eBay Returns (as Seller)

1,456 Views | 23 Replies | Last: 3 yr ago by Satellite of Love
fightingfarmer09
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Wasn't sure which forum to ask on, but here it goes.

Sold my old Xbox 360 and games on eBay. This system was bought new by myself and used for a long time until just recently.

Sold as used and no returns, but customer claims it was completely dusty/dirty/dog hair infested. Also claimed pieces missing that I know were in there. He has filed a return request.

Do I have to accept this return? Do I have to pay for shipping back?

I'm about fed up with eBay from all of this.
Aggietaco
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AG
Send eBay the photos you took pre shipping showing it clean, complete, and in working condition.
fightingfarmer09
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Requested the buyer send me some photos, but they "refuse to open up the box" as their "children might get sick".
Not a Bot
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AG
Tell them to take photos outside if they don't want it in the house. Hopefully you took pictures of yours and are able to compare the two.

Seems like a possibility that their 360 broke, they bought yours, and now are trying to send you back their broken one.
DeLaHonta
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AG
Honestly, things like this are why I completely stopped selling on eBay. There are no protections for small time sellers, and eBay sides 100% with the buyers if there is a dispute.

I'm reading the community forums, things like this are common scams buyers do. You ship them the product, and they either claim you shipped an empty box or the wrong/broken item. They file for a return, send you exactly what they falsely claim you sent them, and then it becomes a he said/she said dispute that the buyer always wins.

I used to film myself boxing up the items, signing the tape, and dropping it off to the Post Office, but, in reading the community forums, even this was not considered sufficient proof by eBay to make them side with the seller, in the case of a dispute.

You used to be able to rate the buyer, but eBay removed that years ago. There is now no way to filter out crap scammers like that, especially when they can just create new accounts at will. If you're not a big time seller, eBay doesn't care at all about you. Use Facebook Marketplace instead.
Proposition Joe
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If someone wants to scam you on eBay, they can.

Your only real safety net is if you have a significant history with eBay they'll at least side with you.

But anything over $500? Pass.
fightingfarmer09
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So should I tell them to ship it back (at their cost) and refund the money?

Or tell them that the item arrived as advertised, a 12+ year old heavily used game system that is in working order and my policy is no returns?
Proposition Joe
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For them to say they wont open the box to take pictures sounds like a scam to me.

That being said, it comes down to what your time and energy is worth and 99% of the time even though you know it's BS it's a better business decision just to move on to something else. Make sure your ebay fees are refunded and offer them a full refund and have them ship it back. If they push back on that just supply the $20 shipping label yourself.

You can win these things, but they are often not worth the energy. Relist and don't sell to anyone that has even remotely questionable feedback.
Chipotlemonger
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Someone tried to scam me in a similar way on a drone I sold them. Claimed the camera wasn't working properly and was blurry. I said the drone was as advertised and hardly used. They put in a return order for it to try and get me to compensate them no sight seem somehow. A month passed and I never received the item back for the refund. I even reached out at one point and asked if they were sending it back soon (this was before their grace period ended).

Fortunately I was ready, I had all of the s/n info, etc. I think what some of these people do is buy stuff and spam returns. They resell the items, hoping that some X% of the returns they claim as buyers get comped somehow, either by eBay or the Seller. I would have just done a full refund and reposted the item for sell after receiving the same one back. Knock on wood it never got that far.
jakester03
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Tell them to return it and if the serial number matches the one you sent out then you'll issue a refund. Even if you don't have a record of the serial number. They won't know that. It will give them pause before trying to scam you. Worked for me before.
The Fife
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jakester03 said:

Tell them to return it and if the serial number matches the one you sent out then you'll issue a refund. Even if you don't have a record of the serial number. They won't know that. It will give them pause before trying to scam you. Worked for me before.
This right here, can't fake the serial number.
fightingfarmer09
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Approved the return request. Will deal with it when it arrives.

Probably won't use eBay again.

