eBay International Shipping Forces Buyers to Do Full Returns in Cases of Orders with Missing Parts

[keensubscriber]

After having spoken with eBay Customer Service half a dozen times over the last 8 days about a digital recorder that arrived without a memory card (i.e., a missing part) with assurances of a partial refund, I received an email from eIS stating this:

"Refunds without return, partial refunds, replacements, or exchanges are not supported for orders that ship through eBay International Shipping. eBay does not receive the original payment you made for the order, so we do require that the items that are received are returned to eBay s return facility before any refund can be issued."

Nowhere on this page is this disclosed.

https://pages.ebay.ca/international-shipping/

None of the half dozen eBay customer service team members I had spoken with was aware of this limitation — that partial refund for missing parts was not an option as protection for the buyer — and hence they had asked me to wait for more than a week for resolution and required that I make multiple follow-up calls to check on refund status.

Neither the seller nor the buyer is aware of this policy as well because there is no mention of a full return being the only possible resolution for missing parts on the eBay International Shipping FAQ page.

Here's what eIS advises:

"Your seller may be able to issue a refund if the return is closed. You can do this on your side by clicking on the View Order Details for the item, then See Return Details. On this page in the lower right-hand corner you may Cancel Return and this will close it out. However, I need to give you full disclosure that once a return is closed by a buyer, eBay can no longer step in, and we cannot force the refund from the seller. Closing the return will void your eBay Money Back Guarantee coverages completely. I do not recommend a buyer close a request unless they have received a full resolution."

It was the eBay chat bot that told me to open a return claim (the only option it offered) when I inquired about missing parts and remedy. It certainly did not disclose that there's no option to receive a replacement or a partial refund or that "once a claim is opened, the seller can no longer refund, even for a partial."

Why should buyers not have any protection for situations that require partial refunds, especially when the seller is in agreement to offer a partial refund of US$20? eBay bars the seller from offering a partial refund.

If eIS can only handle full returns/refunds, then please give sellers the ability to issue partial refunds when no physical returns are needed. Currently, sellers are told that they "don't need to refund the buyer, and will not receive the item back" and that they "cannot issue a refund at this time because a return request is open for an item in this order".

My additional concern stems from the fact that the plastic shipping bag used by the seller to ship the order to the eIS hub was cut wide open on BOTH sides and repackaged into a cardboard box. Was the memory card lost due to processing at the eIS hub?

If the buyer doesn t get to keep the item, and the seller doesn t get the item back, is eIS selling the item to a third party? That seems to incentivize poor customer service.

Forcing buyers to close the case for missing parts before sellers are able to issue partial refunds strips buyers of rightful protection. I buy on eBay because of its buyer protection policies.

Finally, while eIS claims to handle tracking, customs clearance, and returns , customs clearance was not an option at checkout for this order. It means that I had to pay C$55.53 in duty and taxes directly to Canada Post and would not receive this back via an eIS return. I would have to separately apply to CBSA for a refund. This is hardly hassle free. eIS did not meet its promise to handle customs clearance in the first place.

I can't test the unit to determine whether it's fully functional without buying a new SD card that fits the unit. If I close the case, I still may not receive the receive my partial refund. If I then find out that the unit is defective, then I won't be able to return it (or return the SD card to the local store).

Why should buyers be put into such a bind with no recourse or disclosure? It's been a month since this order was placed to get nowhere with this.

Should eBay not remedy this situation, I will not entertain any listing that uses eIS as a shipping method.

If anyone has any insights or knowledge into how to get a partial refund, or how to file a complaint with eIS, please kindly reply. Thank you.

[carlmarxx]

The  Seller was total  goofball to ship the Item in a grocery bag  ,do to high  risk of damage  during  transit  to EIS  hub.   I will be amazed how much longer  ebay's   EIS  will keep refunded  out of their pocket  do to sellers poor packing . 

[keensubscriber]

Thanks. It's not a grocery bag. It's one of those plastic bags called poly mailer.

[carlmarxx]

Oh!  A poly mailer  . 

[tobaccocardyahoo]

I do not know who you received that email from, but it was probably not EIS, it was probably some turkey in customer service.

