Dispute mechanism expires before item received

[clapadat]

Hi,

Although I understand EBay's need to manage data, it's simply not fair to have a 45 days from transaction date dispute limitation, when items listed on ebay.ca and ebay.com from other countries, such as China, India, etc. often don't arrive for up to two months, if shipped by sea to keep costs down.

I'd like to suggest that the dispute limitation be changed such that it occurs 30 - 45 days AFTER the item is received.  Likewise, the ability to give feedback should also be valid for at least 30 days AFTER RECEIVING it, to allow the buyer enough time to unwrap, inspect, and try out (if applicable) the item to ensure it's functional, or at least meets the description from the seller.

Curtis.

[clapadat]

I should add, that although people assume with today's connectivity that everything should be done the same day, it's pretty hard to receive an item and verify it,  if one is on the road traveling for a week, or perhaps dealing with an emergency or illness.  So a minimum of 30 days should be a reasonable for such purposes.

[marnotom!]

The main reason why eBay and PayPal have resolution processes is to fend off credit card chargebacks, which are time-consuming and expensive to process.  Extending the time limit to file disputes to the tune of what you're suggesting would likely simply increase the number of chargebacks.

It's all well and good to be patient and wait beyond the timeframe available to file a dispute, but it's really in your best interest to file when you're getting close to the deadline.  Remember, you have 45 days from the date of purchase to file a dispute and twenty days filing that dispute to escalate it to an actual claim.  This gives the item over nine weeks to arrive and for you to change a non-delivery claim to one of item significantly not as described, if necessary.

Keep in mind that if you file a claim of non-delivery you receive your refund before receiving the item, it's simply a matter of paying the seller again upon receipt of the item.

If your lifestyle is such that you're unable to receive and inspect your merchandise in a timely fashion, I would suggest to you that eBay may not be the best place to make your purchases.

[dmil8030]

Hello Curtis,

When you say "dispute limitation be changed such that it occurs 30 - 45 days AFTER the item is received",

I'm not sure how you figure that would work.

How can anyone know when each and every tiddly item is received by the many millions of recipients?

And 45 days, - that's just over 6 weeks.  Once an item finally arrives, why would anyone need 6 weeks

to sort out if it's what was described in the listing or not?

I would agree with you that for items that don't show up, that 45 days is not always enough for

international orders.  There have been many times when I have waited longer than 45 days

for some item to arrive.

But it's the way it is.  Have you read through this link about it?

http://pages.ebay.ca/help/buy/item-not-received.html

You simply need to know how the system works, and adjust your own actions accordingly.

If you are ordering from certain Asian countries, allow a maximum of time.  But if you have

no item after 40 days, contact the seller.  You will likely be told to wait a little longer, or

be promised a replacement, but if you have no refund and no item by day 43, - open the dispute.

You can always close it if the item appears.

Just don't close it before you have one or the other.

If you pay with a credit card, card companies have longer deadlines for chargebacks (you call

the 1-800 number on the back of your card) which vary with each company.  Chargeback policies

and deadlines are provided by your card and have nothing to do with ebay or paypal.

If you are buying from Asian countries and your items arrive but are not what you expected,

no amount of extra dispute time will alleviate the costs of returning it Delivery Confirmed.

Have a look at what Canada Post charges to send things overseas:

http://www.canadapost.ca/cpotools/apps/far/personal/findARate?execution=e1s1

If you merely mail it back with a stamp, the seller will say it never arrived. 

Ultimately you may find that it is wiser to shop locally for much of what you need.  You can

inspect the product in the shop, and hustle it back to the store the same day if it is not suitable.

If you are trying to save money by buying items that you end up unable to use and cannot

realistically afford to return,  -- how much have you 'saved'?

Otherwise, just keep an eye on the dates and mind that 45-day deadline.   Every time you buy

something, after 30 days the item in your Purchase History will show the message:

<< Don't forget to leave feedback! If there was a problem, please go to the Resolution Centre

by day/month/year. >>

You can't miss it.  If it has been 30 days, the message is there.  It tells you the last day to take

action.  When it disappears, it's too late.

And you have 60 days to leave feedback.  If you happen to miss out on that golden opportunity,

move on and give it no more thought.  In the event that your feelings were very positive and you

are happy with the transaction, you can always send a note of thanks to the seller.

If, after all that time, you cannot find anything positive about the experience, chances are lots of

other people have left similar feedback reflecting your thoughts.

Consider yourself older and wiser and move on.

Ultimately it's your money and it's up to you to know how to best protect it and protect your

investments.  If you spend money and casually decide to sort it out whenever you get round to it,

well, whose fault is it if you wait too long?

Wishing you happy (and prudent!) shopping!