Horrible experience when deal went bad, Ebay took my money and items and I got 0. BUYER BEWARE!

[wmlkelley]

I had a transaction go bad.  Buyer did not like quality of item that I did not intentionally try to mislead.  I have a no returns ploicy, I literally put that in the text of my ads and tell potential buyers to contact me before bidding (they never do).  Through some miscommunication on my part, I ended up losing my items, the shipping costs as well as the final value fee.  Buyer was loowed to keep my items for free.

Ebay sent me 5+ messages saying I was OK and not to worry.  Ebay also sent the buyer 4 messages saying they were OK and not to worry.  Ebay would not let us talk to each other once a case was opened.  I am in Canada and the buyer is in the US.

After telling me to contact the buyer to ask them to price out a return label or Ebay would find in my favor.  Guess what, the buyer never got those messages (I sent 3) and gave full award to the buyer.

Lucky for me the buyer is not your typical ebay scammer and has reached out to me via phone (number was on shipping label) and I will at least get my stuff back.  Going to cost me more money, but at least I'll have my stuff back.

I will end this rant with stating that the selling experience on Ebay has deteriorated to the point that I no longer will sell on here.  I will sell local for 1/2 the value before I even think of giving this ridiculous company any more money.   By the time I get my items back I will be $140ish CAD in the hole over this transaction.  I am not a store.  My last name is not Walmart or Bezos.  I am a regular person just looking to make a couple bucks selling some stuff I no longer wat or need.  

I know this rant gets me nowhere, but sellers really need to understand the risks as Ebay NEVER sides with sellers.  They ALWAYS side with buyers.  It is a truly unfair and unworkable system.  Honestly, I would not shed a single tear if Ebay were to be closed/shut down tomorrow.   

[reallynicestamps]

I have a no returns ploicy,

No Returns does not mean No Refunds.

It means you don't want the item back.

After telling me to contact the buyer to ask them to price out a return label

You can buy USPS shipping labels using Shippo (I've done it) or you can buy one through Stamps.com (I've never tried this).

You can also price a USPS label here
https://postcalc.usps.com/?country=10440

The most useful service is First Class International Package

When you did not send a label , which is your responsibility not your buyer's and not eBay's, eBay took you at your word that you did not want the product returned.

the buyer is not your typical ebay scammer

Very few failed transactions are scams. Most are disagreements or real problems like tracked  items that are lost in the mail.

[wmlkelley]

Sorry I disagree.  I should not have to refund a transaction against my will.  I sell everything as-is and the buyer should be the one making sure the item meets their standards.  When I make a sale it is because I need the money for something, usually to help with household bills/utilities.  Once I recieve the money it is sent to a bill that requires attention.  Ebay gave me 3 days to come up with the money.  I'm on a fixxed income and that was impossible.

What should REALLY be said is that unless you have money to spare you should not sell on Ebay, that is my current way of thinking.  It's not fair and it is even less fair that I lose shipping and final value fee money as well since I was forced into a situation that I could not rectify.

If I had an Ebay store or was some form of power seller then I would be in a much different position to handle stuff like this.  It gets tiring to hear, but this is not the Ebay I started with many many years ago, hence my position to basically stop selling as it is not possible for me to be forced into making payments that I cannot have control over.

If it is so important to Ebay that refunds/returns to be done whether or not the seller is even able to finiancially process it then they should pay for return shipping and properly refund fees since the sale was made void.  Ding my account for what I owe and not allow me to buy/sell until I rectify the amount owed.  That is far more pallitable than simply processing it on their time frame and possibly causing me a NSF in my bank account or an overcharge on a credit card.

It should not be up to the buyer to pay for return shipping.  

[marnotom!]

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@wmlkelley wrote:

What should REALLY be said is that unless you have money to spare you should not sell on Ebay, that is my current way of thinking.  It's not fair and it is even less fair that I lose shipping and final value fee money as well since I was forced into a situation that I could not rectify.

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The line that gets trotted out frequently on these discussion boards is, "You shouldn't sell anything on eBay that you can't afford to lose."

As an eBay seller, you have to think along similar lines as a franchise owner-operator.  If you owned and operated a McDonald's restaurant, you wouldn't be able to sell Whoppers or burgers with square patties.  If you sell on eBay, you have to play by eBay's rules and prepare yourself for the possibility of giving a refund and possibly taking a return.  This is what buyers see, and if you haven't read it, you should, too:

https://pages.ebay.ca/ebay-money-back-guarantee/

eBay isn't the online garage sale it was back in the late 90s, early 00s.  It's more a place for sellers who sell pretty consistently and have a "brand" or identity.  eBay is great for getting one's merchandise out to a broad audience, but that exposure means more problematic as well as good buyers, and as you suggest, one needs some sort of backup to deal with the occasional sale that doesn't work out.

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

eBay's policy is that, if a buyer states an item is not as described or defective, you have to refund the buyer. You can choose to provide a return label and refund the buyer when the item is returned, or you can choose to refund without a return. Alternatively, if the buyer is open to a partial refund, you can provide them with one to resolve the problem.

This can be abused by buyers. eBay has a restroactive way of handling buyers who abuse the system. Sellers are supposed to report absusive buyers after they resolve the return. If enough sellers report a single buyer, eBay then takes action by removing that buyer from the platform. Keep in mind, this doesn't help you get your money back.

Ultimately, you cannot have selling policies that contradict eBay's policies. You can sell items with 'no returns', but that doesn't mean the item is not guaranteed under eBay's Buyer Protection policies. Those policies entitle a buyer to a refund, if the buyer is in good standing, and if they feel the item was not as described or defective.

You can disagree with these policies. In that case, your only recourse is to cease selling on eBay. Which, isn't very productive. 

The point of these policies is to create value for buyers. If buyers know they will receive their item as described, or else they can get their money back, they are more likely to shop on eBay and trust sellers. If you are a high volume seller, this is great for you, because you will probably only have to refund 1 percent or less of your transactions. If you are selling full time on eBay, you're getting a lot of value from the large user base. It is the casual sellers who these policies usually don't sit well with because if you only sell a handful of items every year, a few return requests might represent a large portion of your sales, and a huge headache for someone who just wants to get rid of some of their old stuff.

The risk of selling anything on eBay is that if the buyer states the item was not as described, or defective, you are required to cover the costs of a return (your time+shipping). Weigh that risk, eBay fees (approx. 15 percent of the total price), and how much higher your item will sell for on eBay vs selling locally. If you can sell locally for 70+ percent of what you'd get on eBay, it might be worth it for higher risk items, or if you're not comfortable with eBay's buyer protection policies. 

[reallynicestamps]

I should not have to refund a transaction against my will.

I should not have to slow down in a school zone against my will.

I should not have to pay for groceries against my will.

I should not have to wear clothes on the beach against my will.

[wmlkelley · Accepted solution]

Those points are ridiculous, those are examples of breaking the law.

I know I'm not going to get the answer I wanted, I was mostly venting and frustrated because I did what Ebay told me and it still ended horribly.  I had multiple Ebay agents tell me what I was doing to resolve the issue was correct and to not worry and that I would not lose my stuff.  I was willing to work with the buyer but a miscommunication screwed that up.  

Ebay has long gone away from the garage sale mode of selling to the "you have to act like a retail outlet" style of selling.  Initially, that is why they created ebay stores, to mark the difference.   Anyhow, I got what I need from this, should youy choose to continue to mock me that is your choice, but you have not been helpful in any way.