eBay

blue_wister · ‎06-20-2014

I have just come to an agreement with the seller to return an item for full refund, even though it is past his 3 day return policy.

He has requested that I ship the item (which I will do with tracking and insurance), and he will issue the refund upon its receipt.

Will Ebay protect me and ensure I get my refund, assuming the tracking shows item delivered? Or does this kind of "informal" return result in a lack of protection?

pierrelebel · ‎06-20-2014

eBay does not guarantee a private transaction between you and your seller.

Do you trust the seller? Any red flags in his feedback profile?

femmefan1946 · ‎06-20-2014

Will Ebay protect me and ensure I get my refund, assuming the tracking shows item delivered?

If you bought the item on eBay, yes.

The seller's 3 day policy is irrelevant. It's basically public relations, to encourage prompt enquiries about problems. (Or sometimes because the seller is a rigid, 'my way or the highway' type. That's where feedback left comes in.)

So

You came to an agreement with the seller.

You plan to ship with Delivery Confirmation. (Insurance is unnecessary, just pack well,)

The seller agrees to refund your original cost on delivery.

So far, so good.

Even with this agreement in place, mark your calendar with 45 days from purchase and 30 days from his shipping.

If your item shows on canadapost.ca as delivered, you should expect a refund within 24 hours.

If the seller does not refund promptly on arrival, THEN you start the Dispute.

PP will refund you based on the proof of delivery (not shipping, delivery).

Watch for that 45 day deadline. If the item has not arrived by Day 43, you should open the Dispute anyway, because this extends the deadline for another 20 days.

If the seller reneges on an agreement to return your shipping costs, PP will not help you. They never touched that money. Most sellers will not refund return postage.

If you purchased off-eBay, but with Paypal, much the same path is followed, except that you file with Paypal not eBay (obviously). PP has strong Buyer Protection too.

dmil8030 · ‎06-22-2014

Hello 'blue_wister',

<<Do I have to open a dispute to ensure I get a refund?>>

Only if the seller refuses to refund you himself. You are required to mail it back with

Delivery Confirmation, - otherwise the seller may say it never arrived and ebay/paypal will not

help you.

Have you seen this link about how to return things:

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

You describe the arrangement as "informal", -- that's nice, but know what to do in the event

you should ever need it.

This link here tells how sellers go about refunding you, and indicates that they are expected to

reimburse you within 3 days of getting the item back:

http://pages.ebay.ca/help/sell/shipping-returns.html#receiving

Most sellers will refund you right away after they get the item, but if a polite reminder does not work,

you do have the claims option.

Good luck

blue_wister · ‎06-23-2014

He has good feedback profile. The item was purchased through Ebay. However it is expensive and I feel exposed relinquishing possession of it before receiving a refund.

The arrangement is informal only in the sense that I have not initiated an "item not as described" or other such case.

pjcdn2005 · ‎06-23-2014

@blue_wister wrote:
He has good feedback profile. The item was purchased through Ebay. However it is expensive and I feel exposed relinquishing possession of it before receiving a refund.

The arrangement is informal only in the sense that I have not initiated an "item not as described" or other such case.

Even if you filed a case you would be expected to return the item before you receive a refund. Send the item with delivery confirmation and in the event that the seller refuses to refund you once they receive the item back, you can file a case with ebay or paypal and you will be able to show them the delivery confirmation proving that the item was returned. If there is a problem, ebay will also be able to look at any ebay messages between you and the seller saying that he has agreed to refund.

blue_wister · ‎06-25-2014

I appreciate everyone's help, but you all missed once crucial piece of information that could have cost me a fortune.

Being the particular person I am, I decided to call Ebay to be sure about buyer protection. They put me over to Paypal. Paypal instructed me to file an "Item not as described" case against the seller. She then noticed that there was a problem with the seller's address. She said it was a good thing I called them, because if I had sent it back to the address listed, the buyer protection would not have covered me even if the tracking proved delivery.

She said Paypal will contact the seller and get confirmation of the proper address, then provide that to me. THEN, providing I send the item with tracking to the verified address, Paypal will ensure I get my full refund.

So the moral of the story: get Paypal to verify the address BEFORE you return anything for a refund!