eBay announced a new policy last week to help buyers and sellers resolve disputes, but many sellers are criticizing it as burdensome and potentially harmful to their businesses.

eBay said it will launch a new procedure in January called "Item Not Received" so buyers can open a dispute after not receiving an item or receiving an item that is significantly different from what was described in the listing. The buyer can start the Item Not Received dispute process anytime between 7 – 60 days after the listing closes, even if they have not yet paid for the item. Many sellers claim 7 days is too early for a buyer to make a claim, and fear the process will add to their workload in an already labor-intensive business.

eBay says the process was designed to increase communication between the buyer and sellers. "Sellers will see the open dispute as an opportunity to inform the buyer about the payment status and to invite the buyer to respond through the Item Not Received process."

In addition to receiving an email notification of a dispute, sellers will also be able to see disputes on a "Consolidated Dispute Console" in their "My eBay" area on the eBay site.

eBay also said in their announcement that the process will help educate buyers at each stage of the process, and both buyers and sellers will receive resolution tips to improve chances for resolution.

But sellers are suspicious of wording, such as the following: "A buyer will be able to close the dispute and file a claim 17 days after the listing ends on eBay." They say it does not give them enough time to fulfill items, particularly if buyers haven't paid promptly, and if a slow method of shipping is selected.

Just as buyers are sometimes defrauded on the site, eBay sellers are also subject to fraud from buyers.

Sellers are also concerned with the new process' integration with PayPal. According to eBay, "Buyers who pay with PayPal will be brought directly to PayPal to initiate a claim. PayPal will determine if the claim is eligible for coverage and will pay the claim directly based on criteria for PayPal Buyer Protection or the eBay Standard Purchase Protection Program."

The discussion boards were filled with sellers' concerns about what the new policy might mean to their businesses. One PowerSeller posted, "Many sellers already feel they are getting nickel and dimed at every turn when selling on eBay. It is a big part of what forced us to pull out of eBay sales, about $700,000 a month at our peak,...How exactly are you going to make sure this system is not an abuse of both the seller's time and money?"

Edited for clarification 11/22/04 at 5 pm.

Announcement: http://www2.ebay.com:80/aw/marketing.shtml#2004-11-17145759

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