Seller change his listing to match what i received.

[francinmazuc_0]

I am a little confused about sellers listing policies and how come they seem to be allowed to change an original listing to match what I received instead of what I bought.

I bought X and received Y so I contacted the vendor to tell them about the problem and they started by saying "no problem, we made an error, can you please take a picture of what you received with the # of the item" which I did and about one hour after sending them the pictures, they had completely changed the original listing to match the exact item I had received and continued to deny any wrongdoing even after I sent them the screenshot I had taken of the original listint when I bought the item.

They changed everything. 

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After exchanging numerous emails with the vendor that only ran in circles of them "not knowing what I'm talking about" I did get a refund and I did call eBay customer service to know if a seller has the right to change his original posting...No they don't have the right and eBay policy does not permit them to give me any further information of how they have decided to deal with the vendor. 

My question is, how can I know if eBay every did contact the seller about his breach of policy and how come the vendor can continue to post and sell with the changed advertisement that is, according to eBay, in breach of policy? 

Thank you.

[momcqueen]

A seller may do whatever they like with their listing while it’s live but you as the buyer have every right to expect to receive what you bought, the item it was at the moment you paid.

The seller in question was clever enough to fix the listing once you identified the problem but dumb enough to think they could convince you they did nothing wrong by sending you something that wasn’t what you bought. You went to Customer Service and won your refund. You win, they lost.

eBay won’t tell you what they did with the seller anymore than eBay would tell the seller what they did to you if you’d been the one who lost the case. Some things are kept confidential.

The biggest part of this problem is that you bought from a dropshipper who was selling things they’d never seen. The key to avoiding dropshippers? That’s trickier. Stock photos. Many sellers listing an item that appears to be identical. Shippers from overseas. Whole stores filled with stock photos of products sold by dozens of other sellers. Sparse, impersonal and identical descriptions. Most people fall into buying from dropshippers because of shopping by price as opposed to what looks like a product owned by a real person who has it in their possession.

Dropshippers never see what they’re selling. They’ve cut a deal with a supplier for a bulk purchase and the supplier ships to you. It’s a system that can be lucrative when it works but often it does not for the reason you experienced.

[momcqueen]

You’ve left negative feedback for them as is logical but given the seller has 54 negatives this month alone as well as a feedback percentage of 98.3, note for future reference that anything under 99 is a seller to be avoided especially if they are overseas.

[francinmazuc_0]

To:

 momcqueen

 Community Member

Thank you for your reply and all the valuable information you shared that I had no idea about like...

To:

 momcqueen

 Community Member

Thank you for your reply and all the valuable information you shared that I had no idea about like...

The biggest part of this problem is that you bought from a dropshipper who was selling things they’d never seen. 

I did not even know that existed so I'll be doing my homework's about that subject.

Most people fall into buying from dropshippers because of shopping by price as opposed to what looks like a product owned by a real person who has it in their possession.

The above fits exactly the description of how I shop. I go from price to price until I find the cheapest one available matching every other more pricey, what seem to be "identical items" 

More homework for me. 

Thank you again for advising me about the 99% because since this happened, I put a complete halt on my shopping and really started looking at the feedbacks where I even decided to remove some items from my cart. Now that I know that 99 is the key number, I will be more sensible about who I decide to trust.

I mostly buy craft knick nacks but I buy a lot and at the end, I spent a lot. Sometimes I get items with a defective clasp and so on that I advise the seller about but repair myself, no harm done and everybody is happy, 5 stars, positive review. 

Buying and selling online really comes down to trust and honesty on both sides or else this would probably not work out for long. What get's to me is not the price, it's falling on sellers who are without any remorse or shame for being dishonest.

It kills the fun. 🙂

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[momcqueen]

I feel your pain. If you're looking for many doodads, price is key. With buying from overseas, however, you really do have to examine the feedback of those big sellers to see if there is a pattern of complaints about items being poor quality or simply not as described. 

If you see a small-time domestic seller, say a part-timer with a feedback count of 500 or less, and notice they have a 97 per cent rating because one buyer left them negative feedback for an item, and that feedback makes it sound as if the buyer is maybe a bit unreasonable, then you're dealing with a slightly different kettle of fish. It's not quite the same indicator as a seller with 10,000 feedbacks and 70+ negatives a month all of which say, 'I did not get what I bought!'

Dropshipping, too, is not inherently evil but it is ripe with areas where problems may occur, mostly being in that the seller really has no stock of their own and is counting on a third-party to fulfill their order. Which might be great if that supplier is your best friend or favourite sibling but not great if it's a random stranger also trying to make a buck. Know what I mean? 

[francinmazuc_0]

Yes, I'm getting it!

More and more, slowly but surely progressing and learning. 

Much better than when I first started out but not quite there yet but I will get there faster with good advice...thank's again! much appreciated. 🙂

[pjcdn2005]

It's my understanding that if you go to your ebay purchase history and click on the item or on order details. you will see the listing as it was when you purchased it. You shouldn't see any revisions that had been made since then.  I have no idea if that is always true or whether that has changed but when you go to the listing through your purchase history and scroll down to just above where the item details are (you might have to use a computer for that..not mobile) you'll see a link for revisions.  Does it show revisions after your purchase date?

[pocomocomputing]

If you view the item purchased through your purchase history, it will show the item as it was at the time of purchase. A seller revising a listing after a sale will show the current active listing with all the changes.

How did you view the listing after sold?

Purchase history keeps links to listings as described when sold for 60 days. A seller cannot change a sold listing that a buyer has on their purchase history.

A seller can change almost anything in a listing when it is active. Otherwise a seller could never correct a listing. To prevent a seller from scamming buyers as you describe, eBay has a revision history at the top of the description with a brief short history of changes with date/time stamps to the listing. So it is easy to know if a listing changed but not exactly what.

