Outrageous ebat 's new return policy and insane sale cancellation rule, really bad and stupid

[ozsse]

2 really bad things happened overnight whic reflect the how brainless ebay is and how the new changes in ebay rip off sellers so much easier:

1. a buyer opened a case on ebay (without contacting me first) because the item was not received. I tried response to it immediately but in less than 1 minute another email received from ebay telling me the case was closed n buyer's favor and it has refunded the money to her.

This is just crazy because even paypal would have given seller a few days to respond but ebay is now making a final decision instantly as long as the buyer escalate the claim immediately.

If this is not bad enough, I tried to cancel this transaction because payment was already refunded. Apprently "You can't cancel this transaction because the buyer opened a case about it in the Resolution Centre, and the case was closed and has been decided in the buyer's favour.  In the future, please resolve cases with your buyers as quickly as possible so that you can get a credit on your Final Value Fee."

how can I respond to the case fast enough if it is closed within a minute??? Now I can't get hte transaction fees reimbursed.

2. another buyer contacted me and said the item received was not what she thought. After some discussion we settled on a 90% refund without asking her to return the item. Normally I would cancel the transaction after the refund so as to get my ebay fees back. BUT now I can't - because no sale can be cancelled unless a 100% refund is issued. All other old options were removed so I can't cancel the sale unless a 100% refund can be issued.

In my case, a partial 90% refund was not good enough and I can't get my ebay fees back. This is just insane, why don't ebay refund the ebay fees in proportion of the refund amount? This is just a hugh rip off to the innocent sellers who tried their best to settle things with buyers

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I am deeply disappointed with ebay's changes and it is now squashing small sellers to the extreme.

[i-love-my-sheep]

Might pay to read this thread as it seems the system is still a bit glitchy in that it's not mean to give instant refunds to the buyer.

http://community.ebay.com.au/t5/Selling/new-quot-return-request-quot-is-supporting-scammers/m-p/1623...

[ozsse]

if they pay through paypal and open & escalate a case, you can only refund them in full or ask for return, no matter what your return policy is, unfortunately paypal care nothing about your return policy. You either refund in full or request return of the item. You can't win in either situations.

[ozsse]

your suggestion based on seller is at fault and they should bear the FVF which is fine with me, but in many cases seller is not at fault, it's buyer's who changed their mind or whatever, so seller should bear the fees too?

If you sold something for $500 and your buyers' changed their mind, which is none of your fault, you are still happy for ebay not to return your approx $40 fee after the item was returned to you for a refund?

[ozsse]

Thanks - that's exactly what I am experiencing, I can see that there is a sudden surge of transaction problems coming from nowhere recently. Probably some professional buyers are taking advantage of it.

[roseworthy11]

In regards to your cancel partial refund - another member has given some details over the last couple of days - you log onto the ebay India site - with your normal ebay login - and you can cancel the full transaction that is now a partial on the India site because they still have the old system. I did it a couple of days ago with a partial and it worked.

[digital*ghost]

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@ozsse wrote:

if they pay through paypal and open & escalate a case, you can only refund them in full or ask for return, no matter what your return policy is, unfortunately paypal care nothing about your return policy. You either refund in full or request return of the item. You can't win in either situations.

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If they open a case via PayPal, then the only reason they can provide for opening a case comes under not as described (because PP don't provide protection for buyer's remorse - nor does eBay, for that mater), and a seller's return policy details have never counted when it comes to not as described.

If a buyer sends you a request on eBay to return an item, and selects a buyer's remorse reason, you do not have to accept the return (unless the buyer has met all of your return criteria, as then you're obliged to provide what was promised). Neither eBay nor PayPal can or will force a refund if you refuse a change of mind return - they only will if you dispute (and lose) an item not as described case.

[marketjac]

This policy is so-o-o-o anti seller. 30 years of retail have led me to believe that this policy will be very much abused by certain buyers.

People buy a garment and return it a couple of days later to the shop asking for anrefund - they have obviously worn it. One person bought an item off me and wanted a full refund, but did not want to return the item - try that on Target, honey!

What a way to encourage the dishonest to buy on ebay, and have sellers depart. Any disputed transaction needs to be carefully investigated, fraud of various kinds is already rampant, don't provide further opportunities ebay.

Before any complaint can be accepted the buyer should have to contact the seller - that is a fair and legally acceptable procedure, to protect consumers, online or instore.

If ebay is so desperate to get more people buying it needs to look at the sellers getting constant return requests - yes, I know that they tend to be the 'big boys', but do something constructive. Telling buyers that the return process has just been made easier is giving all sellers a poor reputation because of a few bad guys.

[2011.narelle]

eBay put a big blue button saying Return This Item right above Leave Feedback.

Buyers used to pay return post,so they did they did have to think about their choices & much of the time they were accountable for their own mistakes.Once eBay decided that return post was free it opened the floodgates of thoughtless buying with no consequences.

Yes if it is change of mind etc the buyer has to pay return post but if the item is not as described then post is free.eBay U.S boards are littered with acres of posts about fake SNADS from buyers avoiding paying return post.

Cancel a sale means a fee for eBay.

Postage means a fee for eBay.

Return post is another fee for eBay.

Not allowing combined post means many small transactions & extra fees for eBay.Also individual sales instead of combined inflate the sales numbers to make the site look busier than it is.

Without PayPal bringing in the $,eBay has to scratch it out one way or another in fees.

SNAD trumps any seller return policy,instant defect & is decided for the buyer so the seller has to try to fight the case after it is decided.If eBay is deciding that an item is faulty without ever having seen it or looked at any facts or evidence without having anything to lose then it's open to flaws.The current saying to sellers by CS is that online theft  is the cost of doing business.Their rulings are not partial or evenly applied.

I don't think that all the hassle is about eBay not working things out in advance,more that they have to backpedal when it hits the fan & profits/sales slide.

[tall_bearded01]

The first thing I suggest you do is as DG recommends  That is contact eBay direct with a demand that, as it is their bad, they immediately refund you the cost of the buyers claim and that any deficits on connection with this sale be removed from your selling account

Now if they refuse that request, I would recommend you advise them that, if they don’t agree to you demands, you will file a complaint with both Consumer Affairs and the ACCC on the grounds for unconscionable and or deceptive conduct.

Unconscionable and or deceptive conduct, in that eBay is bound by its own policy and that policy clearly stated you were to be given a 3 day window in which to sort it out with the buyer, and that punitive action would only be taken if the matter wasn,t resolve during that period if, and then only if, it has been established, that non receipt was on account of an error or omission on the part of the seller.