ebay ignored my return tracking number and closed dispute

[shelleybear10]

I purchased an item on ebay 04/01/2017, $17.06 including postage. This seller is based in Hong Kong. When I received the item 16/01/2017, it was the wrong colour so I requested a return. The seller agreed to a return but would not provide me with a return shipping label. I was informed I would be refunded the return shipping cost to Hong Kong. After confirming the seller's address, I bought a prepaid shipping label via Australia Post's Click and Send service on 20/01/2017. The postage including registration, tracking, signature on receipt and pickup came to a total of $56.06 AUD. I marked the item as sent on ebay and provided the tracking number. I also informed the seller of the cost. The seller complained that the return postage was too high. I advised the seller that I couldn't send the item back to Hong Kong at any cheaper cost that would provide tracking information. The seller refunded the item's price of $17.06, 22/01/2017, so ebay has closed the case. I have contacted ebay, they can't reopen the dispute because the seller provided a refund of the initial cost, even though I had already initiated a return and provided them with the Australia Post's tracking number on 20/01/2017.

Why?

Where is ebay's buyer protection?

[*dvdfitness*]

Firstly, sellers can't provide return labels for international sales - except maybe the big businesses.

For returns, its best to negotiate a price the seller is willing to pay for return shipping before returning the item. eBay alwsys closes case after a refund. They should change it to make sure buyers a refunded for return shipping. Not sure how they will implement that but they need to look into it!

HOWEVER..,

The item cost $17 including shipping and you thought they would be ok to pay $56 in return shipping? That's ridiculous!

Airmail to HK cost less than $23 which includes tracking. The seller may even complain about that, but that's more reasonable than $56! 

[fixnwear]

shelleybear10,

What ever made you even think that seller will pay this huge postage just to get a $17 item back that included postage?

Had you bothered asking before doing it off your own bat they would have told you the same thing.

And the whole thing was about wrong colour?!

Not a reason good enough to bother the seller in the first place.

You'll not get your postage money back from seller nor Ebay - as to post it in the most expensive manner was YOUR decision, as was the whole trivial complaint to start with!

If you had an item that sold for only 17 bucks, incl. the postage - would you pay anyone so much more just to get it back?

Very irresponsible action - "who cares how much it costs, as someone else is paying for it"

Or so you thought.

If you thought for a minute that you'll have to fund the ret. postage you would have either taken so much more care of how it's sent - or learnt to live with the colour you got! Which wouldn't have taken any effort at all.

[domino-710]

Why on earth did you not - simply open - INAD - The item sent was wrong.

The process is there - wait - see what is happening - the seller is responsible for sending - the item purchased.

Why spent - an exhorbitant amount to return an item - the seller got wrong.

Sit it out - wait for an outcome.

We all know eBay - sides with the buyer.

[*tippy*toes*]

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@domino-710 wrote:

Why on earth did you not - simply open - INAD - The item sent was wrong.

The process is there - wait - see what is happening - the seller is responsible for sending - the item purchased.

Why spent - an exhorbitant amount to return an item - the seller got wrong.

Sit it out - wait for an outcome.

We all know eBay - sides with the buyer.

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The OP did open a INAD dispute and it was closed when the seller refunded the initial cost. Sadly for the OP, they were silly enough to send it back at a ridiculous price for a cheap item, without negotiating with the seller. A costly mistake on their part. I'm not sure how the OP thought an international seller could send a return shipping label as they use a different postal service to us. Live and learn.

[fixnwear]

domino-710,

According to OP, Ebay has already closed the dispute - that's why she is complaining here.

And besides, how do you propose that all she has to do is wait - what for what?

Even if Ebay "is always on the side of the buyer" - they are not a judicial body, they can't dispense the law - and how do you imagine they'd force otherwise that seller to pay the postage to OP?

If they simply take it out of the seller's account - that would be stealing - most definitely not legal anywhere.

The only payments they can freely award to anyone they like is from their own money - and I just can't see them doing that for the OP in any great hurry.

As it was OP's choice and decision to post it in the most expensive manner - far excessive of the initial value of the item.

Nor did she have a very valid reason to post it back in the first place.

[digital*ghost · Accepted solution]

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@shelleybear10 wrote:

Where is ebay's buyer protection?

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As others have mentioned, what has transpired in this case is not due to a lack of buyer protection, but due to a combination of lack of available options when it comes to international transactions, a lack of guided assistance and pertinent advice from eBay when it comes to scenarios like these, and also because eBay's policies have actually tried to implement some semblance of fairness when it comes to return postage costs.

When you return an item to a seller (in INAD cases), on eBay they are responsible for postage costs, but in cases where the seller can not provide a postage label (and this applies to domestic sales as well), the return postage costs need to be discussed, and approved, with / by the seller.

The reason for that is, and I will speak from a seller's perspective here, the seller is not liable or responsible to pay for whatever service the buyer chooses. I'll use a real, and more stark example to show what I mean... I know of a seller who had a buyer wanting to return an item, which was too large and heavy for Australia Post, so needed to go by courier. The item was expensive (furniture), and buyer wanted to send via a courier that would have charged $1000 for the return (in excess of the item's worth), while other couriers were readily available who would charge a fraction of that. 

As a seller, on a $17 item, if the cost is financially viable, I will pay for tracked postage, but no extras (signature on delivery is unnecessary, especially for me because my return address is a PO box and it can't be left in an unsafe place prior to pick-up, registering is not applicable for parcels, insurance I wouldn't agreee to pay for unless the item was high value and still maintained a lot of that value [$100+], and I'm afraid I most definitely would not pay for any pick-up service, that is not part of the return postage costs, merely a convenience for someone else). My refusal to pay for those extras would in no way affect a buyer's eligibility for a refund under the MBG, because tracking that shows delivery (on items under $750), is all that is required. 

I don't know how much the item weighed, but I do know that international postage can be very expensive, especially once the parcel goes over 500g, so in many cases, if the (basic) cost to return an item outweighs its value, I wouldn't require a return at all and just issue a refund - that's another reason to discuss return postage costs with a seller, prior to going ahead.

All that being said, I suggest you request a call-back from eBay, and either ask them to look at the message where the seller agreeed to cover return postage costs (and by postage costs, I mean postage costs, not optional extras that they didn't approve / agree to), and / or ask them to honour their MBG policy.