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Sat Dec 16 2023 10:24:37

eBay Dips into Seller Funds for International Shipping Claims

By: Reader

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Dear Ina,
I'm not sure if my situation is an isolated one, or simply not reported yet. I was searching on here for accounts of eBay failing to follow through on its claims to take responsibility for packages International Shipping program packages once they arrive at the Chicago eBay hub.

Twice in the past month I have had Item Not Received claims for buyers whose items were shipped with EIS. In one case a confirmed delivery, and the other the item seems stalled on the Canada Post side of things.

But despite eBay confirming in both cases that the item arrived in Chicago, the refunds were issued from my funds, not eBay.

I've reviewed all the language for this program several times and I can see no reason why this should not qualify for eBay seller protections. I am not able to contact EIS support directly and had to wait for them to follow through after the case was reported to them by eBay Seller Support. All I got was boilerplate language that the item was not confirmed received by the BUYER.

I have been selling eBay for 25 years, and although I have been frustrated by Seller Support many times, this is the first time where eBay failure to follow through seems like outright fraud. Are other sellers not reporting this problem? I have searched the eBay Seller forums and I do not see this specific issue addressed.
T.

Comments (6) | Permalink

Readers Comments

eBay Dips into Seller Funds for International Ship

by: my2cents

Sat Dec 16 15:50:47 2023

Go to Ebay for Business on Facebook and try to get some help there. If they accepted your shipments at the Ebay hub and they then processed it on to your buyer, you should be covered.

eBay Dips into Seller Funds for International Ship

by: Indy81

Sat Dec 16 22:21:32 2023

my2cents, thanks for the input. This is my letter above. After I sent this message to Ina a few days ago, I found an eBay forum thread suggesting I try eBay for Business on Facebook. I definitely found them much more helpful than the 2 eBay Seller Support reps with whom I spent more than an hour on the phone.

The key aspect eBay for Business seemed to notice quickly was that both my packages were actually shipped as eBay International STANDARD shipping not EIS. BUT, there is still a great deal of confusion for me on why this happened. I confirmed that I am opted into EIS through my settings, and the listing-specific shipping settings were both set for EIS. But when I try to print a label, it defaults to International Standard with NO OPTION to select EIS. Because the names are fairly similar, and both involve shipping the package to Illinois for final routing internationally, it has not been clear that none of our international items have been shipping by EIS.

The final answer seems to lie in the Business Policies settings, which I have not fiddled with at all. But my main frustration at this point is that eBay Seller Support, despite my repeatedly noting these were EIS shipments, never picked up on the discrepancy. I just kept on getting the standard line about how I needed to be able to confirm final receipt, even though I emphasized that my understanding was my responsibility was just to get it to Illinois.

The reasons for having 2 shipping protocols that on the surface seem to have the same processes, but very different expectations from eBay, are completely opaque.

eBay Dips into Seller Funds for International Ship

by: my2cents

Mon Dec 18 01:58:45 2023

Believe me I know how frustrating Ebay CS can be and how often they give bad advice or no advice. I am glad you found what the problem is, at least you have that going for you.

If you have more issues with the Business Policies or something else you might want to try the Ebay Community in the Seller Forum. There are lots of experienced helpful sellers there.

eBay Dips into Seller Funds for International Ship

by: Fruitylovesyou

Mon Dec 18 06:35:10 2023

Drive by...
Service provider ineffective shipping program & subpar support causing business harm.

eBay Dips into Seller Funds for International Ship

by: NYSteve

Mon Dec 18 11:31:47 2023

Thanks for this post, it tipped me over the edge and i OPTED OUT of shipping internationally....dealing with lost mail, denied coverage and wasted phone time with CSRs...its certainly not worth it for those headaches to expand internationally!

eBay Dips into Seller Funds for International Ship

by: OhCalcutta

Mon Jan 1 20:12:57 2024

could it be the packages themselves,like weight,content ,size?or country of destination?

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