topic Re: Ebay gives refund because item was late in Selling

Ebay gives refund because item was late

pmk_comp — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 02:29:05 GMT

I'm at a loss here.

Ebay has just refunded in full (without asking for the item to be returned) because the item was "LATE" acording to ebay's schedule "Get it Free & Fast by ???"

Despite the attached note saying delivery might take longer in peak periods, a buyer complained that it was "late" according to ebay's schedule and demanded a full refund.

Ebay obliged without asking for the buyer to send it back. I appealed but ebay dismissed my appeal.

What gives? So I can order an item on ebay, say it's late, get a full refund and get away with fraud?

I can't afford to give away my products.

What can I do?

Re: Ebay gives refund because item was late

curraone — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 02:30:33 GMT

First of all, did the parcel having tracking?

Re: Ebay gives refund because item was late

mbselections00 — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 02:38:47 GMT

What the ? That is absolutely disgraceful and I'm sure none of us can afford to give our products & postage costs away !!

If this is their latest antic to get rid of us small Sellers, I'm pretty sure they will succeed with this one - could very well be the final nail in the coffin.

So far as I'm concerned, it makes no difference it was late, the buyer obviously received it - how late was it ?

It's tooo pathetic for words . . . . . . I would keep appealing

Oh, oops, I did just take a quick look at what you sell, perhaps it does actually make a difference if it was late, but how late was it & did the customer order allowing sufficient time for delivery ?

Re: Ebay gives refund because item was late

chameleon54 — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 02:39:50 GMT

If this is exactly what happened, ITS DOWN RIGHT SCAREY. How late was the item. 3 days or 3 weeks ? If it was only a few days I would be phoning and asking to have the case looked at by a supiviser.

Re: Ebay gives refund because item was late

bigbrickshop — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 02:46:24 GMT

I'm not surprised.

The blurb in the Money Back Guarantee states that sellers have to "provide evidence of successful on-time delivery to the buyer's address." if a buyer opens a case for Not Received.

How many days handling do you have in your listings? I just looked at one of your listings and in the description area it says that items are posted within 3-5 days. Do you actually have 5 days as your handling time? If not, you're likely to lose more claims.

Re: Ebay gives refund because item was late

digital*ghost — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 02:46:54 GMT

eBay considers an item that is posted late (i.e. after the seller's listed handling time) to mean an item is not as described.

They do is the US, anyway - it's part of their Money Back Guarantee, if you and the buyer are in Oz I don't think that should apply as I haven't seen it as part of our MBG.

Plus, if your item was posted within your handling time and you can show that, you should be able to get the money credited back.

Re: Ebay gives refund because item was late

clarry100 — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 02:48:06 GMT

That is downright scandalous.

They cannot be allowed to get away with this.

Re: Ebay gives refund because item was late

curraone — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 02:53:09 GMT

several thoughts about what you can do for the future:

the automatic ebay guarantee thing is going to bite everyone who posts by letters. Best thing you can do is sacrifice a bit of profit and add $3.70 to your postage margin to allow for Registered Post. Or buy rolls of 50 at at time and add $3.10.

IMO it is not viable to have free postage - it stops people being able to combine and obtain postage discounts.

Edit your handling time to 3 days or more. This will give you more leeway and people will be pleasantly surprised when the item arrives sooner.

Did you appeal that neutral? The buyer admits they did not read the description.

Re: Ebay gives refund because item was late

pmk_comp — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 03:05:29 GMT

I've just spent 30mins on the phone to ebay.

They're going to open a re-apeal on the case because it shouldn't have been an item not received case.

Re: Ebay gives refund because item was late

pmk_comp — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 03:11:10 GMT

No. It was sent via normal post. She admitted to receiving it in her claim for a refund.

Buyer ordered it on the 15th Nov (Saturday), Item was sent on the 17th (Monday), ebay estimated it should have been there by the 19th-21st (Thursday - Friday). It actually arrived on 1st December. Two weeks (10 business days) because of the Christmas load.

Re: Ebay gives refund because item was late

Anonymous — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 03:07:25 GMT

Has the buyer received the item? If so make a complaint to Fair Trading as you have posted the item in a reasonable time frame and ebay has taken money because of Australia Post delays which is out of your control. GO do it.

Re: Ebay gives refund because item was late

harley_babes_hoard — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 03:42:50 GMT

If your listing has get it free & fast doesn't that mean that you have to post within one day?

Just checked yes to qualify for free and fast you have to post within 24 hours. So if you posted 2 days later then I suspect that is why PayPal have refunded the buyer.

Re: Ebay gives refund because item was late

pmk_comp — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 03:51:33 GMT

Does the ebay expectation of 24 hours still apply to weekends?

