Offering a Clear Return Policy

eBay's research shows that "difficulty in returning items" is the top shopping barrier cited by buyers. Often, the source of the difficulty is buyer confusion over a seller's return policy. This means sellers who clearly spell out a return policy in their listings have an edge on the competition. That is, sellers who provide a clear return policy are likely to sell a higher percentage of their listed items than sellers who do not have a clear return policy.

eBay's research also shows that only a very small percentage of sold items are actually returned.

Due to differences in legal requirements for each country, different sites support different return policy options. To make return policies easier to specify and to understand, most eBay sites offer a standardized way to specify and display return policy information.

Starting in early 2009, sellers will be required to specify a return policy for auction and fixed price listings in most categories. On some sites, sellers can choose not to accept returns under normal circumstances, but they must still specify this clearly by using the standard return policy options. Keep an eye on the eBay Developer Newsletter and the blog for updates on when return policies will be required.

Note: Regardless of your stated return policy, all sellers are expected to adhere to eBay's Rules for Sellers, which include accepting a returned item when the item is not as described. Rules for Sellers (eBay US) http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/ia/rules_for_sellers.html

For general information, rules, and legal guidance on offering a return policy, see the eBay Web site's online help. Here are a few examples:

Specifying Your Return Policy (eBay US)

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/your-return-policy.html

Ihre Rücknahmebedingungen (eBay Germany)

http://pages.ebay.de/help/sell/your-return-policy.html

Legal Guidance for Business Sellers (eBay UK)

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/business.html

Returns & the Law (eBay UK)

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/businesscentre/law-policies/returns.html

Legal Guidance for Business Sellers (eBay Ireland)

http://pages.ebay.ie/help/policies/business.html

Returns & the Law (eBay Ireland)

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/businesscentre/law-policies/returns.html

Specifying Your Return Policy (eBay Australia)

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/sell/your-return-policy.html

Specifying Your Return Policy (eBay India)

http://pages.ebay.in/help/sell/your-return-policy.html

Guidelines for Creating Legally Compliant Listings (eBay India)

http://pages.ebay.in/help/tp/compliant-listings.html

Warranties (eBay India)

http://pages.ebay.in/help/policies/warranties.html

Listing an Item with a Return Policy

To include your return policy in a listing:

For the site you're listing on, use GetCategoryFeatures to determine which categories require a return policy (see ReturnPolicyEnabled).

If either the primary or secondary category in your listing requires a return policy, then the listing must include a return policy.

For the site you're listing on, use GeteBayDetails to determine which return policy fields are supported, and which values are supported (see ReturnPolicyDetails).
If your application has a user interface, present the available return policy options.

Buyers and sellers typically expect return policy information to be grouped with payment and shipping instructions.

When you list the item, specify the return policy options in the Item.ReturnPolicy fields.

Please note that ReturnPolicyType (which is the type used for Item.ReturnPolicy) defines a pair of fields for several return policy options. For example, for the refund option, there is a RefundOption field (an enumeration of type xs:token) and a Refund field (a localized display string). You can only use the"option" field (e.g., RefundOption) in AddItem. You can't use the other field (e.g. Refund) in AddItem. The localized string is only provided as a convenience for displaying refund options in user interface elements.

Also see Restrictions on Changing Item Properties During a Revision.

Predefined return policy options were previously described using the Attributes API. As the original return policy attributes may be deprecated in the future, we recommend that you use the new ReturnPolicy node instead. For information on how to migrate to the new node, see Migrating from Attributes to the ReturnPolicy Node.

Retrieving an Item's Return Policy

GetItem, GetSellerList, and GetBidderList all return the Item.ReturnPolicy fields. For your convenience, they return both the enumeration values that can be used in AddItem as well as localized display strings for each field.

Migrating from Attributes to the ReturnPolicy Node

Predefined return policy options were previously described using the Attributes API. As the original return policy attributes may be deprecated in the future, we recommend that you use the new ReturnPolicy node instead.

The following information is being provided for existing applications that are migrating from the return policy attributes to the new ReturnPolicy node.

