eBay: item arrived damaged or defective
Start a return request as item not as described; the guarantee applies even if the seller does not accept returns.
What does this mean?
Grade A (high: almost everything comes from official pages read directly). 97% of 38 sources are the organization's own pages or government sites.
Collect
- photos of the item and packaging
- listing description
- order number
Steps
Photograph the item and packaging. Start a return request and choose the damaged, faulty or wrong-item reason.
Give the seller 3 business days to offer a solution. The seller generally pays return shipping for a not-as-described return.
If the seller does not respond or refuses, ask eBay to step in from the return in Purchases.
Ship the return with tracking. The seller must refund within 2 business days of receiving it unless the return details give more time.
More contacts for this issue
Facts you can cite
- Deadline
An item-not-as-described request must be opened no later than 30 calendar days after the estimated or actual delivery date, or within the seller's return window if that is longer.
Source: ebay.com, verified 2026-10-12
- Deadline
For item not as described, you can ask eBay to step in once the seller accepts the return or 3 business days after your request; the latest point is 21 business days after the request if the seller never responded.
Source: ebay.com, verified 2026-10-12
- Limit
Trading cards, coins, bullion and paper money have a shorter not-as-described window of 3 calendar days if the seller does not offer returns.
Source: ebay.com, verified 2026-10-12
- Process
Before arbitration or small claims, the user agreement requires a Notice of Dispute through eBay's webform and a 45-day informal resolution process; filing deadlines pause during it.
Source: ebay.com, verified 2026-10-12
- Deadline
A new user can opt out of arbitration by a signed written notice postmarked no later than 30 days after first accepting the user agreement.
Source: ebay.com, verified 2026-10-12
Rules in force
- Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act15 U.S.C. 2302, 2310; FTC Disclosure and Pre-Sale Availability Rules
Federal law for written warranties on consumer products. Warrantors must disclose warranty terms in simple language, may not void a warranty because the consumer used another brand of parts or service (unless those are free or the FTC grants a waiver), and may not disclaim implied warranties when they give a written warranty. Consumers can sue for breach and may recover attorneys' fees.
Source: ftc.gov, verified 2026-10-12
1 citable point
- Policy
Under a "full" warranty, service must be free, available to anyone who owns the product during the warranty period, and the warrantor must replace or refund if it cannot repair the product after a reasonable number of tries. It may not limit the duration of implied warranties or impose unreasonable duties, such as requiring return of a registration card.
Source: ftc.gov, verified 2026-10-12
- Policy
If that fails, escalate
Go up one step at a time. Keep the reference numbers and dates from each contact.
Customer service
Open the request with the seller first.
Supervisor
Ask eBay to step in from the request in Purchases once the seller's 3 business days have passed.
Written complaint
Card or bank dispute
Fair Credit Billing Act billing-error and purchase-dispute rights (Regulation Z)
Electronic Fund Transfer Act error resolution and unauthorized-transfer liability (Regulation E)
A chargeback ends Money Back Guarantee coverage for that transaction; use it only after eBay's process fails.
State agency
Your state’s attorney general. Find it in the list of state agencies (also as JSON:
states/<code>.json, for example states/ny.json).Public complaint
RegulatorBetter Business Bureau
Watch out
- eBay shows a bot verification page on most help URLs; requests, step-in and appeals need the buyer's sign-in.
- No general eBay phone number was found; callback and chat options appear only after you choose a topic in Help & Contact.
Let your AI agent handle this
Escalate Anything is a free, open-source MCP server for Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Gemini CLI, Codex and other AI apps. Your agent gets this playbook, keeps a case log with reference numbers and follow-up dates, and drafts each message for you to approve.
1. Set it up (needs uv):
uvx escalate-anything setup2. Ask your agent:
My eBay order arrived broken on [date]. Use Escalate Anything to get a refund or a replacement.Source code, other install options and the Claude Code plugin