For eBay sellers only. Protection from a negligent buyer. eBay Buyer Protection: An Overview

The eBay auction stands guard over the interests of buyers. The current Money Back Guarantee program will help you get your money back if the product is not delivered at all or it does not match the description made by the seller on the product card. And although we at LiteMF, for our part, also provide photography for incoming parcels and contents, and for checking the goods, nevertheless, you make the final decision on the quality and condition of the received items. So, let's figure out what to do if the product you bought did not reach our warehouse or you received something completely different from what you expected.

The product did not reach the warehouse

Such situations are extremely rare, but still. Once you've paid for an item on eBay, the US seller must ship the item and enter tracking information into the system. You can find this information in the "Purchase History" section of your account:

But, even having done this, no one can give a 100% guarantee that the parcel will reach our warehouse. And we also do not recommend thinking that the US National Postal Service - USPS - works better than Russian Post. Rather, even vice versa.

So, after sending the parcel, you start tracking its path, and at a certain stage it suddenly gets stuck at one of the shipping points. No movement for a week or two. As a result, the delivery time specified in the product card passes, but the parcel is still missing, it did not reach our warehouse. Your actions are as follows:

1. After 3 days and up to 30 days after the estimated delivery date, you can open a claim with the eBay Conflict Resolution Center:

Please note - you must specify the reason for the request, in our case it is: "I have not received my goods yet."

Naturally, immediately after the estimated delivery date of the goods, you should contact the seller for clarification. In 100% of cases, the fault and financial obligations to return money for undelivered goods lies with the seller, so you have nothing to worry about. If within 3 days the seller, nevertheless, does not make any contacts and does not take any actions related either to the return of money or to the sending of a similar product, you can, as already mentioned above, turn to eBay for help and open a case.

The item arrived at the warehouse damaged.

Although we very rarely encounter such a situation, nevertheless, it has a place to be. Even according to research by the independent American agency StellaService, every 10th parcel in the United States arrives damaged to the recipient. Perhaps this is hardly noticeable due to the colossal volume of internal mail exchange, but it is necessary to bear this in mind.

So, the package arrived at our warehouse damaged. According to the procedure in our warehouse, after registration and assignment of an incoming number, we send you two photographs of the packaging. If you see that it is damaged, then you can order additional photos of the contents. You can do this in the section in your personal account on our website. If you have clothes, shoes, and so on inside you, perhaps there is nothing to be afraid of. But if there is some kind of equipment, then you can additionally order a check of its functioning. And if it turns out that the goods are damaged, you again inform the seller - the responsibility for delivering the goods in proper condition lies entirely with him.

Since eBay is first and foremost a forum where you can directly connect buyers with sellers rather than an online store on your own, eBay struggles to maintain the same reputation for security and good customer service that lends itself to retail platforms. such as Amazon.

To address this issue, eBay has taken steps in recent years to impose some basic requirements on sellers with regards to return policies, but the Buyer Protection Program has become the centerpiece of their interpretation of customer confidence.

What is Buyer Protection

eBay Buyer Protection is a promise to buyers on the US eBay site (eBay.com) that eBay will intervene in disputes between buyers and sellers and make things right when they went wrong as buyers and the seller failed to act adequately to resolve spore.

Buyers who submit a successful application under the program typically:

Issued a refund from eBay directly for the full purchase price and shipping cost
Required to return an unsatisfactory item to the seller
Absolutely any further connection with the transaction or obligation to the seller

In rare cases, the buyer is not required to return the item to the seller, but it will be returned anyway.

After deciding in favor of the buyer, eBay takes responsibility for the refund from the seller, since the buyer is already made whole.

Goods and Buyers Eligible for Buyer Protection

Buyers may qualify for buyer protection if they:

Made a purchase on eBay
paid via eBay using the eBay checkout process (i.e. PayPal, Bill Me Later, direct credit card purchase via eBay checkout, or other approved payment method)
A purchase has been made that is not specifically excluded from protection
Purchase made within 45 days of claim

Have a good faith dispute with the seller

This last point catches many arguing, unsuspecting. Buyer Protection not"unconditional guarantee" or "no questions asked" money back policy.

