Almost a month ago, I purchased a Pokémon TCG item on eBay that I realized, after the seller posted further listings, is definitely a scam. Not a big deal, I thought–I’ll just file a case when it inevitably turns out to have been a scam.
But then I read the fine print of eBay’s return policy for TCGs and noticed a loophole (that presumably I’m not the first to notice, because it’s pretty obvious) that I’m not sure how to handle:
eBay policy allows you to file an item not as described claim (INAD) within 3 days of the delivery date. But this 3 day timer starts as soon as you hit the estimated delivery date–not the actual delivery date.
So take this scenario (which is actually happening to me right now):
9/1/25 - I buy a TCG item from overseas with an estimated delivery date of 10/16/2025
9/3/25 - The seller ships w/ a legit tracking #
9/5/25 - Most recent tracking update
If the item isn’t delivered by the estimated delivery date (10/16/2025), I could file an item not received (INR) claim. The earliest I could escalate to eBay would be 10/20/2025. And eBay generally takes ~48 hrs to resolve such a claim in the buyer’s favor after it is escalated, and a seller has 30 days to appeal.
As such, if the item arrives not as described between 10/20 and 11/22, the buyer literally has no recourse because it’s:
(1) before the escalated INR case is resolved (so the seller can upload tracking and have the case (or appeal) resolved in his favor)
AND
(2) after the 3-day INAD window, which was 10/16-10/19.
Genuinely curious what all of you would do if you were in the same situation. If the scammer is smart, it would seem that I have no recourse whatsoever if the package arrives between 10/20 and 11/22?
I can’t wait it out, though. Because the estimated delivery date is October 16th. And the table that I posted above shows that it’s based on estimated delivery date for late deliveries. Meaning, if the tracking shows the item was delivered at any point after 10/19, I have no recourse (based on the policy as written).
I’m curious of this because I had a seller immediately relist an item I purchased. They shipped out from the UK to US. I reached out to the seller asking them about it with no reply. I receive the card Monday so I’m interested to see what I get.
it probably is working the same as their normal money back guarantee then, but instead of 30 days u only get 3. i normally file inr as soon as i can because some ppl just straight up wont ship ur item and then if u wait too long u are screwed
which is why i have no idea why ppl “preorder” booster boxes etc 30+ days out at already inflated prices coz if the seller doesnt ship ebay wont give u your money back
anyway ur gonna have to file the chargeback if you want ur money back
Yeah, this is basically my takeaway. Kinda crazy that eBay has such an obvious policy loophole that could literally be solved just by changing the policy to what @eeveeteam stated it was.
Mine was also UK to US, and mine originally had a scheduled delivery date of 9/08/2025. Now 20 days since then and radio silence. I’d be curious to know if yours actually is delivered on the scheduled delivery date (assuming it’s UPS, which mine was).
