A curious Ebay episode...

[fragslap]

Okay, so I sold a large lot -- 107 -- of old Aubert violin bridges to a Brazilain luthier, Phillip Kamroyan. I used Ebay's "international delivery service" whereby you send the package to a "hub" and then Ebay handles all the customs "red tape." etc. I shipped on July 17 and the last tracking shows "August 4 Customs clearance."

I get a message from Phillip yesterday indicating that Brazil's "IRS" has "rejected" the package and that it would be returned to me. He indicated this wasn't unusual and requested I just reship the package and that he would pay the shipping costs.

Well, I didn't know how to handle this so I tried Ebay's AI and of course it was clueless. I couldn't find any way of talking to an actual human so I submitted the situation to the Ebay "community" message board and one of the "mentors" there replied:

"The buyer needs to file a not received refund request then eBay will issue a refund out of their pocket.    You keep the $ from the  sale.  

The item is being sent back to the Authenticity guaranteed center and unfortunately cannot be retrieved." 

He sounds like he knows what he's talking about, so I wonder what Ebay will do with the bridges. Seems a shame that 107 eighty plus year old Aubert bridges would simply be tossed out.

 

 

[Pluto Vermin]

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[Pluto Vermin]

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[fragslap]

1 hour ago, Jacobus Drainer said:

Grok says try this to get a human at ebay.  When you get a human, emphasize that the package contents is culturally and historically irreplaceable.  It seems like they would be liable to be destroyed because ebay will make everybody square and call the problem their fault since you used the Global Shipping Program.  You don't have to use GSP, but it's meant to save work

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What You Should Do

Here’s a step-by-step plan to address the situation and potentially recover the violin bridges:

1. Contact eBay for Business Support:
   • Since eBay’s AI chatbot was unhelpful, try reaching a human through eBay’s customer service channels....

Jeezus, I almost regret you responding! On the other hand, I appreciate the effort. Thanks!

[Pluto Vermin]

Ok, I didn't realize that you were determined to lose the bridges

[fragslap]

1 hour ago, Jacobus Drainer said:

Ok, I didn't realize that you were determined to lose the bridges

No, don't remove your post, it was great, it's just that what you described makes it seem like Ebay almost expects someone to walk on water to get an issue resolved. Where did you even find that info?