eBay

tml_17 · ‎07-22-2015

So i purchased a phone which was marked Unlocked and manufacturer refurbished. I received the item on Monday however I discovered that it was permanently locked and was unable to be locked. So it was permanently locked to t-mobile in US and not as advertised. I had told the Seller that I would like to return the item and that he should cover return shipping as it is his error in describing the item. The phone was 162.99 He agreed and said he will pay 17USD for return shipping. However, he is being very tricky as he told me he sent 17USD and that I may ship the item now. But what he did was give me a partial refund of 17USD, so when I ship the item back and receive full refund I would only receive 145.99 which means I paid for return shipping.

What should I do? I escalated this to him already and did not get a response yet but is there a way I can complain to ebay about this. That is very sneaky of someone - and I think a newer ebay buyer would definitely fall into the trap and pay for return shipping. Any advise is appreciated. thanks

reallynicestamps · ‎07-22-2015

I sympathize with your situation.

You should know that the seller cannot send you a shipping label for the return, because he is in the USA and you are in Canada. This is simply not possible.

The only thing I can think of is that the seller sends you the cost of the return shipment WITH CONFIRMATION OF DELIVERY by using Paypal's Send Money feature and separate from the refund, which he would do as a PP reversal when he got the phone back.

Unfortunately, at this point the well may be poisoned by opening a Dispute.

You should have his phone number. If not request it from eBay. (He will also get yours.) Sometimes email can get in the way of real communication.

And keep it polite. It is possible that he did not realize the phone was permanently locked. (Wouldn't that affect any sale, even within the USA? And a US customer would have no problem getting him to send a useable shipping label. )

At this point, he is likely to get a defect on his selling account, as well as negative feedback from his unhappy buyer and trashed Detailed Seller Ratings.

Discuss the problem nicely and see if you can't come to a fair conclusion.

Oh. Don't close the case until everything is settled. You can't reopen a closed case.

Politely.--- Captain Malcolm Reynolds

tml_17 · ‎07-22-2015

Thanks! He agreed to send the funds by pay pal but all he say is no worry ship phone ASAP to resolve issue. I see that there is a ebay request return and in paypal you can also raise dispute. But you can only do one at a time. I currently have the ebay one open - is it the same? or should I have gone through pay pal ? thanks

pjcdn2005 · ‎07-22-2015

If you had gone through Paypal you would have been responsible for the cost of return shipping so in this situation, you opened the return request in the right place.