Buyer refunded for item and ebay say I will not get it back

[onken80]

So this has never happened to me before - seller bought an item from me, it arrived yesterday. They messaged me this morning to say they wanted to return it as it had a mark on. I agreed and told them to open a returns case. The next thing I got an email from ebay saying the buyer had been refunded and the item was not going to be returned to me - see screenshot. There was no option for me to respond  - when this last happened to me I had to respond and agree the return. I then got another message saying "This order was processed through simple delivery so we handled the return on your behalf".

What does that mean?!

Please has anyone one been through this? i would like the item returned to me!

Thank you!

[lucy_farmer]

"This order was processed through simple delivery so we handled the return on your behalf".

What does that mean?!

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It means you get to keep the payment for the item (ebay won't take it away from you) and the buyer gets to keep the item.  

I think......

[onken80]

Hmmm, thanks for the reply but i'm not so sure - it says in my payments that "A refund was initiated to the buyer from your eBay balance" 

[lucy_farmer]

'it says in my payments that "A refund was initiated to the buyer from your eBay balance" '

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What?    and you were given no choice about the return or not of your item 😲

Was the whole payment refunded or a part payment?

[papso22]

I suspect that is an old message that has yet to be updated or overridden as a result of SD.

The SD one is more likely to be correct.

The time to worry is if it actually does come from your eBay balance.

[onken80]

Just to confirm - I have been refunded for the item purchase price and the buyer has also been refunded and has been allowed to keep the item. 

[thepillenwerfer]

I think that if a Buyer opens a return saying the item arrived damaged e-Bay will refund them under the terms of Simple Delivery.  If they say it's not as described then you would have to refund them.  Even if it is the latter you should have at least a token say in the matter.

As Papso22 says you'll have to see exactly what does happen but it's certainly concerning, not just for you but all of us.

[edwardian-dreams]

That’s very generous of ebay

i wonder why they’ve paid you and refunded the buyer as well, it’s like they’ve  purchased your item for the buyer, might be their birthday suppose 

too much for my little head 

[department28]

Did you get to see the photo/s of the 'mark'?

This new system of eBay refunding and allowing the buyer to keep the item, means the seller now has no say as to whether they would prefer to have the item returned, or not.

'Marks' can be falsified, or may easily wash out. Why should the buyer get to keep it? The seller should be entitled to have the item returned and be able to relist, if they wish to. 

[onken80]

Hi

Just to clarify a bit more- I stated there were light marks on the item but she said they were worse than I made out - but they were there.

I have called ebay this morning to clarify the situation and spoke to someone in customer services - they said it was done as a goodwill gesture on their part as the buyer and I are both 'valued customers'.  It's never happened before to me and i doubt it will ever happen again!

[lucy_farmer]

'The seller should be entitled to have the item returned and be able to relist, if they wish to. '

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Not if the seller has been paid for the item and has been able to keep the money. The item is no longer 'theirs'.

 Once the buyer has bought it and the seller has the money it becomes the buyers.

Then, I imagine, once ebay have refunded the buyer and left the payment with the seller, it becomes ebay's item.

Ebay can then do what they want with it!

I can see this automatic refunding thing being somewhat open to abuse though ; especially when it becomes known to buyers that the seller won't get hurt if the buyer 'overplays' any signs of use on second hand item.

Ebay may end up paying out rather a lot...

[vjbuystuff]

i have had a huge increase in refund requests of smaller items since simple delivery \ BPF started.

some of them ebay has said it will refund, and let the buyer keep. 

i contest them all now as i now keep proof of condition BEFORE posting. 

a good example was a buyer who bought several memory cards, then claimed they didnt work.   i have proof of copying files on and then deleting files off the cards.... 

SD and BPF is a FRAUDSTERS paradise.

[onken80]

Interesting- it’s definitely likely to encourage people to abuse the system- but I wasn’t even given the chance to contest- eBay refunded without any notification to me first 

[department28]

'I can see this automatic refunding thing being somewhat open to abuse though ; especially when it becomes known to buyers that the seller won't get hurt if the buyer 'overplays' any signs of use on second hand item.

Ebay may end up paying out rather a lot...'

Yes. There are already enough ways for a buyer to abuse the returns system, without eBay coming up with another one.

If an item has been badly damaged in transit, it is unlikely that a seller would want it returned under those circumstances - if they were satisfied with the evidence. But for 'not as described' cases, which can cover a wide range of issues, I still think the seller should be the one to decide if the buyer gets to keep the item, or not.

[cal_lywal]

I’ve experienced this today for the first time and have raised it with ebay. I messaged the seller to ask why they’d requested a refund and I’m pretty sure they’re lying and/or being unreasonable. So now in the hands of eBay. Is there an easy way to turn off this simple delivery thing? 

[onken80]

I’m not sure you can choose?

My buyer said the stains were worse than I said but I clearly photographed them and described them and graded the item as fair or whatever the lowest category is.

It opens up a loop hole for buyers to buy items that are flawed and then complain about them after knowing what they were getting. My thought is she just didn’t like the item to be honest. And now she has got to keep the item and been refunded!

[edwardian-dreams]

If you put it as “fair”  buyer didn’t really have a case imho 

on vinted they wouldn’t have been refunded as item was as described or better than described …more in the good category