eBay is dead to me - absolutely ridiculous situation with fraudulent buyer

[dothetontim]

I sold a collectible 1st generation iPod 5GB in the original retail box recently for USD$550.  It was working, shown as such in photos in the auction but of course as a 20 year old iPod, and as a private seller, I clearly indicated in the auction no guarantees etc.

Shipped the iPod to the winning bidder - they received it January 20.  Funds released to me by eBay a few days later.  Great - all done, so I thought.

Feb 8 - that's right, 19 days after receiving the 20 year old iPod, the buyer reports a problem and wants a refund.  I naturally decline - I'm not Costco or Walmart and I have no idea what this buyer did to the iPod in the 19 days they had it.

I communicate my position to eBay.  They, as it would seem they always do, ruled in favor of the Buyer.  They even sent me some canned boilerplate recommendations including to REFUND THE MONEY AND NOT ASK FOR THE ITEM BACK as though I was some junk seller out of China peddling $1 USB sticks.

I quickly removed my credit card from my eBay profile and closed my linked bank account.

Feb 17 - eBay rules firm and final and they take it upon themselves to refund the Buyer!  And they send me an email telling me they're going to withdraw the amount out of my bank account.

I tell them good luck.  I appeal their refund case, and a few hours later they inform me they're sticking with their ruling.

SO in a nutshell - you can buy an item on eBay, receive it, damage it and ask for a refund nearly 3 weeks after receiving the item it would seem.

I've been here 20 years, 600+ Feedback and you rule on the side of a member who signed up in December 2021 and has 1 Feedback transaction.

Everything I've described above is exactly as it happened and I'm happy to share emails and listing details with anyone who doesn't believe it.  It's hard to believe - 19 days after receipt of a 20 year old iPod and they can file for a refund after they damage it.

WOW

[dinomitesales]

eBay's "Money Back Guarantee" protects buyers by allowing them to return items that arrived not as described up to 30 days after delivery. You can have a "No Returns" policy for remorse returns, but not for items that arrived damaged or not as described.

The proper procedure here would have been to accept the return, in which case the buyer would have had to ship it back to you before being eligible for a refund. Best case scenario they never send it back and you keep the money. Worst case scenario they ship you back something different than what you sent them, at which point you would have to appeal the decision with eBay.

Regardless, the course of action you chose to take was not a good one. You've effectively burned  bridges with eBay and will no longer be able to sell on the platform while you have a negative balance. This may impact your ability to buy on the platform as well. If eBay is unable to recover the funds due to you closing the associated bank account they will send it to collections.

[thego2corner]

Well detailed. I understand the OP frustration but yeah there are rules in place for both seller and buyer. Burning bridges is probably not the best course, however I understand OP frustrations.

[reallynicestamps]

We can accept (and likely pay for) the return even with a No Returns policy and the buyer will be refunded or we can refuse the return and the buyer will be refunded and keep the item.

[ichopshop]

Every seller on this site will eventually learn that "No Returns" doesn't mean "No Refunds"....  

Listing something as "for parts or not working" provides better protection, but will reduce the value in most cases (though not always and in my experience, especially for older electronics, doesn't affect the price enough to not use it).  However, at the end of the day, eBay will usually issue a refund, so you're best just to accept them.

[brettjet38]

...used electronics and tech, you are just asking for issues. A high-risk category with lots of fraud...

I have old tech, but never would I flog it on this site.

[darak10]

this is one of the reasons why more sellers than buyers left the platform in 2021.  Its the reason why selling electronic products is such risky business on here.  Its so easy to defraud a seller on an electronic item, its why I wont touch that market with a thousand foot clown pole.  And its so much more damaging to a smaller seller as we dont have the bottomless financial means to keep swallowing these kinds of losses.  This is also another reason why its turning into a big boys game and us small fry are getting squeezed out, slowly but surely.  

[recped]

@dothetontim 

You probably don't care but for the education of others.......

Every time you listed the iPod it was listed as being "Used", eBay's description of used is

You might have won these claims IF you had listed it properly as "For Parts Only".

Listed as Used means that it is "fully operational and functions as intended" which means you will loose ANY Not As Described claim if it is not "fully functional".

You lost the claim because of this so it's all on you, neither the buyer nor eBay are at fault.

[rocketscollectibles]

I quickly removed my credit card from my eBay profile and closed my linked bank account

I think that's a bad move really, it makes you look like you are trying to run away with the money like a thief

[mrdutch1001]

running away from the problem doesn't solve the problem. Most knowledgeable sellers know how risky the computer/gaming/cellphone,iphone,any electronics categories are... and that eBay is the last place most of us would list such products, unless we are open to and accept the risks... Learn from one's mistakes...accept,adjust,adapt and carry on! Sometimes life's little lessons are expensive lessons.

Hope better times ahead!