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UNREAL SITUATION EXPERIENCED AND NO REAL ANSWER
Summary: The discussion titled "IRREAL SITUATION SUFFERED AND NO REAL RESPONSE" involves several participants including interxsempre2010, cizeta1964, and marioelegio. The participants seem to be expressing frustration over a situation they consider unresolved. The responses appear brief and do not provide details about the topic, suggesting an inconclusive or largely ineffective dialogue among the participants.
I’m a long-time eBay user with over 550 positive feedback ratings. I’m mainly a buyer, but for some time I had also put up for sale some personal items from my private collections. What happened left me stunned, and I decided to write here to share the experience and ask for support.
FACTS
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On October 28, 2025 an eBay user bought directly from my eBay profile an Inter 1995-96 shirt (listing 127438134277).
The shirt was new, with all tags, never worn. I packed it carefully, adding two layers of cardboard as well, I used the Ebay Shipping service and I also paid the additional insurance for my protection and the buyer’s.
A few days after receiving it, the buyer opened a claim procedure requesting a refund and the return of the item, stating that the shirt had arrived "damaged", because "all the numbers would be bent and crushed" due to the fact that "the item was not in a box (as it should have been since it was paid 10 euros.) but in a simple envelope that compromised the integrity of the shirt, having crushed and folded the name and number" and then claiming that "since I paid 10 euros for shipping, you had to make a package and they wouldn’t get crushed, not an envelope".
Regarding these statements I specify that: 1) The shirt shipped was perfect (as described in the listing), new, from my collection where it had been carefully preserved. 2) I prepared the shipment with the utmost care, placing the carefully folded shirt in a sealed plastic sleeve, adding rigid cardboard both above and below (I also have photos taken during the packing process - which I always do to protect myself before shipping any item - and which disprove what the buyer claimed), and finally putting everything in a large plastic bag sealed with packing tape.
3) I sent it by post using the label provided to me by eBay, also paying an extra fee to send it as insured, for a faster and more accurate service. All clothing items have to be folded for shipping. Claiming that any folds could have "damaged" or "compromised the integrity" of a new garment is false and unacceptable. 4) I am a private user, and in the item listing it was clearly stated that I would not accept returns.
After explaining to the buyer that I could not accept returns since I am just a private user, he continued the dispute with eBay and after a few days I saw the sale proceeds taken away by eBay (including shipping costs). I filed a complaint with eBay specifying that what the buyer had claimed was completely false and that moreover I had not even received my item back. I received a response that clarified nothing and did not explain the reasons for such a decision, only explaining that the buyer had judged the item not to match the listing and that basically they sided with him (WITHOUT EXPLAINING WHY). In essence, they say these are eBay’s rules, while I am still waiting to know in what way the item did not match the listing, given that the buyer never told me that, complaining only about imaginary "damage" to the shirt (the folds!!). A person of normal intelligence can even understand that an item can be said not to match the listing only if different items are sent from the ones offered. For example, if in the listing I put an Inter shirt and then send a Milan shirt, or if I put Armani shoes and then send unbranded shoes.
CONCLUSION
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All of the above makes it clear that this is a SERIOUS INJUSTICE against the seller (me), with the buyer using eBay mechanisms designed to favor buyers.
Indeed, even if one assumes that the buyer is not satisfied with a purchase (made from a shop or professional seller, not from a simple private individual like me....), he must still return the goods as provided by articles 52 and 53 of the Consumer Code, without any time limit being imposed for closing the dispute. Article 56 of the Consumer Code also states that, unless the seller has offered to collect the goods himself, he may withhold the refund until he has received the goods or until the consumer has demonstrated that he has sent the goods back. Now, since eBay was the intermediary handling payments between seller and buyer, it is obvious that under the Consumer Code it should have waited for the item to be returned to the seller before issuing the refund, without imposing any time limit that penalizes exclusively the honest and correct seller who finds himself in a paradoxical situation (MONEY TAKEN AWAY AND ITEM NOT RETURNED).
