Ebay resolution centre

dizzyrascal

Hi
I have recently sold a saddle on ebay. The buyer emailed me on the day of the sale to ask some questions about it but did not wait for an answer and paid the 'but it now' price. It was a private sale and I clearly stated 'No Returns' on the site.
After she received the saddle (less than an hour) she decided she did not want it and emailed me about returning it. Clearly she had not read my advert properly! I refused the return. I never guaranteed a good fit. Problem solved you would think. Unfortunately, my buyer then decides to say the item was mis-described, it was not and there were very clear photos on the site with clear measurements etc.(she is an experienced ebayer- I am not)
For 10 days I have had to suffer her rudeness, insults and downright lies in the resolution centre, all the time being urged by ebay to allow her to return the item. I have refused on the grounds that this is her mistake-not mine. I do not see why I should be forced to do this.
Once the claim by my buyer escalated it took ebay 7 minutes to decide that I must take my saddle back and my buyer gets to walk all over me. I rang the only customer service centre they have for UK ebay clients (in the Philippines) and was told that they had not read any details of the claim. They automatically side with the buyer. When I asked why? I was told that as the buyer had said the saddle was mis discribed, they would only look at that detail and would again, take the buyers side. I spent over 1 hour talking to a person who did not even know what an English saddle was! I asked them if they could explain how I had mis described the item and they admitted that they could not tell? It is enough for a buyer to yell mis-discribed and they get what they want, even if they are lying.
What was the point of the resolution centre if they were only EVER going to side with the buyer? I believed that the process would be fair and equitable and we would both get a fair hearing. Ebay admitted that this does not happen. What ever happened to 'buyer beware'? And what about my rights as a private seller under English Law?

emerald_starcat

In what way is the saddle misdescribed? What is she saying is wrong with it?

dizzyrascal

the buyer says that my description of the size of the saddle is wrong. I actually only described the fit of the saddle, not the size. I backed this up with very clear photos showing a tape measure. This helps the buyer to make an informed decision -but no two hand-made items like these will ever be the same size or fit. If you want a perfect fit then you should pay a saddler- not buy unseen on ebay.
However, none of my evidence was considered or even read by the resolution centre. They said they had found for the buyer because returning the saddle was what she wanted. In other words putting 'No Returns' means absolutely nothing on ebay.
I need to know how to appeal this decision and at least get my £65 fees and postage back off ebay. A resolution centre that finds for the buyer, no matter what, cannot be a fair system.

alfiesmum

When you refund, the fees are refunded to you on your next invoice as long as you go through the link in resolution centre to do so. If the fees were £65, then it was a fairly expensive purchase. Unfortunately these are the ones people are more fussy about. In a way, she decided within an hour, there was no mucking about, it was wrong for her as soon as she saw it. So perhaps there was something in the description that was not clear? Dunno - never been near a saddle in my life. Sometimes eBay decide that nobody is at fault, and they refund the buyer themselves. She'll be paying return postage though so at least thats something I suppose.

dizzyrascal

Hi
Thanks for your help on this. The dispute was not solved within the 10 days and the buyer asked for the resolution centre to escalate the claim, which I welcomed as I believed they would actually review the evidence we had been presenting for the previous 10 days. Because it was escalated I loose my fees but I agreed to this ONLY because I believed it was going to be properly reviewed. They admit they never read any of the correspondance. they simply found for the buyer in 7 mins because that was the outcome she wanted.
They looked at my advert and could not say which part was mis described (that is because it was very clearly described). I asked them to explain their decision and they said it was purely based on 'what the buyer wanted'
I believe this is a dreadful position for private sellers. Their buyers can just claim 'this item is mis described' and the buyer gets what they want.

alfiesmum

I know. You would think that after all the communication is visible to eBay, they would use it. But no. Buyer says no, eBay says no. I didn't know about the fees not being refunded though. Maybe you could try direct through eBay (not through resolution) to get them back. There used to be a tick box for "buyer is returning the item for a refund" - of course it could have all changed now, I've not had a return in a few months, luckily!

frivolous_fay

The Phillippines?!

dizzyrascal

Yes it's true.
Ebay's customer services is run from the Phillipines. They have no training in any specialist areas (I asked them) and they don't read your emails till you ring them up and make them.

alfiesmum

So they make a descision based on WHAT then?? Crazy!

mongoose2009

unfortunately this is the way it is with ebay
I am getting hacked off with it myself as it seems to be more and more in the interest of buyers not sellers eg sellers cant leave neg feedback
I had a buyer email me to tell me that a possibly faulty phone I was selling (didnt have a sim to check it) and descibed as faulty with no returns
that he would return if it was faulty??!!
I asked why bid if you want it to be perfect
He said it wouldnt matter as ebay would just refund him anyway as he had done this before!
I think ebay dont care as they are just getting the fees and dont care about anything else

FRUIT_SALAD

mongoose2009 wrote: »

unfortunately this is the way it is with ebay
I am getting hacked off with it myself as it seems to be more and more in the interest of buyers not sellers eg sellers cant leave neg feedback
I had a buyer email me to tell me that a possibly faulty phone I was selling (didnt have a sim to check it) and descibed as faulty with no returns
that he would return if it was faulty??!!
I asked why bid if you want it to be perfect
He said it wouldnt matter as ebay would just refund him anyway as he had done this before!
I think ebay dont care as they are just getting the fees and dont care about anything else

:eek: some people have a nerve!