Postage refunds

[d-o-y]

Would like to know why mentors are continuously giving out false information regarding postage refunds. I have sold about 15 items and have offered free postage using my preferred methods which were either tracked 24 or special delivery and have requested a refund using the link provided and have filled it out in full within the 14 day period and have received nothing. This dates back to 18 May so is way beyond the 30 days that I should have got refunds. As far as I know nobody else who offered free postage and has claimed a refund has received one. In view of this I do think that mentors should stop informing people that they will get a refund and stop providing the link as it is not being actioned.

I have been selling and buying on ebay for 23 years and have found it to be an excellent selling site up until now with this ridiculous insistence that people have to post items using SD labels and can only send by tracked 48 or EVRI. It is also noticeable that on trustpilot they are now getting a 1 star rating and most of the negative comments are recent and to do with the posting method.

[*vyolla*]

---

@d-o-y wrote:

Ebay announced many years ago that people could not have more than one account as it wanted to discourage shill bidding.

They never did. You can have more than one eBay account. If you're a business seller listing plants and garden paraphernalia but also have another business selling trainers you wouldn't want to list your items on the same account. Sellers may also have a private ID they list their own personal items on.

Lastly, regarding SD labels, I have not even downloaded one or a QR code. I have got the buyers address from sending an email to them and am rather tired of the trash about not qualifying for a refund when the ebay agents have stated that I have qualified on several occasions (I even sent them copies of the receipts from the post office) and done nothing apart from stating that they would move the case upwards (I have the references and copies of the transcripts) so I wish the mentors and conversationists would stop repeating misinformation and stop referring people to the links which are worthless.

I am sure mentors are useful and helpful on other subjects but not this one for sure.

But why are you sending an email to get the buyers address and not taking it from the order details? What will happen if a buyer gives you a different address, how will you know?  Why are you sending copies of Post Office receipts to eBay?  I am wondering why you haven't simply uploaded the tracking number for the postage that you've bought, that's all the info they need to see - a tracking number added to the order details showing delivery. 

---

[d-o-y]

I know it has nothing to do with postage refunds but I was concerned why a lot of the "experts" have very little feedback and I cannot understand why would not want just one account as the more feedback you get the better. It is more understandable with a business seller as a lot of them are dropshipping but with a private seller it makes no sense.

Regarding the postage refunds I have not got any further with it since my first claim at the end of May and have got tired of receiving info about qualifying correctly for a claim when the agents have told me I am claiming correctly and receiving nothing.

[d-o-y]

I sent copies of the receipts because they requested them. If they hadn't then I would not have done. I have also uploaded the tracking numbers of all the postage that I have bought. I stated this numerous times and filled the refund form fully and correctly.

Why would a buyer give me a different address if he wants to receive the item that he has paid for? I emailed through the ebay messages option and received feedback from the buyers. The order details were not available at the time as they are now.

[*vyolla*]

---

@d-o-y wrote:

Why would a buyer give me a different address if he wants to receive the item that he has paid for?

---

Because they could get the item and a full refund. Sellers have no protection if a buyer asks for an item to be sent to a different address (friend or relative) once they've been through checkout and paid. Buyer can claim item not received and get a full refund, or issue a not received chargeback. 

[d-o-y]

No they won't because I send tracked and signed 24 and also I have proof from their email to me that they want it sent to that address.

Funnily enough someone did try something similar while back and claimed non receipt but I was then able to send them confirmation from Royal Mail that it was delivered and they then admitted it had been.

People have used these tricks for years even when sent to the correct postage address which is why I always get signed for postage or special delivery or tracked 24 signed.

[goodibags]

The problem is to get a refund of a label from Ebay you do have to be following Ebay's rules, as set out on page 1. It sounds like you have all the right information (proof of postage bought, proof the SD label wasn't used, proof of delivery and hopefully good feedback too). 

Sadly, SD hasn't been designed to make life easy for sellers and if you want to provide a better customer service by upgrading to RM Special Delivery or get a signature you'll have to do so at your own cost, same as with providing packaging materials and printing postage labels. 

I'd make another call to CS and ask to go through a particular claim, to find out what other info Ebay may have needed and what went wrong. Just so that you know for next time. Ultimately, you'll have to do it the right way. Otherwise you won't get back the money Ebay has taken from you. 

[tressygirl]

@d-o-y  wrote:    I was concerned why a lot of the "experts" have very little feedback .

Many peeps here have a ' Posting  ID Account' they do not use their selling / buying account as some people not liking an answer they have received,  have gone on to trash that person's account, hence a Posting ID is used. 

There are some mean people out there.

[*vyolla*]

---

@d-o-y wrote:

No they won't because I send tracked and signed 24 and also I have proof from their email to me that they want it sent to that address.

Funnily enough someone did try something similar while back and claimed non receipt but I was then able to send them confirmation from Royal Mail that it was delivered and they then admitted it had been.

People have used these tricks for years even when sent to the correct postage address which is why I always get signed for postage or special delivery or tracked 24 signed.

---

With respect, you're quite adamant that eBay works in a particular way for you, and it really doesn't.  eBay Seller Protection requires you to send the item to the delivery address showing in the order details or on the SD label. This is the address that the buyer has selected at checkout.

If you don't, and the buyer opens an eBay item not received claim, a PayPal not received claim or issues a not received chargeback, they will, for sure, get a full refund.

As regards your example, you got lucky that your buyer backed down there. If it's an expensive item and a dodgy buyer gets a message from you asking to have it sent to a different address after paying, and you comply, you risk losing out.