I told the story to family and friends and everyone was shocked, obviously losing trust in eBay.
I am asking for suggestions on what to do in order to be able to send these considerations (without character limits) and the photos of the item packaging (which I prudently kept) to eBay and maybe be able to reason with a real person from eBay support, rather than receiving only prewritten responses from bots or from people who may not even read the messages in full.
interxsempre2010
OP8 months agoI’d add that I imagine this is also to comply with the consumer code; other eBay competitors, Vinted for example, reason in a VERY DIFFERENT and more correct way. First of all, they’re serious in disputes, meaning they explain CLEARLY that just because an item bought is not liked afterward it can’t be automatically rejected. There must be serious and PROVEN reasons. After that, you can also make an agreement and take the item back, but if it’s just a buyer’s change of mind without serious reasons, then they have to pay for the return and DON’T SEE a penny until the seller receives the item and gives the OK.
cizeta1964
Mentore8 months agoBut eBay is not Vinted and vice versa; reading the rules for both sellers and buyers is essential.
interxsempre2010
OP8 months agoNot just Vinted, subito.it has the same policy too... evidently they know Italian law better and protect users better. I had some items for sale on eBay and after this whole thing I took everything down. After years of buying and selling and 100% positive feedback, I won’t accept being treated like dirt. And everyone who knows me was left speechless, and I assure you there will be quite a few who will leave eBay,
cizeta1964
Mentore8 months ago1. Subject to the exceptions referred to in article 59, the consumer has a period of fourteen days to withdraw from a distance contract or a contract negotiated off-premises without having to provide any reason and without having to bear costs other than those provided for in article 56, paragraph 2, and article 57.
1-bis. The fourteen-day withdrawal period referred to in paragraph 1 is extended to thirty days for contracts concluded in the context of unsolicited visits by a trader to a consumer's home or of excursions organized by a trader for the purpose of or with the effect of promoting or selling products to consumers. The provision in this paragraph does not apply to contracts concluded in the context of home visits by a trader, requested by a consumer and not organized by the latter on a collective basis(1).
2. Subject to article 53, the
marioelegio
Mentore8 months agoeBay has exactly the same policy in the event the buyer changes their mind.
Instead, the case you’re presenting now is a return request for non-conformity; in this case neither eBay nor Vinted nor Subito can have their own policies, since there is specific legislation in place (civil code).
In the event of non-conformity in a distance purchase, the buyer can request a return at no additional cost (return at the seller’s expense) and obtain a full refund.
At most, it will be necessary to determine which of the two (between seller and buyer) is lying. Photo or video evidence has no value and, in case of doubt, always sides with the buyer.
So in this specific case you would have had the same outcome on all the platforms you mentioned.
hi
mario
marioelegio
Mentore8 months agoRegarding the return, I quote what Cizeta said. You’re the one who let the time limit granted by eBay to get your shirt back expire.
hi
mario
interxsempre2010
OP8 months agoA intermediary (ebay) operating in Italian territory cannot avoid complying with Italian laws. The Consumer Code provides that the (possible) refund must be given to the buyer ONLY AFTER the return of the item, which in my case did not happen. This is not a legal or acceptable situation.
cizeta1964
Mentore8 months agoIf you had set up the return within the timeframe specified by eBay, it would have gone exactly as you say.
marioelegio
Mentore8 months agoThe Consumer Code does not apply, since you declare that you are a private seller.
hi
mario
cizeta1964
Mentore8 months agoIn short: if you read eBay’s rules, you’ll see that if the buyer believes the item is not as described, the seller cannot avoid accepting the return, whatever the reason.
After that, they have 4 days to arrange the return at their own expense, and the buyer will be refunded when the return arrives.
If the seller does not arrange the return within 4 days, they lose the item and the return, because eBay automatically refunds the buyer.
If the buyer does not send back the item with the label provided by the seller (within the time limits set by eBay), they lose the right to be refunded.
Done.