FVF refund request idea

[raindropsies]

I'll say that you may / may not want to publish what you do / deem worthy for sellers to get their FVF back.

However, I think it may help sellers understand the circumstances in which you will refund a FVF..

Situations that can happen are

a) Someone places a bid and wins or places a buy now and then makes no contact with seller to pay or cancel sale

b) Buyer uses buy now with a business seller and then cancels sale, under the distance selling regulations the business seller has to accept the buyers choice

c) Buyer uses buy now with a seller that is not a business, but the seller treats the sale as a business should do under the DSR's

d) Buyer bids or uses buy now and seller cannot fulfil the order as a business seller

e) As d, but the seller is an individual

f) As c, except the seller don't use the DSR's and marks as NPB even though they have been told by the buyer that they don't want to continue with the transaction

There may be other situations, but the above 6 in my experience cover the most frequent ones
So with all the above said, could you add something somewhere (maybe under the fees section) which states what you will consider (or give) a sellers FVF refund.

[deltadelta48]

I agree, its confusing, another thread is discussing this too. For that discussion I assumed seller had to accept fee does not get refunded for unsold item unless they declared buyer a non payer.

And I am assuming whatever this policy is, it is fair to all sellers, not just ones required by consumer law to allow cancellation of sales.

Feebay has been having a problem with sellers cancelling, getting fees returned, and then going ahead with deal off site. Hard to monitor, so I am assuming this sort of activity on ebid is monitored in some way?

Like you, I realize the ebid may not want to disclose all details of its mechanism for returning fees. But maybe clarifying what procedure they want us to follow in these cases will be helpful to all of us?

[astral276]

My understanding was that eBid would refund FVFs where the failure to complete was not on the seller's part and the required procedure was followed: http://uk.ebid.net/help_after.php#9

I'm also sure I saw it written somewhere that fees for any features and extras used on listings were not refundable - but can't find where I read that now.

[hotandvintage]

So basically you want the option to not leave a buyer marked with the NPB. I doubt it will happen, as Delta says it would leave too much opportunity for off ebid sales.

I never really understood the concern from buyers in receiving an NPB any way, as the honest ones will not make the mistake that often that it damages their account and the dishonest one will open up a new buyer account.
I suppose yes they do have the right to change their mind and can use the DSRs for BIN purchases but I would hate to think that they could use them without consequence, just reminds me too much of the darkside.

[BAGHAG999]

It needs something , ive been asking for a mutual agreed cancelation for ages .

[astral276]

I'm also sure I saw it written somewhere that fees for any features and extras used on listings were not refundable - but can't find where I read that now.

Found it:

The auction fell through. How do I go about getting a refund for fees incurred?
If you opted for a "Gallery", "Standard" or "Platinum" listing and the transaction is not completed eBid will refund the final value fee. Please provide us with the username, auction ID and the text of the feedback you have left them and we will review.
However, if you have opted for a "Featured" or "Frontpage" listing and the successful bidder backs out you will need to take this up with the bidder.

My difficulty in locating the text may lend weight to Sarah's suggestion that refund criteria be clarified and located in one place.

[astral276]

It needs something , ive been asking for a mutual agreed cancelation for ages .

That may be a different thing. A mutual cancellation with no regard to fees or feedback would be useful for clearing the decks after a failed sale. Once you introduce fees into the equation it requires a lot more checks and balances to avoid abuse of the system.

[astral276]

The requirement to refund under DSRs is just a consequence or running a business. It is a requirement under law and not of eBid's making. If you run a shop do you get a refund on your rent for a failed sale? Does your mail carrier refund you the postage? Equally I don't see that such a situation is eBid's concern. They got you the sale. The fact that it failed after that is the seller's bad luck - the cost of which have to be factored into their business model.