Why would eBay allow a buyer to post and keep a derogatory review that was clearly their fault?

[threeoakstactical]

I clearly state on my postings (using a pre-selected tick box) that the seller does not accept returns. Ebay sends me a return request from a buyer who mistakenly purchased an item that will not fit their needs. The buyer "opened" the factory packaging and tried to fit the item into their sporting goods item that this accessory might fit in. The buyer did not research this and did not know that this item would not work with their existing item. I contested the review and eBay sided with the buyer.

Buyer review:

See I Asked the seller to return the item , the seller refused to accept return for a wrong purchased item. He said that eBay screwed him over so he won’t accept returns. I said I would gladly send his item back first and he refused to accept it. This is a **bleep** company don’t buy from them save your self the hassle.

Reply from:

Sir, As clearly stated on my postings, "Seller does not accept returns". I sent you exactly what your ordered. It is unfortunate that you ordered the wrong item. Since you opened the packaging and tried to insert the magazine in your firearm; the item is now considered used and cannot be sold as new. You should be more careful and ensure that a magazine will fit your firearm before ordering it. Why leave a negative review about something thing that is not our fault but yours?

[aproudparent2010]

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@mkaczorsee wrote:

So you are suggesting the buyer lies and says the item is not as described when in fact it is as described …and buyer simply purchased wrong item?  WOW

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Uh nope, never suggested anything?? Reading comprehension is important

I was saying if the buyer opened a case that is what would have happened....never said they should

[lygerr]

None of it matters, ebay has a 30 day money back guarantee which basically covers any reason to return an item(short of items listed as broken/non working i believe). They're trying to compete with other companies like amazon and wal mart that have relaxed return policies, the only difference here is ebay isn't taking the L, we are. It's a risk you take every time you press the "list an item" button, agreeing to ebays terms of service which basically gives buyers all the rights.

A buyer can return an item using whatever button ebay presents to them, you can give all the evidence in the world you sent the item that was described and that it works fine but at the end of the day a buyer can return it at your loss of shipping costs, temporary holds of funds and potentially even negative reviews to you. The worst is when they tamper with your belongings, opening unopened packages, loading software into items, potentially even breaking an item and then sending it back to you. We all as sellers have lost this gamble at one point or another, one time i sold a new motherboard, the buyer smashed in a CPU and bent the pins on the board and then said it was like that.... i lost the sale, the shipping, my item and also had to wait for a refund of my ebay selling fees on the item.

Had i known at the time they damaged the item and that ebay really doesn't care about sellers or their items i would have told them to keep the item and given the refund rather than pay to ship back a bricked motherboard that i couldn't resell.

[albertabrightalberta]

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@lygerr wrote:

None of it matters, ebay has a 30 day money back guarantee which basically covers any reason to return an item(short of items listed as broken/non working i believe).

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This is not correct. 

Ebay's 30 day MBG doesn't cover any reason that a buyer might want to return. It ONLY covers "not as described" items. Unless a seller has a return policy (which allows returns for any reason), the MBG does NOT cover remorse returns. 

[gurlcat]

You are correct .... but only up to a point.  eBay does want to mirror the Walmart-like, buyer-friendly, relaxed return policies, but they actually stop short of that.  For instance, by allowing sellers to refuse returns for remorse reasons (you can absolutely return something at Walmart because "I accidentally bought the wrong one" or "I just don't like this" etc.).   Alternatively, eBay offers sellers the compromise of Buyer Pays For Return Shipping (for remorse purchases) -at Walmart, the buyer has to pay for their own gas to schlep an item back to the store, even when it's NOT a remorse return but a truly 'dud' item! 

But I get your point, that if an eBay buyer wants to, they can file an INAD return even if it's actually a remorse one, they can claim damage that they themselves caused, and they can even pull a full-on scam and return a box of rocks, and eBay will force the seller to refund. 

What you're missing is the fact that ... if you know how ... you can get eBay to then REFUND YOU, the seller.  Having FREE returns on your items, REPORTING abusive buyer behavior, and reaching out to the right eBay agents (the social media ones, not the phone or chat ones) ...  is how you accomplish this.   Some might add, 'being a Top Rated Seller' to that list -I would say it certainly doesn't hurt, but I'm not sure it's always necessary. 

