Refund Paid, Will I get My Valuable Item Back from Buyer? Seems Unsure.

[devonattic22]

Hello, My buyer put in a Return Request, but was really angling for a HEAVY part-refund stating the (already repaired) antique pot had been further damaged. No obvious evidence provided, so offered refund/return. However, buyer's many emails seemed to reject my refund offer. Implied would not send it back! Kept pestering for a big part-refund, with some veiled threats. Tried reasoning with buyer, but buyer eventually asked eBay to step in. Story short, eBay “found in buyer's favour”, and auto refund paid. However no mention about RETURN (from USA) of my item (worth £150) in eBay email, or at Resolution Centre. Announced: CASE CLOSED. Very worrying. Can you advise what should normally happen next? I seem to have no right to reply, and left in the dark. Thanks.

[red_magpie]

There's nothing fair about eBay's money back guarantee to sellers.

EBay wants sellers to refund buyers without arguing. They penalise sellers savagely if they dispute a buyer's claim for a refund, and fail.

EBay itself admits that it never sees the item, and usually has no way of knowing who's correct. When this happens, their default policy is to support the buyer, without requiring any evidence. This is bad enough, but if eBay finds in favour of the buyer, they penalise the seller for even trying to put their side of the case - which by eBay's admission, may be the correct one - by placing a default on their account, witholding any return of their selling fee. As you didn't agree to accept the return, now that the case is closed it's doubtful whether they will even require the buyer to return the item.

It would be difficult to imagine a system more institutionally biased against the seller. But eBay is unregulated, so there is no right to any independent appeal, and the user agreement requires us to accept their decisions on all disputes.