Mapping Return Policy Attributes to ReturnPolicy Fields

If your application applies specific business logic to each return policy attribute, it may be helpful to map each attribute to the corresponding ReturnPolicy field.

For the initial release of the new Item.ReturnPolicy node (in September 2008), eBay mapped the applicable Return Policy attribute name and value labels to corresponding fields of the newer Item.ReturnPolicy node. Several of the new fields use enumeration values (of type token) for input to AddItem, so the value names have been adjusted to follow eBay's schema standards as needed. Table 5-2 shows an example of how this mapping was handled. In the future, eBay may add new fields to Item.ReturnPolicy that are not supported in the older attribute format. Some eBay sites also may ignore certain attributes that are still returned in GetAttributesCS. See GeteBayDetails to determine which options are in effect for each site.

Table 5-2 Examples of Attribute Mappings to Return Policy Fields

Site (ID)	Attribute Label	Enumeration Field (AddItem)	Attribute Value Label	Enum Value (AddItem)	Display Field (GetItem)	Display String (GetItem)
US (0)	Item must be returned within	ReturnsWithinOption	14 Days	Days_14	ReturnsWithin	14 Days
CH (193)	Item must be returned within	ReturnsWithinOption	14 Tagen nach Erhalt der Artikels	Days_14	ReturnsWithin	14 Tagen nach Erhalt der Artikels

You can use the examples above as a model if you need to map the return policy attribute and value labels from GetAttributesCS to the new field names and values from GeteBayDetails for each site.

Identifying and Hiding Site-Wide Return Policy Attribute Metadata

If you currently use GetCategory2CS and GetAttributesCS and your application automatically displays site-wide attributes to sellers, it is a good idea to avoid presenting the old return policy attributes and the new ReturnPolicy fields at the same time.

Here are some ways you can identify return policy characteristic sets and attributes:

In GetCategory2CS, most sites return the return policy characteristic set name as "Return Policy" (in English), with a few exceptions:
Teruggavebeleid (BENL, site 123)
Règlement sur le renvoi des objets (BEFR, site 23)
The value on the Hong Kong site (HK, site 201)
Retourbeleid (NL, site 146)
Zasady zwrotów (PL, site 212)
Política de devoluciones (ES, site 186)
UK Return Policy (UK, site 3)

Also, the return policy characteristic set IDs rarely change. So, one way to identify a site's return policy characteristic set is to perform these checks:

Check for the site's historical Return Policy CharacteristicsSet.AttributeSetID value.
Check that the corresponding CharacteristicsSet.Name is "Return Policy" (or one of the above options).
In GetAttributesCS, the return policy characteristic set and attributes include the XML attribute pageLocation="ReturnPolicy":
<PresentationInstruction pageLocation="ReturnPolicy">
<Attribute id='XXXX' ...XML attributes here... pageLocation="ReturnPolicy">

Listing with Return Policy Attributes (Deprecated Soon)

The following information is being provided for applications that have not yet upgraded to the new ReturnPolicy node. As the older return policy attributes may be deprecated in the future, we strongly recommend that you use the new ReturnPolicy node instead.

The Attributes API provides a standardized way to describe different aspects of a listing, such as Item Specifics (part of the item's basic description) or an item's return policy (part of the listing's payment and shipping instructions). See Working with Attribute-Based Features for general information about working with the Attributes API.

This documentation does not describe the available return policy options for each site. Instead, you retrieve the information programmatically by using the Attributes API:

Use the GetCategory2CS to determine which categories support standard return policy options. Specifically, it returns mappings between categories and characteristics sets. See The Attributes (Item Specifics) API for information about characteristics sets.
Use the GetAttributesCS to retrieve return policy meta-data (and Item Specifics meta-data) in the standardized Attributes API format. In most cases, a site's return policy meta-data is specified in a single characteristics set. Please note that as of October 2008, some attributes and values that are returned in GetAttributesCS might be dropped when passed in AddItem, as they are no longer used on the eBay Web site.

