eBay is ignoring me after promising that return shipping fees would be covered due to a scam

[namesdontexist]

Hey guys,

I bought a graphics card almost 6 months ago in December from a Chinese seller, only to find out not only that it didn't boot, but that it was a completely different graphics card years out of date, ie. a complete and deliberate scam. After weeks of back and forth with the scam seller, I brought it up with eBay, who basically told me that the case was in my favour and that I needed to return the item and that the seller would pay for the return shipping fees.

I somehow managed to return it through UPS all the way back to China, which costed me $127.00 CAD, which I still have the receipt for, but the seller just kept trying to send $6.00 USD to me through Paypal. SO I contacted eBay again and told them that the seller was not paying for the shipping, to which I was told that a "manual refund correction request" was filed for me to get my money back and that I would see an email from eBay within 10 days.

Well, I waited two weeks and got no response, so I inquired again. I was then told by the "escalations team" that the product price was already refunded to me, but no mention of the shipping fee. So I inquired about the shipping fee again and was told that the case was close but that they would "re-escalated [the] case to [the] appeals department" and to wait 24-48 hours. Three days later no response, so I inquire again a week later, still no response.

I should also mention that pretty much every customer service message was written by a different representative, all mostly in broken English, very odd. Anyway, looks like eBay gave up on "having my back" as they had put it. I suppose protecting the business of scammers is more important than looking out for the wellbeing of honest customers. There goes 127 hard-earned dollars. Any ideas and what I should do?

Thanks

[reallynicestamps]

Normally there are two ways that return shipping is paid.

The seller provides the buyer with a return shipping label or with funds to buy a return shipping label.

If that is not possible, eBay gives the buyer a return shipping label and charges the seller for the cost.

Were you working through the automatic Resolution Centre? It is usually very efficient. Run by robots and quite straightforward, although you do have to keep checking for status updates?

When you go to human beings, especially those in Customer Support, service is much poorer. The minimum wage clerks have little control over the process and are mostly trying to get you off the phone so they can make quota.

You should not have been told to pay for return shipping. EBay can provide this for international transactions.

I was then told by the "escalations team" that the product price was already refunded to me, but no mention of the shipping fee.

Did you get your original payment back? That would have been your entire original payment, but not your cost for return shipping.

[pjcdn2005]

Normally there are two ways that return shipping is paid.

The seller provides the buyer with a return shipping label or with funds to buy a return shipping label.

If that is not possible, eBay gives the buyer a return shipping label and charges the seller for the cost.

eBay does not give the buyer a shipping label and charge the seller for the cost if the buyer is outside of the US.

[pjcdn2005]

eBay will automatically provide a return label for a not as described return IF both seller and buyer are in the US.  Otherwise, the seller is responsible for providing a label. If they aren't able to do that, they need to provide the money for the label.  If they won't do that, the buyer needs to contact ebay before they send the item back as once the item has been sent, ebay cannot force the seller to pay for the return shipping.  

It sounds like the seller was willing to pay for return shipping however in their world, $6 may what it would cost them to send it here, they don't realize that it is much more expensive at this end. Quite often once sellers are told what the return label will cost, they refund without requiring a return.

It sounds like the whole process wasn't explained as well it should have been or there was a misunderstanding.  I'm not sure what can be done for you but I will call one of the ebay reps and perhaps he can give some direction.

tyler@ebay   This seems to happen fairly often as the information given to the buyer isn't specific onwhat to do if the seller doesn't send a return label before the item is sent.  Is there anywhere that the buyer can turn for help now?

[esclyons]

you should have never sent it back on your own dime, Know you will have to fight with ebay to get that money back.. You should have waited, once the seller realized that it would cost that much to send it back, they most likely would have refunded you, and let you keep the card.. I would try ebay facebook chat, hopefully you will get someone there that can help you out..