To win a bid, eBay must believe that the buyer is fundamentally didn't get what i paid for. Some examples that may surprise buyers:

If you purchased a product, it was delivered in a timely manner, and it is practically the same as other products of the same make/model, eBay will not refund you simply because it turns out that you are very unhappy with the product.
Likewise, a product that is inexpensive and generally found to be of poor quality is unlikely to be returned, even if it breaks within the first 45 days you have.
Buying a purchased item is rarely refunded for breakage, even if it was originally a high quality item. eBay usually claims that previous use has resulted in normal wear and tear and that buyers knowingly risk buying used items that the item will break shortly after purchase.

Items that arrive very late, in a condition not as described, or with obvious damage or defects (whatever the cause) that were not disclosed in the listing are usually covered.

Protecting buyers who buy expensive equipment or cars

Because eBay now sells a lot of very high value items, including basic equipment and cars, it has put in place special buyer protections for these items. It is important to read the entire policy carefully because there are very specific and significant restrictions on the return policy. In general, however, the following protective measures are available:

Overview of Buyer Protection for Major Equipment:

For items purchased on or after September 1, 2016, your major equipment purchase is protected up to $100,000 or the equipment purchase price, whichever is less. For items purchased prior to September 1, 2016, your major equipment purchase is protected up to $50,000 or the hardware purchase cost, whichever is less. This program is free on all capital equipment transactions completed on the eBay Business site with a final price of at least $1,000.

Buyer Protection Overview for Motor Vehicles:

Vehicle Purchase Protection (VPP) provides protection, against certain fraud-related losses, up to the maximum amount of your purchase price (up to $100,000) to purchase a qualifying vehicle on ebay. com or through the eBay mobile app. The types of fraud that are commonly covered include:

refusal to deliver the vehicle,
undisclosed defects in the title and some undisclosed defects with the vehicle. VPP is automatically enabled at no additional cost when you complete your purchase of a qualifying vehicle on ebay. com or eBay for mobile applications.

How the buyer protection program works

To take advantage of the program, a buyer who believes they are eligible for a refund must:

Contact the seller first and try to resolve the issue without eBay interfering
Respond to eBay messages and action as needed.
Return item to seller if eBay requires this step
For this reason, there's more to protecting buyers than just knowing how to file a claim, it's also important to know how to convince eBay and win if you want to be sure you get a refund.

How buyer protection differs from credit card disputes

As a final step, buyers who cannot win eBay Buyer Protection may, in some cases, find that their issuer of issuers is willing to reclaim their purchase price through a credit card dispute. This is because credit card processors on a case-by-case basis have somewhat more attention, and credit card companies have a clear focus on the interests of buyers. The security policies offered by many credit card issuers usually default to "the customer is always right." On the other hand, credit card disputes usually take much longer to process and often require more communication from the operator to document the case as it comes up.

Recently a friend of mine asked me for help. Or rather, not even for help, but for advice on the operation of the buyer protection program on eBay.de.

The essence of the problem was the following. Having "stuffed" a little hand on purchases from eBay.com and made a dozen purchases there, the comrade was seized by the buying excitement and he decided to look for interesting lots on the German site eBay.de. As is often the case - absolutely not knowing the German language. As a result, by pressing buttons in the image and likeness of the American site, the comrade won some kind of auction ... Well, then he started having "problems". As it turned out after winning the auction, it was possible to pay for the lot only by bank transfer. Well, that's half the trouble. The comrade received the details from the seller and transferred the money. And after that, the seller disappeared ... Remembering the buyer protection program, the comrade decided to open a dispute on non-receipt ... But it wasn’t there! The dispute was closed half an hour after opening and not in favor of the buyer.

Therefore, I decided to write this short post and once again remind novice buyers about some of the features of shopping on the German eBay auction site.

I will omit the process of searching and selecting goods, it is generally standard. A little knowledge of German or an online translator will help you easily find what you are looking for. But suppose the required lot is found. Let's take a look at what you should pay attention to, in addition to the standard terms of sale, price, the possibility of delivery to your country and the cost of this delivery.

The first The point I would like to draw your attention to is that the German eBay Buyer Protection Program icon itself is different from what is on the American site. It would seem a trifle, but this "trifle" is worth paying attention to and you need to know about it.