Buyers and sellers expect return policy information to be grouped with payment and shipping instructions. To help you distinguish between return policy meta-data and Item Specifics meta-data, the GetAttributesCS response includes page location information (see the Attribute.pageLocation and PresentationInstruction.pageLocation attributes in the Attributes API schema). The page location for return policy data is named ReturnPolicy. If no page location is specified for a given attribute, it means the attribute is associated with the Item Specifics location (the default location).

Return policy meta-data is typically specified in a site-wide characteristics set. (See The Attributes (Item Specifics) API for information about site-wide vs. full characteristics sets.)

If your application supports a graphical user interface, you can use the Item Specifics SYI XSL stylesheet to present the return policy options (the GetAttributesCS response) to the seller. To retrieve the XSL stylesheet, use GetAttributesXSL.

The following information is being provided for applications that have not yet upgraded to the new ReturnPolicy node. As the older return policy attributes may be deprecated in the future, we strongly recommend that you use the new ReturnPolicy node instead.

To include return policy options in a listing:

Retrieve the characteristics set mappings for a category. See Retrieving Category-to-Meta-Data Mappings.
Examine both the mapped categories and the site-wide list to determine which characteristics sets are mapped to the category.
Retrieve attribute meta-data for the category of interest. Multiple characteristics sets can be mapped to the same category (e.g., one for Item Specifics and one for return policy meta-data). See Retrieving Item Specifics Meta-Data.
Retrieve the XSL stylesheet. See Retrieving the Item Specifics SYI XSL Stylesheet.
If the ReturnPolicy page location is returned in the GetAttributesCS response object, display the return policy choices to the seller. To render return policy attributes (if any), modify the XML to set the page ID to the "ReturnPolicy" page location. Apply the XSL stylesheet, present the page to the seller, and capture the seller's selections. See Working with the Item Specifics XSL Stylesheet for details.
To render Item Specifics fields to the seller, modify the XML so that no page ID is specified. Apply the XSL stylesheet, present the page to the seller, and capture the seller's selections.
Use AddItem to add the listing with the return policy (if any) and Item Specifics the seller selected.

Use the Item.AttributeSetArray.AttributeSet property to specify the return policy attribute set when you are working with AddItem, VerifyAddItem, ReviseItem, or RelistItem requests. See Listing with Item Specifics and Catalog Data for more information about this format.

Return policies are subject to standard ReviseItem restrictions (see Revising Items).

If a category does not support predefined return policy options, the seller can specify a return policy in the item description field (Item.Description) and payment instructions field Item.ShippingDetails.PaymentInstructions instead.

The table below lists some of the site-wide return policy characteristic set IDs, attribute IDs and value IDs that have been supported on certain sites in the past. Use GetAttributesCS to determine the historical list of attribute and value IDs for each site. Use GeteBayDetails to determine which options currently apply on each site. (If you specify an attribute or value that is no longer applicable in AddItem, it may be dropped from the listing.)

The following information is being provided for applications that have not yet upgraded to the new ReturnPolicy node. As the older return policy attributes may be deprecated, we strongly recommend that you use the new ReturnPolicy node instead.

Table 5-3 Site-Wide Return Policy Meta-Data (Deprecated Soon) 

