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Damaged item returned as faulty. What do I do next?
Summary: chinesewhi40 shared a detailed account of a problematic transaction on eBay where an electronic device sold arrived non-functional and was returned as faulty rather than damaged. Despite providing proof of its initial working condition and appealing the decision, the appeal was closed without resolution, and conflicting information from eBay and Royal Mail left them unable to claim damages. *vyolla* responded, highlighting the issue that if a buyer selects the faulty reason instead of damaged, there is little recourse. chinesewhi40 expressed frustration over eBay's customer service and a lack of resolution, seeking advice from the community.
Apologies for the length of this post. There's a lot to convey.
I sold an electronic device on eBay.
I took photographs of the item working prior to shipping.
I packed the item well with plenty of bubble wrap and a padded envelope to protect it as best as possible.
Despite those efforts, the item did not work when it arrived with the buyer, I suspect due to being mishandled, since items like this do not simply stop working without being dropped or bashed.
I immediately suspected that it had been damaged in transit, but attempted to resolve the issue with the buyer.
The item could not be made to work so the buyer started a return request for a faulty item.
I believe this to be an incorrect appraisal and that it should have been reported as damaged.
Because the buyer reported it as faulty within 30 days, the return and refund were processed automatically, as per eBay's buyer protection policy.
I appealed that decision.
I was advised that a response to my appeal would be sent within 48 hours.
I received no response and still have not received one 11 days later.
That seems moot now, since when I checked in seller hub and the appeal has been closed without any option to challenge it.
When I tried to claim for damages with Royal Mail (the shipper) they advised that because I purchased postage through eBay, eBay would have to process the claim.
When I contacted eBay about this (via the awful ChatBot) I was informed that eBay does not deal with claims for damage that occurs during shipping.
Since those two pieces of information are conflicting, I requested a call back from eBay's customer services team,
I got a call back.
What I managed to glean from that call back was that because the appeal was closed and could not be overturned, and because the item was returned as faulty, and because no further damage was caused during the return shipping, no compensation could be processed.
This leaves me more than £200 out of pocket because eBay does not have due process in place to account for such circumstances.
The customer service agent didn't seem to be able to understand my issue properly and kept saying that eBay's buyer protection policy means that the buyer can return a faulty item unchallenged within 30 days for a full refund, and that because upon return I received the item in the same condition as the buyer received it in, there is no way to claim for damage in transit.
I appealed the decision, saying that the item should have been returned as damaged, not faulty, but as mentioned, eBay rejected that with no option to challenge the outcome, I think without actually understanding the problem properly, as was the case with the customer services agent.
What are my options, if any?
Talking to Customer Services has proven fruitless (not for the first time with eBay), and going through the online help offers no answers to this specific problem as it obviously hasn't been considered.
This seems like a considerable hole in the eBay process.
Help me eBay-member-to-member-community. You're my only hope.
*vyolla*
Mentor1 week ago · EditedNot the news you want to hear, but if the item was damaged in transit and your buyer didn't select this reason for the return, then there isn't anywhere further to go with this.
If your buyer decided that it was defective, and selected this reason for the return, then there wouldn't be a way for you to pursue this even if it wasn't a Simple Delivery label. Plus, if it was the pedal board then bubble wrap and a padded envelope would be insufficient packaging, items like that need to be double boxed.