Ebay's Return Request Policy

Ok so I have been selling on ebay for a couple of years, not large amounts but a few hundred dollars per month. I sell used stuff and expect some returns. I sell computer parts so some people don't know what they are buying and will send things back, it happens.

Ebay is now "pushing" for buyers to "Request Return" on items. There is an easy "Request Return" button(it may not say that exactly) that buyers look to as the quick easy(and correct) way to get something returned and a refund.


As a seller you get notified of the "Return Request" There are four options that you can respond to the return request.

Accept the return: pay return shipping and full refund

Send the buyer a partial refund and not require the return of the item.

Send the buyer a message.

The other option I don't recall what it was but doesn't fit into the possible responses I would require for my last return.

THERE IS NO OPTION FOR THE BUYER TO RETURN THE ITEM AT THEIR EXPENSE AND RECEIVE A PARTIAL REFUND.

My most recent return was for a touch screen for an hp omni 100 all in one screen. The request was under the section, Not As Described even though the manufacture's name and model number was in the heading, description and the photos.

In the reason for the return the buyer said my screen didn't fit his hp omni model 205, and that my screen had three electrical connections, his had two and his screen was a different manufacture and of course model. He even included photos of his screen to show the difference.

After back and forth messages with the buyer we agreed on a partial refund once the screen was returned in good condition. I got the screen back today and was checking to see if ebay had recognized it had been delivered yet. What I found out was that ebay had left me a note:

Once the tracking shows the return of the item ebay will automatically take the full amount out and maybe even the shipping from my paypal account and refund it to the buyer.

I will take you back a little on this one, the day the screen sold and before I shipped it I sent a message to the buyer. My question was stated: "I am wondering since you have no feed back if you are experienced in replacing parts like this?" The response was: My father is an electrician and is certain he can do it.


In the end I wish I had just pushed the button that said give a partial refund, which allows the buyer to keep the item and been done with it. Even a full refund and no return would be far better than dealing with the multiple ebay employees who are only authorized to read from a scrip.

I know others here who have stated their dislike for ebay but for me its the very best place to sell for more than scrap. I not requesting or expecting any advise for this or future incidents with returns on ebay, it is what it is.


Best of luck, Mike

I to hate the new returns button. If they put not as described you as the buyer have no option outside of what you stated to not pay return shipping. This is what I do. Accept the return and pay the shipping. When you get the item back go over your ad with a fine tooth comb and make sure its as described. Then you have to appeal the return if it is as described. What will usually happen then is ebay will refund the buyer under their protection policy and also pay you under the sellers protection policy. I have had to do this more then once because ebay makes it far to easy for buyers to return something because they screwed up. Hope this helps.

I sell computer parts, so I get a fair amount of returns for incompatible parts (Such as people trying to stuff a quad core CPU into a board that won't take it). After it's done, call eBay's customer support, and explain if it's an item that didn't fit instead of a not as described one. You get hit on your seller's "report card" for not as described, so I make sure to have them correct it when it's an item that was incompatible.

I'm not a fan of eBay, but it's better than some of the local people I've had to deal with. I'll take what I can get....

I have been selling quite a lot on eBay past few months. Parting out 18 Mac Pro towers. I just got a request to refund a guy for a $250 power supply. Says it didn't work in his tower and complained that I didn't fully test it before shipping. How ignorant can people be??? First it was removed from a WORKING tower and second he had same problem with original power supply... Unit partially powers up. How much you want to bet that he has a bad board connection or broken component? And yet I'm the a$$ for selling "bad" parts on eBay. What can I do? Accept return, re-test, re-list and make less money overall because of uneducated buyers. I also sell on Amazon, but they are super strict; breathe wrong and they put restrictions on your account. I guess overall it has to be rolled into the cost of doing business with them.

