eBay

r054.l338 · ‎12-17-2018

This is my first time posting, so please notify me if there are threads that would be more appropriate to post this but....

I need advice about getting a refund from ebay.

I bought a phone from a seller in China and they sent me the wrong item. At first things were smooth sailing, they offered to pay for shipping and were accomodating when I notified them that shipping with tracking would be more than expected. However as the weeks passed theyhave slowly but surely been stopped responding.

So I turned to Ebay for help. My postal office said they needed a phone number to go with the return so that if any issues arise, they can contact the reciever. The post office also suggested I get the address written in Chinese for the postal workers in China would be able to process the package more smoothly. I followed up by asking if I could get it translated in Google rather than once again trying to contact the seller that doesn't want to speak with me, and they suggested against it since translations aren't very accurate.

Once again I turned to Ebay, they said that I should wait for the claim to end so that I can speak to appeals about the situation (That this refund claim has been ongoing for about a month and that despite getting money to ship the item back I couldn't get a confirmation of the address and in the language suggested). The returns department had told me that their ability only allowed them to make notes in my file at this point, and that appeals could only be contacted when the claim closes.

All of this has lead me to this point. After speaking to appeals they told me they couldn't issue a refund because they have a record of the address in English, which for them is good enough. And that although I was told to wait for the claim to end by Ebay representatives, they wouldn't take responsibility for those statments that cost me my refund, and could only promise to retrain the employee to give accurate information in the future.

This has been my worst online-shopping-nightmare realized. I need advice.
Thanks.

r054.l338 · ‎12-17-2018

I also wanted to mention that I know phone numbers are against Ebay policy, but I wanted to point out that Ebay works with Paypal (same ownership) and you have the option to print a return label through paypal using the address the seller has saved with their account.

Odd thing is- that Paypal requires a phone number to print the shipping label. And though they are run in relation to each other, it violates the other's policy. A policy in which, prevents return shiping.

EBAY STOP PLAYIINNG GAMMMES

parkersparrow · ‎12-17-2018

Ebay and paypal are no longer the same company they split in 2015.

lintbrush* · ‎12-17-2018

The seller sent you seperate funds for return shipping? and not as a partial refund from the original transaction?

You chose not to ship it back because the address was in English?

And now the case has timed out?

PayPal and eBay are two seperate companies (not same ownership)

If you failed to ship the phone back, then you aren't entiteld to a refund.

Since your eBay case has time out/closed, you can open a Not As Described through PayPal and send it back, with tracking. The seller will again provide their address through the PP return process.

judydu2 · ‎12-17-2018

@r054.l338 wrote:
I also wanted to mention that I know phone numbers are against Ebay policy, but I wanted to point out that Ebay works with Paypal (same ownership) and you have the option to print a return label through paypal using the address the seller has saved with their account.

Odd thing is- that Paypal requires a phone number to print the shipping label. And though they are run in relation to each other, it violates the other's policy. A policy in which, prevents return shiping.

EBAY STOP PLAYIINNG GAMMMES

I ship daylily seeds worldwide and a phone number has never been required unless I was shipping to a post office box. And I printed my shipping labels through both eBay and Paypal. Unless this is some new requirement, I don't understand why a return would be contingent upon a phone number. I will say I have never shipped to China.

orangehound · ‎12-17-2018

@r054.l338 wrote:
This has been my worst online-shopping-nightmare realized. I need advice.
Thanks.

Yes, trying to save a few bucks by purchasing from a China seller can be a nightmare ... sorry that this has happened.

I'm going to divide this answer into 2 parts. I'm not really clear on what you did when you attempted to do this return to China, so Part 1 will talk about how to properly do a return to China. Part 2 will give you some advise on what to do if you somehow made a mistake in Part 1.

PART 1 - CHINA RETURNS.

Doing a return to China through eBay is not equivalent to doing it with a US seller (or a seller in a 1st-world country) - since China is a 3rd world country, returns are much more mysterious and challenging.

Let me explain. Here's some information for you.

I strongly suggest that the return be done through the eBay return system and not handled directly with the China seller ... you will run the risk of not seeing your refund if you don't use the protections afforded you through the eBay returns system. The seller has no incentive to refund if you don't use the eBay returns system.
If you are going to do a return to China, it must have tracking back to the original seller in order to demonstrate that the return was successfully completed ... without the tracking, there is no way to prove to eBay that something was delivered, and the seller has no incentive to refund. Only the most expensive USPS services have this tracking - you would typically be looking at $64 for USPS Priority Mail Express International.
As you noted, the seller is responsible for providing the postage costs for the return. If they do not, then you can escalate the returns claim and get a refund.
I'm not sure what is happening with the language issue that you are encountering ... your requirement is to send the item to the return address that is on file at eBay.

Hope that helps.

PART 2 - WHAT IF THERE'S A PROBLEM WITH THE RETURN PROCESS?

It is completely understandable if a buyer makes an error in a return to a China seller - as I wrote before, it is a mysterious and confusing process. If you follow the returns process, then eBay should be backing you up, but in your case I get the feeling that something wasn't followed. If this is true, your last resort is to file a claim with your Credit or Debit card (a chargeback), claiming simply that you did not receive the item that was purchased. You need to do this quickly, because there is sometimes a short time window in which you can dispute a claim.

sam9876 · ‎12-17-2018

" I wanted to point out that Ebay works with Paypal (same ownership)"

False.

pjcdn2005 · ‎12-17-2018

Sorry but I'm a bit confused. Are you saying that you haven't yet sent out the package because of the phone number and language issue? I'm not sure why customer service is telling you to wait as its more likely that the return will close automatically since there is no tracking number to show that it has been shipped back.

