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This is a caveat for those who are occasional sellers of parts on ebay or that haven't sold something in the past couple of years on ebay.
Since 2020, ebay has slowly changed policies and made it a lot more risky to be a seller of old parts.
Used parts used to be treated differently -- in a manner similar to how vehicle sales are treated differently. In essence, if you marked "used" for the description you were pretty well protected as the seller. However, this is all different now and used parts ARE subject to the money back guarantee offered buyers by ebay. In some cases, even if you mark "for parts only/incomplete" - it is still subject to the money back guarantee. Even if you mark "no returns accepted" the buyer can force a return by simply stating "not as described."
As a seller, you do not have the option to decline the return. You are given two options: agree to the return or agree to a partial refund. If you want to "dispute" the return - you have no choice but to start a formal claim. While this would seem straight forward, the changes to Ebay policy make it challenging as a seller to prove your case. Ebay policies are written to protect buyers.
I've had two different claims recently.
In the first case, I shipped a set of used saddle bags with spare lenses for the bag lights. In transit, one lens was broken. The buyer would not help me with UPS to activate the shipping insurance. They wanted cash to make up for it, period. They acknowledged I sent the lenses, but wanted to invoke the money back guarantee. I called ebay - and they told me flat out they'd likely side with the buyer because the item was damaged in transit. They suggested I offer a partial refund. So I did . . .and believe it or not; the person settled for a $20 refund.
The most recent issue was from someone who bought a fuel tank. The buyer changed their mind and started a return claim about the tank "not being as described" before the tank even arrived. They then decided they did want the tank, sent me a note saying the item was as described . . . and three days later restarted the return claim stating the item was not as described. This time a phone call to ebay was very helpful and the return rejected.
However, as I learned, had the buyer not sent the type of messages they did -- I would have been stuck with the return even though the item was as described, marked used, and marked no returns accepted. If i refused, ebay would just take the money from my seller account and let the buyer keep the item!
Ebay is actively pushing these guarantees and both of my buyers pointed out they only bought the used parts because of ebay's money back guarantee.
Think carefully if ebay is still worth it to you and if you can afford to get pinched by flaky buyers taking advantage of money back guarantees.
For me; I'm closing up my ebay shop after 24 years.
I'd rather sell face to face at an AMCA meet!
Since 2020, ebay has slowly changed policies and made it a lot more risky to be a seller of old parts.
Used parts used to be treated differently -- in a manner similar to how vehicle sales are treated differently. In essence, if you marked "used" for the description you were pretty well protected as the seller. However, this is all different now and used parts ARE subject to the money back guarantee offered buyers by ebay. In some cases, even if you mark "for parts only/incomplete" - it is still subject to the money back guarantee. Even if you mark "no returns accepted" the buyer can force a return by simply stating "not as described."
As a seller, you do not have the option to decline the return. You are given two options: agree to the return or agree to a partial refund. If you want to "dispute" the return - you have no choice but to start a formal claim. While this would seem straight forward, the changes to Ebay policy make it challenging as a seller to prove your case. Ebay policies are written to protect buyers.
I've had two different claims recently.
In the first case, I shipped a set of used saddle bags with spare lenses for the bag lights. In transit, one lens was broken. The buyer would not help me with UPS to activate the shipping insurance. They wanted cash to make up for it, period. They acknowledged I sent the lenses, but wanted to invoke the money back guarantee. I called ebay - and they told me flat out they'd likely side with the buyer because the item was damaged in transit. They suggested I offer a partial refund. So I did . . .and believe it or not; the person settled for a $20 refund.
The most recent issue was from someone who bought a fuel tank. The buyer changed their mind and started a return claim about the tank "not being as described" before the tank even arrived. They then decided they did want the tank, sent me a note saying the item was as described . . . and three days later restarted the return claim stating the item was not as described. This time a phone call to ebay was very helpful and the return rejected.
However, as I learned, had the buyer not sent the type of messages they did -- I would have been stuck with the return even though the item was as described, marked used, and marked no returns accepted. If i refused, ebay would just take the money from my seller account and let the buyer keep the item!
Ebay is actively pushing these guarantees and both of my buyers pointed out they only bought the used parts because of ebay's money back guarantee.
Think carefully if ebay is still worth it to you and if you can afford to get pinched by flaky buyers taking advantage of money back guarantees.
For me; I'm closing up my ebay shop after 24 years.
I'd rather sell face to face at an AMCA meet!
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