Refund that isn't a refund at all

[letscleanupmycupboards]

Bitter taste left when you are awarded a full refund but because the purchase was 2 months ago and the USD-AUD rates differ.

Ok so it's only $7 less but on a $120 refund that's significant but it's a matter of principle too. eBay says that's the way it is. So PayPal wins more of our hard earned money. This should be protected so a $100 purchase equals a $100 refund.

[*sparklz*]

SOmetimes buying from OS is not the best option 😞

[kopenhagen5]

The risks with non cash transactions, especially online.

And I agree with sparklz, often better to buy locally even if it's dearer.

[letscleanupmycupboards]

Some things cannot be bought locally. Item was a vintage military antique so not exactly an off the shelf item.

Just erodes your confidence in eBay even further.

Main reason I try everything to resolve in such a way the item can be kept and get a part refund. $119 refund of price plus original postage and $74 return postage under MBG doesn't really add up. I guess eBay coughs up for postage since the seller wouldn't.

[twyngwyn]

it's the same with the banks...if you want to get a refund on an existing item in a foreign currency, you get the rate of the day.....sometimes you win, sometimes you lose

[tazzieterror]

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@letscleanupmycupboards wrote:
Bitter taste left when you are awarded a full refund but because the purchase was 2 months ago and the USD-AUD rates differ.

Ok so it's only $7 less but on a $120 refund that's significant but it's a matter of principle too. eBay says that's the way it is. So PayPal wins more of our hard earned money. This should be protected so a $100 purchase equals a $100 refund.

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I can understand your point, having also being refunded a lower amount than was paid for an overseas transaction previously, but then I've also had it swing the other way and had a few extra dollars refunded on an occasion well.  If it had gone the other way and you'd received $7 more, would you still have posted on here about the principle of being refunded the same amount as you'd paid?

[lyndal1838]

Why would it erode your confidence in ebay?   They have nothing to do with it...it is purely a paypal thing.

If the refund is done within 6 weeks(?) you do get the same amount back that you paid no matter what the exchange rate is.

It is a while since I have had a refund from the USA  but I was well and truly in front as the exchange rate was in our favour.

Would you have come here to complain if you had been $7 in front?

[phorum_junkie*]

Luck of the draw, would you have been complaining if you had got back more? A few years ago I purchased a DVD player locally using a UK credit card. Got it home and it didn't work so went to get the money returned to my card. When the two transactions appeared on my statement the amount I got back was more than I spent by a couple of dollars even though there were only about three hours between sale and return.

[digital*ghost]

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@letscleanupmycupboards wrote:
 This should be protected so a $100 purchase equals a $100 refund.

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It does, though, just not in the way you were expecting.

That is, (for example) $100 US gets paid to the seller, and if refunded then $100 US would be debited from the seller.

They guarantee the refund amount is identical to what was paid for (I think) 60 days, which means sometimes PayPal win a little, sometimes they lose a little on refunds during that time, and after that 60 days they apply the exchange rate of the day.

If they were out to profit from this, they would have a clause that would only ever guarantee the lower of the two amounts after conversion. 

[*tippy*toes*]

I got a refund today that I'd paid in USD. It was a purchase that was $7USD. I got back 90c more than what I'd paid in AUD. It's luck of the draw. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. If you are going to purchase from overseas, that's the risk you take.

Spoiler

I'm starting to feel like a scammer as I've had several refunds in the last few weeks for items that arrived broken or smashed.