What impact is this new forced opening of disputes going to have on buyers?

wibblewibble

I've been buying on ebay pretty much from the start, in all that time my experiences have been primarily positive, just the odd problem here and there which have usually been sorted by emailing the seller. I've very rarely had to open a dispute, and have only ever left 1 negative feedback in all these years.

However, in the past week I have been forced to open 2 disputes for items not as described which I would have previously tried to resolved by contacting the seller rather than going straight to a dispute.

Both instances were for items of clothing, the first was described as BNWT and "excellent unworn condition" - when it arrived it had 2 holes in it, both would have been visible even if repaired. Returning it would have left me out of pocket by more than the price of the original item (minus postage). Seller agreed to refund me but when she tried to do so told me she could only do it after I marked the case "satisfied". I wouldn't normally do so but as I would have been out of pocket returning the item and not having left feedback I took a chance and closed the case. Seller was as good as her word and refunded me immediately, so I left her positive feedback & stars.

Today I received a top I bought from a different seller in place of the one that was faulty - this one had been listed with 2 different sizes, one size in the title and main listing and a smaller size in the item description. So before bidding I emailed the seller to specifically check what the size of the top was, and they confirmed it as the larger size. Had they said the smaller size I would never have bid, item arrived this morning clearly labeled with the smaller size! Once again to "contact" the seller I've had no choice but to open a "not as described" dispute, and if seller insists on a return I'll be out of pocket by about £3.70 even though I did absolutely everything I could to check the details were correct before I even bid! Seller has 874 100% positive feedback and 5 stars across the board.

This though now makes 2 not as described disputes I have been forced to open in less than a week! Thats just ridiculous.

I'm now starting to hesitate to bid on anything for a while as I have no idea what the implications of me having opened 2 disputes for similar reasons in such a short space of time will have on my account, and what if the next item I buy is also not as described? I would have thought until now that the chances of that were quite unlikely but 2 in a week?

Does anyone know yet what the implications are for buyers of this new system?

ballisticbrian

They are not disputes as such as they will not harm the sellers reputation or seller ranking. Only after you escalate after 7 days to eBay does it become a problem for the seller. However eBay are able to keep better tabs on things through the new case system for buyers and sellers alike.

campdave

The seller could have asked you to return the item before the changes, so I'm not sure how that's relevant.

wibblewibble

campdave wrote: »

The seller could have asked you to return the item before the changes, so I'm not sure how that's relevant.

Its relevant only so far as its another little irritation - obviously even before this new dispute process the return thing was in place and thats one of the risks of buying on ebay and as I said not something that has really affected me up to now.

But to have been as careful in choosing the seller & items to bid on as I was for both and then to have both of them SNAD one after another with the potential for the financial loss on top just makes it that bit more annoying I suppose.

ballisticbrian

I'm taking something back to a high street shop this week, but I wont ask them for the car park ticket or my petrol. Its part and parcel so to speak.

soolin

It is quite possible to contact a seller without opening a case merely by choosing the option 'other', I did it myself last week as in my case it was inapproriate to go straight to a case when there was obviously an issue beyond sellers control.

marking_bad

It means more buyers going on block lists.

nightsong

I agree with the OP, it's likely to put people off bidding in my view. Rather than just having a quiet word with the seller if something isn't right, it's now all very formal and seems to boil down to - do you want a refund or not? Often it's not that simple.

Then you have an open case, which is also intimidating, especially for less experienced buyers.

Useful info from soolin (as ever), thank you. Actually I'm just off to try that as I want to discuss something with a seller.

Edit - yes that works a treat, thanks!