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No option to respond when returning “Doesn’t work/defective” – impact on seller account?
Summary: compliancer discusses a return case where a buyer claimed a purchased air conditioner was defective. compliancer highlights discrepancies between the buyer's defect claims and the video evidence provided, and questions eBay’s process, particularly on how to submit evidence and its impact on seller ratings. Despite accepting the return, they report the item returned in worse condition and describe interactions with the buyer, including a demand for a direct refund to a bank account. melina@ebay suggests contacting eBay's customer service for appeal and documentation submission.
Hello everyone,
I currently have a return case in which the buyer stated the return reason as “Doesn’t work / defective.”
The problem is that, from my perspective, the buyer’s description of the fault does not match in essential points with the video he submitted himself as proof.
The buyer initially claimed that the displayed room temperature of the air conditioner drops very quickly to 0 °C and that the unit then switches itself off. As a possible cause, based on an AI diagnosis, he mentioned a refrigerant shortage.
I then expressly asked the buyer to document exactly this process he described in one continuous video. The buyer then recorded a video and submitted it as proof of the alleged defect.
However, this very video does not show “0 °C” at the end, but clearly “Lo.”
According to the operating instructions for the De'Longhi PAC N80.1, page 13, “Lo” means “Low Temperature.” So this is not a temperature reading of 0 °C. The description in the return request does not match the submitted video in this important point.
Nor is the complete automatic switching off of the unit claimed by the buyer clearly and consistently documented in the video, in my opinion.
In addition, during the recording the external temperature sensor was positioned directly in the area of the air inlet or near the heat exchanger and not freely in the unaffected room air.
So far, the buyer has also never claimed or proven through any corresponding measurement that the air conditioner does not cool. The assumption of a “refrigerant shortage” is, according to his own statement, based on an AI diagnosis.
I still want to accept the return so that I can inspect the unit myself after receiving it. However, I expressly do not want this to be understood as acknowledging that the defect claimed by the buyer actually exists.
This is exactly where my problem with the eBay returns process lies:
On the “How would you like to proceed?” page, I am only shown the options “Accept return” and “Offer full or partial refund.” Within this return case, I cannot find any way to submit a statement or provide my evidence to eBay.
So my questions are:
Is there anywhere in the return case for the seller to submit a statement or evidence?
If I select “Accept return,” is this treated by eBay only as acceptance of the return shipment, or at the same time as acceptance of the return reason given by the buyer, “Doesn’t work / defective”?
Can such a case have an impact on my seller status, my service statistics, or other metrics of my seller account, even though I expressly disagree with the stated return reason?
If the unit works perfectly after being returned and my inspection does not confirm the buyer’s description of the fault, how can I document this to eBay and prevent a possible negative impact on my seller account?
I have already reported the buyer through the eBay function provided for possible misuse of the return process.
My goal is not to prevent the return. I want to get the unit back and inspect it. I only want to make sure that accepting the return is not automatically treated as confirmation of a defect I dispute, and that my statement and evidence can also be documented.
Operating instructions for the De'Longhi PAC N80.1:
https://www.schede-tecniche.it/manuali-uso-condizionatori/Manuale-uso-condizionatore-portatile-Pinguino-De-Longhi-PAC-N80.pdf
Screenshot of the relevant “Lo” display:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OiM1mmqDwgSWvPJhHVfMcCpv4S8MpNtM/view?usp=drive_link
Video submitted by the buyer as proof:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Z6qq7RWIXWTlnJhjaH_udwo5QUj3jHOa/view?usp=drive_link
Thanks for any advice, especially from sellers who have already had a similar case.
compliancer
OP1 week ago · EditedQuick update:
eBay has now rejected my request to remove the negative feedback. The reason given was only that the buyer considers the item significantly not as described.
However, my actual objection was not addressed: before leaving the feedback, the buyer had explicitly announced that they would give me negative feedback if I didn’t transfer the refund directly to the bank account they named.
They then actually left that negative feedback.
According to eBay’s feedback policy, feedback can be removed if it is used as a means of extortion or manipulation. That is exactly the point I don’t see as having been reviewed in the previous decision. @perfect-sally @melina@ebay
voli-maus
Mentor3 weeks agoHello @compliancer , if a customer makes a complaint, you take back the item and send a return label to the customer.
compliancer
OP3 weeks agoThank you. I understand that I need to accept the return and provide a return label, and I am prepared to do so.
