eBay's a terrible place for sellers!

Hi all,

Just wanted to post to share my experiences with eBay and find out if and how others have handled this situation.

I recently sold a brand new in box Fitbit on eBay. The item was shipped with AusPost with tracking + insurance in a padded satchel and arrived within 48 hours to the buyer (Jan. 10th). I received positive feedback from the buyer stating that its "works well, pity that you can't see steps on band… only on phone" on Jan. 19th.

Two weeks later (Feb 3), I receive a message from the buyer requesting a refund, stating that he/she have purchased two mobile phones and it's not connecting/syncing. I recommended that the buyer contact Fitbit support as it sounds like a pairing problem that they will be able to assist with and offer a replacement if they find that the device is defective. I also asked the buyer why they waited so long to contact me. The buyer refused to contact Fitbit support citing long distance charges and stated that they tried to contact me but there was no response on my end. However, there is no record of a message being sent by the buyer previously.

The buyer has opened a case on eBay and eBay have sided with the buyer. I have highlighted to eBay that the item was brand new, shipped securely and working well as evident by the buyer's positive feedback. The item has also been in the buyer's possession for over 3 weeks before a claim was filed and it is very likely that the item may have been damaged by the buyer. The customer service rep has shown some sympathy and believes that the buyer may simply have changed his/her mind, however, because of eBay's money back guarantee are bound to offer a refund as there is no way for them to prove what condition the item arrived in or whether it's faulty or not.

Personally, I think eBay's going to far with their money back guarantee policy as there has to be some limitation to it. Essentially, it allows buyers to take advantage of the situation and try out/rent items from sellers and then demand a refund stating the item is "faulty". What's to stop someone from purchasing a camera or GPS from eBay and use it for 3 weeks on vacation and then demand a refund because the item is "faulty". Many Aussie retailers limit returns on electronic items to 2 weeks and would suggest contacting the manufacturer for technical support/RMA after this much time has elapsed, however, eBay's policies are more buyer friendly.

eBay seems like a terrible place for sellers as we seem to get screwed for everything (from fees to stunts like this). Sorry if this is all common knowledge to the community but I haven't done much selling on eBay so this is all new for me. At this point, I don't care so much about the money that I'm losing on a Fitbit that will be effectively useless to me but it's a matter of principle as I feel as though I'm being swindled.

What are the OzBargain's community's thoughts on this and what have others done in a similar situation?

Thanks,
Malcom