I'm sorry what ? eBay/Paypal returns timeline

Hello BHW community, this is my first thread ever on BHW and I have a question about eBay and Paypal returns timeline.

I'm aware that eBay/Paypal gives buyers a window of 2 (freaking) months to test out the item, use it as they please, shit on it, whine and complain that it smells, and then ask for a return..

But at the same time, they offer sellers, to specify a money-back guarantee tolerance for the returns which can be 7, 14, 30 days..

Does the money-back guarantee even matter ? Or will eBay/Paypal just pull off the win-win-fuck-you situation ?

FYI: I dropship items from various websites, and pretty much all of them only offer returns for 30 days. And that is very frustrating because I don't even live in the US to have the buyers ship the items to me !

So.. What do you think ? If I specify that I will NOT accept returns after 14 days, will eBay still screw me if a buyer opens a case ?

Thank you






PS: Sorry if this has been asked before, but there's like a zillion threads about eBay..

I've never heard about 60 days, might be different outside the US but: http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/money-back-guarantee.html - "A buyer must request a return no later than 30 days after the actual (or latest estimated) delivery date, or, if the seller's return window is longer, within the return window." -- If your country eBay site gives 60 days then it's 60 days.

Basically you will be stuck with the money back guarantee at minimum, be it 30 days or 60 days. Personally I wouldn't worry about eBay policy, it's nothing compared to purchasing with a good credit card. Some credit cards will allow chargebacks for things purchased 6 months ago.

It's basically part of business, you can start your own eCommerce site to avoid the eBay bullshit but you'll be opening up another can in the form of getting enough traffic to your site so you can make a living. The decent news, personally I haven't had it happen much and I sell electronics, supposedly a high-risk category. Just account for fraud in your business plan and you should be fine.

I'm selling on eBay.com

eBay may allow a 30 days window, but Paypal gives 45 days.

"You open the case no later than 45 calendar days from the date of your PayPal payment and - if you need to - escalate it to a claim no more than 20 calendar days after you open your case"
Source: http://pages.ebay.com/help/buy/paypal-buyer-protection.html

So basically you're saying that even if I specifically allow only 14 days money back guarantee, it's just for shows and won't matter ? The buyer could still ask for chargeback, returns, etc ?

It depends on the reason a buyer opens a case. If it's for item not as described, your return policy goes out the window and eBay's money back guarantee is followed instead. For "normal" reasons like the buyer changed their mind, your return policy would be followed. They can't change their mind 29 days later if you have a 14 day return policy (though they can still leave negative feedback, so depending on the item you'd usually be better off just accepting the return). This is why it's completely useless to not offer returns. If the buyer knows what they're doing, they can easily open an item not as described claim and get their money back even if you specified no returns. That's why I always add a restocking fee. It won't stop buyers from using their get out of jail free card, but you'll at least be protected from other situations you normally wouldn't be if you selected no returns.

paypal gives buyers 180 days to question the transaction...180 days!!!!!

blt938 said:

It depends on the reason a buyer opens a case. If it's for item not as described, your return policy goes out the window and eBay's money back guarantee is followed instead. For "normal" reasons like the buyer changed their mind, your return policy would be followed. They can't change their mind 29 days later if you have a 14 day return policy (though they can still leave negative feedback, so depending on the item you'd usually be better off just accepting the return). This is why it's completely useless to not offer returns. If the buyer knows what they're doing, they can easily open an item not as described claim and get their money back even if you specified no returns. That's why I always add a restocking fee. It won't stop buyers from using their get out of jail free card, but you'll at least be protected from other situations you normally wouldn't be if you selected no returns.

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But wouldn't a case of "Item not as described" be opened like the day after delivery ? I think even Paypal/eBay would know it's a shady argument.
But say I sold a couch, a table or a dining set.. The buyer is happy an everything is cool but after 40 days, he wants to return it.
You're saying that I should charge a restocking fee of about 20% ?

My main problem actually is after 30 days, I won't be able to retun items:
For 1: Because my suppliers won't accept them
and 2: Because those suppliers won't accept them, I can't have the buyer ship it to me because I live outside the US

Yes, most people who have legitimate problems would open a case in a day or two, but I've found most people who say the item isn't as described are doing so to get a guaranteed refund, whether the problem was the seller's fault or not. Ebay/Paypal doesn't care how long it takes for the buyer to open the case, just as long as its within the money back guarantee window. As a seller on ebay, you'll lose item not as described claims almost every time.

I do suggest adding a restocking fee (make sure you select the restocking fee option in the returns section when listing your item). I have had situations where a buyer bought a new item of mine, used it for a while and changed their mind about wanting it (they were within the return period), but since they saw they would lose a decent amount of money due to the restocking fee, they cancelled the return.

Perhaps you should look into mail forwarding services. There are many companies in the US that will give you a unique address (their address + a suite number) and you can have mail delivered to that address for a fee. They would then send it to your address in your home country. All of that costs a fee of course, but it would at least give you more options.

So you're saying that eBay doesn't take the time frame into consideration while arbitrating such cases, being 2 or 40 days, buyer still wins ? Do buyers have to prove that the item was not as described by providing photos, etc ?

If you don't like their policy then don't use them. Simple as that. Move along

Garreth00 said:

So you're saying that eBay doesn't take the time frame into consideration while arbitrating such cases, being 2 or 40 days, buyer still wins ? Do buyers have to prove that the item was not as described by providing photos, etc ?

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I don't think this is too big of an issue unless you're selling fake or VERO. I've sold about 3000 items in my stealth account and I only had one person who tried to open a paypal dispute after 45 days, and I won that case because buyer didn't return the item. Far more troublesome are scammers who claim that they didn't receive the item in the package. If someone is legit out to scam you, they probably know eBay/Paypal rules better than you so they wouldn't wait that long.

Thank you guys for your answers !

sergfro said:

If you don't like their policy then don't use them. Simple as that. Move along

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Yes, if you just moved along without answering.. That'd been great wouldn't it ?