Possible to get Ebay on the phone?

Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
37,476
8,076
136
I've done it in the past but now I get asked for a 5 digit extension. Absent that I'm asked to access the Help & Contact link at the top of their home page.

I made an order of a $25 merchandise item on April 2. Somehow it turned out later that tracking the item showed delivery on April 4 to a town in my state I've never heard of, no clue of actual address or addressee. The seller's apparently in China however when I ordered the item the location for it was shown as a town on the east coast of the USA, I think New York or Brooklyn. The seller indicated some kind of mixup concerning it being sent back to them because of covid-19 danger. Yeah, sounds screwy. Anyway I asked them to send it to me again. Ebay itself indicated that they could step in to help resolve if the problem prevailed, when I made the complaint online of non-receipt.

I had several exchanges with the seller subsequently including 2 days ago. The seller was sending me another package, or offering me a refund. This happened a couple times already and I always said yeah, send to me, I still want it. Yesterday out of the blue I get an email from Ebay saying that there had been "no activity" on the issue for 3 weeks or something and that therefore the case was closed permanently. No possibility or reopening it! I'm WTH, I've been having exchanges with the seller. That's "no activity?"

I can't seem to get Ebay on the phone. I sent the seller another message yesterday and asked for a refund and seller agreed, said they were initiating the refund:

"Thanks for your message. Sorry for the inconvenience to you. It's ok, I just have offered a full refund to you via original payment, please check it. Hope you can repay or refuse to sign for it when it arrive you. And send a message to tell us. Thanks.

At the same time, I have sent the cancel order request to you via ebay, you just need to confirm that. This order will be cancelled, and we don't need to pay for the ebay fee. Thanks for your understanding and cooperation.

Hope to do business with you next time, we will offer the best price and quality to you.
Have a nice day.

Best regards,"
- - -
But I got no email from Ebay subsequently, so I figure this isn't happening.

Ebay's pages say this:

eBay Money Back Guarantee
Get the item you ordered or your money back


But getting them to honor that guarantee looks to be problematical! Is it possible to get Ebay on the phone anymore? I've done it in the past. Contact Paypal? I pay them through Paypal.
 

Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
37,476
8,076
136
I went to my Paypal account and initiated a complaint about the April 2 charge. They too are not answering the phone now due to coronavirus pressures. So, I did it online. The response is that they are asking the seller to approve a refund. Given the seller's attitude it seems they will comply. Hopefully. Still, I don't like Ebay's stonewalling system with their guarantee that looks to not mean much on the face of it. Their system for dealing with issues is confusing and actually scary some times.
 
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Captante

Lifer
Oct 20, 2003
30,272
10,777
136
I went to my Paypal account and initiated a complaint about the April 2 charge. They too are not answering the phone now due to coronavirus pressures. So, I did it online. The response is that they are asking the seller to approve a refund. Given the seller's attitude it seems they will comply. Hopefully. Still, I don't like Ebay's stonewalling system with their guarantee that looks to not mean much on the face of it. Their system for dealing with issues is confusing and actually scary some times.


I had a problem with Paypal the other day actually ... came very close to cancelling my account after 20+ years. Fortunately I was able to resolve the issue with my bank but Paypal was worse then useless.

As for Ebay I've actually had much better results with them in recent years although there's still no way I would buy anything too expensive there unless I had experience with the seller from someplace else!
 
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Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
37,476
8,076
136
So, I went to Paypal and launched a dispute on the transaction and the auto response was that they'd ask the seller to grant me the refund. Pleasant as the seller was, I figured he'd comply. Only reason he wouldn't is that if done through Ebay, he would not get charged for the transaction by ebay. However, Ebay's officially closed the case, no possibility of reopening it (great reason to shun ebay, when possible), and the seller apparently didn't agree (I heard from nobody).

Today I dispute the charge with my credit card company, after all they were party to the transaction through Paypal. They immediately granted my request, the charge is being reversed. How that works for the seller, I have no idea but I'm off the hook. Wacky shit.
 
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Midwayman

Diamond Member
Jan 28, 2000
5,723
325
126
Dunno. I've got them on the phone before for issues. Ebay isn't exactly known for their customer service. Paypal and/or a chargeback as you've done are almost always more effective. FWIW once a transaction goes bad its almost always better to refund and reorder if you still want whatever. All my biggest nightmares were the seller stringing me along after failed deliveries.
 
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Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
37,476
8,076
136
This one! ;)

Oh, uh-huh, I always liked that song... 70's radio. In fact, I've played that song on my radio show 5 times, first time in 1982. College radio, KALX, Berkeley.

EIGHT SIX SEVEN FIVE THREE ZERO NINE (867-5309)

Anyway, no help from Ebay, AFAIK you can't talk to anyone there without an extension number. Not these days, anyway. Paypal, apparently the same. Anyway, I'm evidently off the hook for that charge. Why the devil USPS tracking shows it delivered to a small town in Ca somewhere's near Bakersfield boggles my mind. It's around 300 miles from me.