Second moment - carefully read the contents of the listing and the description of its conditions. In addition to the price and delivery conditions, pay attention to two important points:

Payment method. It so happened that the American payment system PayPal has not really "taken root" in Germany and many German sellers do not use it to accept payment for their goods. As an alternative, the buyer is offered a bank transfer.
The item being sold is covered by the eBay Buyer Protection Program. eBay.de's Buyer Protection program is quite heavily tied to PayPal payments. Of course, the administration of the German site declares that they are ready to resolve disputes between buyers and sellers even in the case of payment and not through PayPal, but in practice such disputes usually end in favor of the seller, because. it is extremely difficult, and sometimes not at all possible, for the buyer to prove the fact of his payment.

Let's now look at examples of what I tried to describe above.

An example of a listing with the option to pay for a lot via PayPal:

As you can see (1), in the line Zahlungen (Payments) there is a payment method via PayPal. If we go directly to the Einzelheiten zur Bezahlung (Payment Information) section of the same listing, we can also see the option to pay via PayPal there. And this method is even preferable for the seller, although bank transfer (Überweisung) is also present in the payment methods.

Now let's see what the listings of items look like, transactions for which will not fall under the eBay buyer protection program. Example:

As you can see, there is no mention of either PayPal or the buyer protection program at all.

In the Einzelheiten zur Bezahlung (Payment Information) section, the information is as follows:

Those. This seller only accepts bank transfers as payment.

Of course, from the presented screenshot it is clear that the reputation of the seller inspires confidence, but nevertheless, in case of any problems with the parcel or with the received goods, all issues will have to be resolved only with the seller. If he wants to do it of course...

The practice of conducting disputes using the eBay Buyer Protection Program shows that the first thing that will be paid attention to is the fact of payment for the goods. In the case of payment via PayPal, the fact of payment is verified by eBay quite simply and quickly. But in the case of a bank transfer, everything is not so simple. Banks, due to their security policies, simply cannot provide third parties with information on your financial transactions. The maximum that you can have on hand as proof of payment is a bank statement. But the eBay administration may not accept this document as sufficient proof of payment. In fact, a bank transfer is your voluntary transfer of money to a second person. In addition, paying for goods in a way that is not included in the buyer protection program is already a reason to refuse to resolve your dispute.

UPD: Updated as of 2019. Minor changes are possible, but the principle of opening and the dates indicated are relevant.

General provisions

Dispute Handling Tips

General provisions

In the event that a buyer has a problem with an eBay auction transaction, they can take advantage of eBay's buyer protection. The eBay Money Back Guarantee program guarantees the buyer a money back in the following cases:

The ordered and paid goods have not been received;

The product received is different from the description.

The settlement of the problems that have arisen is carried out in the eBay Conflict Resolution Center, by opening a dispute (dispute). The dispute that has arisen can be resolved either simply through simple negotiations and agreements between the buyer and the seller, or with the involvement of the eBay administration, in case a compromise has not been found.

eBay Money Back Guarantee Program Terms

The Buyer Protection Program is valid if all of the following conditions are met:

Item not received or not as advertised.

Dispute opened no later than 30 days after the actual or latest estimated delivery date or, in the case of tickets, no later than 7 days after the event.

Purchase made using the "Pay now" option or using the same button on the eBay invoice received by email.

One of the following payment methods was used:

Credit or debit card

Bill Me Later

The item was paid for with a one-time payment (including payments through the "Bill Me Later" service.

Pay attention to the last paragraph of the conditions. If the goods were paid for in several payments, then such a transaction will not be protected by the program.

The eBay Money Back Guarantee program does not apply to the following cases:

The buyer changed his mind about receiving the goods for any reason

There is already a dispute on this transaction with the use of other methods of conflict resolution (for example, a dispute is opened in PayPal)

Purchase of websites

Purchase of real estate, vehicles, certain categories of industrial equipment

Purchase items from half.com, eBay Wholesale, or eBay Classifieds

Terms of opening disputes (disputes) on eBay

In the fall of 2013, eBay radically changed the time frame for opening disputes. If earlier the term for opening a dispute was 45 days from the date of payment for the goods, then from October 26, 2013, the term for opening a dispute is determined by the following method: Estimated delivery date on seller's listing + 30 days.(or actual delivery date + 30 days if delivery is tracked by eBay)

If the estimated delivery time is on the seller's listing

Minimum terms for opening a dispute: a dispute can be opened the next day after the latest estimated delivery date. In the example above, the product delivery time is defined as "Approximately between Thu 8 May and Fri 16 May". Those. the seller plans that the delivery of the goods will be made in this time interval. Thus, the earliest date for opening a dispute for non-receipt is May 17.

