eBay Buyer Protection Policy is Rubbish

[vxholden01]

I don't sell on eBay ever these days, and only rarely purchase as most things are simply too expensive.

That said, I purchased an item from China, with the item arriving completely dead. No worries, followed the new procedures to return to the Seller, however the Seller informs me I MUST PAY return postage (costing $19.25).

Contact eBay as the new buyer protection states the Seller pays return postage, this being confirmed by eBay phone operator.

Today I awake to an email from Seller who basically said to P-Off, followed shortly by an eBay email saying I only had a few more days to return the item and prove I'd posted it.

So in other words eBays new buyer protection policy is just more BS....can't these clowns at eBay get any policy right 

[horizon1907]

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@vxholden01 wrote:

I don't sell on eBay ever these days, and only rarely purchase as most things are simply too expensive.

That said, I purchased an item from China, with the item arriving completely dead. No worries, followed the new procedures to return to the Seller, however the Seller informs me I MUST PAY return postage (costing $19.25).

Contact eBay as the new buyer protection states the Seller pays return postage, this being confirmed by eBay phone operator.

Today I awake to an email from Seller who basically said to P-Off, followed shortly by an eBay email saying I only had a few more days to return the item and prove I'd posted it.

So in other words eBays new buyer protection policy is just more BS....can't these clowns at eBay get any policy right 

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This may sound "Blunt" vxholden, but what you are saying is that you want the item and not pay. What was it that you bought ? I can see, that it might be expensive to send back, but you cant have it both ways. 

[lyndal1838]

horizon, I think the OP is saying that he is happy to send the item back but that under the new ebay policy the seller is responsible for paying the postage.

I suspect that the OP has not properly followed the steps to get ebay involved where they will force the seller to pay the return postage.

[phorum_junkie*]

You can't just say that an item does not work, if you could then everyone could just say things were not as described and get their money back and either keep the item or have the seller pay for the return only to find there was nothing wrong and it was just a change of mind. You have to provide proof that an item is not as described and if you can do that then you are correct that the seller has to pay the postage.

[padi*0409]

The MBG is a long envolved process - too long and too envolved IMHO.

I bought an item on 18th Jan, received it 27th Jan and saw major problems with it, very much INAD so sent the seller an email about it and they were not willing to resolve the problem even after 6 emails, so I opened a return request with eBay on 3rd Feb. 

At that point I  told them about all the problems I'd encountered (which had also been previously advised to the seller in our emails).

The return was then put on hold until 10th Feb when I was finally able to open a case for resolution by eBay and restate all the problems yet again....................finally on the 19 Feb the case was closed in my favour.

But with each step in the process it is really not very clear as to exactly where you are in that process, so even for someone like myself it's a minefield to deal with and I imagine the OP may well have missed a step in that process through no real fault of their own.

All I can suggest vxholden is that you phone eBay and ask to speak to a supervisor and get them to tell you exactly where you stand and what you still need to do, if anything.

[2106greencat]

I agree, so long as the time has not run out I dispute via paypal.

At least I know what I am doing, I get regualr feedback and messages and nothing is left to chance and I have the ability to decide how to proceed.

I also don't mind the fact that I pay for return postage, in most instances the seller has not done the wrong thing or sent a faulty item on purpose, so I am happy for a 50/50 cost to replace/refund.

Mind you, in saying that, I only tend to deal with sellers with a A+++++ record, or those I have dealt with before and in most cases they cover the return cost without my even requesting it.

After being on eBay for 10+ years as both a buyer and a seller, I think you kind of get a 'feeling' about a seller, maybe that is why I have not had any problems in all that time.

[alexajames001]

I agree.

I am going through the same problem at the moment.

Bad seller, refusing to accept fault for the INAD and having rung eBay twice to have had my claim put 'on hold' both times to give the deadbeat seller a chance to respond.

After the first time my claim was put on hold I would have thought it would have been resolved in my favour.

I have the whole record of emails to and fro and their hostile responses to my fair request to send back the item for a refund.

But No... eBay wants to give this seller a chance to put things right with me.

What a crock!

It isn't going to happen!

If it was $20 sale I would reluctantly wear it but the sale was over $150 of my hard earned ...

[padi*0409]

The Paypal system is (or was until the 180 day carp came out) a perfect way to dispute a transaction - no hassles so long as you knew how to go about it.

The MBG is the worst way to go IMHO, you can't change from a dispute with them to a dispute with Paypal, so you have to be very sure of what you're doing if you go in that direction.

It's an easy way for dubious buyers to rip sellers off with impunity - I would hope that eBay is keeping a very close eye on multiple claims through it and banning the ISP of any member misusing the process.

Genuine sellers have enough of a hard time with defects from unfair negs/ neuts and low DSR's with eBay's "improved" system.

WOW, "improvements" is that stopping the scammers, the shillers, the non-payers (and don't tell me that strikes can't get removed at the drop of a hat.....)

                                                  I don't think so..................

The rats may well desert the sinking ship as it's going down...............you can't blame them.............

[digital*ghost]

If the seller is in Australia, I believe they are instructed to provide the buyer with a return label, thus paying for postage up front. I'm not sure if that is possible for a seller in China, as they would need to be able to purchse a shipping label from an Australian company (eg Australia Post).

There will be cases of the buyer having to pay up front to return an item, but I think there is a proviso in the Guranatee that means the seller is ultimately charged the cost and the buyer is reimbursed - I can only repeat the advice above to call eBay and clarify exactly how it will work, what you need to do re: providing proof of shipment, and confirm for sure that the postage will be reimbursed, because despite that proviso, I think there has been instances where the buyer was not reimbursed. 

[padi*0409]

Digi, I doubt if eBay itself even knows how it's own MBG works, as I said before I went through one recently and I hope I never have to go through another again, getting all the info they needed was a PITA.

Mine was with an Oz seller and there was no return required on that one, so theoretically that should apply to any seller, or they pay the return postage upfront.

TBO the MBG should never have been brought in in the first place, it's a heap of carp IMHO.