International return / refund question

[t.marques]

Hi, everyone.

I purchased an item from a seller in the US which took about 45 days to arrive (I'm in Europe).

Item is an obvious counterfeit so I opened a request to return it. The seller didn't even question my claim that the item is fake, so I'm pretty sure he knows he's selling fake items. He immediately accepted the return. He told me he can't provide a shipping label because I'm not in the US and that he would refund me the cost of shipping later. So far so good.

I honestly don't care whether he refunds me the cost of shipping or not. My main concern is that by the time the seller receives the item, it will be well after 60 days from the day I paid for it. I read somewhere that Ebay can't force refunds after 60 days as they apparently don't have access to that transaction after that period of time. Am I correct in assuming that the seller can simply refuse to refund me and Ebay won't be able to intervene? In that case, will I be able to open a case with Paypal by providing them proof the item was sent back and received by the seller?

Normally I wouldn't be this concerned, but this is someone selling knock offs, so obviously that raises questions about their honesty. He's being polite and helpful so far, but maybe it's just so I won't leave him negative feedback until it's too late to do so.

[martin2001]

I wouldn't use ebay to get the refund, go with Paypal, or even better, if you by any chance used a CC (via PP) file a dispute with your CC bank.

Paypal gives you 180 days from the date of payment to file a claim. The seller does not have to wait until they receive the item back. If they act in good faith, they can refund you once you show them that you mailed your item (the tracking shows that it was accepted by the post office. Also take a photo of the package before you mail it, so the label, the address and the weight is clearly visible.

This will assure the seller that you didn't give them a fake number , especially these days, when it may take a month of even longer to deliver the package.

Also, important, don't open the case with both ebay and PP, or PP and CC at the same time. You open a case with one entity (e.g. PP)  and if this is not resolved in your favor, then you can try another (e.g. CC bank).

[pjcdn2005]

I'm not sure about the 60 days but I do know that if the seller does not pay for return shipping before you ship the item back, that ebay cannot force them to pay for it.  You didn't mention where the seller is but shipping internationally with tracking from the US is often much more expensive than what you originally paid for shipping so if you haven't looked at what it will cost, you might want to do that before paying for the label yourself. Even if the seller cannot print a USPS label,  they can send you the money through PP if you let them know how much the label will be.

[daw365 · Accepted solution]

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@t.marques wrote:

I purchased an item from a seller in the US which took about 45 days to arrive (I'm in Europe).

Item is an obvious counterfeit so I opened a request to return it. The seller

immediately accepted the return. He told me he can't provide a shipping label because I'm not in the US

I honestly don't care whether he refunds me the cost of shipping or not.

My main concern is that by the time the seller receives the item, it will be well after 60 days from the day I paid for it. I read somewhere that Ebay can't force refunds after 60 days as they apparently don't have access to that transaction after that period of time.

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Actually @t.marques you have 30 days to start a return request from the actual delivery, which it seems you did. At that moment, which is before that 60 days after payment, eBay holds the funds for your repayment -- unless eBay trusts your seller, which sounds unlikely.

But be sure to upload the tracking number back to US for your return into the Return Details page, as eBay will be watching it to release your refund within 2 business days if your seller does not voluntarily refund during that time.

[t.marques]

Thanks everyone who replied. I appreciate it. Item was shipped today with tracking, and tons of pictures of the whole process just in case.

I have a feeling the seller will refund me without much fuss so Ebay won't look too closely at what they are selling. I think I'm pretty much covered anyway, but it annoys me that I won't be able to leave negative feedback to warn other buyers. Guess I'll send all the info I have to the people who own the rights to the genuine thing.