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Originally Posted by jiffy117

I have been selling quite a lot on eBay past few months. Parting out 18 Mac Pro towers. I just got a request to refund a guy for a $250 power supply. Says it didn't work in his tower and complained that I didn't fully test it before shipping. How ignorant can people be??? First it was removed from a WORKING tower and second he had same problem with original power supply... Unit partially powers up. How much you want to bet that he has a bad board connection or broken component? And yet I'm the a$$ for selling "bad" parts on eBay. What can I do? Accept return, re-test, re-list and make less money overall because of uneducated buyers. I also sell on Amazon, but they are super strict; breathe wrong and they put restrictions on your account. I guess overall it has to be rolled into the cost of doing business with them.

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when you receive unwanted lemons and limes make lemonade and put the lime in the coconut and shake it all up.

I have learned that in this world that most things end up being "a horse apiece" if you understand what it's like to walk miles in others shoes that travel a much different path in life.

These are very desperate times with many desperate people that don't THINK things through very well as they are in $UCH a RU$H trying to keep up with the great illusion that is called reality by most.

I have been rethinking my buying on eBay as it is getting to be such a total HOOP FEST as many try for the spotlight in talk and seek the shadows in all honest truth.

seems that the do onto others before they do onto you is a very popular theme these daze with the lit fuse of honest reality and truth sputtering behind us so close that it singes the fur on our bumms if we don't wear OSHA approved blast undies or such?

Time for another Bud as I'm much like Noah sitting around designing my Life boat as best I can with what I have and can fair trade for.

I still have some magic beans left and a nice selection of doughnut seeds. Both plain and assorted flavors and colors.

Now buy 2 packages and get one free.

I call Ebay and defend my case like a CHAMP. I have a LONG TOS I use and I will fight tooth and nail. I have won the 2 disputes I have had in the last year by doing so...but I am PERSISTENT. They gave the buyer one and I APPEALED it...finally got someone that actually READ the ad and SAW the specifics of what I wrote (it was a My Little Pony my wife owned when she was a child...hey don't judge, it was worth a fair amount actually). Once I appealed, I won.

The point is, treat this as business like any other part of your business. You would stand up if some jackass tried to pull something if you had a store...this should be no different. GRANTED, you are not FULLY in control of this store, so some extra care is needed. Use a good TOS, CLEAR return policy and stick to your guns. If you happen to get crappy feedback, respond and defend why you did what you did. If you have an easy to find presence and answer emails promptly along with really GOOD, detailed descriptions (mine has some bold or colored text for my return policy where they CANNOT miss it).

I also do not get bullied by Ebay and the sorry A%% policy of the buyer always being right...the customer is NOT always right in my view and I push back accordingly. Do NOT give them the ability to make you have a refund policy outside what you want to do....when they finally change the policy again, then rethink what you are selling on there.

Good luck and don't take any BS! :)

I've seen WBSTS's return policy. It's a very, very good policy.... mine is based off of it.

The other thing that a good return policy can do is to stop returns. I had a buyer complain about a laptop that wouldn't run his game (It wasn't a gaming laptop by any stretch of the imagination). He sent me a message complaining about it. I quoted the terms of the policy and the specs in the listing, basically saying that he had no recourse. He never did anything at all.

Your TOS and return policy can be one of the largest money savers in your store. Read them over and over, and make sure they're watertight. They'll keep your ship afloat ;)

I would love to see y'all's return policy. I have just started selling on eBay and I have been putting no returns and that may be hurting me a little. I dunno. And if I put no returns can eBay still make me refund there money?

I'd talk with Webuyselltradestuff. My policy is based off of his. He shared it on here a while ago, and I asked if I could base mine around it.

His terms will help you more, as I've adjusted mine to be item-specific. If you'd like me to post one of them, I certainly can. But, unless you deal in computer components, a clause about overclocking won't apply ;)

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Originally Posted by Russryleee

I would love to see y'all's return policy. I have just started selling on eBay and I have been putting no returns and that may be hurting me a little. I dunno. And if I put no returns can eBay still make me refund there money?

