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Does ebay ever abide by its own stated policies?
I've just had a case where ebay closed a dispute where it was transparently obvious as to the issue. In short
- I sold an item on ebay
- buyer contacted me to complain that a part of the item was missing (a charger)
- for this item, they are not sold with chargers when new, the listing did not state a charger was included (and it did list all the parts there were included) and there were extensive photos showing all the included parts, none of which included a charger
- the buyer asked ebay to step in, stating parts missing, no charger included
- ebay closed the case in the buyers favour and also the subsequent appeal
have i misunderstood ebay policy here? if a buyer "feels" something should be included, even if its not listed as such, and the item when sold new does not include such a part, should that be valid for a return at the seller's expense?
machdog79
OP7 months agook thanks folks. I didn't accept the return, but ebay did and I did get the item back.
I knew that ebay generally defaulted to favouring buyers, however in this case it wasn't the buyers word against the sellers word.
Both parties agreed on what was delivered and what wasn't delivered. So really was an open and shut case. If the listing contained the item in question then seller at fault, otherwise buyer at fault. I would even have somewhat understood if there was some kind of implicit expectation that the item would be included (such as when sold new these items are included), but in this case, even new this does not apply.
So really, the reason for my post was: is there any circumstance at all where ebay seller protection applies? As given there was no actual disagreement on the facts between buyer/seller, I cant see a more obvious and verifiable case where the seller would have won.
Hope that makes sense?
red_magpie
Mentor7 months agoThe point to remember about eBay is that its money back guarantee is not regulated by the financial conduct authority. The result is that eBay can decide as it wants, with users having no right to any independent appeal. This includes deciding whether or not the buyer has to return the item.
In disputes under eBay's money back guaratee it's clear that eBay's default policy is to take the buyer's word against the seller's. In your case, in fairness to eBay, it is very unusual for a rechargeable device to be sold without a charger. eBay obviously shared the buyer's expectation that one should have been included, unless the listing stated that it was not. eBay is unlikely to have accepted your claim that no charger was provided when new. (They won't even take a buyer's word that a photo of the front door to prove delivery isn't their own front door!)
If it was possible to appeal eBay's decisions to an independent authority, a more "legal" approach supported by evidence that a charger was not provided when new would probably have found in your favour. But this is eBay, and their decisions are final. Like your buyer, eBay obviously "feels" that a charger should have been included as you didn't specificaly state that it was not. That's the way it works, and there is no appeal against their decision. And you agreed in the user agreement to accept their decisions!
john1297576
Mentor7 months agoEbay usually go along with the buyer, ebay never sees what is sent so tend to accept buyers word, , but if case has been closed in buyers favour, ebay will refund at your expense, and you get a damaging defect on your selling account.
You should have accepted return and provided a return label, now you will not have item returned, which would have cost you but you could have relisted and sold again.