Safely Resolving Ebay Disputes

While eBay has a rather detailed and elaborate dispute
resolution procedure outlined on their website, however to the
new eBayer it might seem rather confusing, especially if you're
dealing with the trauma of an eBay dispute. In this article I
shall guide you through each individual step in order for you to
obtain recourse, and for you to see the steps involved and the
amount of time expected.

Let us examine as an example, what you would do if you made
payment for an item yet failed to receive it from the seller.

Before initiating a dispute claim, give the seller a chance to
send the item. It could easily have been an honest mistake
rather than a malicious one. If you are worried about the amount
of time it has taken for the seller to send the item, drop him a
polite email enquiring about it rather than getting ahead of
yourself and open a dispute. Perhaps the seller has already
posted the item, or has been too busy lately, or has forgotten
about the item. Such things occur and it would be better to
settle amicably through an email rather than dragging the
auction through mediation for months. Check your own email
address registered to eBay to see if the seller can reply you.
As an absolutely last resort, you might have to call the
seller's number on eBay. This might incur additional
long-distance charges for the call, but it is definitely better
than enduring months of mediation.

If all the above did not work, the first step is to open an
"Item Not Received" dispute. This can be done at http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?InrCreateDispute

All you are required to do is submit the item number and claim
that you did not receive the stated item.

Step 2 - eBay then contacts the seller via email stating your
claim: that you have not received the item. The seller then has
three options. He can tell you that your payment has not been
cleared yet, that the item is in the mail, or that the seller
will refund you the money. The seller is also given the option
to send you a message.

Step 3 - You are given the option of talking to the seller to
work out what has happened. During this time, either the item
has been delivered or the seller agrees to refund you the money.

Step 4 - You can then close the dispute either satisfactorily if
you have obtained the item, or unsatisfactorily by claiming $200
under eBay's purchase protection program. This can be done after
30 days, or 10 days if the seller did not respond.

However, this is not the only route of recourse for a
unsatisfied buyer. Apart from eBay's own dispute settlement
process, there exist other third-party mediators. This is used
mainly if the item is of high value. One such third-party
meditor is SquareTrade at http://www.squaretrade.com, who
is a third party mediator to many websites. They contact the
seller and act as a mediator between the buyer and seller to
negotiate.

Committed sellers with a good reputation, who are willing to go
through SquareTrade's mediation for disputes are allowed to
display the SquareTrade mark on their auction. This gives their
buyers $250 fraud protection as well as confidence in the
seller. However, one must always be careful to avoid being a
victim of fraud. There are a few specific scams which are
especially prevalent on eBay, which we will cover in the next
article.

About the author:
Learn how to successfully sell your stuff for a profit on Ebay
at: http://articlestm.com/ebay.html Ebay
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