Does buyer protection expire after a case is opened if the buyer no longer responds?
Summary: A participant asks whether buyer protection expires if the case has been opened but the buyer no longer responds. There is no further substantive answer, as the replies from the other participants are not visible.
Hello everyone.
I sold an item and shipped it with GLS on 10/12/25.
The buyer was not there to receive it, and the package was then delivered to a parcel shop on 15/12/25.
It then sat there until 05/01/26 and was sent back.
The first delivery attempt to me was on 07/01/26 (since I wasn't there, it only arrived here on 08/01/26)
Only then did the buyer open a case saying he had not received the item and still wants it.
I replied and asked why he was only getting in touch after a month when the package was already on its way back. That was on 12/01/26, so 17 days ago.
No response from the buyer since then. I first thought about just sending the item again, but since I assume the package would just be sent back again and I'd have even higher costs, I decided not to.
I'd now like to close the case and refund the amount minus postage (due to default of acceptance and the buyer's fault). But that isn't possible with an open case, it's either everything or nothing...
Involving eBay is pointless, because otherwise the buyer gets the full amount back.
(Experience shows that the buyer is always right on eBay, even when they're wrong...)
Buyer protection only applies if you open a case within 30 days. He did that (albeit just barely).
But if neither the buyer nor the seller responds to the case now, will it eventually be closed automatically, or will it stay open for years?
And how long does buyer protection remain in effect?
And what I'd also like to know: what would you do in my place now?
raffke2012
·5 months agoHello,
the case is automatically closed after 21 days if no more activity takes place.
Buyer Protection lasts 30 days
However, based on the tracking number, you can see that the item was returned.
This means that it is very likely that the decision will be made in favor of the buyer if they reported an item not received.
If eBay makes the refund for you, then you will receive a defect entry.
I would refund it in full and put the buyer on my blocked bidder list.
https://www.ebay.de/bmgt/BuyerBlock?
directtechdeals
·5 months agoHi,
you shipped with trackable proof of shipment.
If the buyer opens a case, both parties can communicate with each other for 4 days and work out a solution without involving eBay.
If that doesn’t work, you can open a case with eBay for clarification at midnight after the 4th day, just like the buyer can too. You should explain your side of the story and eBay will check the shipment progress from A to Z. If they can understand just as you do that the buyer did not pick up the package from the parcel shop, then that is not your fault, since you did everything necessary for the buyer to receive their order. Normally, you get the decision in your favor in such cases and eBay closes the case in your favor, and the buyer has to agree with you on how and with what deductions they either get their money back or you resend the goods, on the condition that they pay the shipping costs to you again. But that only works outside of eBay now and no longer through this platform’s payment services.
My advice: open the case as soon as possible, and when the decision is made, have them send you a cancellation, deduct any costs you incurred such as return shipping to you, if any. That would be at your discretion, and you refund them the remaining amount.