Wow! The seller has no recourse

[wilbur3799]

I sold a golf bag to a guy who apparently used it then a couple days later decides to seek a refund because according to him it was not new. I have detailed photos that can prove it was new when it left here. Doesn't matter. The seller has to automatically refund the purchase according to the eBay rep I spoke to. What? The seller does not get any chance to protect their reputation as well as their wallet, because the buyer is not honest? You have to be kidding!

[fatcatdj]

yeah eBay is like the Federal Govt. its huge, lots of ppl working there (mostly foreigners in customer service) an entity that is not breathing & living but a thoughtless computer program sucking sellers dry by charging Final Fees and letting Paypal do their nasty as well. You can't fight them because nobody there CARES. To protect yourself from buyers who think EVERYONE on eBay is a brick and mortar store, you have to charge a 20% restcking fee and let them pay for return shipping. Most buyers are CHEAP so they will think twice about shipping something back that large and getting stuck getting 20% less than what they paid.

[merylwitch]

     Is the bag in question the "Ping" one that is still in your ended listings?  I think they problem on that may be that even though it appears new I don't see any tags, bag or original packaging so there's no way to distinguish it from a gingerly used bag which the customer most likely used to exploit his position and force a return. I can understand your frustration and if it were two years ago I would absolutely agree with you regarding the one sidedness of the system, however ebay has made quite a few favorable changes (in my opinion) since then that have balanced the tables quite a bit.  I had a case this week where the item was as described and pictured and ebay closed the case in my favor which not only rejected the return but also prohibited the buyer from leaving any feedback so my reputation wouldn't be tarnished. 
     If you really want to see a selling venue that offer's no recourse try selling on "The River",  returns must not only be accepted (regardless) but if you don't the A to Z will get the customer a free item and you'll be out the cash and the item.  On top of that everything counts against the "seller's metrics" and there is no such thing as feedback removal. Give it a try sometime and you'll really get some perspective as to how much better it is to be a seller here. 
     

[otto9573]

The best way is to describe as nuch as poossible and list it as is  with detailed pictures so customer can see clearly. That way the buyer has no recours. Lets face it there are a lot of buyers who are less then honest.

[tynip]

After 14+ years, I have pretty much stopped selling on Ebay.  I sell mostly collectible items and, in order to be a top rated seller, I have to accept returns.  My pictures are clear and highlight any condition issues.  I believe that accepting returns under any conditions is fair if you are selling new items which have a problem or when you do not describe and/or picture items correctly.  However, allowing people to just change their minds is not appropriate in other cases.

Another issue, which is probably off topic for this post is their sometimes ridiculous restrictions on what can be sold especially when there are other examples of the same item that have been sold.

Support for inappropriate feedback is nearly non-existent.  I have been told that "well that's the buyer's opinion" in two cases

1.  The buyer accused me of threatening him when I gave him a time limit (long past what is required) to pay.  At one point he wanted me to drive 40+ miles to pick up the payment.

2.  A woman who was outraged that I sent her a payment reminder and then threatend to call the police when I contacted her to try to find out why she posted negative feedback.

Since I am a smaller volume seller, these issues affect me more than they do the high volume seller.

I do not think that anyone who recieves and keeps an item should be allowed to post negative feedback.

The period for feedback affecting overall rating should be reduced.  One year is a ridiculous amount of time to pernalize someone.  Six months might be appropriate but 3 months is probably a better indication.  Especially smaller volume sellers who may have experienced a short term problem and resolved it.

As to the comments that the bag may have been gingerly/gently used.  The buyer should have looked at the same things you pointed out i.e. lack of tags/packaging and asked questions.  Most of us spend time writing good descriptions including sizes and then the buyer acts suprised that the information was available to them and may even file a complaint that the items was not as advertised.  Ebays counsel in these matter is often to appease the customer.