I have a customer who did a return on a laptop I sold and they returned a different one. I spoke to an agent who said not to refund them and opened a report.

Today I check and eBay forced the refund. I went to have them call me and now I see that they aren’t opened on the weekends.

Does anyone know when this started?

I need to do some defect removal and would prefer to speak with someone who speaks English and understands where I am coming from. I was on and off hold for 90 minutes a week or so ago with a foreign rep and got nowhere before their system went down.

Is there a best time to call?

*The best time is definitely not 11:30amEST. 29 minutes and counting and not a sign of anyone answering the phone at eBay!

*12:30pmEST, still nobody answering. Send food and water.

*12:50- Someone answered! He could not help me out at all, but "noted" the defects I was trying to have removed, telling me that they are "triaging " all of their defect calls. After 30 minutes with him I am on hold again.

    So basically if you call regarding a defect, they will determine how urgent they find it to be and will help you out      
    based on their assessment of it's urgency/importance.

*25 minutes into a 12 minute wait time. Geez.

*A rep picked up, asked me to let him look over the case # for a minute, so we sat in silence for 6 minutes. He now put me back on hold while he reviews each defect in question. (Though the first guy did just that). Back on hold 2 hours 15 minutes into the call. Nothing resolved as of yet.

*15 minutes later- "I'm still looking into, just wanted to let you know". Well I flippin hope so! Back on hold.

*3 hours and 7 minutes into the call: 2 defects removed and I have escalated it to whoever is next in line above the rep.

*27 minutes later "Haven't forgotten about you, I am transferring you now". What!?

         Defects unable to be removed:


         1. Item purchased on a Friday night, shipped Monday morning. USPS documented delivery attempted on Thursday and a
          notice left (I do not have signature required, so am not sure why this happened). Item not delivered until 17 days
          later. Rating of 1 received on shipping.

        2. Buyer opens case and claims I sent him the wrong figure but likes it better and wants to keep it. I could not respond
         or offer him anything as he closed the case because he was happy. Inventory shows he received correct item. Defect remains.

       3. neutral feedback left stating "Awesome Seller, Fast Shipping" and also a 1star rating on shipping time. Can't be  
        removed because eBay can not assume what the buyer was thinking when he left FB. Shipping time was within my listed shipping handling
        time, but can not be removed because it "did not meet the buyers expectation", even though I set the expectation in the listing of how 
        long shipping would be.

       4. Buyer purchased figure, did not like the paint job, I offered to replace it and he threatens with negative feedback if I do not 
         send him another one with the 2nd item he just(conveniently) purchased. He leaves a neg and I report him for extortion and 
         get the neg removed. He leaves neutral FB for the 2nd item and it can not be removed because it is the customers opinion
         on how the transaction went.

       5. International buyer messaged through eBay and requested to have item value marked lower. I declined and he left a neg. 
        eBay could not find the message because it was over 90 days old. I gave them the message ID, but the rep said that the 
        feedback was how the buyer thought the transaction went and it was not removable.

        6. Item purchased and shipped next day to Australia. Item Not Received case opened over a month later. Tracking shows the 
         item has been bouncing around Australia for 3 weeks. Item received 6 days after case was opened.

*3:30- I am pretty calm, but had to raise my voice over the rep this was escalated to. He is just reading a script over top of me and now I am back on hold while he looks into a defect.

*He had to consult with the rest of the flock to see if his opinion was right. It was.

*4:05- 4 1/2 hours+ after phone call was placed and still only 2 defects removed. #4 is being"sent to the back office group for review" which should happen within 72 hours and I will not be notified. #1 "brought up a good point" and the rep will "bubble it up" at the next meeting and, rest assured, will stay on top of it if anything changes. #6 could should be removed but too much time has passed to do so, but "Yes, It still affects your overall score."

I will leave you with this great quote from my eBay representative

"Just because you ship within your designated handling time and the buyer receives it in that time, does not mean the buyer should have to wait for their item. It is the seller's responsibility to get it there in a time that meets their expectation."