In every issue, readers soundoff about issues important to them. From shipping issues to payment processing, from fees to online marketplace policies, EcommerceBytes Soundoff gives you a chance to air your views.
Hi Ina,
I received this letter from eBay as a seller informing me of the extended return timeframe of 35 business days. Counting the MBG (eBay Money Back Guarantee) timeframe this equates to 80 calendar days of return period.
“Under the terms of the return policy, you will need to pay for the return postage, an eBay label has been provided to your buyer to ship the item back to you.
“(Due) to the impact of Covid-19, the amount of time the buyer has to return the item has been extended. If the buyer does not return the item within 35 business days, then we will automatically close the return and remove any negative feedback left by the buyer.”
Chris
Dear Ina,
The last 3 cheap things I bought from China on Ebay were bad deals:
1) LED pointers – 1 arrived, was broken
2) Battery terminal cleaner – never arrived.
3) Braided leather cord for bolo ties – never arrived.
I imagine they ship this stuff, just never gets here. I see that highest feedback Chinese vendors seem to have is around 98%. It’s cheap, but if never arrives…
No more for me,
Best,
Martin
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Agree that many of the cheap things are not worth ordering, altho some are exactly the same as I see on Amazon for 2-3 times as much. Until this year, I never ordered much from foreign sellers.
But I’ve been surprised by the reliability of cheap shipments from China. Low expectations, but every single thing I’ve ordered — about twenty things in the past few months — has arrived. It has taken weeks sometimes, but the little plastic packages have shown up.
I do skim the negative feedback before buying and if there are too many reports of nonreceipt (as opposed to dissatisfaction with an item itself) I don’t order. As far as the items themselves, it’s a buyer beware environment out there, full of deceptive photos, descriptions, etc. Ebay helps this along by making it cumbersome to report a case other than nonreceipt.