eBay

lindseys_whimsy · ‎07-17-2018

Why does ebay even give a seller the option of issuing no refunds when they automatically side with the buyer?

I have been an ebay user for many years, but until this year I was only a buyer. I finally decided to start selling of some of my childhood nostalgia pieces as they were just hiding away in boxes. So I've been selling for about 2 months now and noticed that when I list my vintage Sanrio stationary products, I started getting a lot of bids/buys from accounts with zero feedback So when a user with a feedback score of 1 won an auction, I was already a little nervous about sending my precious memories, but this person had paid, so I send it anyway. In the listing I made very clear with numerous pictures and verbal description that the stationary sets were not complete, as I had used some of the stickers/envelopes when I was a kid. Pictures were very clear. Description was very clear. Also clear was that I do not accept returns. So the buyer immediately puts in a request for a refund saying the item was "damaged" because some of the stickers were missing. I explained that I don't accept refunds and that the item was exactly as described in the listing. This person was HORRIBLE at communicating, which had me believing it was probably someone scamming me. I even offered a partial refund with no response from the buyer. So I thought that ebay would step in, look at my return policy, look at the listing, look at our message history, and see that clearly the item was not damaged. Ebay automatically sided with the buyer without even reviewing the case. Issued the buyer a refund.

Now we wait to see if I actually get my Sanrio stationary sets back.

And WHY can I not leave a negative feedback score? Only sellers can get negative feedback? RIDICULOUS!!!!

zamo-zuan · ‎07-17-2018

@the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth wrote:
If someone violates a contract, the law tries to set it back. Ebay feels you violated the sales contract and the item then goes back to the seller and the money goes back to the buyer. Any costs are paid for by the professional, that means you.

If Ebay was truly deciding for the buyer they wouldn't require a return for the refund.

This is a great policy in theory. But if this is the policy of eBay, it should include ensuring the item actually returns to the seller.

Furthermore, in cases that require the seller to send the item back, eBay only does 50% refunds nowdays, even if it's decided in your favor. This happened to us within the last 1-2 weeks.

At the point the buyer returns a damaged item, or returns the wrong item, it's the buyer who violated the contract. Yet they are not held responsible, nor is a fair exchange in return granted.

I think this is the main issue the OP is discussing. It's not just that eBay takes the buyers side. But it's the fact it's not a fair exchange, or a fair amount of responsibility.

There's lots of issues like this in policy. For example, in the case of a INR case. We recently had a INR case closed, with different policies than in the past. In the past we had it put on hold for 10 days to see if there's any updates. This time, we were not able to put the case on hold, and by the 3rd day the customer called in and it was decided in his favor. That same day there was further tracking updates! Literally minutes after the case was decided. The reason: "There was no update on tracking for 7 days". Even though we sent it on time, we were not protected. Even though it was a guaranteed delivery item, and the guaranteed delivery page says if you choose the "Handling time method, eBay will cover and protect you in the case of late shipments"... we were still not protected when this exact thing happened to us. Why? Becuase he opened an "INR" case, and that turned it from a "late" to an "INR". This means the buyer has the ability to remove sellers protections that were promised by guaranteed delivery!

The policy was further abused against us as well. The INR was delivered after the case was closed, the item was delivered to the buyer. Apparently, eBay holds the buyer under no further responsibility in this case! They are not required to send the item back to us, or provide tracking.

It's not an "equal exchange" as you describe in your post, sadly.

Luckily in our case, the buyer was extremely rude, and this qualified for us being able to get the defect removed.

But the case still stands, that policy is not fair for sellers at all. But it's extremely fair for buyers, to the point that they can completely take advantage of sellers, in multiple different ways, in a single order. Sellers can not remove the protections of malicious buyers. But malicious buyers can remove the protections of honest sellers.

the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth · ‎07-17-2018

The policy is in place to automatically deal with regular returns. Fraud needs to be dealt with differently and by a person. That doesn't make the normal return process wrong.

lifran17 · ‎07-17-2018

@paulie_58 wrote:
Remember that ebay only always sides with the paying buyer not all buyers.

@paulie_58

Why do you constantly hijack others threads?

castlemagicmemories · ‎07-17-2018

@paulie_58 wrote:
Well you are forgetting some things.

No, I'm not forgetting anything.

Now an item is sitting in my cart. Unpaid for. I cant cancel the order only seller can. This makes me as a buyer angry with ebay buying experience.

I am well aware of that, and I addressed that earlier when I said that you were still committed to the item. You may recall I explained that a cancellation was not an order, it was a request and the seller does not have to accept it, they can decline it.

Ebay and sellers want smooth transactions. When a buyer cancels because they did not research the item or the seller before they decided to purchase (which is what happened here since you were very concerned after the purchase and checked feedback; but that feedback was there before you purchased as was the fact that there was only one listing), that is not a smooth transaction. Item is taken off the market when a serious buyer might have bought it and it necessitates more action on the part of the seller, possibly through no fault of his own. Seller is assessed fees at the time of sale. While there is a chance that a transaction can go south, post purchase, with no warning and no clue that that would happen, from what you say, you found a lot to question the wisdom of your purchase post sale. And some things you questioned beyond that were simply because you were putting your expectations on the purchase that had no bearing on how the site actually works.

So I am not ordering the item from someone else unsure of how my transaction will play out.

And that is your perogative.

If I find the item elsewhere I will probably buy it elsewhere.

