ebay just refunded a buyer & let them keep the item before I could even respond

[sumthnwchy]

I feel really betrayed right now and want to ask ebay what's going on.  Apparently a buyer opened a claim TODAY on an item they received TODAY and I just got an email from ebay saying "conrgatulations, you just refunded the buyer and they get to keep the item" - when I did no such thing.  ebay did this "on my behalf"!  I want the item back!

[vintagecraze50]

 Have never heard of Ebay automatically refunding a buyer without the buyer having to return the item on a case that was just opened with no response from you the seller in that short of a time. If you do not respond to a case within a certain time frame which is reasonable, then they can automatically refund the buyer. Even with automated returns the buyer still has to send the item back before a refund is given. Can you give us more specicifs of this transaction?

[sam9876]

How much was this item worth?

[sumthnwchy]

it was $10 total, with free shipping, so about $5 item with $5 for shipping; I'm not contesting the claim, just the way ebay did not include me in the process at all.

[buyselljack2016]

@sumthnwchy

For whatever reason, eBay refunded from their pocket.

You have your money, and no ding on your account.

You were paid. You do not get the item back.

It's all done.

[sumthnwchy]

Oh I see that now.  ebay paid for it.  Still woulda liked to have had the sweater back, still in the dark about the what and the why, but thank you for listening and responding!  Lori

[goodluckselling]

Your C/P message shows that eBay paid the buyer under the money back guarantee and it also says you will not be charged.

This is a courtesy refund eBay gave the buyer.  It is common for eBay to do this when they can see the seller did nothing wrong.

The buyer is not obligated to return anything to you and you are not out any money.

Good Luck Selling!

[sam9876]

It would have cost you about $5 to get it back and then you would have to refund the entire $10 that the buyer paid.

That doesn't make any economic sense.

[threshold.sales.group]

Fwiw, the bad news is that even though you didn't lose any money on the return, it will still be counted against you in the return % metric, nudging you closer to a 40% increase in FVF's.  

[castlemagicmemories]

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@sumthnwchy wrote:

Oh I see that now.  ebay paid for it.  Still woulda liked to have had the sweater back, still in the dark about the what and the why, but thank you for listening and responding!  Lori

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Getting the sweater back and relisting might just land you in the same situation again~the sweater won't get any better.  And you would be paying $15.00 in total to get back something that was rejected at $5.00 with free shipping that was really $5.00.  You would just cost yourself more money, and possibly guarantee a neg from your buyer.

[castlemagicmemories]

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@goodluckselling wrote:

Your C/P message shows that eBay paid the buyer under the money back guarantee and it also says you will not be charged.

This is a courtesy refund eBay gave the buyer.  It is common for eBay to do this when they can see the seller did nothing wrong.

The buyer is not obligated to return anything to you and you are not out any money.

Good Luck Selling!

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You're right, goodluck.  I had it happen to me once as a buyer of a ten dollar item when I was sent something different than what I bought.

[buyselljack2016]

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@goodluckselling wrote:

Your C/P message shows that eBay paid the buyer under the money back guarantee and it also says you will not be charged.

This is a courtesy refund eBay gave the buyer.  It is common for eBay to do this when they can see the seller did nothing wrong.

The buyer is not obligated to return anything to you and you are not out any money.

Good Luck Selling!

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Had this happen earlier this year (or was it late last year)with an item.  Buyer said they did not get it. Tracking showed delivery. Offered to send a replacement if it did not show up in a few days.  Buyer then opened an INR. Buyer was refunded $10. Not from my money.

[goodluckselling]

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@buyselljack2016 wrote:

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@goodluckselling wrote:

Your C/P message shows that eBay paid the buyer under the money back guarantee and it also says you will not be charged.

This is a courtesy refund eBay gave the buyer.  It is common for eBay to do this when they can see the seller did nothing wrong.

The buyer is not obligated to return anything to you and you are not out any money.

Good Luck Selling!

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Had this happen earlier this year (or was it late last year)with an item.  Buyer said they did not get it. Tracking showed delivery. Offered to send a replacement if it did not show up in a few days.  Buyer then opened an INR. Buyer was refunded $10. Not from my money.

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Right.  I have had several INR requests opened against my selling account where the tracking shows delivery.  Many times eBay refunds the buyer out of there pockets.  I used to call these in and have them closed on the phone and the explanation I got a few times were that eBay gives buyers a courtesy refund one time when they are not satisfied with an outcome of a money back guarantee request they opened. 

If the seller did nothing wrong and it is easily seen they are not going to penalize the seller.  It is not the sellers MBG.  It is eBay the marketplace's guarantee, so they fund these refunds themselves.

When you do a lot of volume (at least enough to be 3 month look back) these events where buyers claim INR and tracking says differently are frequent enough that they do not bother you.  I actually now just have them closed through the resolution center versus calling in.  You have to make sure you have everything in the request details and it completes without any issues.

Good Luck Selling!

[epowerbargains]

Howdy - this happended to me several days ago. I sold an item and the sale was for less than $15.  The buyer sent me a series of messages that in essense was an effort to fish/extort the item for free.  The item was brand new and was not damaged. This buyer has a habit of doing this to sellers and it is 100% my fault for not checking FB prior to accepting an offer. So....I responded, " Sorry this item is not what you expected - please return for refund including shipping both ways...blah blah....nice & all recorded in the eBay message system. I wanted to eat the loss -vs- giving into this freeby game which just set's up my fellow sellers for more of the same from this buyer. Then BA BAM, I got the exact same email you describe.....case open/closed/buyer wins and keeps item. I was ....well you can guess. I called eBay and was told by a US representative that this was a "customer service" refund done in rare circumstances.  I probed - what was rare about this? I was giving a 100% refund including shipping? No fuss No muss. Why did this happen? I was not give a totally clear answer but was assured that I would no have any funds taken from my PayPal account, I did not have to refund the buyer and this would not impact my seller standing/metrics in a negative way. I was very surprised. The funds were not taken from PayPal and my fees were credited. I don't know what to think of this....on one hand - Thanks eBay......I think....on the other a buyer who does this gimmie it for free after a best offer was accepted.....on a item that was not damaged or defective should not be encouraged to keep doing this to sellers over and over again. 

[castlemagicmemories]

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@goodluckselling wrote:

Your C/P message shows that eBay paid the buyer under the money back guarantee and it also says you will not be charged.

This is a courtesy refund eBay gave the buyer.  It is common for eBay to do this when they can see the seller did nothing wrong.

The buyer is not obligated to return anything to you and you are not out any money.

Good Luck Selling!

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With all due respect, it isn't confined to situations where the seller may have done nothing wrong.  As my experience shows, the seller did quite a bit that was wrong~sent a different item than was pictured, wanted to re list it in hopes of a sale when she already HAD a sale (me), refused a return when I already had the item she sent and would never have bought it (I just wanted the item I bought), said she did this to another customer who had no problem with it, and told me to get over myself.  Seller had already done a LOT wrong and was compounding it, so the rep took care of it when she wouldn't.  She then posted false feedback that said I wouldn't return it, and I replied that Seller refused the return, wouldn't pay return shipping, sent a different item than pictured, and told me to get over myself.  

I believe they do this in the case of low dollar items, $10.00 and under, when the seller is just making a bad situation worse by their actions.