[blackranda2]

Sadly this happens a lot with eBay customer service. Things are poorly explained to the member or in terms they don't understand.  I have often felt it is done this way so the member is left making their own assumption as to what they should do and when it is the wrong assumption they can then say that is not what we meant and is therefore an out for them.

Even their online help pages are confusing. There is information repeated over and over and sometimes the information further down the page contradicts what was stated at the top.  I often am more confused after I leave the help pages than I was before I started. Then they send you a survey to fill out and want to know if it was resolved.  How can it be resolved if you can't figure out what they are actually saying? Drives me absolutely crazy at times!

My advice to you would be to just keep bugging them about it non stop. I know that is time consuming but sometimes the squeaky wheel gets the grease. 

Wish you luck!

[tyler@ebay]

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@pjcdn2005 wrote:

eBay will automatically provide a return label for a not as described return IF both seller and buyer are in the US.  Otherwise, the seller is responsible for providing a label. If they aren't able to do that, they need to provide the money for the label.  If they won't do that, the buyer needs to contact ebay before they send the item back as once the item has been sent, ebay cannot force the seller to pay for the return shipping.  

It sounds like the seller was willing to pay for return shipping however in their world, $6 may what it would cost them to send it here, they don't realize that it is much more expensive at this end. Quite often once sellers are told what the return label will cost, they refund without requiring a return.

It sounds like the whole process wasn't explained as well it should have been or there was a misunderstanding.  I'm not sure what can be done for you but I will call one of the ebay reps and perhaps he can give some direction.

tyler@ebay   This seems to happen fairly often as the information given to the buyer isn't specific onwhat to do if the seller doesn't send a return label before the item is sent.  Is there anywhere that the buyer can turn for help now?

---

Thanks for the tag @pjcdn2005. You're correct that we'd expect a seller in this type of situation to either provide a return shipping label or the financial means to return the item. 

We try to make it clear with automated messaging that a seller is responsible for providing funds for shipping (we usually ask a buyer to contact the seller to arrange return shipping). Ultimately, if a customer chooses to return an item with their own money we don't have a way to force the seller to cover that cost. 

@namesdontexist - I'm sorry to hear about what happened with this transaction. I don't have a way for you to recoup the cost you spent on shipping this item back to the seller. In the future, if you encounter a return situation for an item that is not as described, know that a seller is obliged to provide you the means to ship it back prior to you doing so. If they fail to do so you can work with our customer service teams to ask us to step in and resolve the situation. 

You should have been contacted back with this information - I will ensure that the teammates you spoke with receive appropriate coaching. 

[namesdontexist]

Yes, I got the full original payment back. eBay had told me earlier on that the seller had to cover the shipping expenses, but they never offered beyond $6.00 USD which eBay just seemed to ignore.

[namesdontexist]

I was quite clearly told that either the seller provides a shipping label, or that I return the item myself and that they will cover whatever those fees were. Will eBay at least not speak to the seller about it? The seller is using the site to make a profit, so surely eBay would have some authority over them, right? If not, could they not at least cover that fee themselves considering I only followed what I was told?

[namesdontexist]

Well, nearly 3 months later and no compensation. I guess eBay giving me incorrect information, not staying true to their word and then ignoring me means I lose 126$ out of my pocket. eBay scammed me just as much as the seller did.

[marnotom!]

Is the seller still selling on eBay?

[namesdontexist]

Yes, it seems so. They also seem to be a fairly big seller, so a lot of people are probably being scammed.

[marnotom!]

If they go through the Money Back Guarantee process properly, they won't get scammed, though.

[reallynicestamps]

I guess eBay giving me incorrect information,

This is why, especially if substantial money is involved, it is better to go for Chat than for phones.

With Chat you get a transcript emailed to you.

We all have a habit of hearing what we want to hear. And as mentioned, the phone reps have a quota  and want to get you off the phone.

With a transcript you can review your options when you are cooler headed.

And the robotic Resolution Centre is also a better choice than the powerless phone reps.