I have sent many items even in the Covid-19 situation. Most of them normally get delayed a bit, but get to the buyer at some point. However, this is not the case for items I have sent on the USA, as 6 items that I have sent there, have not reached their destination even after one, two or even three months. Most of them get stuck for a bit in Greece ( that's where I live and sent the items from ) and then get sent at the USA. After that, they all get stuck in Chicago.
A buyer, asked for a refund, because I sent his item on March 13th ( he bought it at March 12th ) and he had not received it yet ( it was stuck, as I mentioned above, at both places ). I told him that this is all out of my control and I can't do anything. I also sent eBay a similar message. There, I sent them tracking information ( that I had provided anyway ) and explained them the situation. As a response, they just explained me how the procedure works. That I have 3 business days to explain to the buyer. After 3 business days he can ask eBay to make a decision.
He did, in fact, ask eBay to make a final decision and they decided to refund him. But, very importantly, I had no way to prevent this from happening and when I asked for help, anticipating this would happen, they didn't truly help.
After that, I sent them an email, to appeal their decision. I explained how I believed that they wronged me. In response, they pretty much told me that when the buyer receives it, which as they said, could be months, "You can also contact your buyer to update you in case they receive the item in the future because they can pay you back using PayPal ""send money"" option. All they need is your PayPal email address and they’ll be able to send the money through PayPal. "
They also told me that " I realized that you had the best of intention of shipping the item but it appeared that the parcel has no movement since May 7, 2020 and the estimated delivery date has passed, we had to close the case ".
They also told me " As you can see, the tracking number is important for us to determine whether the item was shipped and delivered to the buyer's address registered on eBay. Also, please sure that for your future listing you need to extend the delivery timeframe so your buyer cannot open a request for refund. " Keep in mind, I have the delivery timeframe maxed out ( 30 business days ) which for sure lowers sales, but I really want to avoid such situations, especially since I have been on the site for less than a year, so I don't know how to handle such situations.
Obviously frustated by their decision, I wrote to them again. I explained to them how I had a big concern: " How can I be sure that the buyer will, in fact, pay back to me, when he does receive it? ". Unfortunately, they did not respond even after a few weeks. I really don't want to be the person that losses both the money and the product.
After lossing faith to eBay, I decided to write to you guys at the forums, to help me out with this situation, as you are way more experienced than I am on this platform. Especially now that another person asked for a refund yesterday and I'm pretty sure eBay will take their side.
Keep in mind, I always send the packages as soon as possible when they pay me. There are some times where I do delay 2 or 3 days ( because of National Days or things like that ) but I always try to send them as fast as possible.
I know this has been long, but I truly think I had to explain the whole situation so you can give me proper help.
TL;DR: Item that I sent at 13th March has not got there yet due to delays because of Coronavirus ( especially in the USA ). Seller asked for refund. I sent a message to eBay for help, but they just explained me the procedure. EBay accepted refund. Tried to appeal their decision. They didn't give me an actual solution. Wrote to them again, no response after weeks. Another seller is asking for a refund. I'm concerned eBay will take their side. Concerned same will happen with other 4 items I have sent there.