That is your perogative as well. Just be very sure you want what you buy and you know how the process works so you don't run into the same situation elsewhere. You will keep having frustrations if you don't do buyer's due diligence before buying, commit to purchase prematurely, and have unrealistic expectations of what to actually expect.

Bear in mind the other seller I wanted to buy from could be you losing a sale.

Actually, you missed this as well...I stated previously that I am a buyer. I just know how things work. It's just a fact cancellations are frowned upon~for valid reasons~not saying customers are not important, but there is a saying that not all sales are worth having. Sellers can block those who are problematic.

Wishing you all the best in the future.

castlemagicmemories · ‎07-17-2018

@paulie_58 wrote:
Hey guess what. I gave it a lot of thought. Here is what I did.

If the seller opens a non-payment case against a buyer it can tie up funds and show as a negative on the buyer account.

This seller may be a fraud. So now I am going to find out if they are or not and so is ebay.

Because I decided to buy the item, pay via paypal and see if they ship or not.

If they dont I am going to open a case against THEM with "Resolution Center" instead.

I am surprised none of you suggested I do this in the first place.

You already bought the item, so you didn't need to decide to buy the item. You decided to pay again, since you cancelled the first payment you made.

You checked out the seller after you bought instead of before and then became concerned it was a fraudulent listing.

You messaged the seller and decided to cancel when you didn't hear back the same day.

You cancelled the payment. There was nothing to suggest. In any case, undoubtedly advice telling you to pay would never have been taken by you, since you have gone against policy and protocol throughout. So please don't be surprised. And this thread was sidetracked and derailed when it should have been about the OP's issue.

You are indeed astute, but don't anticipate filing a case just yet. You may never get the chance to file a case; Ebay could remove the listing, and you would still have to apply for a refund, or the seller could get your cancel request and decide it best to do so, and the cancel would go through on your record and you would be refunded through that. Seller may add you to the Blocked Buyer List.

Good Luck to you.

castlemagicmemories · ‎07-17-2018

@lifran17 wrote:
@paulie_58 wrote:
Remember that ebay only always sides with the paying buyer not all buyers.
@paulie_58

Why do you constantly hijack others threads?

Thank you, @lifran17. @paulie_58 seems to have made this all about her, when she can simply open a new thread for her many issues. Learning about how Ebay works would be extremely beneficial.

paulie_58 · ‎07-17-2018

Its clear after everything you just said ebay doesnt always side with the buyer and that was my proof. You dont pay-- they dont side with you. LOL

paulie_58 · ‎07-17-2018

Funnier still ebay just emailed me to buy this same item from another "experienced seller" what a comedy of errors ebay has become.

zamo-zuan · ‎07-17-2018

@the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth wrote:
The policy is in place to automatically deal with regular returns. Fraud needs to be dealt with differently and by a person. That doesn't make the normal return process wrong.

Fraud actually is not dealt with right now, though. A 50% refund is not sufficient for cases where buyers returns are not in the condition they received.

I gave examples of non-fraud cases as well. It's completely wrong that sellers can no longer request an extension for their case when they ship on time, and the shipping service does not do their job. It makes no sense that they can receive a defect, when the seller did everything in their power. And it makes no sense that buyers have no responsibility when an INR is actually received.

@castlemagicmemories wrote:
Seller are protected against INR, item not received cases, if they have tracking that proves delivery and enter it into the case.

Those protections are sadly not the same anymore, as discussed above the extensions are no longer available, and sellers are punished for any delays on USPS's end.

The monetary loss would be one thing, because that can be somewhat dealt with USPS. As long as the INR is never actually delivered. But sellers have absolutely no protection if the INR is delivered, which is not fair. And even though the seller can prove, without a doubt, that they did no wrong by shipping on time... the worst part is you are stuck with a defect, that was actually earned by the postal service and not the seller...

Many CSR's at eBay claim they sell on eBay as well. But I truly question this, becuase they do not seem to understand how unfair many of their policies are to sellers. It is often times not a "safe" place for sellers...

castlemagicmemories · ‎07-17-2018

@paulie_58 wrote:
Well you are forgetting some things.

Now an item is sitting in my cart. Unpaid for. I cant cancel the order only seller can. This makes me as a buyer angry with ebay buying experience.

So I am not ordering the item from someone else unsure of how my transaction will play out.

If I find the item elsewhere I will probably buy it elsewhere.

Bear in mind the other seller I wanted to buy from could be you losing a sale.

Post 6 states I am a buyer.

castlemagicmemories · ‎07-17-2018

@paulie_58 wrote:
Hey guess what. I gave it a lot of thought. Here is what I did.

If the seller opens a non-payment case against a buyer it can tie up funds and show as a negative on the buyer account.

This seller may be a fraud. So now I am going to find out if they are or not and so is ebay.

Because I decided to buy the item, pay via paypal and see if they ship or not.

If they dont I am going to open a case against THEM with "Resolution Center" instead.

I am surprised none of you suggested I do this in the first place.

Post 41 mentions the MBG, but you had already cancelled your payment. Clearly you have your own agenda, and don't know or choose to follow the usual procedures that you have been made aware of, and logically you wouldn't have accepted any advice to pay and open a case, nor would anyone tell you so since the point was moot and you already wanted to cancel.

Your perogative.

castlemagicmemories · ‎07-17-2018

@paulie_58 wrote:
Its clear after everything you just said ebay doesnt always side with the buyer and that was my proof. You dont pay-- they dont side with you. LOL

I never said that Ebay always sided with the buyer, and I have no idea where you come up with that conclusion. Perhaps you should start a new thread for your issues.