Global shipping item broken by Pitney Bowes after being accepted successfully at global shipping centre but I've lost out
Summary: cammin822 discussed a concern with the global shipping program after an item they sold was damaged in transit. Despite proper packaging, the item arrived broken, and eBay's messages misled them into issuing a manual refund, leaving them unable to recover the loss because the case was closed. cammin822 noted that eBay’s policy suggests they should not be liable for such damages, yet they received no help from customer service or Pitney Bowes, eBay's shipping partner. department28 and sml192 advised contacting eBay again and clarified the process, highlighting common misunderstandings and the need for clearer instructions or support options. They also mentioned that the new eIS program might alleviate such issues by involving eBay directly in handling returns.
I sold an item via the global shipping program which was broken in transit after successfully being accepted at the hub in the UK proving it was packaged correctly. Upon arrival at the final destination the buyer found the item broken and raised this with ebay. They got in touch with a couple of messages, the first being that they would handle everything and it was all covered, the second asking me what I wanted doing with the item (return or refund) which I replied to. I selected to refund straight away in the interests of good customer service for several reasons, the item was about 3kg, had gone to Australia and was clearly broken in the photographs sent by the buyer so getting it returned served no purpose to anyone.
Replying was apparently a mistake as this then closes the case with me having no recourse to recover my money despite all evidence that the damage was Pitney Bowes' fault. I contacted customer service whose response was that as I'd voluntarily refunded the money then there was nothing for them to do. My take is that I only replied to a question that ebay systems had asked me but this line of discussion could go in a circle forever. I was advised to contact Pitney Bowes directly but as suspected they would not speak to me as they are not my shipper, they are ebay's. I did get back in touch after doing this but the bottom line appears to be that first line support staff have absolutely power to refund funds/claim for shipping damage by Pitney Bowes after a refund has been issued. Reading around a bit, it does not look like this is an isolated case and I may just be venting into the ether here.
I understand that I mistakenly issued a manual refund to preserve good customer service, but under GSP policy, eBay is liable for international transit damage. I'm struggling to see why this can't be credited to rebate my sales funds, as the damage was entirely caused by eBay's shipping partner. In addition to customer service having no mechanism to deal with cases like this, it also appears that twitter/facebook support was shut his year, there is no avenue to either appeal or communicate with someone in the GSP team.
I would love someone from ebay to look at this (more than happy to supply more detail if something could be done) if anyone is reading. The sale was the best part of £100 so not an insignificant amount of money that I've lost.
cammin822
OP3 weeks agoThanks for the comments, I was fortunate enough to get one of the Irish contingent on the second call and much as he understood exactly where I was coming from, reiterated that there absolutely nothing they could do and did double check with someone else for me.
Telling, when I pointed out that the current system could do with looking at at a higher level and that I probably wasn't the only who fallen foul of this, , the reply was an instant laugh with "Oh God no". At least it sounds like there is a systemic change on the way to fix this loophole with eIS.
sml192
·3 weeks ago · EditedYes, unfortunately you have misinterpreted the second message that you received (which would have been just a standard return request) due to the first message which was probably triggered by Simple Delivery being used for the UK leg. What you should have done is responded (messaged the buyer through the request) citing that under the terms for the GSP you were not responsible for damage in transit during the international leg and then eBay would have refunded the buyer themselves. All you can do now is to try contacting eBay again, preferably first thing in the morning so that you get someone from the team in Ireland who are more knowledgeable and have greater authority.
This is/was one of the weaknesses of the GSP which thankfully will be resolved by the new eIS programme as all retutns will be dealt with by eBay, with no involvement from the seller necessary.
department28
·3 weeks ago'I understand that I mistakenly issued a manual refund to preserve good customer service...'
Yes, unfortunately this is an all-too-common mistake, issuing a refund voluntarily instead of waiting for the buyer to open an 'item arrived damaged' case. It would be a big help if some sort of warning message would appear before refunding, to remind sellers that if they go ahead, the case closes & the refund may not be reclaimed.
It might be worth contacting CS again, and explain again that you assumed you would be able to claim your refund after you had refunded the buyer.