Ebay Policy and sellers who reneg

[kumoteh]

Here's the issue:  2x now have bought an item through e-bay.  Once I did not receive the bought item and the seller complained they had shipped the item but it never showed up and they asked us to wait - conveniently for them until the e-bay timer timed-out!  Then the second order we had to return and e-bay timed-out again while we are waiting for the seller to pick up the parcel from a mail box or such and acknowledge they received it.

So now I have out of money for both items and there is no way to get back to e-bay about this that I can find.  Am ready to go to social media with this and all the proof with it!!!  Sellers are getting away with money by playing games with these policies that are supposed to protect us but actually play into the hands of sellers!

E-bay are you going to take action or not?!

Very angry customer ready to take action!

[kumoteh]

I stand corrected and have found E-bay support very helpful indeed and they have seen our plight and the facts as they are and are refunding us.

[femmefan1946]

Thank you for the update. Glad it worked out.

You should know that in addition to eBay's Money Back Guarantee, you are also covered by Paypal's Buyer Protection.

The Protection starts on payment and runs for 180 days.

The only downside is if the item is Not As Described, PP requires the buyer to return the item with tracking before refunding.

If you back your PP account with a credit card, you also are protected by the card's chargeback policy.

As you have learned, allowing a few days for an item to appear is just good manners, but after that open the Dispute and get a refund.

And never never never accept a replacement. It is no more likely to go well than the first disputed transaction.

BTW, if you get a refund and the item finally turns up and is acceptable, you can return the Refund using PP's Send Money service.

[rmallory123]

In my experience, don't ever return an item to China, just cut a deal with the seller or ask for a refund with ebay.

When you don't receive an item (usually from China) sometimes the seller didn't send it and is just playing games because of the low dollar amount, generally consumers won't fight for a refund.

When I don't receive an item, the shipper usually asks to resend the item (then they don't and you are past the cutoff date to request a refund)

Imagine how much money the seller makes if they don't ship anything and just collect $1 - $2 here and there.

Always Always Always I get an item (that is if the shipper sent it) even if it takes four months. When the item does not arrive, I am suspicious.

A few times a seller tried to give me someone else's tracking number to ensure the item was shipped.

At the same time if the seller issues a refund for the item and then the item arrives (no matter how long it takes) I will re-pay for the item because it's the right thing to do.

To some sellers a few dollars is a great deal of money to lose.

[reallynicestamps]

@rmallory123 

You're not wrong.

But I believe it is a better idea to open an Item Not Received Dispute.

The seller is then required to prove delivery (not shipping, delivery) or refund.

Which sounds like the same effect as cutting a deal.

But.

If he does not refund promptly and voluntarily, he gets a Defect on his selling account.

Defects raise his fees, restrict the number and value of his listings and may even get the account shut down.

And the unhappy buyer can still leave feedback.*

If he does refund, there is no Defect, but a seller with a lot of Disputes will be on eBay's radar.

And keep in mind, that if the seller schmoozes the buyer past eBay's 30 days from estimated arrival, the buyer still has Paypal protection for 180 days from payment.

*Feedback has only one effect, it warns the very very few future customers who read it that the seller is bad at his job.  It has no effect on eBay's assessment of the account.