EIS has refunded without return on at least one item I sold. They make a decision on each case and item as to whether they will require a return, probably based on the cost of shipping to them and an estimate of the value they might get by reselling the item.

The inability to receive a partial refund is inherent to many transactions on Ebay, it is usually the seller who will insist on a return before any refund is issued.

The lack of documentation of the absence of partial refunds is not surprising since partial refunds are only issued when a seller makes that decision, and the seller is no longer involved in the transaction after the item leaves the EIS hub.

[stephenmorgan]

@keensubscriber 

Nothing in the policy you posted states anything about a partial refund.  It just states to return for refund.  Nothing wrong with that, something wrong with a item then return it and get refunded.  Many businesses operate with return for refund and do not do partial refunds or send out missing pieces.

I just looked at a item I sent to Canada last week and eBay will allow me to issue a refund amount of my choosing.  It has not left the US Hub yet.  If you close your Return with EIS then maybe the seller can issue a partial refund?  

If they do not give you the partial refund then would you still be able to open a claim for Item not as described?  

[keensubscriber]

Thanks. I received three (3) email messages from reps who had identified themselves as "I am a customer service specialist with eBay International Shipping (eIS)." This also jives with the fact that two different eBay call centre supervisors confirmed on the phone that they had written to eBay International about my case before I even heard from eIS.

The seller confirmed multiple times willingness to offer a partial refund but was unable to do so due to eBay having disabled that option. (See screenshot in my original post.) eBay made it clear the item would not be returned to the seller.

Here's what one of these eIS reps said:

"With eBay International Shipping, you will return the order to eBay's return facility in the USA. Your seller is not actually involved in the return process at all, and will not be responsible to refund you.

A pre-paid return shipping label is available for you in the return details. You will just need to print the shipping label, repackage the item, attach the label to the parcel and drop off at your nearest DHL Express drop off location, or arrange for a pick-up with DHL Express.  

You can find a drop off location using the link: https://locator.dhl.com/

You can schedule a pick up using this link: https://mydhl.express.dhl/index/en.html

You will first need to change the location to your country to start the process to find a drop off location or schedule a pick up.  

Please note, on the return label, there will be three pages. The first page is the actual label you will attach to the outside of the parcel. The second page is an invoice with DHL Express may require to complete the return. The third page is a packing list which we ask that you include inside the parcel with the item.  

The second page also contains the phone number and contact email for the return shipping hub DHL may ask for this information when you ship the return. I will also include this for you below:

Returns hub phone number: +19292954040

Returns hub email: noreply@easyship.com

No refund has been issued for the order yet. The item must be returned to our facility using the pre-paid label before the refund can be issued.  

Refunds without return, partial refunds, replacements, or exchanges are not supported for orders that ship through eBay International Shipping. eBay does not receive the original payment you made for the order, so we do require that the items that are received are returned to eBay's return facility before any refund can be issued.

You can work directly with the seller, but the seller can not refund with open cases on eBay, but we do recommend following the returns process.

Once the return is delivered back to our facility, our shipping partners will inspect the return, and then we will process the claim within 3-7 business days."

[keensubscriber]

Thanks, Stephen. We are on the same page. There's nothing in the eIS policy on their website that I could see that prohibits partial refund. However, the eIS specialists are all claiming the following knowing full well that my case is about a missing part:

"Refunds without return, partial refunds, replacements, or exchanges are not supported for orders that ship through eBay International Shipping. eBay does not receive the original payment you made for the order, so we do require that the items that are received are returned to eBay's return facility before any refund can be issued. "

That's news to me and all of the eBay Customer Service reps (including supervisors).

Here's another eIS message:

"I am sorry to hear that the sd card is missing from the item. Before we proceed, I'd like to explain how our eBay International Shipping (eIS) program functions. For eIS orders, sellers are only responsible for shipping the item in good condition to our hub in the USA. Once it's delivered there and processed by our shipping partners, their obligations as a seller are fulfilled. Any issues after and any returns are exclusively handled by eBay.  Additionally, once a claim is opened, the seller can no longer refund, even for a partial.  

