Purchase price refunded despite delivery in progress – buyer now has the goods AND €171.80
Summary: lokdiscount_de describes a problem case involving an international shipment to Chile, where the buyer received a refund despite the package still being in transit and successfully delivered. Although lokdiscount_de filed an appeal and provided proof of delivery, the case was decided against them. Other discussion participants, including lidor3073, point to similar cases and try to escalate the issue in the eBay forum. samantha@ebay says that the issue is being handled by colleagues in the US and refers to different policies. lokdiscount_de plans to post an update as soon as there is news.
Hello everyone,
I’d like to share a current case here. Maybe someone has already had a similar case and can report how it was resolved.
It’s about an international shipment to Chile and a goods value or refund of €171.80.
The shipment had been sent properly and was still in transit. However, there was no visible update in tracking between 19/07 and 11/08. For a shipment to South America, a longer transit time is not exactly unusual.
I had already initiated an inquiry with DHL at that point, but had not yet received a final response from DHL.
The buyer contacted me because the tracking status had not changed and at the same time opened a case with eBay on 03/08/2026.
Case number: 5384250405
Order number: 10-14863-32990
I once again entered the tracking number in the case and updated the shipping information.
Nevertheless, the case was decided against me and the buyer was refunded the full €171.80 – even though the shipment was by no means considered lost, but was still in transit.
And that can be clearly verified from the later tracking updates:
- 11/08: further processing/customs clearance
- 13/08: import customs clearance
- 17/08: delivery center
- 18/08: successfully delivered to the recipient
I had already called eBay on 13/08 and explicitly pointed out that the shipment was demonstrably still in delivery. I then filed an appeal against the decision.
That appeal was also rejected.
On the phone, I was also told to get in touch again once the shipment had been delivered.
That’s exactly what I did. After successful delivery on 18/08, I contacted eBay again. I was told that they would now write to the buyer.
Today is 21/08. As far as I know, nothing has happened so far.
I also contacted the buyer, of course. Since then: no response whatsoever.
So the current result is:
The buyer has the item.
The buyer also has the full refund of €171.80.
I have neither the item nor the money.
An international shipment can be delayed. That’s exactly why there is tracking and an inquiry process with the shipping carrier. Why is a case finally decided against the seller and the money refunded even though the shipment is still on the way and I even explicitly pointed that out?
What I find especially incomprehensible is that even my appeal was rejected, although the tracking later clearly showed that the shipment was still being processed – and is now even verifiably delivered.
How am I supposed to respond as a commercial seller in a case like this? I can neither influence the speed of Chilean customs clearance nor simply retrieve a shipment that has already been sent internationally.
Has anyone here ever had a comparable case where eBay refunded the buyer because the shipping time supposedly took too long and the shipment was then delivered after all?
What I’d especially like to know is what happens now?
Because the current situation – goods with the buyer, purchase price also with the buyer, and the seller left to bear the full loss – can hardly be the final solution.
Best regards,
Max
lokdiscount_de
OP3 weeks ago@samantha@ebay @perfect-sally @lidor3073 Thanks a lot for your replies! All clear, I’ll give an update in a few days on whether anything has changed yet. Best regards
lidor3073
·3 weeks ago@lokdiscount_de
Please let me know whether you were successful with the US staff. Thanks! I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you! 👍
samantha@ebay
·3 weeks agoHello @lokdiscount_de
The colleagues in the US are responsible here, and we can’t process this due to different guidelines.
As far as I can see, the colleagues want to message the buyer so that you can find a solution together.
Thanks for the tag @perfect-sally
Best regards
Samantha
lidor3073
·3 weeks agoHere is a similar case that has also not been seen yet. @perfect-sally please take another look there. I can’t comment there.
https://community.ebay.de/forum/mitglieder-helfen-mitgliedern-16/topic/ebay-erstattet-k%C3%A4ufer-obwohl-artikel-zugestellt-wurde-einspruch-zun%C3%A4chst-gewonnen-danach-wieder-aufgehoben-12306/
perfect-sally
·3 weeks agoI think that ebay.de can't really do much about that, but I tagged Samantha.
lidor3073
·3 weeks agoThanks.
I think it's unfair that such crap happens despite proof of delivery.
lidor3073
·3 weeks agoApparently the post hasn’t been seen yet.
@perfect-sally @meinehexe11 @voli-maus could you please invite an eBay moderator? Thank you very much.
perfect-sally
·3 weeks ago@samantha@ebay is here and can take a look at it. Thanks Samantha 🤗