I’ve had an eBay account since 1997. I originally got on eBay to buy Kenner Starting Lineup figures. I was a serious Starting Lineup collector back in the day.
I’ve used the eBay platform ever since. At first, as a buyer, but eventually as a seller too.
Even though I’m not a full-time eBay reseller, I enjoy watching reselling videos on YouTube. I’m also a member of a few reseller groups on Facebook.
I read an interesting post in one of the Facebook groups I frequent. I thought it was interesting because the eBay seller seemed dumb and unprofessional.
This is the post:
Post office left me a note that I have a package requiring $15.25 to pick up. I’m assuming a buyer is trying to return a package on their own instead of going through ebay, while also trying to screw me by making me pay the postage. I’m endlessly curious what/who it is, but i kind of refuse to pay $15 for shipping. What would you do?
**edit to add (sorry, should have mentioned first). They didn’t put any return info on the package. So I have no idea who it came from. Can’t RTS, but i also don’t have to pick it up.
The seller refused to pay the Post Office $15.25, so the Post Office kept the box. The seller claims not to know who sent this box back to them. Sure.
eBay buyers can always file a chargeback
What most eBay sellers don’t understand is that buyers don’t have to use eBay’s return system to get a refund if something is wrong with their purchase. If they paid by credit card, they can contact their bank and file a chargeback.
A chargeback dispute is decided by the bank that issued the credit card to the cardholder. They don’t care what the seller’s eBay feedback rating is or how long they’ve been on the platform. They review the facts presented by both the buyer and the seller. They then decide the chargeback outcome accordingly.
Contrary to what some eBay sellers think, the issuing bank doesn’t automatically decide in the buyer’s favor. That’s not how chargebacks work.
In conclusion
The seller should have paid the $15.25 and accepted the box. If she opened it, she’d be able to quickly figure out who returned it. Plus, depending on the item’s condition, she could relist it on eBay and sell it to another buyer.
Considering that the box has the eBay logo, the seller almost certainly pays a premium to eBay for a store. One of the benefits of having a store is that you get credit every three months towards eBay-branded shipping supplies.
If you have an eBay store, you need to act professionally. Leaving it up to the Post Office to eat the $15.25 is unprofessional and the wrong thing to do.