New Policy May Enable Buyer Fraud

[atlantafamilyjewelers]

If buyers now select "Does not work or defective" as their reason for the return, the amount of proof offered to the contrary is now void, according to eBays new policy of their user agreement, and a "default" response of returning the item is initiated. Additionally, this affects seller level, which affects listing visibility, which affects sales figures.

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That is what was explained to me by one of the customer service managers over the phone after such a case was ruled against my store. He told me that Amazon is the number one seller of online goods and that part of why they are successful is because they offer a 60 day, no hassle return policy on items purchased from them. It was then implied that eBay is trying to compete with Amazon by gearing their policies in favor of returns. In my opinion this violates the liberties of sellers, and is probably not a violation of eBay policies, but still seems like injustice, and a store like my own can no longer securely adhere to a reasonable no-returns policy because of this loophole.

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This new policy potentially enables buyers to commit fraud and could be seen as a failure of eBay to uphold their fiduciary responsibility to both the buyer and the seller equally. Speaking with a lawyer, he said this sounds like a potentially legitimate class action lawsuit. Such a lawsuit would take exorbitant time and financial resources, making it prohibitive for an average person like myself, but it seems to be something eBay is getting away with that needs to change.

[vintagecraze50]

Unless you sell on your own website, people agree to the way Ebay does business when they sign their user agreement. The internet is NOT the most secure place to sell. This is true for all websites including private one's. Buyer's can do fraudulent chargebacks on private websites regardless of your imposed return policies. It is a risk always. 

[missjen831]

There's no new policy on this. This is how its been for many years. Seriously.....you know what the money back gaurantee is and how it works right?  You cannot prove the item was in working condition when the buyer received it.

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

All you can do is report the buyer for misuse of returns. I don’t think anyone knows if EBay ever does anything about them though.

Start your own site and accept paper payments only. If you take credit cards you accept returns for SNAD.

[green-night]

I'm sorry OP, but NEW policy?   Where have you been?  

[atlantafamilyjewelers]

That’s interesting then why the customer service manager told me that this was a new policy for items reported as “defective or not working”. And I hadn't experienced this scenario in 2 years of business with eBay. I have won multiple return cases and was shocked when this clear cut case didn't go the way it should have.

[missjen831]

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@atlantafamilyjewelers wrote:

That’s interesting then why the customer service manager told me that this was a new policy for items reported as “defective or not working”. And I hadn't experienced this scenario in 2 years of business with eBay. I have won multiple return cases and was shocked when this clear cut case didn't go the way it should have.

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Because they make things up as they go and tell you what you want to hear in order to keep you happy and get you off the phone. You probably wouldn’t have been very happy if they told the truth here.

[atlantafamilyjewelers]

I'm a bit confused on what the truth is now...

[berserkerplanet]

"A lie, Mr. Mulder, is most convincingly hidden between two truths."

[lovett-1000]

Yes thier is a new policy. It will go into affect 1 June, 2018. If seller dose not offer free return's. They will lose the Top Rated discont.  I am tyring to make sense of this now.  Will they just give the buyer a lable as the seller printed or give them other as it will cost seller more.  Kindness of thoughts. 

[missjen831]

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@lovett-1000 wrote:

Yes thier is a new policy. It will go into affect 1 June, 2018. If seller dose not offer free return's. They will lose the Top Rated discont.  I am tyring to make sense of this now.  Will they just give the buyer a lable as the seller printed or give them other as it will cost seller more.  Kindness of thoughts. 

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That has nothing to do with this post though.

[alimcgee7]

I have had similar issues with this as well.  Additionally I have had one or more eBay rep tell me they agreed with my assessment, but then when I get sent on to appeals I get told it doenst matter what the other reps think, and I am wrong.  Even with pictures and research to prove my side, they still disagree.  Unfortunately we are back to a Buyer is always right point of view at eBay, so we lose most of the time regrdless.   Unless there is 100% no question, and even then I dont always trust they will agree.  They want us to just give the money back and move on, so they make it harder to talk to someone, and then force it in the buyers favor no matter what.  Eventually we will stop trying?!

The thing is, I dont get many returns, sometimes I made amistake and then I always make it right, but there are times when I am sure the buyer is just grasping at straws for reasons to return and avoid paying the shipping, and we have very little to back us because we cant "prove" anything.  It's only a defect on us if we call and ebay disagrees... if we just give the money back then no defect, they hope we will just do that.  

[cs43ls]

 The new " automated return " starting in Sept. will not even ask anyone  to approve a return. If I understand it right, Ebay will auto approve return requests  immediately and send the buyer a label (paid by seller) I did not see anything how this will affect sellers that have a no return policy.

According to Ebay, this is to increase efficiancy and shorten  the turn-around time . I guess we can offer the same item more often, and with any luck make enough money for the postoffice and Ebay fees. I dont see how there is going to be anything left for my business. Its bad enough as it is ,but with all those new requirements and changes, I see a lot of problems ahead.

[packratville]

"He told me that Amazon is the number one seller of online goods and that part of why they are successful is because they offer a 60 day, no hassle return policy on items purchased from them."

I purchase from Amazon a lot (both Amazon itself and third-party sellers) and items are returnable within 30 days. I've never bought anything there with the option to return within 60 days. They are very hassle-free though.

[mudshark61369]

"This new policy potentially enables buyers to commit fraud and could be seen as a failure of eBay to uphold their fiduciary responsibility to both the buyer and the seller equally. Speaking with a lawyer, he said this sounds like a potentially legitimate class action lawsuit. Such a lawsuit would take exorbitant time and financial resources, making it prohibitive for an average person like myself, but it seems to be something eBay is getting away with that needs to change"

@atlantafamilyjewelers, and Others,

eBay signalled this would happen in February of 2010 when then CEO John Donahoe, said in an interview:

"These policies and future changes to the return policies may adversely affect sellers and lead to an increase of buyer fraud". 

I can't remember now how many years ago the User Agreement was amended to include, wording to te effect, that accepting the agreement prohibited a member from filing lawsuits against ebay.  However, it has said that for a number of years now. Considering how many lawyers review user agreement terms and take part in the process.  You can bet trying to file a class action suit, which first has be proven has merit before it will be accepted by a court, will take a long time, and once allowed take even longer to ejudicate, since ebay's lawyers will tie it up in court with motions, for years.

The process for filing class action lawsuits usually does not involve those involved in the initial filing having to pay anything, unless a Law Firm bills for considering the merits of a proposed suit. Even then the fee may be waived if they feel there is enough information to proceed with filing.  If a class action suit is won by plaintiffs, the first payments made are to the Law Firm(s) off the top of the awarded penalty.