Q:
1) When a buyer pays using money order or personal check and the buyer doesn't receive the described item, will eBay refund the buyer's payment? If yes, how will the buyer be refunded... paper check?
2) Same question for when the buyer used one of the other (Moneybookers, Paymate, ProPay, merchant account) electronic payment methods... how will the buyer be refunded.
3) How will eBay recover funds from the seller if the buyer paid using money order, personal check, Moneybookers, Paymate, ProPay or the seller's merchant account?

A:
If the buyer uses a payment method other than PayPal--any accepted method--and the transaction wound up getting refunded, they would receive an eBay coupon. (Buyers who paid via PayPal would get a refund direct to their PayPal account.)

Regarding recovery of funds, we're currently evaluating various methods of working with sellers on this process. We'll have more details shortly.


Q:
What if the item is still in transit when the buyer contacts us? USPS does not offer guaranteed delivery dates on any service but Express. All of their time frames are AVERAGE delivery time frames. For services like Media mail and Parcel Post, those delivery time frames are unrealistic AND do not emphasize that those services may received deferred service. Media mail routinely takes MUCH longer than 2-9 business days--especially during the holidays. A 3 day delivery 'cushion' is not enough. Especially when the current calculation does not factor in BUSINESS days. eBay's primary competitor adds a WEEK to delivery estimates. That seems far more reasonable. And to have a seller's search standing, discounts, Seller Performance score destroyed by the performance of the postal service is beyond comprehension.

A:
In reviewing not-received claims escalated by buyers, we will take into account the shipping method used by the seller...we understand that some methods (Media Mail among them, as you note) have some variability to them. So the three-day delivery "cushion" is a rule of thumb that we will adjust based on shipping method.
Our intent with this new resolution system is not to reset the thresholds used to evaluate seller performance. In fact, moving to the new system will give eBay customer support agents more latitude to find not-received claims in the sellers favor--as long as the shipping method and a reasonable shipping/handling time estimate are in the listing.


Q:
On my listings, USPS media mail is shown as 2-9 business days. 3 weeks is far more accurate. That being said, I have in bold, red letters that USPS media mail can take up to 15 business days for delivery. Only the USPS provided "estimate" is available for view in My eBay Order Details etc. Will the resolution staff check the contents of the listing description or will they merely be going by what that tracking information says?

A: The data we use for the auto-generated handling time comes from USPS, and we use it as an overall framework for figuring out whether an item is late or not. However: We know that it's an imperfect estimate and Media Mail can take particularly long. So the tracking info is the principal method, but in our reviews we still use judgment. Your extra note to your buyers that media mail can take a while is a good idea for setting buyer expectations too.

Q:
1. Will all emails in the dispute and any information given to a customer rep be given to the seller? If a customer claims it is SNAD, will the seller be told what the buyer is saying?

2. When will the refund be given? I will allow a return, but we do not refund until we have the return.

3. Most of the time I pay for return postage (If it was a mistake on our part) If the buyer goes straight to eBay for the refund; and they will, how do I offer the return postage? You know they will give less than good feedback if they have to pay for a return.

4. If our return is for an unopened product and a buyer returns an opened product how do I prove this to eBay. All our products are new, never opened. If a buyer breaks the seal and tries the product we can no longer sell it. So are we protected from buyer’s remorse? Will the buyer be required to send eBay a picture of the item in dispute?

5. Our biggest problem is when USPS gives the package to the people next door or holds it at the post office and forgets to inform the buyer where it is. In these cases delivery confirmation shows it as delivered. Are the sellers protected in this case? Will eBay tell the buyer where to look for missing packages? 99% of the time they are found when we have the buyer ask the mailman where it is. Will eBay be willing to spend the time with the buyer to help them find the package? Or will you just jump the gun and refund?

6. What will the policy be for international orders? I have had customs hold an order for over a month.


A:
The new eBay resolution system is intended to be a next step only for when buyers and sellers can't reach an amicable outcome themselves. If a buyer hasn't yet spoken with a seller, we'll encourage that buyer to go back and try to work it out. So sellers should have a good idea already of what buyers are looking for in advance of any contact from eBay customer support. In any case, we will provide sellers with full info on what the buyer is looking for, so that a seller can state his or her case in response.

Re. refunds: For item not as described claims, they will be given only after the buyer returns the item to the seller. For item not received claims, we'd refund the buyer only after an appropriate period of time (and if the seller hasn't refunded the buyer). See the resolution FAQ for details if interested.

Re. return postage: We expect that we will follow PayPal’s current practices. PayPal may require buyers to return items to sellers with proof of delivery, with the buyer paying return shipping expenses.

As for returns on unopened products: This may be grounds for seller appeal; based on the details of the transaction we may refund the seller. Buyer remorse is not an allowable reason for a buyer to file a not as described claim, and we will require evidence from buyers to prove that the item was indeed not as originally described in the listing.

Re. items delivered next door: Ideally this is something that emerges during buyer/seller communications in advance of eBay getting involved, and eBay customer support agents will check for this instance as well. For items over $250, we will follow current PayPal practice of requiring a signature.

As for cross-border orders: We will evaluate these on a case-by-case basis depending on the details of the transaction. We understand that these take longer and won't hold them to the same standards as domestic transactions.



Q:
Will eBay force buyers to abide by the documented return polices a seller places in their listing, particularly when a brand new item is defective out of the box or fails a week or two later?

A:
Here's how the process is set up:
* Sellers maintain their own return policies, and eBay doesn't get involved (apart from we will require return policy to be stated on new listings starting in June--and one option is returns not accepted).
* We always will have an item not as described return flow for buyers, in the event there truly is a problem.

The new resolution process is set up to strongly encourage buyers to work things out with sellers first. It sounds like you're willing to accept returns--and provide a replacement--if an item shows up defective. The process isn't set up to enforce this though--if the buyer claims not as described, the item was indeed broken, and the buyer wants a refund, then we would refund the buyer.



Q:
eBay cut 10% of its staff in late 2008. Are they planning to hire more to deal with the additional work load of dealing with every dispute in a hands-on fashion? To be honest, this sounds like a tremendous amount of work, far more than the PayPal CSRs are tasked with. I am concerned that this will not go smoothly unless eBay has considerably increased their CSR staffing and training.

A:
The new resolutions system is a priority for us and we are staffing it accordingly. We're using experienced agents in our US and Canada service centers to handle the volume.


Q:
As a seller who frequently ships high dollar items to Canada, Europe, Israel and Australia, I know that shipping companies in many of these countries generally have no process for a Buyer to sign as proof of delivery. Does this mean I am totally at risk if a Buyer in these countries denies having received their item, even if USPS or UPS tracking shows it was delivered if the item is over $250?

A:
Cross-border selling can be complicated, as you know. In the new eBay resolution process we will be following PayPal's current practice in reviewing not-received claims...proof of delivery info is the only acceptable evidence for sellers to appeal claims (and signatures are required above $250). Unfortunately, shipping methods or countries without proof of delivery aren't included. eBay agents do have latitude to add a reasonable amount of additional time to cross-border claims before deciding that the item qualifies as not-received, but the ultimate evidence is still proof of delivery.

For cross-border trade, the best thing sellers can do is provide information in their listings alerting buyers that shipping can take longer. Also, it's a good idea to specify up front who will be responsible (buyer or seller) for customs duties, taxes and the like.