I would rather call it a seller protection.
I ordered an item, it was totally broken when I received it. I ask for a refund, and was asked to return the item first. The return postage label they sent me wasn't valid in my country, so I had to pay the P&P myself. Seller just ignored my comments.
I returned the item and after that, nothing happened. I couldnt mark the item as returned, because I had to select the carrier from an empty list. Seller just said they didnt receive my package, and ebay closed the case
Is this the way they protect the buyers?