Something you bought on eBay never arrived, arrived broken, or is nothing like the listing? Getting your money back is straightforward if you follow the process in the right order. One thing has changed since most guides were written: eBay now handles payments itself rather than routing everything through PayPal, so your first stop is eBay’s Money Back Guarantee, not a PayPal dispute. Here is the full process, including when PayPal still comes into it.
Step 1: Contact the Seller First
eBay requires you to give the seller a chance to fix the problem before it intervenes, and most sellers resolve issues quickly because their account rating depends on it. Go to your Purchase History, find the item, and select “Contact seller” or “Return this item” depending on the problem. State the issue plainly, attach photos if the item is damaged or not as described, and give them a clear ask: replacement, partial refund, or full refund.
Sellers have up to 3 business days to respond. Keep all communication inside eBay’s messaging system, because eBay can read it if you need to escalate later.
Step 2: Open a Return or “Item Not Received” Request
If the seller does not respond or refuses to help, open a formal request from your Purchase History. There are two tracks:
- Item not received: if the estimated delivery date has passed and tracking shows nothing, open an “item not received” request. The seller has 3 business days to provide tracking, a replacement, or a refund.
- Not as described / faulty: open a return request. The seller can accept the return (and must pay return postage if the item is faulty or misdescribed), offer a partial refund you can accept or decline, or decline the return.
Step 3: Escalate to eBay’s Money Back Guarantee
If the seller ignores the request or declines it unfairly, ask eBay to step in. The option appears on the request after the seller’s response window closes. eBay reviews the listing, the messages and any photos, and typically rules within a few days. If they find in your favour, the refund is forced from the seller’s account back to your original payment method.
The deadlines matter. You can open a request within 30 days of delivery (or the estimated delivery date), and eBay’s Money Back Guarantee covers most purchases on the platform. Miss the window and your options narrow considerably.
Where PayPal Still Fits
If you paid for the eBay purchase with PayPal (still an option at checkout for many transactions), PayPal’s own Buyer Protection is a genuine fallback when eBay’s process fails or the deadline has passed. Open a dispute in PayPal’s Resolution Centre within 180 days of payment, then escalate it to a claim within 20 days if the seller does not resolve it. PayPal will ask for the same evidence: listing details, messages, photos, tracking numbers.
One warning: do not run both disputes at once. An open eBay Money Back Guarantee case and a PayPal claim for the same transaction can get both closed. Pick one path, and if it fails, close it before opening the other. If you are weighing up PayPal for purchases generally, our guide to whether PayPal is safe covers how its protection compares to paying by card directly.
If You Paid by Card Through eBay
If you checked out on eBay with a credit or debit card directly, your fallback after eBay’s process is a chargeback through your bank. Australian banks generally allow chargebacks for goods not received or not as described, typically within 120 days of the transaction. Contact your bank, explain that eBay’s dispute process was exhausted or unsuccessful, and provide the same evidence. Be aware that eBay may restrict accounts that use chargebacks, so treat it as the final option.
Practical Tips That Speed Things Up
- Photograph everything the day it arrives: packaging, labels, damage. Disputes are won on evidence.
- Never accept a deal to take the sale off eBay. Off-platform sales have no protection at all.
- Watch the deadlines: 30 days for eBay requests, 180 days for PayPal disputes, around 120 days for card chargebacks.
- If a “seller” contacts you about a refund you never asked for, it is a scam. Real refunds only ever move through the original payment channel.
Refund processes and account closures share a theme: knowing the official path before you need it. If you are cleaning up old accounts while you are at it, our guide to cancelling subscriptions properly applies the same get-it-in-writing approach.
