Having issue with a buyer.

[mike.ibuy]

Hello everybody,

This is my first time posting here so if im not following any guidelines please let me know.

So i sold this iPhone through eBay Australia to an international buyer in Ukraine (26/3/2024). The phone was working perfectly fine before i shipped it (27/03/2024). It took nearly a month to get to Ukraine. As soon as it got there buyer opened a return case claiming the iPhone doesn't power on and asking me to help them power it on (23/4/2024). I 'll post screenshots below. Please note the buyer never actually said that they wanted to return they only asked for help powering it on. So i tried helping them by suggesting charging it since it was travelling for a month (23/4/2024). No response. 12 hours later i reached out asking for updates on the situation. No response. 2 days later i messaged them asking to close the case if the problem has been resolved (Since i had not response i figured they fixed the problem - 25/04/2024). No response. 2 days later i receive a message from eBay that they were asked to step in to resolve the issue with a message from the buyer saying that the phone is still not working and asking for help to make it work. Still not mentioning anything about wanting to return (27/4/2024). I message the buyer suggesting force restarting the iphone, since they asked for help (27/4/2024). No response. 1 day later i receive a message from eBay to provide return postage (28/4/2024). Since its an international sale i can't really buy a shipping label so i messaged the buyer to provide PayPal details so i can send them the funds to return (29/4/2024). Its been a day now and no response.  What should i do? I tried chatting with eBay but their answers were mostly generic, not really helpful.

Please note:

The buyers account was barely 10 days old at the time of purchase.

They never provided me with an email address

The phone number they provided doesn't exist (I tried messaging and calling them)

I know its a long read and i really appreciate you taking the time to read through this.

Thank you.

[countessalmirena]

Selling a phone overseas is fraught with difficulties.

What was the sale price?

You must never let a case proceed to eBay being asked to step in. That isn’t good for your account - seriously. With the buyer having opened the case, they wanted a refund. Obviously you can’t provide a postage label for an overseas buyer - so that’s something to consider about whether enabling international sales is wise. 

As you’re an inexperienced / new seller, you’ll also find yourself targeted by overseas buyers, particularly if you are selling expensive items.

I hate to say it, but this is probably such an instance; in any event, you will probably have to refund without getting the phone returned.

Others here may have another option to suggest.

[mike.ibuy]

Thank you for your response.

The sales price was 600 plus shipping.

I might have to stop selling expensive items overseas.

How can eBay stepping in hurt my account? I read that in a message from eBay too.

I legitimately have no idea. Like affect the seller level?

[twyngwyn]

Manage returns, missing items and refunds for sellers | eBay

[countessalmirena]

Quoting:

❝If we determine that you are responsible for providing a refund to the buyer, we'll issue the refund and then seek reimbursement from you. You won't receive fee credits if this happens, and the case will be counted as "closed without seller resolution", which can affect your seller performance level.❞

— https://www.ebay.com.au/help/selling/managing-returns-refunds/ask-ebay-step-help-sellers?id=4702

$600! Yes, chances are very high that you’ve been targeted by an unscrupulous buyer who will get to keep the phone and be refunded, while you are still obliged to pay the Final Value Fees without being reimbursed, and to boot you risk being ranked as “below standard”. That means selling restrictions and higher fees.

You can’t afford to sell without knowing the ins and outs of eBay selling. I strongly urge you to immediately edit your listing to exclude international sales, and to consider perhaps getting some lower value items listed so that you can ease into the process without risking so much money for a while.

Read the Help pages. At least read all the ones related to selling, but really it’s a good idea to read them all. Do a risk assessment. Ask here on the boards for advice once you have more knowledge of how eBay’s MBG works, as well.

But asap - exclude international sales.

https://www.ebay.com.au/help/policies/selling-policies/international-selling-policy?id=4689

[mike.ibuy]

Thank you both.

I'll read through everything and I've already started changing my listings to national only.

Just to confirm, the only reason that I'm losing here is because instead of accepting the return I tried helping the buyer resolving the issue?

[countessalmirena]

Strictly speaking, it’s because the case/dispute wasn’t resolved without eBay stepping in.

The buyer obviously knew exactly what to do.

Yes, providing helpful suggestions won’t cut it in a dispute.

If the buyer asks to return/get a refund on the basis of SBAD/INAD (significantly not as described AKA item not as described), you can try to fight it… but in most cases you cannot. In that case, accept the return in the dispute and provide return postage label (or arrange alternative way for return), and wait for the item to be returned, upon which time you’d refund the original amount to the buyer.

[mike.ibuy]

I understand. In any circumstance i would have accepted the return, but they asked for help to fix the problem without mentioning wanting to return. Plus when i received the return request one of the options were to message the buyer and i chose that. I didn't know that it doesn't count as an action. But yeah i see what you are saying. They knew what they were doing.

Thank you again!

[davewil1964]

A secondhand, commonly available worldwide, phone to a country in the middle of a war. What flags weren't triggered?

Especially at it was probably locked to Australia.