Perhaps we will have to change the handling times.

Free postage rips off the consumer. There's no such thing as "free" postage. The cost of shipping has to be incorporated into the cost of the product.

Then if the consumer buys two items they're paying for twice the postage, but ebay gets more money.

Re: Ebay gives refund because item was late

clarry100 — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 03:52:14 GMT

99.9% of our items go out by large letter. ie untracked.

So far (touch wood!) we have not had a single case of any buyer implementing this MBG action against us.

Since our items average about $10 each to add $3.70 for registered post would either wipe out all our profit and hence not worth while selling any more. OR -- if we added it to the prices it will mean nobody will buy our items since they are too high priced.

So we have to soldier on the way we are until we are defected or refunded off the planet then we will have to close up shops.

Re: Ebay gives refund because item was late

mbselections00 — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 04:39:23 GMT

I would have thought if the customer ordered on Saturday (or Friday evening) you would be covered to post on Monday as that's within 24 Business hours.

Mmmmm, maybe I had better change handling time on all my listings if that is not the case

Re: Ebay gives refund because item was late

i-love-my-sheep — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 05:56:36 GMT

I looked at some of your listings, including the ones that had the premium badge. To have the premium badge, you have to have a handling time of no more than one day. Even on those listings, near the bottom of the description, you say you will post in 3-5 days and that you post Mon, Wed and Fri. If you wait 3-5 days to post an item with the badge, you are going to end up with more disputes.

Although, you did say you posted on the Monday after the buyer paid on the Saturday, so that would still fall into the 1 business day. In that case, I would fight it. Especially as under the postage tab, it said for me (being in NSW):

Free postage

Australia

Standard Postage (Standard delivery)

Estimated between Wed. 10 Dec. and Mon. 15 Dec. to 2800

* Estimated delivery dates include seller's handling time, origin ZIP Code, destination ZIP Code and time of acceptance and will depend on shipping service selected and receipt of cleared payment Delivery times may vary, especially during peak periods.

I don't see Fast and Free on any of the listings I looked at, so I would assume that would only apply to people who lived closer. I actually thought Fast and Free meant you posted fast, like 0-1 day, but obviously distance plays a role too.

There have been lengthy discussions on these forums about the Premium Badge and it was established that it made absolutely no difference to sales by having it. You were no higher up on the Best Match search and sales were no higher than sellers who didn't have it.

I think in this day and age of the buyer can do no wrong, ditch the premium badge and set your handling time to 5 days. Set it when you create/relist the item, not just a mention of it in the description. If you still post within 1 day, all the better because the buyer gets it before the eBay estimate. Some buyers take that estimate as gospel and if it's not there by the earliest date, they open a dispute. They don't consider that this is a ridiculously busy time of year in the postal system, they just look at those dates.

Re: Ebay gives refund because item was late

harley_babes_hoard — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 07:20:36 GMT

@pmk_comp wrote:
Does the ebay expectation of 24 hours still apply to weekends?

Perhaps we will have to change the handling times.

Free postage rips off the consumer. There's no such thing as "free" postage. The cost of shipping has to be incorporated into the cost of the product.

Then if the consumer buys two items they're paying for twice the postage, but ebay gets more money.

Not sure but here is what is says

Selling with eBay Fast 'N Free

eBay Fast 'N Free may help increase sales by giving buyers a more accurate estimated delivery date and reinforcing the value of your great service.

You can increase your chance of having the Fast 'N Free logo appear on your listings by following all the usual best practices:

Offer free postage
Offer an express postage option
Offer same or one day handling and post within 24 hours
Always upload tracking information to My eBay.

As always, only post the item after the buyer has paid. We let the buyer know that the estimated delivery date depends on cleared payment and other factors.

Re: Ebay gives refund because item was late

found-in-australia — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 07:21:04 GMT

Harley Babe says: "Just checked yes to qualify for free and fast you have to post within 24 hours. So if you posted 2 days later then I suspect that is why PayPal have refunded the buyer. "

Surely, if the statement is 24 hours and not one business day (as the OP has shipped within one business day), then such a system sets parameters for scammers to pay on Saturday afternoon or evening and make claims either because the item was either supposedly shipped "late", or if shipped within 24 hours, shipped without valid tracking.

Re: Ebay gives refund because item was late

found-in-australia — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 07:23:25 GMT

Yes, that confirms the 24 hours, I posted within 24 seconds of your subsequent posting.

It still leaves a terrible anomoly for sellers who receive Saturday payments.

Re: Ebay gives refund because item was late

harley_babes_hoard — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 07:29:52 GMT

yes, but once again who would know because I just read another section that does say within one business day so they contradict themselves all the time.

OP I would be fighting it though.