Partial refunds are not supported for orders that ship through eBay International Shipping. eBay does not receive the original payment you made for the order, so we do require that the items that are received are returned to eBay's return facility before any refund can be issued.

Your seller may be able to issue a refund if the return is closed. You can do this on your side by clicking on the View Order Details for the item, then See Return Details. On this page in the lower right-hand corner you may Cancel Return and this will close it out.

However, I need to give you full disclosure that once a return is closed by a buyer, eBay can no longer step in, and we cannot force the refund from the seller. Closing the return will void your eBay Money Back Guarantee coverages completely. I do not recommend a buyer close a request unless they have received a full resolution.

If you would still like to close the return, you can do so by following the steps above. We cannot do this on your behalf due to the consent that is required on your part when closing the return.

To ensure that your eBay Money Back Guarantee protections are enforced, I strongly recommend proceeding with the return.  

I sincerely apologize for any unmet expectations and understand how frustrating this situation might be. I hope my explanation of the process has been clear and helpful. Please feel free to reach out if you have any further questions or concerns."

So, what it means is that IF eIS Hub loses my SD card during processing (where the original poly mailer might have got slashed front and back for "inspection" and repackaged into a cardboard box), the seller is out of the picture, and the buyer is out of luck getting the SD card replaced or reimbursed, even if the buyer would like to keep the digital recorder. Duty and taxes are paid separately by the buyer and the only way to recuperate the cost of the lost SD card is to return the digital recorder.

It just doesn't make any sense. Hours have been spent on the phone because "regular" eBay customer reps were under the same impression that the buyer would get a partial refund. It's not just a training issue. It's the fact that this eIS unwritten "policy" is not known to practically everyone outside of eIS (i.e., sellers, buyers, eBay staff).  To get the duty and taxes paid, the buyer would have to fill out a ton of forms and hope for the best. To return the digital recorder, there's another bunch of forms to fill out.

If eIS lost the SD card, eIS should have a mechanism to compensate the buyer. If the original poly mailer were intact, the buyer could be sure the missing SD card was not eIS's fault. However, once it's in eIS's possession and the mailer is twice slashed with a missing part, eIS should be responsible for compensating the buyer, NOT punishing the buyer even more by making the buyer return the digital recorder and waste more time to search for another digital recorder to buy again.

[stephenmorgan]

I just looked up a order from Feb 1st going to Mexico that was delivered on Feb 18th.  I still have the option to issue a refund.

I looked up an order from April 30 2024 that was delivered on June 14 2024 and the refund option is gone.  The phone number for EIS is now removed but their email is still available.  

eBay deletes certain information at certain times.  I just reviewed my account for International and US  sales.  After 60 days I can can no longer issue a refund to either.

[keensubscriber]

Thanks, Stephen. I appreciate your reply. That's good to know. The order was only from Mar 22.

So, three different eIS specialists all told me it's not possible for sellers to offer refunds because it's an eBay International shipment.

Could it be that the fact that you can offer refunds is because there are no return cases opened?

I was basically advised by the eBay chat bot to open a return case when I asked about a missing part. After that, eBay "regular" customer service just told me to wait for eBay to issue me a partial refund which eIS told me was impossible 8 days later.

I guess the lesson appears to be that "Don't listen to the eBay chat bot" — don't open a return case when there's a missing part. Contact the seller directly and hope and pray the seller would issue a partial refund. Only open up a case if the item is broken / defective and you're seeking a full refund. Even then, if eIS doesn't collect for duty/taxes at checkout, it means that you'll have to pay duty/taxes separately and then lose all the duty/taxes paid in the case of a return unless you are willing to go through the CBSA to apply for a refund of duty/taxes paid. You'll probably still lose the brokerage fee to Canada Post or DHL or FedEx, etc.

Thanks again, Stephen. 🙂

[stephenmorgan]

It sounds like with the return pending the seller is locked out from doing anything because it would be returned to the EIS Hub and they would issue the refund.

