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!!!!

paulie_58 · ‎07-17-2018

Whats funny is if the buyer is also a seller they often do not.

I tried to cancel an item just recently. I paid for an item in the morning. Seller never got back to me all day sent multiple messages first asked for confirmation they got order then eventually to cancel.

I looked at their feedback and store is empty except this one item I bought and that item seemed way underpriced. Most of their feedback is for buying except one positive for a sale. This seller item says dozens of items sold.

Being there was no communication I cancelled paypal payment. I also told seller in ebay message to cancel my order. Still no response. In this day and age a seller really has no excuse not to contact someone everyone has a mobile phone and internet and apps.

Now this item is sitting in my cart unpaid. I cant cancel and ebay claims I am still committed to this purchase and I am not.

Funny how I am expected to communicate with sellers ship within 3 days and they can seemingly cancel at will or request a refund after delivery or open a case mid return but I cant even cancel something I dont want to pay on ebay for without the consent of a potential thief.

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

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.

As to why Ebay disallowed bad feedback for buyers it is because some bad sellers used it to punish good buyers and those good buyers left. Trust me, we see some pretty bad hotheads here on the boards. Why would you want some of the seller hotheads to be able to punish YOUR good buyers? How many times do you think bad people bump heads in transactions? Not very often.

Bad buyers know they can get a new id. Good buyers who care about their rating and history often just leave when they get a bad spanking.

BTW it is also a violation to leave a negatively worded comment with a green dot.

castlemagicmemories · ‎07-17-2018

The Ebay MBG overrides your no returns policy in the case of damage or not as described. I understand that your listing was accurate, but Ebay does not mediate on these cases. If you let the buyer escalate, you received a very serious defect, case closed without seller resolution, which can hurt your selling privileges. If you did not accept the return, you may not get the item back as you would have needed to ask Ebay to send the buyer a return label, which you would pay for.

Ebay eliminated negative feedbacks for buyers in 2008 because sellers posted false, retaliatory feedback in response to honest negs.

Sorry this happened to you. I wish you had consulted this Board when you first had the problem as people would have helped you with it.

castlemagicmemories · ‎07-17-2018

@paulie_58 wrote:
Whats funny is if the buyer is also a seller they often do not.

I tried to cancel an item just recently. I paid for an item in the morning. Seller never got back to me all day sent multiple messages first asked for confirmation they got order then eventually to cancel.

I looked at their feedback and store is empty except this one item I bought and that item seemed way underpriced. Most of their feedback is for buying except one positive for a sale. This seller item says dozens of items sold.

Being there was no communication I cancelled paypal payment. I also told seller in ebay message to cancel my order. Still no response. In this day and age a seller really has no excuse not to contact someone everyone has a mobile phone and internet and apps.

Now this item is sitting in my cart unpaid. I cant cancel and ebay claims I am still committed to this purchase and I am not.

Funny how I am expected to communicate with sellers ship within 3 days and they can seemingly cancel at will or request a refund after delivery or open a case mid return but I cant even cancel something I dont want to pay on ebay for without the consent of a potential thief.

Yes, you are still committed to the sale. A request to cancel is not an order, it is a request, and Ebay gives the seller three days to make the decision as to whether he will accept or decline your request. Cancellations are to be rarely, if ever used. They can indicate buyer issues.

When you send a message, it tells you immediately after that you may hear from the seller in 24-48 hrs so your expectations were hasty. And Ebay messages may not be received the same day.

Not everyone has or uses their phone for communication. Even if they do, they may have other jobs, families, and need to eat and sleep as well. The best time to check feedback is before you purchase so you can avoid a potential problem. With all due respect, doing it after you buy doesn't help you. If you do that due diligence before you buy, you will avoid situations like this.

Good Luck.

castlemagicmemories · ‎07-17-2018

@castlemagicmemories wrote:
@paulie_58 wrote:
Whats funny is if the buyer is also a seller they often do not.

I tried to cancel an item just recently. I paid for an item in the morning. Seller never got back to me all day sent multiple messages first asked for confirmation they got order then eventually to cancel.

I looked at their feedback and store is empty except this one item I bought and that item seemed way underpriced. Most of their feedback is for buying except one positive for a sale. This seller item says dozens of items sold.

Being there was no communication I cancelled paypal payment. I also told seller in ebay message to cancel my order. Still no response. In this day and age a seller really has no excuse not to contact someone everyone has a mobile phone and internet and apps.

