Sellers frustrated at item not as described abuse.

[kraftdinnersalad]

Ebay has problems with both buyers and sellers who will try take advantage of policies and buyer protection. Sellers need more protection from Ebay when buyers claim item not as described which puts the seller at a disadvantage to pay return shipping costs. As a buyer, you should receive the item listed and expected, as well as in working order if stated in listing. Ebay policy for returns differs from their dispute ruling due to buyer protection and statements made by Paypal which will favor buyers. This would explain many cases ruled against sellers even though the seller shows evidence of buyer abuse. As a seller,if your listing says no returns, buyer protection over rules it. In todays world, business is a revolving door with buyers and sellers entering and leaving. Some leaving due to decisions made against them but the volume of buyers and sellers remain the same with new members every day. The majority of Ebay members are honest and enjoy buying and selling at the worlds best prices. The people who take advantage with scams and dishonesty are a total nightmare for Ebay and its members. Recently I had to deal with a buyer claiming the 'item not as described' after the buyer had item in their possession for 11 days. Ebay ruled against me until I spent over an hour on the phone with a call center supervisor who then ruled in both my and buyers favor,credited my paypal account,reimbursed the buyer and item was kept by buyer. Ebay ended up losing money and for the sake of honesty,restored my faith in selling. Many others are not as fortunate. Its not just Ebay that needs a solution to this problem, it belongs to all of us. Should we begin a video portal of what is packaged,what is received? It will be a sad day if we had to resort to that. I'm hoping someone has a solution. Any idea's?

[reallynicestamps]

White space and paragraphing are your friends.

Ebay policy for returns differs from their dispute ruling due to buyer protection and statements made by Paypal which will favor buyers.

Buyers are protected by eBay , by Paypal, and by the chargeback policy of any credit card used to back a Paypal account.

Three different businesses, three different policies.

As a seller,if your listing says no returns, buyer protection over rules it.

You can refuse returns. You cannot refuse refunds.

And both eBay and Paypal allow the seller to demand the return of the goods, even if the seller's policy is No Returns. The only question is who pays for the (tracked) return.

If the item is returned, both companies will insist the buyer be refunded.

Recently I had to deal with a buyer claiming the 'item not as described' after the buyer had item in their possession for 11 days.

At last! The actual problem.

call center supervisor who then ruled in both my and buyers favor,credited my paypal account,reimbursed the buyer and item was kept by buyer.

EBay made a courtesy refund to you, but did not demand that the buyer return the unwanted item.

Should we begin a video portal of what is packaged,what is received?

There is no way to determine if what is put in a package is what is delivered to the post office. 

Videos are a waste of time, unless you plan to open a court case.  (In which case, the judge might be suspicious of why you were going to all that trouble instead of writing off the loss of a 99c packet of seeds.)

[kraftdinnersalad]

Hello reallynicestamps. Thank you for your input. If a buyer claims "item not as described", the seller pays return tracked shipping because Ebay policy finds the seller at fault.
By you using the word courtesy refund, you nailed it. I don't beleive this happens every day with a happy outcome for both sides.
As for the video portal, its way over the top and it was meant as a sarcastic suggestion followed by "it would be a sad day".
This issue was not a 99c pack of seeds. It was a $300 technical instrument.

[tickofthewrist]

eBay is screwing over the sellers all the time now. We can't even leave negative feedback what a freaking joke

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

eBay doesn't arbitrate individual returns. 

How eBay works is that buyers can return an item for any reason if it was not as described. A seller is obligated to provide a return label, or negotiate a refund. 

They aren't taking sides, so much as that is the system. 

If a buyer abuses this system, sellers are expected to report them. If enough sellers report the same buyer, they will be removed from the money back guarantee program.

This system is great if you're an active full time seller becuase it attracts more buyers and because eBay returs are not automated like Amazon, most buyers are honest enough that they aren't going to be comfortable having to confront a seller with a fabrication about an item. So returns are minimal. When you sell hundreds or thousands of items on eBay a year, the cost of returns spread across your entire yearly output is very low. So the liability of losing out on shipping both ways isn't substantial. 

The system is not great if you're a casual "garage sale" type seller. When you sell one item a week or one item a month, and it's mostly stuff that you paid retail for, a single return can cost you a lot of money. 

The short of it is that the value of the system is skewed towards the buyer, which is great for buyers and for full time sellers who aren't in high risk categories and capture a lot of that value back. It's not great for more casual sellers who face a high liability per transaction. 

[mrdutch1001]

you have responded to a thread from 2019 which really has no significance at this point...

[mrdutch1001]

@kh-phdan

ZOMBIE THREAD FROM 2019!

[kh-phdan]

Hello Everyone,

Due to the age of the thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue discussing this topic.

Thanks for your understanding!