eBay

lygerr · ‎03-08-2025

I have a customer who has filed a broken item claim against me, the person is having an issue with transferring ownership of a subscription item but in doing so has filed the claim against me to file a return. The issue is they never did the transfer of ownership with the actual company that makes this item, you know, the only company that can actually register and re-register the item to a new owner. i figured it would have been common sense but after a month I get hit with an over $1.2k funds hold on my account. I've been having to pay out of pocket to ship items in the meantime for a week now, with no income(this is my only income by the way).

I tested the item before shipping it, i spent twice as much as the buyer paid to insure it for the sale amount to cover my own rear if it got lost or damaged. I also placed a "no return" policy on the item because it is software driven and can easily become corrupted in the wrong hands(the situation they're putting me in here because they've already tinkered with the software loaded in it) If the owner was able to convince ebay that the item is somehow not working, even though i can't personally be there to hold their hand to make sure they transfer ownership and get a working account for it, I would be out nearly $100 as well as have to recoup my fees lost to ebay from the sale(not immediately refunded). As well i may in fact now have a broken item, when it was actually working fine when sent, i verbally wrote the warning in the sale about this fact and as to why there are no returns on it.

The buyer never reached out to me prior to making the false "non working item" claim either, so i'm stuck in limbo until they either release the claim or ebay steps in and makes a ruling for one of us.

I'm playing tech support with the buyer while they try and resolve the issue, i explained that filing a non working item report on an item places a hold on my account for the amount of the item, the buyer so far has been unremoseful. Should i report them once this issue is resolved? I know customer service is something we should put on the front burner but these days society is filled with people who can't work to resolve issues, instead they cry foul first and begin demanding things and play victim. At what point are you, the seller, actually the victim?

ittybitnot · ‎03-11-2025

For reference the buyer did eventually get the item working (with my help pointing them in the right directions) and cancelled the claim,

@lygerr

Thanks so much for the update, and glad it is working out for you!

albertabrightalberta · ‎03-11-2025

@lygerr wrote:
For reference the buyer did eventually get the item working (with my help pointing them in the right directions) and cancelled the claim, the shipping label was never used or charged against my account. So these events can have positive outcomes. I also even did a background check on the buyer before shipping the item so I knew where they lived was a legitimate address, their son even lives next door to them(public property records search), even checked their online sales history of what they had sold in the past(the buyer apparently is into boats and has a few of them), read their sons linkedin profile and checked their business profile. if something had seemed fishy I likely would have asked questions but everything seemed legitimate.

I'm glad this claim worked out for you but IMO, your "research" was stalker-ish. If you need to do that much digging, maybe online selling isn't for you.

albertabrightalberta
Volunteer Community Mentor

aproudparent2010 · ‎03-11-2025

@lygerr wrote:
I guess ill wait for ebay to step in and make a decision(not that i have a choice) because they're dragging their feet in working out the transfer and registration. I don't see how the customer would be allowed to keep the item even if i refused to accept a return. If they get a refund it should include the shipping and the item returned to me, not just a "well they won't refund you, keep the item and here's your money back" decision by ebay. That seems awfully illegal to me.

I'm fairly certain even if they win the return, there is still an option to pay the shipping to have the item returned. Ebay can't make that decision for you to let the customer keep an item, especially when it cost this much.

I also am unsure how this isn't abuse of a return policy. I'm not wal mart with a return anything you want just because you can't figure out how it works policy.

eBay can make that decision if you don't accept the return, it's in the user agreement you "signed"

estate_echoes · ‎03-11-2025

@lygerr wrote:
For reference the buyer did eventually get the item working (with my help pointing them in the right directions) and cancelled the claim, the shipping label was never used or charged against my account. So these events can have positive outcomes. I also even did a background check on the buyer before shipping the item so I knew where they lived was a legitimate address, their son even lives next door to them(public property records search), even checked their online sales history of what they had sold in the past(the buyer apparently is into boats and has a few of them), read their sons linkedin profile and checked their business profile. if something had seemed fishy I likely would have asked questions but everything seemed legitimate.

I did of course review the ebay process of the return and made notes, unlikely to be heard unless others do the same. buyers shouldn't be allowed to abuse return policies just because they can't ask for help or figure out an item.

If this was a sub $100 item i likely wouldn't have cared so much, but it being a $1200 item I tend to do my homework. Just because i'm new here again doesn't mean I'm new to selling, I have plenty of experience in that. Do what you can to protect yourself by asking questions, helping when it is needed and if something seems off request a cancellation of a sale.

Glad it turned out ok, and thank you for the update. It wasn't really an abuse of policies though; buyers aren't required to use common sense, regardless of price. Try to remember that going forward and it will make things easier.