Site (ID)	AttributeSet ID	AttributeSet Label	Attribute ID	Attribute Label	Value ID	Value Label
US (0)	2135	Return Policy	3803	Returns Accepted	32040	Returns Accepted
					-10	ReturnsNotAccepted
			3805	Refund will be given as	32037	Money Back
					32038	Exchange
					32039	Merchandise Credit
			3804	Item must be returned within	32031	3 Days
					32032	7 Days
					32035	14 Days
					32036	30 Days
					95148	60 Days
			3806	Return Policy Details	-3	(User-defined description)
			3993	Return shipping will be paid by	81120	Buyer
					81121	Seller
CA (2)	2276	Return Policy	3803	Returns Accepted	32040	Returns Accepted
					-10	ReturnsNotAccepted
			3805	Refund will be given as	32037	Money Back
					32038	Exchange
					32039	Merchandise Credit
			3804	Item must be returned within	32031	3 Days
					32032	7 Days
					32035	14 Days
					32036	30 Days
					95148	60 Days
			3806	Return Policy Details	-3	(User-defined description)
			3993	Return shipping will be paid by	81120	Buyer
					81121	Seller
UK (3)	2183	Return Policy	3803	Returns Accepted	32040	Returns Accepted
					-10	ReturnsNotAccepted
			3804	Item must be returned within	32032	7 Days of receipt
					32035	14 Days of receipt
					32036	30 Days of receipt
			3806	Return Policy Details	-3	(User-defined description)
AU (15)	2350	Return Policy	3803	Returns Accepted	32040	Returns Accepted
					-10	ReturnsNotAccepted
			3805	Refund will be given as	32037	Money Back
					32038	Exchange
					32039	Merchandise Credit
			3804	Item must be returned within	32032	7 Days
					32035	14 Days
					32036	30 Days
					95148	60 Days
			3806	Return Policy Details	-3	(User-defined description)
			3993	Return shipping will be paid by	81120	Buyer
					81121	Seller
AT (16)	2243	Rücknahme akzeptiert	3803	Rücknahme akzeptiert	32040	Rückgabe wird akzeptiert-
					-10	ReturnsNotAccepted
			3804	Item must be returned within	32033	7 Werktagen nach Erhalt der Artikels
					32035	14 Tagen nach Erhalt der Artikels
					32036	30 Tagen nach Erhalt der Artikels
			3806	Rücknahme - Weitere Angaben	-3	(User-defined description)
DE (77)	2136	Rücknahme akzeptiert	3803	Rücknahme akzeptiert	32040	14-Tage-Geld-zurück
					-10	ReturnsNotAccepted
			3805	Refund will be given as	32037	Money Back
			3804	Item must be returned within	32035	14 Days
			3806	Rücknahme - Weitere Angaben	-3	(User-defined description)
CH (193)	2254	Rücknahme akzeptiert	3803	Rücknahme akzeptiert	32040	Rückgabe wird akzeptiert-
					-10	ReturnsNotAccepted
			3804	Item must be returned within	32033	7 Werktagen nach Erhalt der Artikels
					32035	14 Tagen nach Erhalt der Artikels
					32036	30 Tagen nach Erhalt der Artikels
			3806	Rücknahme - Weitere Angaben	-3	(User-defined description)
IN (203)	2298	Return Policy	3803	Returns Accepted	32040	Returns Accepted
					-10	ReturnsNotAccepted
			3805	Refund will be given as	32037	Money Back
					32038	Exchange
					32039	Merchandise Credit
			3804	Item must be returned within	32032	7 Days
					32035	14 Days
					32036	30 Days
			3806	Return Policy Details	-3	(User-defined description, max 500 characters)
			3816	Is Warranty Offered	35934	Warranty offered
			3817	Warranty type:	35936	Dealer Warranty
					35937	Manufacturer Warranty
					35935	Replacement Warranty
			3992	Warranty Duration	81113	1 month
					81114	3 months
					81115	6 months
					81116	1 year
					81117	2 years
					81118	3 years
					81119	More than 3 years
			3993	Shipping Cost for returns to be paid by	81120	Buyer
					81121	Seller

Retrieving an Item's Return Policy Attributes (Deprecated)

The following information is being provided for applications that have not yet upgraded to the new ReturnPolicy node. As the older return policy attributes may be deprecated in the future, we strongly recommend that you use the new ReturnPolicy node instead.

If an item was listed with return policy options, the data is no longer returned in the Attributes API format when you use GetItem with any detail level.

Due to legal restrictions in different countries, eBay cannot translate return policies into other languages. When you retrieve an item, the return policy is displayed in the language of the site on which the item was listed, not the language of the site use specify when you use GetItem. We recommend that you do not attempt to translate the text of return policies in your application. Also, the return policy may differ for international buyers. Thus, international buyers should contact the seller for more details.

User-Contributed Notes