Maximum terms for opening a dispute: no later than 30 days from the latest date of the estimated delivery time. The latest date for the possibility of opening a dispute according to the above example is determined as May 16 + 30 days = June 15.

If the estimated delivery time is not listed on the seller's listing

If the estimated delivery date is not on the seller's listing, the estimated delivery date is 7 days from payment if the buyer and seller are in the same country, and 30 days if the buyer and seller are in different countries. Accordingly:

Minimum terms for opening a dispute: 8 days from the date of payment if the buyer and seller are in the same country and 31 days if the buyer and seller are in different countries.

Maximum terms for opening a dispute: 37 days from the date of payment if the buyer and seller are in the same country and 60 days if the buyer and seller are in different countries.

Terms of conducting a dispute and transferring it to a claim

After opening a dispute, the seller is given three days to resolve the problem with the buyer. After the expiration of this period, the buyer will have the opportunity to transfer the dispute into a claim.

If the problem is not resolved, the seller does not respond in an open dispute or refuses to comply with the requirements indicated by the buyer in the dispute, the dispute may be referred to the eBay administration, i.e. transferred to the claim category. The maximum possible time for an open dispute is 30 days. If during this time the buyer and the seller could not agree and the dispute was not transferred into a claim, then it will be closed automatically. Re-opening a dispute for the same product is impossible.

After the dispute is transferred to a claim, it is considered by the eBay administration, which makes its decision either in favor of the buyer or in favor of the seller (depending on the credibility of the evidence of the parties to the dispute). Terms of consideration of claims - are not regulated by the rules of eBay and may vary depending on the complexity of the issue under consideration.

In case of disagreement with the decision made on the dispute, within 45 days from the date the dispute was closed, any of the parties to the dispute may file an appeal by submitting the necessary documents to the eBay Conflict Resolution Center.

Dispute Handling Tips

The very first piece of advice I would like to write is to try to resolve the dispute as much as possible without resorting to a buyer protection program. Simply contact the seller, explain the essence of the problem and offer your solution. Many sellers meet buyers (if their requirements are justified) without any open disputes and return either the entire amount of the purchase (if the goods are not received) or compensate for a part of the amount (if the goods do not match the description). Therefore, before opening a dispute for any reason, contact the seller.

In addition, the frequent opening of disputes may be perceived by the eBay administration as an abuse of the buyer protection policy. In this case, eBay has the right to suspend Buyer Protection for your account.

When conducting correspondence in a dispute, be polite, do not use emotional expressions and any evaluative characteristics of the seller. Just write the facts, describe the situation as detailed as possible, attach evidence and offer your own solution to the issue. Very often, the outcome of a dispute (if it escalates to a claim) depends precisely on the content of the correspondence between the seller and the buyer, the extent and validity of the requirements.

Never, under any circumstances, threaten the seller with negative feedback (feedback). This is prohibited by the rules of eBay, can be regarded as blackmail, and, as a rule, entails the closure of the dispute in favor of the seller.

Dispute over non-receipt of goods

If you have not received the goods within the prescribed period, you can open a dispute for this reason. The requirement in such disputes in most cases is one - a full refund. A full refund implies a refund of the cost of the purchased goods plus the cost of shipping the goods to the buyer. If the seller and the buyer come to an agreement in such a dispute and the seller makes a refund, then the dispute will be closed automatically.