If the seller has an English return address than that's what I would use. It is their responsibility to give the correct address and normally if the item can't be delivered because the address is wrong, you would still get refunded. I do say normally that is what happens however I don't know if the post office in China would state on tracking that the package was undeliverable because of the address. An address written in Manadarin might get there faster but based on what I've read, an address in English should work as well.

It's not uncommon for an international shipper to require a phone number and it isn't against any ebay rules to provide a phone number in this case because the sale has already gone through. I always get asked for a phone number when I print a label through Paypal or Canada Post for an international package and if the buyer has not provided a phone number, I put my own number or just fill the phone number field with 0's. So far that hasn't ever caused a problem.

But I am going to page one of the ebay reps to your post here and maybe he can give you different advice. @Anonymous

Anonymous · ‎12-17-2018

@r054.l338 wrote:

This is my first time posting, so please notify me if there are threads that would be more appropriate to post this but....

I need advice about getting a refund from ebay.

I bought a phone from a seller in China and they sent me the wrong item. At first things were smooth sailing, they offered to pay for shipping and were accomodating when I notified them that shipping with tracking would be more than expected. However as the weeks passed theyhave slowly but surely been stopped responding.

So I turned to Ebay for help. My postal office said they needed a phone number to go with the return so that if any issues arise, they can contact the reciever. The post office also suggested I get the address written in Chinese for the postal workers in China would be able to process the package more smoothly. I followed up by asking if I could get it translated in Google rather than once again trying to contact the seller that doesn't want to speak with me, and they suggested against it since translations aren't very accurate.

Once again I turned to Ebay, they said that I should wait for the claim to end so that I can speak to appeals about the situation (That this refund claim has been ongoing for about a month and that despite getting money to ship the item back I couldn't get a confirmation of the address and in the language suggested). The returns department had told me that their ability only allowed them to make notes in my file at this point, and that appeals could only be contacted when the claim closes.

All of this has lead me to this point. After speaking to appeals they told me they couldn't issue a refund because they have a record of the address in English, which for them is good enough. And that although I was told to wait for the claim to end by Ebay representatives, they wouldn't take responsibility for those statments that cost me my refund, and could only promise to retrain the employee to give accurate information in the future.

This has been my worst online-shopping-nightmare realized. I need advice.
Thanks.

Hi @r054.l338, there are a few things I need to clarify before I can address this situation. Can you tell me the following?

What is the current status of the package? (ie. returned, in transit, in your posession, etc.)
Did you return the package with tracking information? If so, was it uploaded into the case?
If there is no tracking information, did the seller request a shipping method without tracking?

I do also want to clarify that while eBay and PayPal are separate companies, a buyer and seller are allowed to share contact information after payment has been made so you would be able to request a phone number from the seller if needed for return shipment. There are also other methods available to procure a shipping label if you are not able to get the phone number you need for PayPal.

Once I have some more information on this return I'm happy to discuss this further!

r054.l338 · ‎12-17-2018

I appreciate your post, it has been the most helpful thus far. I'm sorry I wasn't clear, as I was pretty confused myself. I'd never needed to return a package before now, so this was all new to me. To explain myself and what had happened more clearly:

Info from the post office:

I need a phone number to send a package to China
Get a Chinese address in conjunction with the English address from the seller to help postal workers in China best process the package

From what was explained to me- Chinese has different characters to represent the same sound. To translate via Google would lead to inaccurate results because without knowing the character the location is written with, would equivically be to recieving a bogus address.

Info from Ebay representative: (Advice/ actions in the order I recieved them)

Me: Started a claim because time frame to return item was closing and I recieved insufficient funds for the return of the phone (seller offered $20 on shipping that would cost $60)

Ebay: Time frame will be put on hold to give seller time to respond to request for more funds on return shipping

Me: Went to the post office with sufficient funds for return shipping and English address provided by seller, but was unable to ship due to post office requirement.

Ebay: Wait until the claim closes containing proof which favors the seller (sufficient funds were sent for shipping) to file an appeal which would favor me (showing inadequate information to return package as required by post office, and lack of communication from seller to remedy this).

Ebay: Was told by appeals that they wouldn't offer a refund because funds and an address was provided -but the appeals claim wouldn't be filed yet (you can only file 1 and I didn't get the answer I was hoping to get), so that I can provide proof to ebay that the post office requires a phone number and Chinese address.

It was at this time that I was told if I had sent the package with the address provided and a tracking number I would have been able to get a refund. Prior to this (when my claim was still open) I was given no such information.

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I was sure I was in the right because I made several efforts to message a seller that wouldn't message back, and followed all the steps ebay representatives had given me thoughout the claim, but was still denied a return. Silver lining was the opportunity to offer documentation from post office that proves this information is required to return the package.

But it's been a month, I've had hour long conversations several times with reps that went in circles trying their darn hardest not to give me my return. I went through all the right channels and it felt like they were trying to wear me down.

I don't even want the darn phone. It doesn't work with my carrier's bands and is a US model. I doubt anyone in Canada would want it, let alone spend $300 on it.

r054.l338 · ‎12-17-2018

Oof, that's embarrassing.

That's what I was told by a rep (that they were under the same ownership) when I told them about my attempts to print off a shipping label via paypal.

r054.l338 · ‎12-17-2018

I've just recieved an email from Ebay saying that they would authorize a return after a review of my case.
Thanks guys.

parkersparrow · ‎12-17-2018

You learn that you will get conflicting info when you call customer service sometimes it depend on who you get on the phone. Some reps are great and really helpful and some have no clue and make things worse.