what happens if a buyer does not use the ebay issued return label?

[helen83480]

A buyer has requested a return as item was damaged in transit. I've accepted the refund/return, and requested the item be returned and provided the ebay prepaid postage label to send on to them, that was on 26 August, and they've not used the label yet.

The "end date" that Ebay has set on the label is 16 Sept, and it says that "the return may be closed if the label isn't used by then", so my question is what happens if the buyer doesn't use the label within that time frame? Am I still liable for the refund? Does this mean that Ebay will close the buyers return/refund request?

I've hunted through the "Help" section, and can't find an answer, so any information would be appreciated.

Thanks

[m25jet]

To begin with, you will only be charged for the returns label if the buyer actually uses it.  If the buyer chooses not to do so - whether that's because they've chosen to return the item and buy a postage label from the Post Office, or because the buyer has changed his/her mind then you will not have to pay for the label if it hasn't been used by the time the 16th September deadline for its use comes around.

With regards to the buyer's refund don't refund the money unless you get the item back again.  You've done the right thing by accepting the returns request and issuing the buyer with a label so that he/she can return the item without any cost to them, so if the buyer fails to return the item then just treat it as a case of "No return, no refund."  If you agreed to refund the buyer subject to receiving the item back again but the buyer refuses to comply with the request then it's unlikely that eBay would decide the case in the buyer's favour, as there would be no evidence to show that the buyer actually returned the item to you so that you could issue the refund.  Therefore, if the buyer still hasn't returned the item by 16th September the case would just time out and eBay would not require you to refund the buyer's money.

Whatever the final outcome with regards to this transaction, if you have not already done so add the buyer's User ID to your Blocked Bidders List so as to prevent this buyer from purchasing anything else from you in the future and causing you any future problems.

[helen83480]

Thanks - that's really helpful, providing the "what happens next" scenario that the Ebay help doesn't have!

Will wait to see what happens in the next couple of weeks...

[*knight-rider*]

Just be aware Helen, that even if the Ebay case closes for whatever reason, there`s nothing stopping the buyer from going to paypal and opening one there, as you get 6 months with them. Chances are they won`t if they don`t within say a week or so, but they could 🙂

[m25jet]

Although it's possible that the buyer could open a PayPal case if the eBay case goes against him/her, given the very unusual circumstances with regards to this case I'd say that the buyer was more than likely trying to set you up for a scam but it didn't work. If I'm right and the buyer was indeed trying to scam you then he/she would not want to draw any further attention to his/her attempts to scam you, as by opening a PayPal case and arousing their suspicions that there's something dodgy going on a scammer wouldn't stand to gain anything at all. Therefore, I'd say that the most likely outcome would be that if the buyer is indeed a scammer and loses the eBay case then he/she won't bother to chase the refund via PayPal. Scammers tend to try to keep awareness of the scam to a minimum, so it wouldn't make sense for a scammer to make PayPal aware of the matter as well, especially given the fact that PayPal tend to look at cases in far more detail than eBay do.

[rusticrye]

Read Ebay's Money Back Guarantee (on every listing, and in various other places across the site). When you do, you'll see that, just like everywhere else, a buyer cannot get a refund unless they return the goods. No return, no refund. That's standard practice everywhere. Ebay would only force a refund without the need for return if you'd failed to accept the return request and the buyer had therefore escalated the return request to them.

Unless the buyer takes the package to the Post Office within the stated timeframe, and so gets Ebay's tracking number scanned into the system, the return request will eventually auto-close in your favour, obviously.  If anything else could happen, which it can't, you would see that information in the return request. Ebay would not hide it away in the Help pages. I hope that puts your mind at rest.

Finally, everything you need to know about selling here is in the Seller Centre (link at foot of any page). Have a poke around there when you get a spare moment. 🙂

@helen83480