Dispute Resolution Problem / Shipping Label Issue

[symber13]

Short version, I asked for a refund, seller denied.

I explained the reason, seller insulted me.

I said I was certain eBay would side in my favor and explained why again.

Seller opens a case, loses, eBay sides with me.

I print return label and ship the item... and then it gets weird.

About 2 weeks later I get the item back from USPS with a small sticker attached that reads:

<reference numbers><shipping date>

FORWARD TIME EXP RTN TO SEND

<another code with seller name>

<seller's address>

RETURN TO SENDER

This looks to me like one of two things.

1: The eBay shipping label was expired/defective and it got kicked back to me after an excessively long time.

2: The item sat somewhere, again for an excessively long time, somehow unclaimed by the seller and has now been routed back to me due to being undelivered.

I'm assuming it's #1 mostly because I want to be sure I get my money back and do not have any interest in keeping the defective item. How do I go about obtaining a new label from eBay and shipping this out again so that they don't screw up my refund?

Edit: So upon looking at the tracking number details, I see that it left my house, went to the local distribution center, then one in Ohio, then one in his state. Then the next messages are: 

Arrived at Post Office [November 1, 2024, 8:47 am]

Out for Delivery [November 1, 2024, 8:58 am]

Forwarded [November 1, 2024, 11:33 am]

Forwarded [November 2, 2024, 6:49 am]

Return to Sender Processed [November 2, 2024, 6:50 am]

His address is/was an apartment. Is it possible that he moved and the item was undeliverable after attempts to forward? My problem still stands though. What do I do now to ensure I get/keep my refund?

[wastingtime101 · Accepted solution]

What happened is:

The seller has an old, outdated return address on their account.

At one point the seller moved and filed for mail forwarding with USPS. But it was so long ago that forwarding service expired.

So USPS could not deliver and they returned to sender (you).

Does tracking show any kind of delivery and/or unable to forward? If it does you can ask eBay to step in when that option appears and the return will close in your favor with a refund.

Come back to let us know what tracking says @symber13 .

[symber13]

Yes exactly this  @wastingtime101! I was typing that up while you replied. Thanks for the confirmation! So do I call eBay now? Or is there another way to get the label? Ebay seems to be a pain to get answers from.

[wastingtime101]

You didn't answer the question I asked in my last post: what does tracking say?

You don't need a new label. You did your part. We just need to know what tracking says to offer more specific next steps.

If the seller wants the item back they'll have to buy another shipping label off eBay and send it to you, but that step is not required for you to get your refund.

[symber13]

I added it into the main post. It followed the usual steps to get to them as expected until it reached his post office. Then it was: 

Arrived at Post Office [November 1, 2024, 8:47 am]

Out for Delivery [November 1, 2024, 8:58 am]

Forwarded [November 1, 2024, 11:33 am]

Forwarded [November 2, 2024, 6:49 am]

Return to Sender Processed [November 2, 2024, 6:50 am]

And then back to my distro center and post office and home.

[wastingtime101]

OK thanks - I didn't see that you edited your first post.

Yes, there is an attempted forward and return to sender. The last scan was on Nov 2nd. If you don't see an option to ask eBay to step in after 2 biz days - which means by tomorrow, Nov 6th - then you can contact eBay customer service and have them escalate.

Wait until tomorrow - if there's a link to ask eBay to step in, click on it. If there isn't, then you can work your way through the help pages, or if you're on social media you can send a DM to eBay on Facebook or askebay on X.

Edit to add: after you're refunded, you can send the seller a message and let them know the package was returned because they have an outdated return address on their eBay account. Let them know you're happy to ship it back (again) if they provide a prepaid label.

Maybe give them a timeline - like within the week or something - that way you can get rid of it sooner rather than later if the seller doesn't want to pay for another shipping label.

As mentioned above, seller can't buy another label on eBay so they'd have to buy it off eBay on a site like pirateship.com or even from USPS.com.

[symber13]

Thanks, you've been super helpful!

Fingers crossed that another link shows up. What page would that be on? All I see when going to the item pages are that return closed due to the dispute opening. Clicking the dispute just shows that the dispute was closed in my favor. Both show as closed. I assume the dispute page or My eBay by the item?

I've navigated those help pages many times. I think I'll go with a shout out on social media when the time comes 🤣

[wastingtime101]

If it was closed in your favor then it's already closed and your refund was processed. You should see an eBay message and/or email confirming this.

That means it's already done.

[teth_1615]

---

@symber13 wrote:

Short version, I asked for a refund, seller denied.

I explained the reason, seller insulted me.

I said I was certain eBay would side in my favor and explained why again.

Seller opens a case, loses, eBay sides with me.

I print return label and ship the item... and then it gets weird.

2: The item sat somewhere, again for an excessively long time, somehow unclaimed by the seller and has now been routed back to me due to being undelivered. 

What do I do now to ensure I get/keep my refund?

---

Because this is an escalated return @symber13 eBay will force a full refund a few moments (instead of the normal 2 business days) after tracking shows delivered, in this instance delivered back to you.

However if tracking stops short of delivered, it's best to leave a private message here as you planned, to ask eBay to review the return to sender and issue that refund ... before the 10-day deadline in an escalated return.