Now this item is sitting in my cart unpaid. I cant cancel and ebay claims I am still committed to this purchase and I am not.

Funny how I am expected to communicate with sellers ship within 3 days and they can seemingly cancel at will or request a refund after delivery or open a case mid return but I cant even cancel something I dont want to pay on ebay for without the consent of a potential thief.

Yes, you are still committed to the sale. A request to cancel is not an order, it is a request, and Ebay gives the seller three days to make the decision as to whether he will accept or decline your request. Cancellations are to be rarely, if ever used. They can indicate buyer issues.

A seller is not required to confirm your order with you. You get a Paypal Receipt and an order confirmation from Ebay. Most think that is sufficient, but perhaps you were not aware of the process. New buyers who don't know how the site works may have unrealistic expectations and have high anxiety simply because they don't know how the site works. Also there are sellers who simply cannot cancel an order. Some are large companies. Some have the order go directly to the Shipping Department and it cannot be retrieved. That's why it is best to do your due diligence before purchasing.

Not every sellers ships with tracking, so your item may have been on the way to you when you cancelled. If you receive the item, you can keep it, gift it, or list it to sell it on Ebay yourself.

When you send a message, it tells you immediately after that you may hear from the seller in 24-48 hrs so your expectations were hasty. And Ebay messages may not be received the same day.

Not everyone has or uses their phone for communication. Even if they do, they may have other jobs, families, and need to eat and sleep as well. The best time to check feedback is before you purchase so you can avoid a potential problem. With all due respect, doing it after you buy doesn't help you. If you do that due diligence before you buy, you will avoid situations like this. Sorry for your frustration.

Good Luck.

Thank you for posting.

Ran out of edit time.

I'm a buyer.

lindseys_whimsy · ‎07-17-2018

What do you mean by a greet dot?

castlemagicmemories · ‎07-17-2018

Not to step on anyone's toes, but a green dot refers to a positive format.

It is against policy to leave a negative comment in a positive format, hence the green dot.

As opposed to the red dot, which is a negative, and only sellers can get a negative.

lindseys_whimsy · ‎07-17-2018

I offered a partial refund since the buyer was unhappy, but the buyer would not respond to messages.

castlemagicmemories · ‎07-17-2018

Sorry to break it to you, but if Ebay issued a refund, you paid for it, and once a refund is issued, the buyer has no obligation to return the item. So it seems that your stationery is not coming back to you. If return for refund was chosen, you would have sent a return label through the case, and paid for it, and the buyer would not have been refunded until the tracking on the label showed delivery to you.

You might want to spend some time on this Board as you continue to sell; knowing how things work is knowledge, and that knowledge will help you.

lindseys_whimsy · ‎07-17-2018

Oh, you mean leaving "positive" feedback since it's the only option, but telling the truth in the description, which might be negative because the buyer is a theif or a liar, etc. and the seller wants to warn others?

I have not done that, as it would add positive numbers to the buyer's rating and that should not happen. I reported the buyer, but by what I've been experiencing and hearing from others, that will have no consequence for the buyer.

castlemagicmemories · ‎07-17-2018

@lindseys_whimsy wrote:
I offered a partial refund since the buyer was unhappy, but the buyer would not respond to messages.

I understand your frustration, but a buyer is not required to respond to messages.

lifran17 · ‎07-17-2018

@lindseys_whimsy wrote:
. 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.

________
If it was the bear stationary your listing does not mention anything about missing stickers.

castlemagicmemories · ‎07-17-2018

@lindseys_whimsy wrote:
Oh, you mean leaving "positive" feedback since it's the only option, but telling the truth in the description, which might be negative because the buyer is a theif or a liar, etc. and the seller wants to warn others?

I have not done that, as it would add positive numbers to the buyer's rating and that should not happen. I reported the buyer, but by what I've been experiencing and hearing from others, that will have no consequence for the buyer.

Yes, that is exactly what everyone means. It's good that you have not done that; I think the dog ate my tablecloth was just warning you against that, should you decide to do so. If a pattern becomes apparent in those reports and sellers call to complain, there can be consequences for the buyer.

ed8108 · ‎07-17-2018

@lindseys_whimsy wrote:

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.

Buyer allegations are considered to be true and correct, ebay policy & practice results in allegations frequently being non rebuttal by a seller.