eBay Messages don’t work for… eBay

I was forwarded an interesting email today – interesting for two reasons. Firstly it was an email from eBay Customer Support regarding an item Significantly Not As Described (SNAD).

No fault from buyer or seller

In some SNAD cases it’s pretty obvious who’s at fault, normally but not always the seller. In others it’s subjective, especially on items such as clothing where size (Standardisation of Sizes article), colour, material thickness, feel and a host of other factors come into play. In these cases eBay sometimes pick up the tab and either refund the buyer but don’t charge the seller or as in this case offer to pick up the tab for return postage.

It’s great to see eBay taking a proactive approach and understanding that sometimes it’s neither the buyer not the seller who are at fault and that’s demonstrated in the email below.

My Messages shortcoming

The other point that stands out on the email is the inability to add the attachment. Having spent years explaining that the safest way to communicate with other eBay users, especially trading partners, is through eBay My Messages it would appear that the rules are too stringent even for eBay themselves.

eBay support are unable to send a PDF of a shipping label, in this case ParcelForce, through My Messages and have to tell the buyer to check their email account for the attachment.

I don’t know why this is so hard, it’s only a PDF and all attachments sent through eBay My Messages can be scanned for malware and virus checked. Apart from virus concerns it seems strange that eBay themselves have to rely on good old fashioned customer email inboxes to send return shipping labels – if the seller wants to send a shipping label as a service to their customers how are they expected to send them?

The email from eBay customer services

Hello Xxxxxx,
I am contacting you in relation to a case that you recently filed in the Resolution Centre for the dress [123412341234], that you received but didn’t match the listing description. I see from your comments that you would like to return this item and get a refund for it.
In our experience, sellers normally find an amicable solution with the buyer in such cases, but it often leads to the question of who should pay for the return shipping. To make things easier for both of you, we will assume the shipment costs. We have issued you with a pre-paid postage label, attached to this email, that you can use to return the item.
Before we go on, a copy of this email has been sent to both your eBay messages, and the registered email address on your eBay account. However, the attachment is only accessible from your registered email account.
Once the seller has agreed to the return, print the label and attach it securely to your parcel with the barcode visible and bring it to your local post office. Parcel Force will then collect your parcel and deliver it back to your seller.
Once you have used your label, please go to the Resolution Centre and update your case with the shipping.
If the seller doesn’t agree to the return, you can escalate the case 8 days after opening it on the Resolution Centre. We will then review the case according to our Buyer Protection Policy and make a decision.
If you need further assistance or any more information please get in touch by replying to this email.
Kind regards,
Xxxxx Xxxxxx
eBay Customer Service