Craigslist and Facebook are WAY easier than shipping boxes across the country to internet tough guys.
JaceAG12
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I'm confused? He won't open the box to take pictures but he knows it's full of dog hair and dust? I'd tell him to pound sand. He paid already and ebay can't take the money from you? Worst you get is negative feedback which doesn't really matter as you probably aren't going to sell much on there anyway?
Proposition Joe
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Ebay can take the money from him - thats the issue. Sellers have zero protection against scam buyers.
JaceAG12
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Ahh thanks Joe, I was not aware.
Chipotlemonger
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I bet they don't even return it!
91AggieLawyer
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Quote:

I used to film myself boxing up the items, signing the tape, and dropping it off to the Post Office, but, in reading the community forums, even this was not considered sufficient proof by eBay to make them side with the seller, in the case of a dispute.
In PARTIAL fairness to them, they could always claim that what was being sent wasn't filmed unless you showed the ENTIRE process, including the labeling, driving, handling, etc. with the package in site the entire time. That would be either next to impossible or so burdensome that it wouldn't be worth it for most people.

Ebay has been around far too long to not have come up with a system for dealing with stuff like this. I had minor issues with ebay in the early 2000s and mostly stopped selling with them. I'll buy on occasion but only things I can't find anywhere else and I avoid them if at all possible. I couldn't keep my dad from buying on there, unfortunately.

My suggestion would be to have ebay start a bonding company with each seller required to purchase a $250 bond to start. It wouldn't cost that (maybe a few dollars) and the bond requirements increase or change relative to the item or what the buyer insists on. Then, have a 3rd party (non ebay affiliated) dispute resolution organization, preferably non-profit, that handles these things. Or, at least something along these lines.
AgsWin2011
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Been watching sales on the new consoles on eBay (I won't be buying from a scalper) and have a legitimate buying question.

How come some people will have one listed and literally the next one listed is sometimes between $100-200 more and the same or close amount in shipping with more bids? It appeared that there weren't any bad reviews from either seller and the bids were ending within a minute. Once you bid on an item, are you not allowed to bid on that same item again until the bid expires?

I just can't see how some of these prices/winning bids would be so different.

Pepper Brooks
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AG
I sold some workout equipment on eBay this year and thankfully had no issues like this. That said, they pretty much force you to use PayPal and the fees between the two platforms are ridiculous.

I won't be selling stuff on eBay again because of the fees.
“There is no red.
There is no blue.
There is the state.
And there is you.”

“As government expands, Liberty contracts” - R. Reagan
AgsWin2011
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Aren't the fees between 10-12% of the sale?
Pepper Brooks
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eBay takes 10% of the final value of the sale and a portion of the shipping if you use their platform. There a few other nickel and dime fees associated with the listing as well. PayPal takes 2-3% of whatever processes through their system on top of eBays fees.
“There is no red.
There is no blue.
There is the state.
And there is you.”

“As government expands, Liberty contracts” - R. Reagan
OnlyForNow
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Can't you just delete all payment information from
eBay? How could they charge you if they don't have a way to get money?
fightingfarmer09
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Final report:

I granted the return in November to make this situation go away. The buyer pulled the USPS shipping label that day to return the item. This is all tracked from the eBay app, and I was expecting delivery by November 27th. I had no intention of refunding anything other than the auction price, and was not going to pay return shipping. I followed the eBay forum advice and just remained silent, to avoid getting stuck in a contested return that eBay usually sides with the buyer.

Today I went on the automatic chat system to inquire about closing the return as I have still not received the return and it has not even been given to USPS.

As of an hour ago, I just heard from eBay that the return is closed, the sale is final, and all feedback from the exchange will be hidden/scrubbed from my record.

I'm satisfied with the final result. I think remaining silent and playing the long game worked in my favor. I will likely stick to Facebook marketplace for most of my sells, as I have had great luck there.

eBay ultimately was fair with me, but their purposeful hiding from direct contact with sellers is beyond frustrating.
Naveronski
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I'm glad they forgot to mail you anything.

I'm 100% convinced you were going to receive:
Their broken Xbox
Rocks
Poop
Empty box or random garbage
Satellite of Love
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NTXAg10 said:

I sold some workout equipment on eBay this year and thankfully had no issues like this. That said, they pretty much force you to use PayPal and the fees between the two platforms are ridiculous.

I won't be selling stuff on eBay again because of the fees.

They have some kind of big update coming and I believe they are moving away from PayPal.
bad_teammate said on 2/10/21:
Just imagine how 1/6 would've played out if DC hadn't had such strict gun laws.

Two people starred his post as of the time of this signature. Those 3 people are allowed to vote in the US.
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