Ridiculous suggestions there - way too sensible for eBay to adopt!
But seriously, yes, that would make sense, and it's precisely the kind of thing I meant by eBay offering guidance to the buyer (not merely on a help page, but during the actual process of opening a case).
Apologies for my 'knowledge gap' about INAD cases - I was going on what previous posters had said. I was thinking more of the buyer agreeing to a seller request to change the case type (from INR to 'Received damaged/missing' - or whatever the category is called), rather than a request to change the INAD reason (which, as you say, cannot be done) - but that didn't come across very clearly. I admit to not being very familiar with the various case types - as a buyer, on the rare occasion I need to open a case it's a straight INR or INAD, and, as a seller, I don't think I've ever had to deal with one (tempting fate there). I remember one disastrous sale when I was a real newbie (it was entirely my fault), but even then, I was lucky to have a really nice, sympathetic buyer. Maybe he didn't know about opening cases, or, more likely, he took pity on me as he could see I was genuinely remorseful and wanted to make things right, but whatever, I'm certain that it was 'settled out of court', so to speak.
eBay could - should - also make clear the difference between INR and 'Received missing' (I'm annoyed that I don't know the exact wording). The latter sounds self-contradictory, but as we know, INR means that the buyer didn't receive anything at all, not even an empty package, whereas the other means that a package was received, but with the contents missing in whole or in part. eBay should make the distinction clearer, as I think many members are unclear on it, which leads to avoidable problems (usually for the seller). But, of course, eBay could be clearer on a whole bunch of things.
Wow, all those words, and I've not really said anything (apart from "I think that would be a great idea"). I should be a presenter on a shopping channel.
Thanks for putting me right, anyhow. I hate the thought of someone acting on my (or another's) incorrect information or bad advice.
So, we both agree that eBay could, and should, do more to guide the buyer through the case-opening process. What do you think is the reason why they don't? Do you see it as part of eBay's tendency to under-explain (or to not explain at all) - not out of malice, but out of laziness - or do you hold the more cynical view that it's deliberate, since the fewer refunds eBay has to make, the better for them (although, ultimately, this is an incredibly poor customer-retention strategy)?
