I just had a poor experience with a buyer claiming they didn't receive the item I sent.
Tracking info shows as delivered, but I didn't require a signature when I sent it (in hindsight, I will never do that again, I guess).
Buyer messaged saying he hadn't received anything, and despite my efforts to try to help him find the package, he would not cooperate or seem interested in actually finding it. For example, I opened a ticket with CanadaPost and told him that the form asked me for his phone number so they could follow up, but he wouldn't provide that, claiming that it was "my problem", not his.
So, unsurprisingly, he asked Ebay to be refunded. Initially, Ebay resolved in my favour, because I had the tracking info showing as delivered. However, 24 hours later I got another email from Ebay saying I had to refund the buyer, and they actually took the money from my PayPal account.
I called Ebay, and was told that I should have used a signature as a requirement, given the high dollar amount of the sale. Here's where it gets a little tricky to interpret, so reaching out to the community for help. The item sold for exactly $750 CAD. When I look for info on this subject, this is what I found (which implies the requirement is for sales of MORE than $750):
Information you’ll need when appealing
You’ll need to provide new, additional information to back up your appeal. This can include things like:
- Tracking details showing the buyer received the item (if the item sold for more than $750, signature confirmation is required)
- Proof that a returned item was delivered to the wrong address or lost in the mail
- Documents showing the item matches the listing description
- Proof the buyer received a refund before the case was closed
However, the Ebay agent I spoke with told me the policy is for $750 and over (and admitted that the wording on the website is misleading, but that didn't change anything)
In looking further, I have the impression that the policy was written for USD amounts, but there isn't a CAD equivalent specified anywhere. The closest I have found is from the PayPal User Agreement...
https://www.paypal.com/ca/webapps/mpp/ua/useragreement-full
which has the same policy with regards to "proof of delivery" requirements, and quotes a minimum of $750 USD, or $850 CAD for the signature to be required. Granted, that is Paypal's User Agreement, not Ebay's, but I do think Ebay's own policy is being misinterpreted.
I have only had one phone call with Ebay trying to appeal this, but they didn't want to listen to any of this. They also said that the warning should have been there when I printed the shipping label, but I didn't see any warning. I printed the label from PayPal, so I wonder if they use the $850 threshold instead.
Any advice on how else I can pursue this appeal?
