In order to complain about an item on eBay, you as a buyer must adhere to certain deadlines. What matters is the reason for the complaint.
As a buyer complaining on eBay: This is the deadline
Both private individuals and commercial sellers offer their goods on eBay, and anyone can buy them – either via their eBay account or as a guest. If the purchased products have defects or do not meet expectations, a complaint is possible. The deadline for this depends on several factors, including the type of purchase, the seller and the applicable legal regulations. Initially, eBay generally states that “a full or partial refund” is possible up to 90 days after the original transaction. However, this is only a vague statement.
- What rights you have with regard to complaints and returns also depend on whether you buy something from a private individual or a commercial dealer.
- Buy something from a private seller or a private seller, the buyer's rights apply according to the “bought as seen” principle. This means that the private seller normally does not have to provide any guarantee or warranty unless otherwise agreed in the offer.
- Private sellers can exclude the return of items and liability for defects, provided they have not fraudulently deceived or concealed known defects. Ideally, this exclusion is clearly stated in the item description.
- Was the However, if the defect is concealed or the item is not delivered as described, The buyer can complain. The deadline for this is usually two years in accordance with statutory warranty law. However, the burden of proof is reversed after six months. This means that the seller must prove within the first six months that the defect did not already exist when the purchase was made. After that it is more difficult because the buyer then has to prove that the defect was not caused by their own use.
- Buyers who Buy from a commercial sellerenjoy further rights in Germany. Mandatory legal regulations regarding the right of withdrawal and warranty apply here. Commercial sellers usually have to have one fourteen-day right of withdrawal offer without the obligation to provide reasons. In addition, this also applies here statutory warranty period of two years.
- eBay also offers buyer protection, which is intended to make complaints easier in certain cases. If a buyer receives an item that is not as described or the goods do not arrive at all, he or she can Open a case under the eBay Buyer Protection Program. eBay will review the case and decide whether the buyer is entitled to a refund. The deadline to open such a case is usually 30 days from receipt of the item.
This is how you as a buyer complain on eBay
If an item differs greatly from the eBay description or the product was not even delivered, you should immediately complain about the order to the seller:
- First contact the dealer, in this case via “Report a problem”. In most cases, a problem like this can be solved, for example if you want to return the item and get a refund.
- In order for the complaint to be covered by Ebay buyer protection, you must make the complaint within 30 days of the scheduled delivery.
- The dealer will usually contact you within 48 hours. If he doesn't respond or the problem takes longer than ten days to resolve, you can contact eBay directly: “Submit case to eBay customer service”.
- If you forward the complaint to customer service, you must also observe a deadline for this: You should under no circumstances wait longer than 30 days, otherwise support could reject your request.
- eBay will review your request within 48 hours and will refund the purchase price if items are not delivered or do not match the product description. In the second case, you will receive a return slip from the dealer or eBay support.
- You can initiate refunds in various ways – for example by canceling a purchase, submitting a return request or even reporting that you have not received the product.