Forum

MC019 - buyer wants refund for delivered item
 

Hi - I could use a little advice:

I got a MC019 the other day, and apparently eBay sent a notice to all buyers of my previous listings (of the same item - there have been only about 6 sales total).

One of the buyers opened a case and wants a refund, even though the item was delivered (i have the tracking #).

Question: Should I dispute the "not received" case with the tracking # information, or will this risk bringing further attention to me and possible action from ebay (like a suspension, etc....?). Is it wiser to just refund the buyers money to make it go away quickly and quietly?

The amount in question is only $59.00.

Here are some other pertinent details of my situation:
- I have another solid main eBay account that I don't want to jeopardize (this is my main concern).
- I did get a MC019 on the main eBay account about 6 months ago with my first listing of this same item (when I was young and naive and didn't know about any of this stuff!)
- I then opened a 2nd eBay account specifically to sell the remaining items (This is the one that the current MC019 and the opened case is related to).
- This 2nd ebay account has 13 total feedbacks (100% positive). A few of these are for the item in question, but the rest are for my purchases.
- Both of these accounts share the same paypal account - I did not attempt to go stealth at all with the 2nd account. Maybe this was a mistake?

Please let me know what you would do based on your better experiences and knowledge!

Thanks!
-M
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Here are the details from Ebay's case-opened notice:

Details the buyer provided:
Problem: The buyer has not received the item (not true)
The buyer has tried contacting you (not true)
The buyer paid on Jan 04, 2011
The buyer contacted you through: "I did not contact seller"
You have not responded to the buyer
You aren't working with the buyer to solve the problem (because I was not contacted)


Additional information: (notes from the buyer)
"I received an email from ebay stating the listing was removed and I should open a case in the resolution center about this item. MC999 eBay Listing Removed: (##########)"

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normally if it was not a take down violation, I would say, if buyer says not received and you have tracking, input it on case, if you dont have tracking then buyer will eventually win case, so you had better refund it now..

even with tracking, I doubt you would win anyhow as the listing was removed by ebay, so once case is escalated you lose - end of story....refund now and you may not get a negative feedback....

Next step before you do anything in my opinion is to...

Call your Customer

I can personally attest to resolving 99 out of a 100 issues with a simple phone call. The ones I couldn't resolve were because my customer didn't speak English or they had a unreachable phone number.

Thanks for the idea - but how would I get the buyer's phone #?

And what do you think I should say to them? Seems like they are just looking to get some free money at my expense - they clearly got the goods and did not have any issue until they received the eBay notice. I wouldn't know how to even talk to this person!

Also - is there a reason to call instead of sending an eBay message? I thought about just sending a message pointing out the tracking # (outside of the case message thread so it would not "escalate"). Do you think this is a mistake?

You can get the phone number by looking at the "view order details" link in your "my ebay" area. It's in the drop down menu.
Calling is a good idea in some cases for sure. Many many buyers don't read their email anymore...they are too busy messing around on Facebook

Anyone else have any advice about sending a side email to the buyer (outside of the case that they opened) with the tracking # showing delivery?

if they opened a case, regardless of tracking, they know they can get away with free goods, which they can, as ebay email will warn them that they should not pay for goods..you can call them, it might make it more personal to them than an anon person as a seller, just say you know they opened it by mistake as you can see tracking shows as delivered - worth a try...update us...

You have the tracking, respond to the dispute with it. As long as it's successfully delivered according to the DC number, you're fine. You won't lose the case.

Update: I decided to dispute it with the tracking #. Buyer still went ahead and escalated the case to customer service (what are they thinking?).

Good news is Ebay closed the case in my favor within 24 hours with no mention of the MC019 issue.

told ya :)

exactly, usually the international buyers try to pull this. because they know there is no tracking, good to see a scammer get screwed... because now they cant open a NAD dispute. pro tip of the day, never open it up as not received, always NAD but then they are forced to return it.. i love when international buyers pull this. i laugh and ask for return tracking.,,..which they never provide and lose case

whoa congrats, that has not been my experience of takedowns with tracking customer won...but who says they cant open a SNAD now?