How to handle an eBay case without losing the money
When a buyer opens a case, the money is not the main risk. A case you settle with the buyer costs you a refund. A case eBay has to decide, and decides against you, costs you a refund and a mark against the metric that sets your seller level and your fees. The second is much more expensive, and it is usually avoidable.
What counts as a case?
Two things a buyer can open:
- Item not received (INR) — the parcel has not arrived by the expected date
- Item not as described (INAD) — it arrived, but it is faulty, damaged or not what was listed
Both sit under eBay's Money Back Guarantee. A buyer can also simply message you, which is not a case — and keeping it that way is the whole game.
Why an unresolved case costs more than the refund
eBay tracks cases closed without seller resolution — cases where eBay was asked to step in and found the seller responsible.
Keep that above 0.3% of transactions and your account can be rated Below Standard, regardless of how good everything else is. Below Standard means:
- Higher final value fees — commonly cited as an extra 4% on every sale
- Lower placement in search
- Restricted access to promoted listings
- Possible payment holds and selling limits
- Shop downgraded to Basic if you stay there more than 60 days
At 0.3%, three unresolved cases in a thousand transactions is the line. That is not many.
The rule that follows from this: settling with the buyer yourself, even generously, is almost always cheaper than letting eBay decide. A £25 refund you choose costs £25. A £25 refund eBay imposes costs £25 plus a percentage point of margin on everything you sell for the next few months.
What to do when a case opens
1. Respond quickly
Cases have deadlines, and letting one lapse is the most common way sellers lose money they did not need to lose. If you do not respond in time, eBay can close the case in the buyer's favour automatically — and that counts as unresolved.
2. Work out what actually happened before replying
For an INR: check the tracking. Is it moving, stalled, or was it never scanned? For an INAD: look at the listing photos and description against what the buyer is describing. You are deciding whether you have a case to make or a problem to fix.
3. Decide the commercial answer, not the fair one
Sometimes you are right and it still costs less to refund. An £8 item is not worth a defect. Weigh the refund against what a mark on your account costs across all your other sales.
4. Keep it in messages if you can
A buyer messaging you is not a case. A resolution you agree before they escalate does not count against you at all. Answering messages fast is genuinely a financial strategy.
5. If you settle, settle properly
Partial refund, replacement, or full refund — but do it in a way that ends it. A half-measure that leaves the buyer unhappy just delays the escalation.
Item not received: what usually goes wrong
Most INR cases are not fraud. They are a parcel that is slow, mis-scanned or delivered to a neighbour.
If tracking shows delivered and the buyer says otherwise, you have a strong position, but not an automatic one. Provide the tracking, ask the buyer to check with neighbours and the carrier, and be responsive.
If tracking is stalled, chase the carrier before the buyer chases you. A seller who says "I have opened an investigation and here is the reference" is in a very different conversation from one who says "it shows as in transit".
If you did not use tracking, you have almost no defence. This is the practical reason tracking matters on everything, not just high-value items.
Item not as described: the harder one
INAD cases are harder because the buyer's opinion carries weight, and returns usually come at your cost.
The prevention is in the listing. Photograph faults rather than hiding them, describe condition in plain terms, and state measurements and compatibility. A listing that under-promises produces fewer cases than one that quietly omits the scratch.
When one does open, the fastest route is usually a return or a partial refund agreed in messages. Arguing over whether a fault is material is expensive even when you win.
The deadline problem
Every case has a clock, and the clocks are not in one place. They sit inside individual orders, each ticking separately, and nothing tells you which one is closest to running out.
That is how sellers lose cases they would have won — not by being wrong, but by responding on day four when the window was three.
SellerControl surfaces open cases and their deadlines in the Action Centre alongside dispatch deadlines, so the things with a clock on them are a list rather than something you go hunting for.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if a buyer opens a case on eBay?
You are asked to respond within a set time. If you resolve it with the buyer, it does not count against your account. If eBay has to step in and finds against you, it counts as a case closed without seller resolution.
How many unresolved cases can I have?
Cases closed without seller resolution must stay at or below 0.3% of transactions. Above that, your account can be rated Below Standard.
Does refunding a buyer count against me?
No. A refund you give to resolve things yourself does not count as an unresolved case. That is precisely why settling early is cheaper than being overruled.
Can I appeal an eBay case decision?
You can ask eBay to review a decision, and in some circumstances a defect can be removed — for example where tracking proves delivery. Appeals take time and are not guaranteed, so prevention is worth more than appeal.
Should I refund even when I am right?
Often, yes, on low-value items. Weigh the refund against the cost of a defect, which is higher fees and lower search placement across every sale you make until the rate recovers.