Last month I sold a $70 used item and shipped it with installation instructions. The buyer started a return stating only that the item didn't perform consistently. I accepted the return and paid for a return shipping label. I received the item back missing 4 small pieces which were essential for the part to operate and took pictures of the returned part. I wanted only to send the pictures to someone at eBay to decide whether I needed to send the customer a full refund, partial refund, or no refund.
Unfortunately I used a link in eBay's return center which sent me to the Resolution Center. I did not wish to escalate a case against the buyer. I wanted only to report that I received a broken item back. When I sent the pictures I was informed that eBay would decide the case. Eight hours later, in the wee hours of the morning, eBay closed the case in favor of the buyer and took $70 out of my PayPal account, saying that I had not provided sufficient evidence.
OK. I knew that eBay is now automated in favor of the buyer. What hurt, though is that a couple days later I look at my seller dashboard and find that eBay gave me a defect for a "case closed without seller resolution" How ironic. I didn't want to make a case, but eBay says I did, and ruled against me before I could try to work things out with the buyer the next morning.
Anyway, I called eBay, and a customer service rep told me that since I sell more than 100 items a year, eBay considers my selling here a business, and that I can write of the $70 as a business loss. He said that if my wife had sold the same item to the same buyer who broke the same parts, eBay would have sent the buyer the $70, since that amount is a significant part of her annual eBay sales, which might discourage her from selling on eBay again. So I lost the appeal on the case I never intended to escalate.
When I asked another customer service representative how I could have avoided the "closed without seller resolution" defect, she said sellers should call eBay for guidance before clicking on anything in the Resolution Center. Isn't it ironic how eBay's goal of an automated return process results in service reps advice to use the phone instead of their automated processes?