You issue is it did not have the memory card.  Is there anyway you can borrow this from someone to verify if the unit is good?  Maybe the unit is no good and you decide that you do want to return it.  If the unit checks good then decide if you would keep it even if the seller failed to reimburse you for the memory card.  If they continue to have problems issuing the refund would you keep the unit without a partial refund?

[albertabrightalberta]

@keensubscriber 

One of the reasons that sellers choose to use eIS for their international sales is because they know they don't have to worry about returns, partial refunds, NAD complaints, etc. 

For you to insist on a partial refund out of the seller's pocket is unfair to the seller.

Even when items are shipped directly to buyers, NO seller has to issue a partial refund for missing parts and in fact, it's a violation of ebay policy for a buyer to insist on a partial rather than return the item. Most sellers will tell buyers to "return for refund."

"Why should buyers not have any protection for situations that require partial refunds, especially when the seller is in agreement to offer a partial refund of US$20? eBay bars the seller from offering a partial refund.

You aren't losing your buyer protection. You're entitled to get a full refund when you return the item. 

To be honest, I doubt the seller is "in agreement to offer a partial refund of $20." My guess is that you're bullying pressuring him. Again, sellers who want international buyers but don't want to deal with the return process choose EIS and once delivered to ebay, they've done their job. 

[keensubscriber]

I am sorry that you made an erroneous assumption of coercion and bullying pressuring on my part, and assumed the worst of me. In this scenario, at least one party is out-of-pocket, no matter how you dice it.

I simply messaged the seller about the missing SD card and the seller apologized and offered a partial refund so that I could purchase a replacement locally. We are both acting in good faith.

Here's our exchange:

Me:

"Good evening. The TASCAM just arrived but there is no 16GB Card. Would you please help? Thank you." "Inside the shipping box, there's a black plastic bag that's ripped open in both the front and back. That black bag has a mailing label with your return address and EIS' shipping address. If there was a memory card, it could have dropped out when eBay opened it. I've checked inside the TASCAM box and the recorder's slot and there's no memory card anywhere. Thank you."

Seller:

"I’m sorry to hear that if you’ll like i can issue a $20 partial refund so you can order an sd card?"

The eIS no partial refund "rule" is unwritten and not known to all 8 eBay customer service reps (supervisors included) I had spoken with on the phone and neither is the "rule" known to the buyer or the seller in this case. It's certainly not published on the eBay International Shipping FAQ page.

Moreover, if, as you have claimed, that it is an eBay violation to request the seller for a partial refund, then based on the replies from numerous eIS specialists, they are counselling the buyer to commit this "violation".

I do not know how it is unfair to request remedy for a missing part since I have paid for one and did not receive any. I was simply being fair and considerate preferring a partial refund over a full return, given the fact that returning the entire box would cost not just $$ and time, it'd have environmental impacts. It's certainly not my fault that a part was missing from my order. I'm doing my best to minimize the overall costs (i.e., loss, shipping, duty & taxes, time, energy, environmental impacts) for ALL parties involved.

If it saves the seller / eBay on shipping, I'd be willing to spend the time and energy to go to the store to buy a replacement SD card so that my order is complete and with the least amount of impact on all parties (the world included).

[keensubscriber]

I am definitely on the same page as you. That's why I wrote to the seller about the missing SD card.

I have certainly considered checking to see whether the unit works but I did not have any access to a new SD card that works with this digital recorder. According to the manual, SD cards (of the correct capacity) would need to be formatted when you first put it into the unit. So unless someone has a new SD card (or one that can be erased completely), it's not going to work.

If the order were complete and it checks out, I'd definitely keep it.

Like I mentioned before, buying a brand new SD card to test this unit is not quite feasible. Should the unit turn out to be defective and must be returned, the cost of the now "used" SD card would be an out-of-pocket expense. At that point, if I cannot find an identical digital recorder model to buy, the next recorder might require a different kind of memory card.

The reason why this has dragged on so long is because eBay told me it'd step in after 3 business days and that it'd resolve quickly with a partial refund. That's why I'm in a bind.

I'd rather not have to go buy a new SD card and then find out that the unit is defective but that'd be my last resort before returning the unit.