I ordered an item on ebay and the seller told me the item was broken and that I needed to organise a

[sterling_pain]

The seller said the item was broken and they had no stock so I had to deal with ebay on my side. But I wasnt able to do that until x date after, which was really frustrating. 

After the date passed I opened a case with ebay and they said they would try to contact the seller. I was not updated at all until I was told that I had not responded, neither had the seller and the case was closed. There was never an option for me to ask ebay to step in. 

I'm really frustrated, why did they not message me when the seller didn't respond or issue a refund then? I was assuming I would get an email and nothing. But now when I try to open a case they say it was already closed. 

It feels really scammy that the seller can list something, sell it, say it was broken and that it is my responsibility to take care of everything.

[countessalmirena]

Yes, you can only open a case once. It means that buyers really must keep an eye on the case. If a seller refuses to refund or provide a satisfactory solution, the buyer must escalate the case.

The ability to escalate should appear no sooner than three business days after opening the case. You’d have seen the option become available within the case.

If you don’t escalate the case within 21 days of opening it, the case will automatically close with no resolution.

OP, it looks as though you somehow didn’t escalate within that timeframe. All communication is within the case.

The only thing I can suggest is that you contact eBay Live Chat and explain that you honestly didn’t see the option to escalate and that you were not refunded. Ask earnestly if they’ll look at the communication between you and seller and see that you weren’t refunded. Ask if they will action a refund for you. Don’t say any of this in a demanding or accusatory way.

I am not sure you’ll get any joy by trying this, but you can give it a go.

If you have no luck, and if you paid by PayPal, you can open a case through PayPal.

If you didn’t pay by PayPal, but funded your purchase by card, you may be within the timeframe of your card provider to do a chargeback.

So… STRICTLY in this order, and only trying another method once the first avenue has failed…

eBay                            (and if no luck, then ->)

PayPal                         (and if no luck, then ->)

bank/card issuer

[peterjc0007]

Welcome to Ebay! Home of the answered questions and responses. Wish I had an answer for you , but I too have been left with teh beitter taste in my mouth after using the for so many years.

[sterling_pain]

Yeah, I'm bitter. They advertise on Australian TV and cannot afford to even man a single email address to help Australian customers. Been using eBay for...oof, since I was like 15 and I'm 35 and I refuse to do that maths. But not any more. You literally get better customer service on Temu and Aliexpress if you want cheap goods.

[davewil1964]

It's simple you use the buyer-centric tools eBay give you. If the seller doesn't cancel and refund, you open an Item Not Received case as soon as you can. The onus is then on the seller to fix the issue. If they don't eBay WILL refund the buyer. Interesting that you can't work out how long it's been since you were 15, and also that you deliberately lied to eBay when you started buying, given you need to be 18 to open an account.

[sterling_pain]

Hi, it was what is commonly known as a "joke". I can do the maths, but I don't like saying it was 20 years ago as that makes me feel "old". It also might interest you to know that my birthdate has been accurate on ebay for a long ad I know, so perhaps that policy changed. Back then you did not even require a credit card or a PayPal, just a bank account. As my complaint says, I did refer this to ebay and they said there was no response from the seller, or myself, even though I double checked and ebay had not asked me to say anything. I'm not sure why you feel so antagonistic, did YOU try to sell me something and then claim your stock was completely broken and instead of refunding me mate it my problem??

[countessalmirena]

There has not been a time when an eBay account could be opened by someone under 18. (To the best of my knowledge.) In the past, it would certainly have been easier for people not wanting this rule to apply to them to flout it; they simply lied when creating their account. ID checking (with the eBayer having to provide a valid form of photo ID which also showed DOB was not in place at that time. Neither was there any check on linked bank accounts (to the level that there is today). So… you’d have had to be a rebellious teen gleefully extending a middle finger to the “Are you 18 or over?” question if you joined at age 15. I’m not the Age Police; I’m commenting in the interests of not letting the waters be muddied with an error, falsehood, or casual act of teen rule-breaking.

[gutterpunkz05]

So 35 is now old. surely that is just another joke

[sterling_pain]

The eBay comment section is weirdly salty. 1. I do not know if it did or did not have, nor do I recall because that was in 2005 and I had been 16, as it turns out, and my dad helped me create it to get a band tshirt. Genuinely not sure how my age became a muddying feature. 2. Yes, some people feel old at 35, some people feel old at 50, some at 73, despite the fact that people remain older than them sometimes people feel that something that seems like it should have occurred only a small amount of time ago in fact occurred decades ago and it reminds them of the passage of time. I highly doubt that has not happened to you gutterpunk05.