Don’t sell on eBay

[bumbledebeee]

I listed an item ( snowboarding trousers ) on eBay I described it as good USED condition, I pointed out the faults that the item had and provided photos The buyer received the item on 31st January,  the buyer  had the item a full 6 weeks before asking to return them on 12th march 2024 they could have used the item numerous times in this 6 weeks After 6 weeks the buyer has decided to wash the item, (they should be washed in special waterproofing detergent) 

The dispute was  that the item doesn’t match the description in my listing but there didn’t seem to be a problem for the 6 weeks they have had the item

12th march payment dispute put in place

26th match received email to say it had gone in the buyers favour.

 they have worn the item for 6 weeks washed the item and ruined the item in 6WEEKS. They have since returned the item and they are ruined. 

EBay has now taken £51. which from my bank account as I had to pay dispute costs as well

EBay should give sellers more protection

I will never sell on eBay again !!!! 

[papso22]

The buyer did a chargeback (payment dispute) through their funding source for item not as described.  There is no seller protection against those. 

[tressygirl]

This is outrageous, but can we be clear who refunded the buyer.  Opening an eBay  case 6 weeks after the item's last estimated date for delivery would ( should),  have closed in your favour.

Was this perhaps a PayPal or a chargeback making the refund?

There is a weekly chat with community eBay managers today at 2 p.m. for an hour,  seek it out and bring this to their attention they'll have access to your account and can see how this refund came about.

Bring to their attention that washing it, using the wrong fluids,  has returned the item not in the same state as sent out,  so should have voided eBay's 30 day MBG policy.

[jckl1957]

As advised, this dispute was not settled by Ebay but by the buyer's payments institution.

Details of Payment Disputes are here:

How to handle a payment dispute

The refund is made through Ebay managed payments but the decision to refund is made by Paypal or the buyer's bank, credit card company etc.  If you challenge the dispute so you can provide evidence then you are also charged a dispute fee of £16.80 so it is an expensive business for sellers.

If you had read the details of seller protection before disputing the case, you might not have challenged it and would have saved yourself the dispute fee.

When determining whether to protect a seller, eBay will look for one of the following:

• The seller issued a full refund to the buyer through eBay
• The seller issued a refund to the buyer through eBay, but deducted an amount from the refund because the item was returned used or damaged (in accordance with our guidelines
• An eBay Money Back Guarantee case of the same type for the same transaction that was already resolved with:
  • eBay determining that the seller met their obligations to the buyer, or
  • eBay issuing a full refund to the buyer

[red_magpie]

This claim is not due to eBay. eBay's own money back guarantee only gives buyers 30 days to claim a refund because an item isn't as described.

Any claim made after this can only have been made through the buyer's payment provider, e.g. PayPal or their credit or debit card company.

When a buyer pays for their item, they don't pay you direct - they pay eBay, which then transfers the money into your bank account, less their selling fee. This arangement means that any claim or chargeback a buyer makes through their payment provider is also issued against eBay itself, not you as the seller.

You then become liable to repay eBay for the money the chargeback requires them to refund the buyer on your behalf, plus an admin fee for arranging this. You accepted this in the user agreement.

This is one reason why selling on eBay has become so risky. Even after eBay's own 30 day money back guarantee has expired, buyers can still claim a refund through PayPal for 180 days or for at least eight months through their credit or debit card. For example, did you know that buyers can use PayPal to wait almost six months to claim that an item didn't arrive? If you have lost the tracking number to prove delivery you would automatically be required to refund them in full.