[d-o-y]

I did not get lucky because the person in question was a business seller and therefore his address was on ebay.

Also it is very negative to think that everybody putting a different address is a crook. Mostly it is because they are away on holiday or business and therefore would like it sent to a different address rather than cancelling and me having to relist.

It has now changed and you can get the persons address without having to download a label or QR code but when it was first introduced you could not.

I understand that mentors are not paid by ebay so I cannot quite work out why they are defending this ridiculous new postage system. I have been buying and selling records for over 40 years (way before ebay) and have never known a way of posting to be compulsory.

[d-o-y]

I have been in touch with ebays CS several times by both phone and online and have the transcripts and each time they have stated by phone or online that I would receive a refund within 30 days because I followed the correct procedure and claimed within 14 days using the form and yet I have received nothing and nor have several other private sellers who, like me, offered free postage.

My guess is they think we will get so fed up and accept defeat.

[*vyolla*]

---

@d-o-y wrote:

I did not get lucky because the person in question was a business seller and therefore his address was on ebay.

So you got lucky because your business seller used their displayed contact address at their delivery address. This isn't always the case.

Also it is very negative to think that everybody putting a different address is a crook. Mostly it is because they are away on holiday or business and therefore would like it sent to a different address rather than cancelling and me having to relist.

I don't believe that I have stated anywhere that 'everybody putting a different address is a crook', it's important to read and digest the information that people have posted correctly.  I've just tried to point out that your method is very flawed and leaves you open to losing your money should a buyer realise that there's potential there. Cancelling and relisting is the correct route to take. 

If you've decided that it works for you and are happy to take that risk then fine, but as a mentor I feel the need to highlight the very obvious flaw if it means that a seller could lose out, just for others reading this.

If a seller sells an item and then contacts the buyer to ask for their delivery address and the buyer decides to give them the address of a friend or relative a couple of miles away, and then claims item not received, the seller will have to refund, without a doubt.

It has now changed and you can get the persons address without having to download a label or QR code but when it was first introduced you could not.

Okay, so you're not asking buyers for their addresses now, so it's a moot point.

---

[goodibags]

"My guess is they think we will get so fed up and accept defeat."

Worded another way, they think you'll just carry on selling regardless, including handing over more money?

I can only sympathise. I'm waiting on a refund for a delayed train journey, along with several hundred other people. Train operator is taking its sweet time and forking out is low priority for them, so I may get a refund or may not. Even a few rail vouchers may constitute a 'win'? There isn't much more I can do as they're holding all the cards. But I won't be travelling that way again for a while.

[d-o-y]

I don't think there is any 100% fool proof method as certain bad apples will always find a way. Regarding the change of address, I did keep a copy of the buyers email so I was covered in case.

One of the other problems since the free selling is that there are syndicates who shill bid amongst them as they know that they are only going to have to pay a small SD postage fee so they are more than happy to state that the item has sold and pay the small cost of the label. In the past when they had to pay a fee it was more difficult because you could only cancel transactions a certain number of times before ebay became suspicious and rightly so.

There would be far less shill bidding if the fees were reinstated.

[plpmr]

"Also it is very negative to think that everybody putting a different address is a crook. Mostly it is because they are away on holiday or business and therefore would like it sent to a different address rather than cancelling and me having to relist."

Why don't they use and follow the procedure eBay gives them and change the delivery address at check-out?

[goodibags]

In theory, the best items to lose in the post (not that you'd want to lose any) are the ones sent with SD. As the loss is covered by Ebay the buyer is automatically refunded but the seller still gets to keep their sale proceeds too.

At least, that's the theory. As you've witnessed, getting Ebay to pay out on anything may prove trickier than the words suggest?

[*vyolla*]

---

@d-o-y wrote:

I don't think there is any 100% fool proof method as certain bad apples will always find a way. Regarding the change of address, I did keep a copy of the buyers email so I was covered in case.

Again, sellers are not covered if there's a change of address from the one showing on the order details. If that buyer goes straight to a not received chargeback they would receive their refund and the seller would also have been charged a  £16 admin fee.

One of the other problems since the free selling is that there are syndicates who shill bid amongst them as they know that they are only going to have to pay a small SD postage fee so they are more than happy to state that the item has sold and pay the small cost of the label. In the past when they had to pay a fee it was more difficult because you could only cancel transactions a certain number of times before ebay became suspicious and rightly so.

There would be far less shill bidding if the fees were reinstated.

I think we've already covered this on another thread. This is an urban/FaceBook myth. Shill bidding has never been so easy to detect as it is now, it's actually illegal in the UK too. Do you have evidence of some kind of shill bidding syndicate that eBay has failed to detect? If so, contact them and/or Actionfraud with your findings.

---

[d-o-y]

It is difficult to prove when 10-12 different people are all involved and especially when the item is "sold" and feedback is received. As I stated earlier because the only cost is a postage label rather than an ebay fee they are quite happy to pay this. I would never consider reporting it as you need hard evidence and also it is not exactly a huge crime. Ebay for private sellers is only a part time hobby and bidders can choose how much they bid.

[*vyolla*]

---

@d-o-y wrote:

It is difficult to prove when 10-12 different people are all involved and especially when the item is "sold" and feedback is received. As I stated earlier because the only cost is a postage label rather than an ebay fee they are quite happy to pay this. I would never consider reporting it as you need hard evidence and also it is not exactly a huge crime. Ebay for private sellers is only a part time hobby and bidders can choose how much they bid.

---

It really isn't difficult to prove. Report it to eBay and they'll take a look, though I'd be very surprised if it hasn't already been noted.