Final Value Fee Refund for Unpaid Orders is a Pain for eBay India Sellers

eBay marketplace has an issue that is turning out to be a constant source of irritation for most e-sellers and merchants on the platform. It is the infamous ‘Final Value Fee’ (FVF) on unpaid orders. It is a commission it charges on the final sale of an item.

A marketplace, or any other e-commerce business for that matter, relies greatly on a robust and mission critical payment gateway service. However, orders do fail and that too because of some glitch in the gateway or incorrect steps taken by the buyer while paying for the order. These failures at the payment level result in "unpaid orders" within eBay.

This is bound to happen and that's fine. However, even without a complete sale, eBay India charges the Final Value Fee for unpaid orders as well. The seller then has to follow up with eBay India’s Resolution center to get the fee back. It requires a lot of patience due to the fact that a merchant has to wait for the credit towards that failed payment after eBay processes the complaint and gets back with a resolution. This is a frustrating process for the sellers and it is completely unnecessary.

Here is an excerpt from eBay India’s policy on Final Value fees,

To receive a Final Value Fee credit to your seller account, you need to open and close a case for an unpaid item or canceled transaction at our Resolution Center. (For instructions on how to do this, see What to do if a buyer doesn't pay or Canceling a transaction.)

After you close a case, you may receive a Final Value Fee credit under the following conditions:

• The buyer doesn't respond within seven days of when you opened a case with them in our Resolution Center to resolve payment or cancel the transaction.

• The buyer agrees to your request to cancel the transaction.

• The buyer isn't going to pay and you need to close the case.

• The buyer returns the item and you issue a refund.  

If you qualify for a Final Value Fee credit, it will be assigned to your seller account 7-10 days after you close the case and can be applied to another listing. If you want to be refunded for the credit, go here.

Note: If you relist the item, you may qualify for an Insertion Fee credit, but will pay the usual Final Value Fee when the item sells.

Think about it! A payment failure happens due to some glitch which the seller is not in control of. The seller is only using the platform provided to him. The onus of ensuring smooth payments, including any problems occurring therein, should lie with the Marketplace which in this case is eBay India. Why should the seller be forced to pay up for an unpaid order which is clearly not his fault? Paper pushing and following up with eBay’s Resolution Center is time consuming and completely unnecessary step for the seller. The occurrence of these incidents have made a lot of sellers angry about eBay’s final value policy. The company should shoulder the responsibility of these failed orders and not charge the sellers in the first place.

If you are a seller and have been affected by this, share your experience in the comments below.