The main advice in opening disputes for non-receipt of goods is not to open such a dispute too early. Sellers cannot control the postal services and guarantee exactly the estimated delivery dates that they indicated in their listings. If you opened a dispute too early, and the seller in the dispute provides evidence of the shipment of the goods, then it is likely that the dispute can be closed in favor of the seller. If the dispute is opened closer to the end of the possible opening period and the buyer has evidence of non-receipt of the goods (for example, the track number is not tracked), then even the evidence provided by the seller about sending the goods will no longer play a significant role in deciding on such a dispute . In most cases, such a dispute will be closed in favor of the buyer.

Also, a dispute on non-receipt can be opened as a safety net for delivery times. If you see that the period of 30 days from the date of the estimated delivery time is coming to an end, the goods are still on the way and you intend to wait for it, you can open a dispute. In this case, it is possible to calmly wait another 28-29 days and only then, if the goods have not been received, transfer the dispute into a claim.

If a dispute is open regarding non-receipt of the goods, and the seller offers to resend the goods instead of a full refund, then it is not very advisable to agree with such an offer, because. in this case, you will most likely be asked to close the dispute. It will not be possible to open a dispute on this product for the second time, and there will be no guarantees of receiving the goods upon re-sending. Therefore, in such cases, it is better to insist on a refund, and only then, if the goods are still needed, you can simply place a new order, which, accordingly, will already have new guarantees for delivery times and the timing of opening a dispute.

Since disputes over "non-receipt" can have only one requirement - a full refund, then, accordingly, there are only two options for resolving such a dispute: either the seller (or the eBay administration) agrees with your requirements and you receive a refund, or your evidence do not look too convincing, you will be denied a refund and the dispute will be closed in favor of the seller.

If the dispute is closed in your favor, then the refund will be made through PayPal. If the buyer does not have a PayPal account, they will be asked to open an account using their eBay registered email address in order to receive a refund.

In rare cases where it is not possible to transfer a refund to a PayPal account, eBay may provide a refund in the form of a coupon that is valid for purchases on eBay.

If the dispute is already open due to non-receipt of the product, and the product itself is received, but differs from what is stated in the description, you can change the reason for the open dispute from "non-receipt" to "non-conformity of the product".

If during an open dispute you received the goods and you are quite satisfied with it, then you can close the open dispute or claim yourself.

Dispute over non-conformity of the goods with the description

A dispute on non-compliance of the goods with the description can be opened in case of receipt of an obviously different product that was paid for, a product with defects or defects (if they were not specified in advance in the description of the goods), counterfeit goods (fake), discrepancy between the amount of paid and received goods, discrepancy between the paid delivery method and the actual one.

In this case, the buyer has the right to present to the seller both the requirements for a full refund and the requirements for a partial refund. Naturally, any requirements must be supported by evidence of non-compliance. Therefore, in the event of opening a dispute "due to non-compliance", the buyer must prepare all possible evidence - a photo, a video filming of the receipt and opening of the parcel, a photo or video of the presence of a defect in the goods or evidence that the goods are counterfeit, postal acts confirming the damage or absence of goods in the parcel and etc. The more evidence there is, the more likely it is to win such an argument. All collected evidence must be attached to the dispute.

In the event that in a dispute over "non-compliance" the buyer wants a full refund, then, as a rule, such a requirement can only be satisfied if the goods are returned to the seller. Please note that in most cases this return is at the buyer's expense, unless the seller's listing specifies other return conditions.

If the buyer decides to return the goods through the dispute procedure, then the goods must be sent only to the address indicated by the seller in the dispute messages. Shipment to an address that the seller may attempt to communicate to the buyer by any other means will not be evidence to the eBay administration that the buyer actually shipped the item. After sending the goods back, it is necessary to indicate the tracking number of the return shipment in the dispute messages. Items with a total value of $750 or more require proof of return delivery signed by the recipient.

An exception to the general rule for returning goods when demanding a full refund can only be a dispute in case of receiving counterfeit products (fake). In this case, eBay may issue a full refund provided that the buyer agrees to dispose of (destroy) the counterfeit item.

If the buyer only expects a refund of a part of the amount paid by him earlier, and the seller agrees with this requirement, then it is not necessary to return the goods back.

If the buyer and seller do not reach an agreement in the dispute, either party to the dispute may turn the dispute into a claim. Further decision on the dispute will be made by the eBay administration.

