Did you know that sellers forfeit 2 days to inspect return when...?

[merchantofvintageandmodern]

Hello, 

I lost a return case. The buyer said the item was nearly broken and it wasn't. She bought it bent as it was stated on the listing. The metal is thick and it was not nearly broken.

So, I didn't accept the return and eBay sided with the buyer. One eBay rep told me I had 2 days to inspect and the next rep told me I had 2 business days to inspect.  The return was delivered to my PO Box on Saturday and today was the first day I could pick up but could not get there on time. Turns out eBay has already refunded the buyer. I called eBay and was told I had forfeited the two days to inspect. Did you know that sellers could forfeit the option to inspect? Where would I find out about this? I'm not a new seller to eBay but I didn't know about this. How does a seller find out about these important details/protocols/policies? Thank you in advance for your help.

[gwgw-73]

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@merchantofvintageandmodern wrote:

So, I didn't accept the return and eBay sided with the buyer.

The return was delivered to my PO Box on Saturday

Turns out eBay has already refunded the buyer.

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When you're belligerent @merchantofvintageandmodern and choose to earn a defect rather than resolve the return request yourself, you lose the 2 business days to inspect the return, and instead, eBay will force a refund a few minutes after tracking shows delivered back to you. eBay already said as much; perhaps read it again:

[orangehound]

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@merchantofvintageandmodern wrote:

So, I didn't accept the return and eBay sided with the buyer.

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I think customer service gave you bad guidance ... they are notorious for giving bad guidance.  This sounds like a Money Back Guarantee claim, and (as such) you really only have two options:

1. Pay for the return of the item and refund the money.
2. Refund the money, and the buyer keeps the item.

When you denied the return, or protested the return, you essentially selected #2.

As for the inspection, it is only valuable for reporting the buyer as abusing the Money Back Guarantee to circumvent your return/refund policies.  It happens a lot.  You can still report the buyer, despite whatever "inspection" period might exist.

[orangehound]

Arrrgh ... ran out of time to edit.  😞

eBay will sometimes force #1 or #2, depending on the circumstances.  What you do not have is some sort of option to claim the buyer is not entitled to a full refund, even if the buyer is lying (I am assuming you are not a Top Rated Seller).

I should add that the inspection period can be beneficial if you are a Top Rated Seller as you effectively report the buyer for abusing the Money Back Guarantee ... a Top Rated Seller can reduce the refund amount if the buyer damaged the item, and a Top Rated Seller can get reimbursed for all or a portion of the return shipping fees if the buyer is falsely using the Money Back Guarantee.