Never received an item, I am kind of new and innocent to Ebay, and I think the seller tricked me. How do I get out of this?

[here2shop1617]

So I bought iPhone cases for my boyfriend. They cost me 15$ each, and I bought 2 from the same seller, who is: ee-beauty.

They sent me the two cases very fast (within a week) but one of the cases was broken.

I wrote a message to them and sent pictures of how it was broken. I have those messages in my inbox. 

Here is what they told me: 

Dear Customer,Thank you so much for your reply.We have seen the pictures. I'm really sorry for what happened.I just checked our sale records, you bid 2 items from us, so what about another one? Is it in good condition?If so, what about we directly resend you a case as replacement?You do not need to ship the item back, because it is broken, it is useless for us, please directly through it away.Waiting for your reply. Please don't worry, we will try our best to solve your problem.Or if you have any other idea about the solution, you can tell me, we will do what you want.Sorry again for the inconvenience caused.
Best Regards,
AmyCustomer Service

I agreed to them sending me something else. I did not throw the broken case I have received the first time yet, I decided to keep it in case something happens. Dunno if that helps.

But it has been more than 40 days now, I haven't been refunded nor have I received a new case that I have PAID, I have contacted this person, and I CANNOT OPEN An EBAY CASE against them because it isn't in my history anymore or does not fit the criteria for a case, but I still have my bills and messages in my inbox... 

What can I do? 
I know it's only 15$, but for me right now, I feel tricked by these people... I don't know if I should buy from ebay anymore if this kind of thing will happen again :T

[femmefan1946]

But it has been more than 40 days now, I haven't been refunded nor have I received a new case that I have PAID, I have contacted this person, and I CANNOT OPEN An EBAY CASE against them because it isn't in my history anymore or does not fit the criteria for a case, but I still have my bills and messages in my inbox... 

You have only 45 (not 40) days to open a case through Paypal or eBay, starting from the date the auction/listing closed.

Are you still within that period?

If so, go to your PP account, find your payment and open the listing from there.

or does not fit the criteria for a case, but I still have my bills and messages in my inbox... 

No, you can open a Not As Described dispute. It is the seller's responsibility to get the item to you securely, and that includes packing in such a way that the item survives shipping.

If it has been more than 45 days, your attempt to open a dispute will fail. All is not lost!

Go to the credit card you use to back your PP account. Phone the customer service number on the card and ask about a Chargeback. Have all your transaction numbers, values and dates handy for the clerk to process the refund. The cc will go after PP which will go after the seller.

In either case, the refund may be refused if you cannot prove that you have returned the unsatisfactory item to the seller. Since this is an expensive service, you may have to settle for this experience as part of your eBay learning curve. (Poot!)

You have up to 60 days to leave feedback. The most effective feedback is calm and factual ("Promised refund on breakage not rec'd after 45 days.). At that time you will be asked to leave Detailed Seller Ratings, which are actually more important to sellers than feedback. The normal rating is Five Stars (yes, that is also the highest). The lowest Rating is ONE star. If a seller's ratings drop below 4.3 his ability to list and sell are severely restricted.

In addition, if you have left feedback already, you can add a Response. Or you can add a Response to the seller's feedback he left for you. Again calm and factual.

BUT.

Is your seller in Asia? The replacement may be coming by Surface Mail, which is very cheap but very slow.

It is usually, in my opinion, not a good idea to accept a replacement. It is less stressful for you , and cheaper for the seller, to go for a refund.

If you get a refund from PP, the seller or your credit card, and then the item arrives, you can refund the refund through PP's Send Money option. Ethically, you cannot keep both the money and the replacement item.