Differences in eBay and PayPal Buyer Protection Programs

Buyers who shop on eBay and pay with PayPal can take advantage of any of these programs to secure their purchases. But often the question arises - which of the two programs to choose? At the moment, with the start of full-fledged work of eBay and PayPal in Russia, it is no longer possible to give an unambiguous recommendation on the place to open a dispute. Everything will depend on the individual characteristics of the problem.

According to general practice and experience in opening disputes, one can only recommend opening disputes on "non-compliance" on eBay, because these types of disputes usually involve either proving that the description does not match (and the eBay item description is available) or returning items, which is time consuming. And the time frame for conducting a dispute on eBay is just longer than in PayPal.

In any case, you should determine the main differences between the eBay and PayPal buyer protection programs that the buyer can use based on the problem:

1) Terms of a possible opening of a dispute: in PayPal the maximum period is 180 days from the date of payment, on eBay, in most cases, the maximum period can be 60 or more days. Thus, the PayPal Buyer Protection Program gives you more opportunity to wait for the purchased item and at the same time is protected by the program.

2) Dispute time limits: PayPal has a maximum dispute time limit of 20 days, eBay is 30 days. As in the first case, the buyer's protection time increases. This is especially true when returning goods.

3) The eBay Buyer Protection Program covers both PayPal payments and payments made from alternative sources such as bank cards. The PayPal Protection Program only covers payments within the payment system.

Good afternoon, dear subscribers and guests of the site!

Today to all registered users eBay sent a message about the change in eBay Buyer Protection Program. This message contained two news, one of neutral content, and the other very good, especially for residents of Russia and the CIS.

Name eBay Buyer Protection Programs changed, now it's called eBay Money Back Guarantee. Only the name has changed, the essence of the program remains the same: in case of problems with the paid goods, you need to contact Resolution Center to solve the problem and if the problem is not resolved, the money for the goods and shipping will be returned. In a word, this change is neither warm nor cold, which is why I called this news neutral, although in the official message it is called good, perhaps))))

Increased the time for opening a dispute on eBay

Well, now for some very good news. Maximum term under the “new” program eBay Money Back Guarantees increases for most. It is now calculated from the latest expected delivery date for your item plus 30 days. This means that the extended period for opening a dispute can be up to 90 days from the date of payment for the goods, against 45 days that were given earlier for opening a dispute. Not bad! What does this mean for the buyer? And what are the potential difficulties?

Since the maximum allowable delivery time for goods from eBay is 60 days, then as it was correctly reported in the letter, the maximum period for opening a dispute is as much as 90 days! This is a very correct move to protect buyers from countries where mail is not very fast, such as in Russia.

Suppose a package with a paid product goes for a very long time during this time, the buyer calmly waits for it, without wasting the seller's nerve cells and his own, too. At the end of this long period, the buyer calmly opens a dispute due to the fact that the goods have not been received, and receives a refund under the program eBay money back guarantees.

On the other hand, various frauds will begin on the part of cunning and not very efficient sellers, for example, for untraceable shipments, the maximum delivery time will be maximized to 45-60 days. The seller now does not need to rush to send the goods as soon as possible so that the postmen have time to deliver the goods within 45 days, now the client can wait another 30!!! days to open a dispute. In a word, the seller may not be in a hurry, especially if he does not provide a track number. What is easier to mark the goods as shipped one day after payment and you can continue to develop your business further, and the client will wait.

Another contradiction that arises in connection with the introduction of new terms for opening a dispute is “premature”. If earlier, with delays in receiving the goods, there was first a dispute, and then, based on the results of the dispute, an exchange of reviews. Now it is not clear how the seller will behave in a dispute over a problematic product with a long delivery. Apparently, buyers who are not satisfied with the delays in the delivery of paid goods will not leave the most flattering reviews to the sellers, and they, in turn, will delay the return of the dispute.

But still, now sellers have fewer arguments for intoxicating the heads of buyers. After all, earlier some of them specifically indicated delivery times with a large margin, inexperienced buyers, relying on a long delivery time, did not open a dispute.

With the change in the maximum period for opening a dispute, my opinion does not change:

“The dispute must be opened on the 45th day, as early as possible, a little later, but no more than 30 days after the delivery deadline. It all depends on the circumstances and behavior of the seller.”

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