I am sorry to say that I have made 1 purchase order through eBay in my life: it was terrible quality

[judjudismit]

Dear eBay,

I am sorry to say that I have made 1 purchase order through eBay in my life:

a book and 2 pairs of ice cleats to wear over hiking boots in dangerous, icy conditions. 

The book came within days and was wonderful. 

The ice spikes we wore once (several months after buying them, since there was no ice on the mountains before that) and I have attached photos (to the returned email) to show how well they worked.  They completely fell apart on the first time we wore them.   They were completely inferior quality and left us in a risky position climbing on a steep, icy mountain side with useless eBay-purchased equipment. 

Both the supplier and eBay/PayPal  have refused to honor the expectation of  quality, or repay me, or replace them.

So I think you have to agree that it would be foolish for me to ever purchase something through eBay again.

Disappointed but smarter,

Judit Smits

[dutchman48]

Did they come from China?

[femmefan1946]

The ice spikes we wore once (several months after buying them,

If there were any warranty, it expired months ago.

Even WalMart wouldn't honour a warranty after that long.

It's a normal problem with buying out of season goods.

If the item came with a manufacurer's warranty, follow up on that.

But expecting any retailer to reimburse you months after purchase is optimistic.

And we are not just talking about online sellers here.

Buying a winter product and complaining in the spring?

Uh huh.

Mountain Equipment Cooperative sells high quality goods and my climber DD recommends them.

[momcqueen]

When I find myself in possession of an item that did not meet my expectations, I usually contact the manufacturer to lodge a complaint. Did you try that? 

As to your reluctance to buy again with ebay, I have written a Buyers Guide that you might find useful. 

http://www.ebay.ca/gds/10-Steps-to-Hassle-Free-Buying-on-eBay-/10000000204740571/g.html