Unfortunately eBay doesn't make it easy by explaining in clear language what all ducks in a row you need to get a courtesy refund, not even on their Seller Protections page.  That's not surprising, considering they would probably rather pay as few courtesy refunds as possible.  But I would argue they SHOULD make it more widely known, because the prescribed behaviors are good for the site overall.  It would be better for buyers if all sellers had free returns (making it MORE like Walmart).  It would be good for the company and sellers if all abusive buyer behavior was reported so that scammers could be identified faster.  And heII, it would be better for AMERICA, if (at least the American eBay platform) just did away with the overseas phone/chat contracts completely, considering those agents can't and/or don't know how to do anything, and are a waste of money, and that money could be diverted to a bigger workforce of English-fluent, autonomy-granted American service agents, like the ones on the social media sites. 

But as it stands, eBay has thus far not been wise enough to make those changes or to make courtesy refunds easy for sellers to understand and utilize. For that, your best bet is to present your problem here in the Community, and do it as soon as it appears to be a problem, not after it's too late.  I bet we could have walked you through keeping your money for that trashed motherboard if you had come here for help. 

[fbusoni]

@lygerr 

I've always believed that it was up to the seller to insulate himself / herself from malevolent buyers and the whims of eBay.

For me, in practical terms, this means making sufficient money with successful eBay sales that I can afford to cover a once-in-a-blue-moon loss when I do encounter a miscreant buyer.  

(And that in fact happens once in a blue moon, because I have selected my buyer demographic very carefully.)

[mam98031]

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@ady9701 wrote:

Yeah you are dam right it's not the eBay from 20 years ago , it's a load of rubbish now. Over complicated anti private seller all about eBay profit and nothing else .

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@ady9701 

If Ebay were the same as it was 20 years ago, it is highly likely it would not exist today.  Ebay has to move forward whether some like it or not.  One good example is the Mobile App.  A good number of buyers come to the site using the Mobile App.  That didn't exist 20 years ago on this site.  And I could list all kinds of other things that the site didn't have 20 years ago.  

The sheer volume of Buyers and sellers have significantly increased as well in subsequent years.  

This "load of rubbish" is functioning very well for millions and millions and millions of buyers and sellers.  I'm sorry that for you it isn't.  If you have some specific concerns or question, possibly if you tell us about them we can help you or give you some suggestions you might not of thought of.

[aproudparent2010]

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@lygerr wrote:

None of it matters, ebay has a 30 day money back guarantee which basically covers any reason to return an item(short of items listed as broken/non working i believe). They're trying to compete with other companies like amazon and wal mart that have relaxed return policies, the only difference here is ebay isn't taking the L, we are. It's a risk you take every time you press the "list an item" button, agreeing to ebays terms of service which basically gives buyers all the rights.

A buyer can return an item using whatever button ebay presents to them, you can give all the evidence in the world you sent the item that was described and that it works fine but at the end of the day a buyer can return it at your loss of shipping costs, temporary holds of funds and potentially even negative reviews to you. The worst is when they tamper with your belongings, opening unopened packages, loading software into items, potentially even breaking an item and then sending it back to you. We all as sellers have lost this gamble at one point or another, one time i sold a new motherboard, the buyer smashed in a CPU and bent the pins on the board and then said it was like that.... i lost the sale, the shipping, my item and also had to wait for a refund of my ebay selling fees on the item.

Had i known at the time they damaged the item and that ebay really doesn't care about sellers or their items i would have told them to keep the item and given the refund rather than pay to ship back a bricked motherboard that i couldn't resell.

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I know how eBay works, over 500,000 transactions as a seller

[threeoakstactical]

That is not correct. I described the item perfectly and accurately. The buyer bought the item not knowing it would not fit their firearm. He never asked me if it would fit his firearm. I would have told him to ask the maker of his firearm or the maker of the magazine.

[fbusoni]

@gurlcat 

A lucid and insightful exposition, as always.

Perhaps you can add a condensed form to my thread below (which, curiously, seems to be not getting a lot of attention, what with all the smart people in this group):

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Here-s-what-eBay-Academy-Will-Not-Tell-You/td-p/34976529

[gurlcat]

I'll give it a shot, although I'm not 100% sure I understand it.