Unable to return item that arrived early

[kathyrollo]

Hi, item arrived Jun-18 that is earlier than ETA which is Jul-5. However, seller sent me the wrong item. I can't initiate the return process on eBay because it's telling me it's "too early" and the return request can only begin Jul-6.

I've contacted the seller and it seems they want me to wait for the other buyer (whom my item was swapped with) to return their item, then I wait again to receive it. Told seller I just want to initiate the return on my side to receive the refund.

What did you guys do in this situation? Do I just wait for the official return window to open on Jul-6?

[kathyrollo]

Hi, you're right. It was sent via DHL. It's still marked as En Route and not Delivered:

Do you reckon I check with DHL and have them mark it Delivered from their side first?

[springyzone · Accepted solution]

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@kathyrollo wrote:

Hi, you're right. It was sent via DHL. It's still marked as En Route and not Delivered:

Do you reckon I check with DHL and have them mark it Delivered from their side first?

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Yes, for sure, give that a try, because as soon as it is marked as delivered I think you could open your return request without any further hassles.

But I just wanted to address this bit:

I've contacted the seller and it seems they want me to wait for the other buyer (whom my item was swapped with) to return their item, then I wait again to receive it. Told seller I just want to initiate the return on my side to receive the refund.

No. Just no to that whole scenario. Don't have a bar of it.

The seller's wishes are not your command.

Do exactly what Domino said earlier.

Open an ebay claim for item not as described.

Keep it open, follow it up, do not close it till you have a refund.

Whatever you do, do not accept the seller's offers of posting out the correct item once they get it back.

You only get 30 days from the delivery in which to open a claim & that can time out very quickly if you are waiting around for someone else to send it back to the seller to send it back to you.

Nope. Get your refund. The seller will need to provide you with a postage label if they want the item back. You just get your refund, then you can buy again later if you want to.

[kathyrollo]

Hi, thank you so much for your suggestions. You're actually the correct solution in this specific scenario. The accepted solution isn't technically wrong either.

I sent an email to DHL via their contact form. Later that night, my purchase was marked Delivered in eBay. DHL didn't email me back, so not sure if it was the direct result of my request. Eitherway, I was able to immediately initiate the return process after that.

Seller provided his home address to return the item there instead in private message, but I politely declined and said to continue with the standard return process, as I've already packaged the item using eBay's generated return label.

I dropped the item at a DHL Service Point and eBay says item is now in transit back to seller.

Thanks again!

[kathyrollo]

By the way, I was also able to change the accepted solution to yours. 🙂

[springyzone]

I am so glad you are doing it via all the official ebay processes.

I don't necessarily get any vibe that the seller isn't genuine. I think they probably are sincere and trying to correct a mistake and not lose a sale.

But the thing is, you as buyer have no protection if you go off on a tangent, sending things off privately and not to the official address etc

If you are still keen to obtain the item, you can just tell the seller you are still interested & ask him if he would be willing to relist it once he has it back.

[kathyrollo]

Same. Seller may simply want to fix the mixup. Just that, buyer has everything to lose in this scenario if anything goes awry. Keeping it within eBay's official processes grants protection to all parties involved.

Interesting addition to this story, an eBay rep appears to have come across this post and called me. However, I'm asleep until midday, because of graveyard shift and wasn't able to pick up. Hope they'd call again. 🫠

My item is still chugging along in transit, so I'll keep monitoring that.

[splatter_pattern]

Same issue,item arrived 18 days early,can't open a return for another 18 days,it's ridiculous 

[repentatleisure1952]

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@splatter_pattern wrote:

Same issue,item arrived 18 days early,can't open a return for another 18 days,it's ridiculous 

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If the item has arrived you can open a return.

Read this...

https://www.ebay.com.au/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-pol...

[kathyrollo]

In general, you'll have to wait for it to be marked as DELIVERED before you can open a return.

I had to email DHL to mark it from their end, so eBay system picks it up because it was an international delivery. DHL didn't reply but it was marked delievered by evening, so not sure if my email was actually responsible for that. There's a disconnect between the courier and the post office when shipping overseas.