topic Re: Refunding a deactivated account in Member To Member Support

Refunding a deactivated account

hel54904 — Sat, 02 May 2026 14:27:24 GMT

I bought an item from a user, but I decided to refund the item before it arrived, because i thought it may have been a scam, since the user was no longer registered. The item has now been arrived and I have also recieved a refund. I cannot contact the seller because they are no longer a registered user on ebay. I now have the item and all of the money back. How should i return the money?

Re: Refunding a deactivated account

**peaseblossom** — Sat, 02 May 2026 14:30:21 GMT

You would have to repay outside of ebay so, for instance, you'd need the email address seller uses with Paypal or their bank details. If you click on their ID is there no contact link?

Re: Refunding a deactivated account

hel54904 — Sat, 02 May 2026 14:32:45 GMT

When i click on their account it just says that they’re no longer a registered user, there’s no way of getting their details

Re: Refunding a deactivated account

tressygirl — Sat, 02 May 2026 14:36:32 GMT

How much was the item, and what was it?

Perhaps keep the item for a certain amount of time, if there's no more contact to or from the seller, once removed you cannot contact them without eBay's help, and doubt they would give out a member's personal details, no matter for what altruistic reason, then perhaps give the item to a charity shop.... depending on what this item is ! 🤔

@hel54904

Re: Refunding a deactivated account

hel54904 — Sat, 02 May 2026 14:43:05 GMT

It was a retro football shirt for £27, so it’s not a highly expensive item but i’d still rather give the money back to the seller if possible.

Re: Refunding a deactivated account

**peaseblossom** — Sat, 02 May 2026 14:44:04 GMT

Is there a return address on the package or seller details inside? You could maybe send them a cheque.

Re: Refunding a deactivated account

hel54904 — Sat, 02 May 2026 14:46:05 GMT

I can’t find any sign of any contact information on any of the packaging

Re: Refunding a deactivated account

**peaseblossom** — Sat, 02 May 2026 15:27:49 GMT

You'll have to wait to see if they contact you. Or there's a chance ebay may reactivate their account.

Re: Refunding a deactivated account

hel54904 — Sat, 02 May 2026 15:30:47 GMT

Okay, thank you for your help

Re: Refunding a deactivated account

**peaseblossom** — Sat, 02 May 2026 15:37:10 GMT

You're welcome. It's nice that you're keen to pay them. Some people wouldn't bother.

Re: Refunding a deactivated account

red_magpie — Sat, 02 May 2026 18:51:11 GMT

It was a retro football shirt for £27

Make sure it's genuine before trying to refund them. When a sellers suddenly ceases to be registered it's often because eBay has removed them from the site.