A buyer should always look at a purchased item through their purchase history to see exactly what they read and bought.

It seems that both buyer and seller and eBay customer support are unaware of this feature designed specifically to avoid issues like this.

@happy_pogeon

[pocomocomputing]

PJ beat me to post the same answer. !!!

[francinmazuc_0]

The item showed in my general purchase history shows and links to the item he switched the add to match what I got not bought but if I go in my order details, then I can see the exact original add and what I purchased. 

About one hour after I sent pictures at the seller's request of the wrong item I got with the serial number he changed the complete listing to match the wrong item he shipped me instead of the items I bought. 

I bought two of the same items, the first one has been refunded and today, I just received the second same exact wrong item for the same original add he changed...round two. 

I bought this item on Apr 06, 2018. I received the item on May 3rd and on the same date sent the seller the pictures and this is the revision he did after receiving the pictures. 

04-May-18 03:19:36 EDT

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[francinmazuc_0]

As I explained in my last comment, the seller was capable and did change everything regarding the originally posted items for sale.

I have contacted eBay customer support to know if the seller actions went against any policy and the person I talk with told me that he did not have the right to do that and confirmed to me that, he did change everything about the original posting and even the location and that they would be investigating. They advise me that they cannot force the seller to honour his original post by sending me the items. To try and come to a solution and that I had the added option of leaving a negative feedback that would also get eBay to investigate further. 

To this date, the replacement advertisement post is still active. Anybody can buy the item sold on this new post. 

[francinmazuc_0]

I also have a screenshot of the original posting that I sent the seller who completely ignored it or any wrong doing and played dumb. 

[pjcdn2005]

The seller has done nothing wrong by changing the listing.  It sounds as if when you complained they realized the listing was wrong so they changed it to show the correct item. Obviously if the listing was wrong they aren’t going to continue to advertise the wrong item.  But regardless of why they changed it, that does not affect you in any way because any problem would be based on what was shown in the listing when you purchased it and you can see that in your purchase history.

You did say that they offered to refund you right away so I’m not clear  on what they are denying but if they did send you the wrong item they do have to pay return shipping if they want you to return the item for a refund.

[francinmazuc_0]

I did say that they refunded me but never said promptly as our 10 plus messages went back and forth for days that ended with them telling me they re-sent the same "wrong" item and me having enough and asking eBay to steep in for a refound and I really doubt that they ever re-sent anything. 

If the seller is allowed to change is posting as he wants, great but that is not the main issue.

They are telling me over and over that I got exactly what I originally purchased from them  as shown on the new listing  that they changed to fit what they sent and if I want to buy the exact same item that I am talking about and bought "the original item advertise on there original post" to follow the link they are supplying me and to go ahead with the purchase. 

I purchase twice the original item from the original posting and today received the second and last item that is also as wrong as the first item they sent me. I contacted them just asking for a refund as they knew I would be coming back for one and I got the same answer but this time with a slight difference, instead of telling me that i got the right item as posted, they say that i got the right item as described of the shipping package and i semi-quote there answer to me last night with XXX-OOO instead of there numbers because I have no idea about policies that involves divulging original seller name and copy/posting exact words. 

I am sorry as I told you only this type"OOOOOOOOO set, (which is the OOO that i bought)

This one XXXXXXX is only has one on the package,if you like the OOO (talking about what i originally bought) ,youneed to order, XOXOXO Is that OK?

I already bought the item they are telling me i need to order to be satisfied and they continue to tell me I got what i bought as displayed on the changed advertisement. 

Basically. they are telling me...Look here is the add and here is what you bought and got and it's the same thing as the new add now shows...what are you complaining about.

I'm French and I'm wondering if my explanations are specific enough or maybe I'm leaving something out of importance. Help. 

[zee-chan]

There is probably a communication / language problem involved here. Since you said you bought from the seller with the lowest price possible, they are likely sellers from China and most of them don't speak/read English very well. So they might not fully comprehend what you're trying to convey, but did send you a refund in attempt to rectify the situation. 

My recommendation is that you move on from this particular sale since you already got a refund, instead of wasting more time. If you are expecting eBay to carry out some sort of "punishment" to those sellers, then you're out of luck. Those Chinese sellers are a big source of eBay's income and eBay isn't going to do much about them.

[momcqueen]

Your explanations are spot-on and your English skills exceed many other Anglos here.

Like I said earlier, any seller is allowed to revise their listing to say whatever they need it to say, but YOUR seller is either d-u-m-b or thinks you are with his/her explanations that you got the item the listing now says it is. That's irrelevant. You are due the item that was advertised at the moment you paid. Otherwise, I could list and sell 'raw diamonds' and then revise and send lumps of coal after payment. The seller would be smart to acknowledge their mistake, apologize, and move forward. They are wasting your time and their own by playing this game of smoke and mirrors which you are clearly not believing, nor should you be. 

[francinmazuc_0]

You are absolutely right on all counts and this time around it took only 2 messages and by this morning I had received the refund for the second item bought as the first one.

The positive is that I did get to learn more about what to look for and be aware about and that in itself is really what is most important in regards of my own personal experience and how i choose to lead it as for the rest, it can be resumed like any other Big Wheel Turning...we have no real power to change anything so might as well go with the flow. 🙂

Thank you for everyone who participated in my dilemma and permitted me to learn new things thru out this discussion.

[tlflutterby]

In my experience most people (buyers and sellers) don't leave feedback on ebay anymore. I always do when I make a purchase, but not even half of the sellers reciprocate, and since it's voluntary I don't ask for feedback.

[pjcdn2005]

ZOMBIE thread

[kh-leslie]

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.