eBay refunded buyer when item was in transit then refused my appeal after item was delivered

[rhinestone_cowboy1]

I sold an item on eBay Australia to a buyer in Chile and shipped to them via Auspost. The delivery was obviously delayed due to the global pandemic, but tracking showed that it was still in transit. eBay debited my Paypal account to fully refund the buyer while the item was still transit, and it was then delivered to them about a week later. I appealed the refund decision with delivery confirmation but they immediately denied and closed the case.

I figured it would be a pretty clear-cut case, the buyer received the item so eBay would return my money, but they are refusing to help me in any way and essentially are telling me 'too bad.' I've been in contact with both eBay AU and US numerous times over the past few weeks and they both advise me to just message the buyer (who is obviously completely unresponsive) and ask them to pay.

Do I have any recourse in reclaiming my money?

[*madison]

Small claims court. I think that is your only option if the buyer won't pay.

[jellybirddesigns]

I would have thought you would be covered under the Ebay guarantee - ie: you shipped it with tracking within your stated handling time. Often Ebay customer service does not follow Ebay's own guidelines!

Having said that, I would definitely not be shipping to certain countries, including South America, Southern and Eastern Europe etc. Postal delays are notorious and theft rate is high.

If you do want to continue to ship worldwide, stretch out your handling time to the maximum, which I think is 30 days.

I would contact CS again and tell them that they are not following their own guidelines.

[jellybirddesigns]

@madison - the buyer is in Chile!

[*madison]

The op has lost his money then.

[sandypebbles]

I echo jellybirddesigns advice, keep contacting eBay CS and point out their failure to adhere to their own guidelines

Staff will often say the easiest thing to get people off the 'line' (chat) as fast as they can

Don't give up at the first or second person

Plus, add the buyer to your blocked list, so they cannot pull the same stunt again

Contacting eBay via Facebook may be another option

[papermoon.lady]

Maybe you can also try to explain the situation to PayPal?

[love_of_cars]

PayPal won't give a monkey's banana about it.  Nothing good has ever come of claims with PayPal.

[papermoon.lady]

They have always helped me (as a buyer though, not a seller). I haven't opened a claim in a very long time though.

[katistrophik]

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