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Absolutely they can if, in fact, it's not as described. Actually, they won't make you, they'll do it for you. PTS has got it right. Just make sure your ducks are in a row. Give eBay a call and state the facts. You don't need to make any demands. They'll do what is right. At least they always have by me since 1999. The main thing is read and read again eBay policy. Also, if you ask eBay community a selling question, well you're basically wasting your time. I have asked a couple of times and it was immediately obvious that NONE who responded knew eBay policy. Just more of the same, as far as eBay is concerned buyer is always right, blah, blah, not true. Something I see all the time is a seller listing an item as "used" then stating "as is". eBay's definition of "used" over rides anything and everything you may state to the contrary. While researching an IBM Wheelwriter typewriter/word processor, I came across a listing for a gaylord full of them. Selling price was something like $250.00 plus up to $500 freight. They were listed as "used" then in the description "as is because we haven't tested them". In the photo right on top was one with a broken case. That is NOT in eBay's "used" definition! That's just begging for trouble. Heck, I even had a hard time resisting the urge to hit the buy it now button. I emailed and asked if I bought them and stated they were not as described, would they pay the $500 to get them back. No response but the listing changed

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Originally Posted by matador

I'd talk with Webuyselltradestuff. My policy is based off of his. He shared it on here a while ago, and I asked if I could base mine around it.

His terms will help you more, as I've adjusted mine to be item-specific. If you'd like me to post one of them, I certainly can. But, unless you deal in computer components, a clause about overclocking won't apply ;)

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Yes I would like you to post it if you have the time and inclination.

I am happily surprised by the quality of the responses(I should not be) to this thread.

A special thanks to PTS whom I own a great deal for his sharing of knowledge making me much more successful in my business. Mike

For laptops:

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Computers will only be accepted for returns in case of DOA situations. We do not offer returns for incompatible components, nor do we offer returns in case of buyer's remorse. Overclocking will void any warranty that we offer. Our warranty doesn't cover special needs, such as installation assistance, or any other custom situation. We don't warranty software issues (Including viruses), neglect, hardware compatibility issues, issues caused by acts of God, physical damage, unauthorized repairs, or electrical damage. Batteries, power supplies, and power chargers are not covered by any warranty issued by ---------------------. The return shipping must be paid by the buyer. If the buyer chooses to ship without insurance or tracking, we cannot be held liable for any damaged or lost packages. You must obtain an RMA number from us before making a return. We will offer either an exchange or a refund (Our choice). Replacement computers and components will be of the same capacity, speed, and functionality, but may not be the same make, model, BIOS or firmware revision. We will try to send the same make and model whenever possible, but we cannot guarantee this. In the case of returns where we issue you a refund, you will be deducted the cost of shipping. This also applies for items with free shipping. We do not charge a handling or processing fee on shipping, so you will only be deducted the amount that we are charged by the shipping carrier (United States Post Office, UPS, or FedEx).

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For CPUs:

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Computer components will only be accepted for returns in case of DOA situations. We do not offer returns for incompatible components, nor do we offer returns in case of buyer's remorse. For CPUs, overclocking will void any warranty that we offer. The return shipping must be paid by the buyer. If the buyer chooses to ship without insurance or tracking, we cannot be held liable for any damaged or lost packages. You must obtain an RMA number from us before making a return. We will offer either an exchange or a refund (Our choice). Replacement components will be of the same capacity, speed, and functionality, but may not be the same make,model, or firmware revision. We will try to send the same make and model whenever possible, but we cannot guarantee this. In the case of returns where we issue you a refund, you will be deducted the cost of shipping. This also applies for items with free shipping. We do not charge a handling or processing fee on shipping, so you will only be deducted the amount that we are charged by the carrier (United States Post Office, UPS, or FedEx).

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They're very similar, but have some specifics for item types. As far as I'm concerned, you can use my language, but you need to check with WBSTS's policy- a lot of it is based heavily on his. You need his permission for most of it.

This should give you an idea, though. Most people never read these anyways, so they tend not to fight it too much....