Defective items, had to pay return shipping?!

[gilliankehler]

If somebody could clarify for me how I lost this case....?

it was a few months back but it still baffles me. Ordered $100 worth of clothes from a popular and long-standing US seller. When I received them, four of the items were significantly different from the listing (one necklace was broken, and the others were not the size/measurements stated). So I opened a request to return them with the seller through eBay, and they were cooperative and agreed to refund me the return shipping costs, but adamant that I would not be refunded original shipping costs, just the costs of the items (the shipping  costs were arguably equal to the cost of the items).

I thought if items are not as described, that is no fault of mine as a buyer, and therefore upon returning the items I should receive a full refund including original shipping?

Anyways since the seller still insisted I would not receive a refund for original shipping, I closed the eBay case, escalated to a  Paypal claim, waited for the decision, and Paypal decided in the seller's favour, informing me to return the items for a refund. When I asked yet again if I would be refunded original shipping costs, again the answer was no.

I ended up just closing the case and counting it as a loss, but I can't help but wonder if something is not right about that?

Advice from those of you who know the ropes better than I would be appreciated, so I can avoid this mess again in the future 🙂

[gilliankehler]

Apologies. Title should read "had to pay original shipping" not "return shipping."

[dmil8030]

<< I closed the case . . . made more of my money back reselling the items on ebay than returning them . . .
------
. . .Tell me again how that looks? >>

Like a competing seller who failed to get a sought-after discount on resale items.  I'm not implying that is what happened,

only that this is how it could look to the other seller.

I'm just saying that it's funny how the shoe is always way too tight when it's on the other foot, that's all. 

[gilliankehler]

Wow.... I sell my unwanted or outgrown clothes on here. This is by no means a business or source of income for me and with 52 listings I'd think to the naked eye that would be pretty obvious!
Sheesh!

[momcqueen]

For the longest time, I resisted the advice to have two IDs in order to use one to sell and another to buy.

Like you, I don't have anything to hide, after all, and I thought it demonstrated that I was both trustworthy as a seller and trustworthy as a buyer by laying all my cards out on the table. In the long run, however, I think it had the opposite effect. Whenever I had a legitimate complaint with an item or its handling, it always looked like I was trying to pull a fast one, and it was all too easy for the seller in question to tell him- or herself that it was all my fault that I was hard to please and not their doing at all that was responsible for the mishaps, no matter what it was.

If you want my advice, open a new account to buy with only. Let sellers think you're a noob and see how they might treat you differently. 

There are other ebay members still who have an account to post on Community only. 

To avoid retaliation.

I'm not that paranoid..... yet.