Resolutions case.  So I called Ebay, and the CSR told me something magical: that when this happens, EBAY refunds the buyer for that original shipping!  She also said that if the buyer negs you for this, Ebay will remove it!  I was pleasantly shocked of course, but then I thought about potential abuse, so I asked, "Okay, but then doesn't that just make it easier for a bad seller to be less careful with their listings, or even purposely deceive buyers, if the worst outcome would be a mere return of  item prices, no net loss?" and she replied that they keep track of it, and some (?) frequency of times that Ebay has to pay buyers' shipping costs will trigger consequences for the seller.    
So from then on, I've done it like this: If the return reason is a LEGIT INAD or damaged case, I give them a full return including their original shipping, which is extremely rare because I do describe and pack my items WELL.  But usually it's a buyer's personal reason, I don't refund their shipping, and then I just forget about it; if they want to press for the full refund they can go to Mommy Ebay for it.  
If you adopt this policy you will have much more peace of mind.  Just remember the crucial factors:
List your items with FREE SHIPPING, not either of the other two choices. 
List with a separate shipping price (or the shipping would automatically be in the refund amount).
Describe thoroughly. 
Pack like the package will be drop-kicked repeatedly.  

[kennys-kollectibles]

You bring another point.  

Ebay and it's policies. 

They don't understand or even follow their own policies. 

I have been thru this for literally years.   The customer service people are hit and miss, and more often than not, they are not trained do not know what to do, so they read a prepared print out to me .

I know I am in the right here.   

I have also read dozens upon dozens of similiar complaints from sellers, 

so I know i am correct.  

You can say, well, it's just the way it is or the cost of doing business, but

that doesn't make it right.  

I am just hoping in my lifetime that it could be a fair playing field.  

Seriously why is it ok to rip off sellers, and buyers are protected?  

Why it is ok to neg. feedback a seller but not a buyer?  

Come on really, do I really need to go into this, this is all common sense. 

Like I said,  you can seller shame me and make it out to be my fault

which is outrageous in itself, but I just don't agree with this. 

There is too many facts to support what I am saying. 

Mind you, I am just venting because it happened once again.  

And NO you can't return something for ANY reason.  

It does have to be legit.  Abuse of returns is a thing. 

And when you report buyers, there are several things you can choose from

in which they cannot do, and you can mark them down on it. 

The question is....does ebay crack down this.....I see no evidence of it.   

Also, I have had 3 neg. feedbacks in one year removed because

of bad buyers.  I had to call ebay and explain the situation but it was removed. 

I can't believe no one in 10 years has wanted a return from you. 

What do you sell 10 things a year?   

And no one can answer this question....why do I have to pay shipping both ways on a return? 

Someone give me  a real logical explanation for this one.

By the way, if these buyers have legit concerns they haven't brought them up to me.  

How can ebay sensor me for selling vintage used watches that do not work?  

Is this really truth?  If so, maybe I should stop selling them.  

Selling vintage used stuff was ebay niche'.  once that is gone, they are just Amazon light. 

In review, most customers I have or have had, and I have had repeat customers for 10+ years

are really great people. 

I am an honest seller who does the right thing every time. 

if I goof up I fix it.  But having to deal with scammers and people just 

wasting my time gets old real quick.   

I have altered my business ways to deal with scammers and ebay policies

and trying to manuver my way in this day and age of selling, but it's not easy. 

[kennys-kollectibles]

HINT:   It's not my policy it is ebay policy.  

And you are wrong....look into returns abuse. 

People cannot abuse the return system for any reason. 

By the way did you see the person selling on ebay win a case

on people court?    It's because the buyer tried abusing 

the ebay policy and they lost, because it was UNlawfull. 

[gurlcat]

"And no one can answer this question....why do I have to pay shipping both ways on a return? " 

--I literally answered that.  You DON'T have to. 

[kennys-kollectibles]

Hi, you may be on to something. 

Thanks for that.  

It does seem to be not what you would think it to be. 

At the end of the month, I just may start to experiment with this and see how it goes. 

Because the lying on the reports is what gets me...

Ebay  just assumes that all buyers are honest and won't try to scam, and buyers 

have become saavy in that they will eventually learn how to answer the questions

in a way that ensures they get their bid amount back + shipping. 

Thanks again. 

[kennys-kollectibles]

And here are some more scenario's to challenge you all.  

A person buys a vintage record album that is still sealed

and wants to return it because he didn't like the music. 

Or he did like and he just recorded on a tape for himself. 

Question; doesn't the item being returned have to be returned in the condition it was sent?

IE.  sealed new, now it's used.  

Second scenario.......a  person buys a $50 bluray box set sealed new.  

They watch it and like it but still want a refund.  

Or what if they just wanted access to the digital code for download.  

Again,  can you return for any reason?   And its now opened.  

And what about a little rule that came out the first year of ebay....

ie....when you bid on something, you are obligated to follow thru and buy it if you win. 

Can you still return it, and in the end not honor your bids? 

I welcome any and all opinions on this one. 

[nguyti-2099]

thank you for posting ! 

have a good day ! 

[gurlcat]

I've not had the opened-sealed item situation but there has to be some stated policy about it because it's a very legitimate concern and probably happens sometimes.  
As for returning auction wins, well of course people can do that.  It's no different than if they click Buy It Now and then feel remorse when they see the total after added tax, ha.  The question you really should be asking is what you (the seller) should do if someone asks YOU to cancel a sale for them after they've won the auction.  I've had it happen a couple of times, and of course they don't say "I just wish I hadn't bid that high;" because that would be admitting to being a spastic idiot, lol. Nor do they say they found an identical item cheaper than the winning bid before the end of the auction (which could just as likely be the case, but they would still be selfishly making things harder for you).   What they do is say they noticed something about the item they didn't when they bid.  And I'm not asserting that they are purposely hinting that they will just return it if you "force" them to honor their bid and pay for the item ...... but that is how I take it.   I just bite my tongue, cancel the sale, and then (you'll notice) Ebay conveniently offers you the immediate option to offer the item to the next-highest bidder, for whatever their proxy bid was.  And they have 24 hours to accept; if they don't, ebay asks if you'd like to offer to the NEXT-NEXT highest bidder.  So that's pretty cool, and I've had 2nd and 3rd place people SO thrilled to get the item they thought they lost!  

[phahu1595]

That's the cost of doing business.

[kennys-kollectibles]

Yes, your scenario I have had come up several times. 

And yes, I can see the signs, so i ok the cancel because

they will just get the item and request a return. 

It's best to just cancel the sale before you ship and 

block them.