Mystery eBay refund
November 22, 2023 8:23 AM   Subscribe

I got two emails this morning saying that I'm going to be refunded 48 cents for a purchase I made in May. I haven't requested a refund of any kind. The purchase was about $70.

The first email is from a Paypal service address and says "Your refund is on the way." It says it will refund the money to my Visa card or, if that is declined, refund it to my Paypal account.

The second email is from eBay and says I should receive a refund in 48 hours.

I wrote the seller and asked if they know what's going on. What could this be? Aside from changing passwords, what else should I do?
posted by FencingGal to Shopping (5 answers total)
 
Best answer: Is there any sign of this activity if you go to ebay.com (not to a link in the email) and sign in with your account?
posted by zamboni at 8:39 AM on November 22, 2023 [2 favorites]


Best answer: This might be a phish, so tread carefully -- don't click any links from the email. zamboni's suggestion is good, and it's what I'd do.
posted by humbug at 8:40 AM on November 22, 2023 [2 favorites]


Best answer: For one possibility: As someone who does a lot of shipping for my wife’s small e-commerce company, the timing and amount feels like a postage refund. If you buy a shipping label and mis-state the package weight/dimensions, USPS will correct it and an adjust the postage either way.
posted by Back At It Again At Krispy Kreme at 8:42 AM on November 22, 2023 [2 favorites]


Response by poster: I didn't click on anything in the email.
I went to my eBay account, and the message does appear there as a message sent to me, so it seems like it's legit.

Postage seems like a good explanation. Thanks everyone!
posted by FencingGal at 8:57 AM on November 22, 2023 [2 favorites]


Amazon often refunds me tiny amounts (under $3) for import charges I paid on random things I bought, maybe something like that?
posted by nouvelle-personne at 9:57 AM on November 22, 2023


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