Complaint Review: eBay

I'm a long time buyer on eBay.  I have 1499 responses to my buying activity-all in good standing.  A seller from the UK sent a printed mirror wrapped in paper-no box.  Of coarse it was received broken.  I did not even have to unwrap it.  I returned the item as 'not accepted' the very same day.  Seller stated they would take care of me but later said they were not going to honor their promise. 

I submitted a claim to eBay.  Six days later, eBay asked me to try to resolve w/ seller.  If they did not hear from me by 09-08 they would close the file. 
 
On 08-15 eBay sent message:
We are sorry you are having an issue with the item you ordered. As a follow up on your eBay Buyer Protection case, we wanted to explain what you can expect from the process.
 
Important things to know :
 
The seller has been notified that the item you have received was not as described and that you have opened a case in the Resolutions Center. Here are the next steps:
 
1.The seller has a maximum of 7 days to respond to the case with a resolution. The resolution could include a full or partial refund or the seller may send you a replacement.
 
2.If you are not able to work out a resolution with the seller, you need to escalate the case to eBay customer support to make a final decision.
For most items you can expect a final decision, and if we find in your favour, a refund within 3 days of making our decision.
 
3.Your case will time out in 30 days from when it was filed, if we do not hear from you. Please return to the Resolutions Center before that to let us know that you and the seller worked things out or that you need eBay customer support to make a decision.
 
Action Required from you :
 
If you are unable to work things out with the seller or do not hear back from them in 7 days, please respond to your case in the Resolution Center and choose the "Escalate" option.
What incentive is there for the seller to resolve your issue :
 
Sellers have a strong incentive to fix your issue. eBay takes eBay Buyer Protection cases very seriously. Sellers who are found to cause repeated problems on the eBay site will be negatively impacted in their seller standings and possibly suspended.
eBay's Buyer Protection Team
 
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The next day (08-16) I received this message:
 
Your case is open, and we wanted to check in with you to see if the issue has been resolved.
 
We encourage you to contact your seller to work things out.
 
If you were able to work this out with the seller, you can close this case in the Resolution Center.
 
If we don't hear back from you by Sep 08, 2012, we'll assume you've worked out this issue and your case will automatically close.
 
You can view the details of this case in the Resolution Center.
 
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On 08-20 I received this message where eBay is requesting a tracking number with a three day 'drop dead' date to respond:
 
Recently you have contacted us about the 1981 Chalie Chaplin Print Mirroritem#251107716211. I understand that you shipped this item back to your seller and still have not gotten a refund. I apologize for that frustration that the seller tells you something and they don't go through with their word.
 
I am contacting you to ask for that return tracking number. Just like when the seller sends an item to you, when you send an item to them we need to have proof that they got their item back. eBay won't be able to refund the transaction until the seller confirms that they've received the item back. I am placing this case on hold for 3 days to give you a chance to either reply to this email with that tracking or to call us. As well as, please provide the tracking number to the seller, so they can locate the package on there end. If you do not come to us with that information in that timeframe the case will automatically be closed with just the information that we have right now, which might not be in your favor. If you need more time to get that from the postal service you shipped through then contact us also and simply just request more time. In order to close this in your favor though we need a tracking number that this item either shows delivered or in the Hong Kong customs, if you do not have a tracking number then the case will be decided against you. If you go to the postal service and get that information from them that the item has been delivered you can come to us, and we will review it for eligibility to close the case in your favor. 
 
We ask buyers to use tracking information when they return packages. That way, eBay is able to independently verify returns. This helps ensure the transaction is safe for everyone.
 
Thanks for your patience and understanding. We appreciate all the buying that you have been doing since 2010, and for cooperating with this sellers return, keep up the great work!
  
Regards,
Kristi W.
eBay Customer Services
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 eBay states: If I did not have a tracking number they would not honor my claim.   The item was sent to me w/out a tracking number.  Therefore, when the item was returned as 'not accepted' there was no tracking number to follow it back to the seller.  Seller (goodgoodies-uk) is new to eBay.  While all this is transpiring, seller has stopped selling on eBay.  Seller would not answer my message whether they had received the returned item or not.  I responded to eBay that this was hardly fair as I did not believe there was a tracking number but I would go to the P.O. to attempt to locate one.   I was not able to get to the P.O. until the fourth day.  Although the P.O. representative remembered the item (it was the subject of talk as 'who in their right mind would send glass wrapped in paper through the postal service') there was no tracking number.  eBay had already denied my claim.  I contacted them via phone.  Bottom line: They are not going to honor my claim. 
 
Although I have a record of 1499 purchases, I wont be hitting the 1500 mark.
 
This is exactly what the insurance companies do.  They look for ways to deny claims rather than fulfilling their promise of honoring submitted claims.