eBay Buyer Loses Confidence in Money Back Guarantee

BUYER BEWARE

This is strange….a money back guarantee from a large, publicly traded company that is not even worth the electrons it took to display on your computer monitor.  According to the eBay User Agreement dated August 12, 2014:  

eBay Money Back Guarantee

Most eBay sales go smoothly, but if there’s a problem with a purchase, the eBay Money Back Guarantee helps buyers and sellers communicate and resolve issues. Buyers and sellers agree to comply with the policy and permit us to make a final decision on any eBay Money Back Guarantee case.

If a seller is required to reimburse the buyer or eBay under the Money Back Guarantee, the seller authorizes eBay to ask PayPal to remove the reimbursement amount (in same or other currency) from their PayPal account, place the amount on the seller’s invoice and/or charge the seller’s payment method on file. The cost of return shipping for an item that is not as described is the seller’s responsibility and if an eBay generated return shipping label is used, the seller authorizes eBay to place the return shipping label cost on the seller’s invoice, subject to the seller’s automatic payment method on file. If we cannot get reimbursement from the seller, we may collect the outstanding sums using other collection mechanisms, including retaining collection agencies.

We may suspend the eBay Money Back Guarantee in whole or in part without notice if we suspect abuse or interference with the proper working of the policy.

So, presumably, the seller is RESPONSIBLE for the cost of return shipping if he sends you a pound of coal instead of an ounce of gold.  Makes sense, right?  Well, see the response I received from eBay’s Escalation Dept when I did not receive an item as described that the seller is required to provide reimbursement under the Money Back Guarantee: