Not identical, but there are problems with overseas sellers.
Normally when a purchase is Not As Described, the seller tells the buyer to return the item for a full refund of the original payment. Recently, eBay has been telling sellers to provide a return shipping label for this.
However, this is NOT POSSIBLE unless both parties are in the same country.
Doesn't matter if it is China, or Germany, or the USA. The postal system and couriers don't work that way.
So we come down to a matter of trust. The buyer has to return the unsatisfactory item to the seller with Proof of Delivery on his own dime. And that dime is over $40. Then the buyer trusts that the seller will in fact refund both the original payment and the return shipping charge.
$40 is a LOT of money in China. Several days work even
http://qz.com/170363/the-average-chinese-private-sector-worker-earns-about-the-same-as-a-cleaner-in-...
So.
The seller may have meant well. Did you let him know the actual cost of the repair before going forward with it? It probably didn't occur to either of you.
The 25% of the repair cost is probably all you will be able to get out of him.
You can leave feedback for up to 60 days after purchase. The most effective FB is calm and factual "Arrived broken, seller paid 25% of repair cost" for example.
You can also leave Detailed Seller Ratings. A normal transaction gets Five Stars. The lowest rating is ONE STAR. No stars is a free pass.
At this point, you have a pair of wearable shoes, that cost you more than you expected.
