unprofessional customer service

[interautocenter818]

I have products for sale on the eBay platform. In my ad I am very clear and it says local pick up only, which clearly means that there are no returns or cancellations that I do not make shipments, I made a sale and the buyer told me that he could not come to pick up his purchase, he started a dispute through eBay customer service, eBay contacted me and told me that I had to provide the customer with the tracking number of the shipment, I called them and told them that I do not make shipments that it is only local pick up, and they told me again that I had to provide the tracking number, finally they charged me almost 80 dollars from my account and returned the money to the client, meaning the client received his money back and eBay earned 80 dollars but I who did not make any mistake did not do anything wrong lost 80 dollars in this case the client was the one who for some reason changed his mind after making the purchase and I paid for the buyer's mistake. I don't understand if the ad is very clear when it says local pick up only because eBay asked me for a tracking number, which does not apply,

[jdbelt1960]

Online platforms may not be best for you. Maybe you need to concentrate your ads locally within your community.

[bonjourami]

Sounds like you broke even, the buyer was entitled to be refunded.

[mtgraves7984]

@interautocenter818 

Wowzer. If the buyer couldn't come pick the item up, I'd offer to have cancelled citing 'Problems with buyer's address'. Bummer...

[buyselljack2016]

fees lost?

[kensgiftshop]

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@interautocenter818 wrote:

I have products for sale on the eBay platform. In my ad I am very clear and it says local pick up only, which clearly means that there are no returns or cancellations

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No it doesn't, just means you won't ship the items.

If the buyer can't pick up the item, cancel the order as a problem with the buyers address and refund the buyer.

[albertabrightalberta]

@interautocenter818 

When the buyer didn't pick it up, you should have cancelled and issued a refund. 

"finally they charged me almost 80 dollars from my account and returned the money to the client, meaning the client received his money back and eBay earned 80 dollars "

They charged you $80 so they could give it back to the buyer. But Ebay didn't "earn" $80. What they did earn was your FVF (final value fee) because they had to step in when you didn't issue the refund on your own. 

"I who did not make any mistake did not do anything wrong lost 80 dollars in this case"

You didn't lose $80 because you still have the fender. You can relist and resell it again. 

You don't get to keep the money and the item. 

[gone.c-33]

If you had accepted to refund the buyer as soon as the dispute was opened, eBay would have refunded your fees. Since they had to force the refund, they keep the fees as “punishment”.

Were you really going to keep the payment and the item if the buyer was unable to pick it up?

[bonjourami]

"fees lost?"

As has been mentioned, had the seller canceled the transaction, with problem with buyers address, as he should have, his fvf would have been credited.

[buyselljack2016]

I understand that. Not my 1st day on eBay😂

Just pointing out that the seller, due to their actions, (inaction) lost the fees, and did not "break even".

$80 was not the buyer payment on a $249 sale.

[bonjourami]

My misunderstanding then, thought the item was $80.

[iarnstein]

what was the breakdown of fees?  i get cancellations and I lose nothing.   People make mistake?   you can go to your sales/payouts and break down the fees.   When I have had refunds for damaged items, etc, the net is minus ebay fees.     Capture the screen of the transaction and post it.  I am curious as to what happened.  

[buyselljack2016]

@iarnstein 

As I am not the seller, so I can not go the the thread starters sales/payouts and break down the fees.

As has been suggested in the posts, the seller took "no action" and was penalized by eBay for failing to take care of the situation.

$80 seems like a lot, but only the seller can see why.

[untod]

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@bonjourami wrote:

...the buyer was entitled to be refunded.

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I haven't looked at the seller's listing, but it seems like you're making a BIG assumption there about the seller's stated policy on returns/cancellations/refunds. According to CURRENT eBay rules, a seller CAN indicate no returns (which implies no refund/cancel) in a listing, which would then be legally binding on the buyer who accepts those terms by bidding/buying/paying. Right? Every time I've gotten a cancellation request, or requested a cancellation, eBay reminds me that it is always the SELLER'S OPTION to cancel or not.

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@kensgiftshop wrote:

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If the buyer can't pick up the item, cancel the order ... and refund the buyer.

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Same as above - maybe that's not an option that the seller offered before the buyer entered the contract.

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@albertabrightalberta wrote:

When the buyer didn't pick it up, you should have cancelled and issued a refund. 

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Same... eBay clearly says repeatedly during signup and occasionally at other times that a bid or payment is a legally-binding contract on BOTH parties. The buyer has an obligation to perform as he agreed to.

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@gone.c-33 wrote:

Were you really going to keep the payment and the item if the buyer was unable to pick it up?

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That's not the only option left for the seller, even if he follows his (possible) no-return policy. Option C would be to STORE the item until the buyer CAN come get it (which the buyer obviously planned to do before buying). Of course, storage isn't free, and when the storage fees equal the seller's net profit (after eBay fees & other deductions from the buyer's payment), it would be perfectly legal, moral, and ethical to then seize the item as forfeited to cover the storage fees. It happens all the time, including for auctions.

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@buyselljack2016 wrote:

...the seller took "no action" and was penalized by eBay for failing to take care of the situation.

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The seller's "action" was to allow the buyer to pick up the item as the buyer agreed to before becoming the buyer. So the seller DID "take action" but was penalized anyway.

My response to the buyer would have been "let me know when you're coming to pick it up. Storage fees begin in 2 weeks at $X/day until $XX amount at which point the property is forfeit to cover storage costs". And I'd add the storage terms to any of my pick-up-only listings.

[pastimpressions]

@albertabrightalberta wrote: "You don't get to keep the money and the item. "

Why not? 😏