My question is not whether I should accept the return. My concern is what happens to the stated reason “Funktioniert nicht/defekt” in my seller record when I dispute that reason.
eBay currently gives me no option within the return case to submit a statement or evidence before accepting the return.
Does accepting the return simply mean that I accept the return procedure, or does eBay also treat it as acceptance of the buyer’s claim that the item was defective?
And if I receive the unit back and can document that it functions correctly, how can I have this recorded by eBay and prevent an unjustified “defective” return from affecting my seller metrics?
voli-maus
Mentor2 weeks agoThere is no way to submit a statement on ebay, @compliancer .
If the returned device should be in order, then contact ebay customer service or get back here again.
compliancer
OP1 week agoThanks very much for the feedback.
In the meantime, the device has come back to me. The situation has changed significantly.
The returned device is no longer in the same functional condition as it was before the return.
By now I have four videos:
A video from before the original shipment, showing the air conditioner working normally.
The video submitted by the buyer themselves before the return. It shows, and you can also hear, that the device is still working and that the compressor or air conditioner is making normal operating noises.
A video I recorded directly when I picked it up at the post office branch. It shows that the return was already significantly damaged when it was handed over. The box was badly damaged, partially torn open, and extensively repackaged with tape by Deutsche Post/DHL. The tape bears the note “Repacked/Neu verpackt”.
Another video documents the unpacking as well as the current condition of the device. After the return, the air conditioner can still be switched on, the indicator lights respond or flash, but the device no longer works at all. There are no normal operating noises anymore. In addition, there are scratches on the housing that were not there before shipping.
This means there is now a clearly different and worse condition than both before my original shipment and even in the video recorded by the buyer themselves before the return.
I will probably upload the four videos to a suitable storage location tomorrow and add the links here.
My current problem is this:
In the return process, I still see no option like “Report a problem,” no option to respond, and no option to upload evidence. Basically, I am only being offered the refund.
That is why I do not want to issue a full refund too hastily as long as it has not been clarified how the significantly worsened condition of the returned item and the damaged return repackaged by Deutsche Post/DHL will be taken into account with eBay.
If anyone has already had a case like this, it would be especially important for me to know how I should proceed now, concretely, before I trigger a refund.
voli-maus
Mentor1 week agoIf you don't refund, ebay will do it for you, @compliancer .
Where can I find the WRB with you?
compliancer
OP1 week ago · EditedI am a private seller. The air conditioner was my personal property and was used by me normally until it was sold.
In the item description, I explicitly wrote:
“Private sale. No warranty, guarantee, or returns.”
The return was opened by the buyer under “Does not work/defective.”
As described above, the device has now come back and is now in a significantly worse working condition than before it was returned. The return package was also already significantly damaged when it was collected and had clearly been repackaged by Deutsche Post/DHL.
So my actual problem is no longer the question of whether I have to accept the return. I have already done that.
I would like to know how I should proceed correctly now if the returned item no longer arrived to me in the condition it was in before the return. @voli-maus
compliancer
OP1 week ago · EditedThank you very much. In the meantime, there has been another development.
The buyer is now explicitly asking me to transfer the refund directly to a bank account he has named, outside the ongoing eBay return process. At the same time, he is threatening to leave negative feedback if I do not do this, and says he wants to warn other buyers about me. I have documented the message and already reported it through eBay's reporting function.
I have also now reported this message from the buyer via the eBay function for possible abusive communication.
Along with the fact that the device came back in a much worse condition and that the package was already badly damaged at pickup and repackaged by Deutsche Post/DHL, I am now unsure how I should proceed correctly before issuing the refund. @voli-maus
perfect-sally
Mentor1 week agoIt's about time someone from ebay took care of this, this just can't be right.
@melina@ebay can you please step in and help here? Many thanks
melina@ebay
Mentor1 week agoHello @compliancer .
Thanks for the inquiry. I was happy to review the return for you. Since the item was demonstrably sent back, the refund will be processed via eBay to the buyer. You have the option to file an appeal through our customer service and report an incorrect return. The further review will then take place directly after your appeal. Thank you for your efforts so far.
@perfect-sally Thanks for the support.
Best regards
Melina