Do I have to return an item?

[lrents3]

I recently bought a phone off of Ebay that the seller claimed was in perfect working condition besides a few minor scratches. After I started using the phone I noticed the battery was awful and would die around 40% much like my old one (why I got rid of it). I contacted the seller saying it wasn't as described and she told me she had never had that problem and she did not accept refunds. I went to apple and they said the battery was definitely old and worn and that it would cost about $90 including taxes to fix and I was unwilling to do that after spending so much on a "perfectly working" phone. I found the sellers social media account and saw that they had posted approx. 6 months ago stating, "why does my phone battery die at 25%" so I escalated the claim with Ebay. The seller had 10 days or around that time frame to contact me with the return shipping address and never did so Ebay finally just transferred the money to my account yesterday. I was wondering if it is my responsibility to pay for shipping back or is it mine to keep according to Ebay since the seller was uncooperative and did not respond?  

[reallynicestamps]

Ebay finally just transferred the money to my account yesterday.

Well, no. EBay allowed you to keep the phone, possibly if the seller said 'no returns' instead of 'no refunds'. For some reason, a lot of sellers don't understand the difference.

And if you purchased a phone sent through the Global Shipping Program, they don't want the phone back anyway. Although that usually applied to damage in transit rather than undescribed faults.

That's your legal position.

But ethically, I don't believe you should have both the phone and the money.

You should, in my opinion, return the faulty phone to the seller. Because the NAD case is resolved, you don't have to go to the expense of using a tracked or Delivery Confirmed service, although that may be all that Canada Post has to offer.

You should also mark the return as 'returned merchandise' or the seller would have to pay import fees if she is not in Canada.

Or donate it. Is there a group that provides appropriate clothing for impoverished job seekers in your community? Even a poorly performing phone could be a godsend to a woman trying to re-enter the job market.