eBay’s money-back guarantee punishes good sellers as well as good buyers

We know there’s always scamming on both seller and buyer sides. eBay’s money-back guarantee is simple: sellers are responsible for the return shipping for most of the cases. But is there a simple return policy that can be fair for both seller and buyer?

As a long-time top-rated seller, in the case of fighting eBay, I’ve found that the more you fight, the more trouble there is for the seller. eBay is deciding in the customer’s favor almost all the time, using automated messages, no investigation, and no explanation. It also demerits the seller’s points for each case. Only after one or two cases, the seller’s rating will be below standard, then the seller account will be limited.

This policy encourages buyers’ behavior of return abuse. Many scammers know eBay sellers are reluctant to pay expensive international return shipping and also scared of demerit points, so they buy and open return cases even without any communication with the seller. In most cases, they will get a refund and keep the item.

After eBay launched a money-back guarantee policy, my return cases are doubled then tripled. As a seller, I can only increase selling prices, to pass the cost to buyers.

It is obvious that no single simple policy can protect both seller or buyer. It only punishes good sellers as well as good buyers. At 1centx.com, we deal with return disputes case by case. We run dispute tribunal and appeal court as services, the user (buyer and seller, who lose the case) will pay for the services. The court may order the buyer or seller to pay the whole return cost or split the cost.