Buyer didn't read the description, then falsely claimed the item is not as described.

[georgestobbard]

I sold a women's fragrance that had no cap over the spray button.  The buyer didn't look at the title, description, or photos, and she requested a return because the bottle was missing the cap and therefore  "missing parts or pieces."   

I told her that the listing clearly stated that the bottle had no cap but that I would still accept a return, provided that she pay for the return shipping label.  I also said that  original shipping is nonrefundable.  

I thought I was being perfectly fair, since that's how a remorse return works on eBay and there was irrefutable evidence on my side to prove that the bottle with no cap was EXACTLY as described and not missing any advertised components.  She simply hadn't been paying attention when she bought it.

Since the return request page had no way for me to authorize a remorse return but also bill the shipping label to the buyer, I asked for help in an eBay customer service chat.  I told the rep that I was afraid to push the button that would authorize the return because I was afraid the shipping label would be billed to me automatically.  She said all I could do was try to communicate with the buyer some more.  

The buyer insisted on a full refund, including full reimbursement for original shipping and return shipping, and then she escalated the return request for review. Minutes later, eBay found in her favor.   Then I was billed for the return shipping label and also given a defect on my account.  

I have appealed the decision, but nobody at eBay will reverse the decision.  I even asked eBay if the buyer's request to have eBay "step in"  was reviewed by a real person or by a bot, since any human looking at the facts could obviously see that this was a case of buyer's remorse, not "item not as described."  

Customer service didn't answer my question about a bot or a human did the initial review.  And they continue to stand by their decision to give me a defect and make me pay for original shipping and return shipping.  

I am extremely upset.  If I were in the buyer's shoes and I bought something by mistake, I wouldn't dream of making the seller responsible for paying for all shipping charges! I'd take responsibility for the mistake and pay for the shipping myself.  And I'm upset because the facts of the situation are being completely ignored by the very people who are supposed to be moderating disputes.

The return package should be arriving today.  Has anybody successfully appealed a similar situation and won???  If so, do you have any advice for me?  

I do not want to offer free 30-day returns, so please don't make that suggestion.  I have looked into it before, and it won't work for my business.  

[bonjourami]

Click on Message on the right, I dont believe its phone service though.

https://www.facebook.com/ebay/

[johnrj1226]

@georgestobbard 

A used or preowned item still has to be FULLY functional & operational per eBay policy.  With the missing sprayer it doesn't meet eBay's criteria as stated in my prior post.

[bonjourami]

The bottle has a sprayer as clearly seen in the photos, just no cap.

[georgestobbard]

The bottle sprays perfectly.  It was only missing the cap, and by "cap," I am referring to the decorative plastic or glass cap that presses onto the top of the bottle when the bottle is not being used.  Some people call that the "lid," but it's the same thing.  

The plastic thing that you push down with your index finger to spray the button is usually referred to as the "button," and it was fully operational on the bottle that I sold.  

In Fragrances, there is no condition type to indicate whether a bottle has the cap or not.  There is only "new with box," "new without box," and "pre-owned."  A pre-owned bottle can be slightly used or completely empty, and it may or may not have the box or cap.  It's up to the seller to describe that in words, and it's up to the buyer to read the entire description.

Even a bottle that is legitimately brand-new might not have a cap to begin with if it is a retail tester bottle.  Testers usually have no cap and they come in a plain white or brown cardboard box with minimal labeling, not the standard retail box that has the ingredients on it and the UPC code and other things you'd expect to see on the packaging.  

[karen9nick]

Seems as if you did Everything that Ebay requires in a listing, details etc. The buyer didn't read or doesn't know how to read..You contacted a Ebay representative that once again has NO CLUE. I would have called Ebay EVERY day. I've had the same problem happen to me, and currently during this virus situation, people are taking advantage of it and not having to have to return an item for month, but we get three days to supply a return label. You did the right thing, Ebay DID NOT. They need to fix this for you and keep calling and calling because it's really not fair to sellers at this point. Ask for a supervisor and don't you give up!! I wish you all the best!!

[karen9nick]

Yes, always report the buyer.

[bonjourami]

Ebay does not have phone service now. And what would be the point of reporting a buyer that won the case?

[georgestobbard]

Thank you so much for the pep talk! 

The return package was supposed to come on Saturday, but it got delayed.  When it arrives tomorrow, I will open it, inspect the contents, and then resume trying to get help from somebody.  If eBay is unreachable by phone, then I will continue the email dialogue that I started with customer service. 

I plan to be very persistent.  If I fail to get help from anybody, at least I will know I have tried my best to stand up for myself and for all other sellers like you who have been put in this no-win situation.  

And thanks to all of you guys for reading and writing back.  As you all know, sometimes it is very frustrating to be a seller on eBay, so I appreciate the understanding and hard-won wisdom that you bring to the table.  

[karen9nick]

You can email them live or email them through regular email. I find the live customer service has been useless, but you can always keep trying to you get another person. They email you the transcript as well.

[georgestobbard]

May 21: For anyone who's curious, here's an update of what happened.

I waited for several days for the return package to arrive, but it didn't come. Just when I was on the verge of contacting the post office, I saw an email from eBay saying they had already given the buyer a full refund. And they had the gall to charge it to my account!  😞 

The email from eBay contained a blatant lie. It said, "We received tracking information from the buyer that shows successful delivery."

I immediately started a customer service chat to complain about this.  I got the customer service person to pull up the tracking number for me so that I could prove to her that this returned item had NEVER been scanned as "delivered."  I also told her I had been home literally every day to greet the mail carrier and there was no way I would have missed the delivery if the package had really been delivered.

I said that eBay could not rightfully charge me for this when I didn't have my item back.  I also pointed out that the entire return request and case had been completely unfair from the start and that I shouldn't have a defect on my account. 

I held my ground and the customer service person not only removed the defect but reimbursed me for the refund that they had pulled from my account earlier that day.

I am still trying to find out from my local post office what happened to the missing package.  They've been looking for it since Monday night. The clerk who I spoke with today said that she remembered there was something suspicious or incorrect about the way the buyer had packaged it and that this is probably why there was a hold-up.