It is not easy to get your money back in case of a default by a vendor because eBay is biased against the customer.
Being a seasoned online buyer I held eBay in high esteem but this recent episode with the famed seller compelled me to conclude that in order to favour a defaulting vendor eBay will readily go against buyer interests. They will allow an unscrupulous supplier to violate timeline and even fudge the online tracking data. EBay in India is simply biased against the customer. Here is why:
I placed an order on March 05, 2015. The vendor reportedly shipped the item on 09 March, to be delivered by 16 March. As per the eBay business policy if a vendor failed to deliver by the fixed date the customer had a right to refund. On 17 March my refund option was activated but the vendor was given 5 more days to make the supply. I kept calling their customercare department. I was told the vendor had time to supply till 21 March. If it doesn’t, my refund would be processed on 22 March. Come 22 March and I was told that the vendor had APPEALED against processing of the refund. Another timeline of 25 or 26 March was set for the vendor to deliver the order. In the meantime I continued calling eBay while tracking the AWB number. On 26 morning when I rang up, I was told that my refund would be issued in next 48 to 72 hours.
The courier boy knocked at the gate on 26 March evening and finally delivered the packed 17 days after it was reportedly shipped. And the funny thing I noticed the next day was that the packed was shown as delivered on 25 March. Clearly, the someone had kept the timeline by fudging online information.
This is how eBay favours its vendors and demeans its customers.
Compare it with Amazon and see the difference. With amazon if there is a default by the supplier, or the order is delayed even by one day your money comes back to you, no questions asked. That’s like being world class.