Hi Folks! I've bough a fishing rod five months ago and it wast not as it was described.

[majid1374]

Hi There,

I have bought a fishing Rod with the case number 221521947421 almost 5 months ago. After I received the Rod it was not as it was described, and at the second day of using it, it has been broken. I have sent email to the seller and explain the situation with some photo of the broken Rod. The seller did apologize for what happened and asked me for a replacement or return a part of money, I told them send me a replacement. They agreed to send a new Rod and told me wait for some weeks for a better quality, and they started emailing with me back and forth and again each time say so sorry and sending you a replacement ASAP and for two time said that we have already sent a new Rod, but I have not received the Rod. I started to open a case on ebay help center but unfortunately the case report time action was finished. I am sure the seller played with me to end up the time that I could take an action. I really appreciate if you could help me out what to do.

Best

Zia 

[dmil8030 · Accepted solution]

Hello 'majid1374', 

<< I am sure the seller played with me to end up the time that I could take an action>>

Yes, that is exactly what the seller did.  I can just guess where you bought your item.  Sellers from that country

have a disproportionately high incidence of not sending the item, or promising a replacement which never arrives.

Since most of what that country puts out is rubbish, you would be better off spending a little more money, buying 

closer to home, (choose Canada Only or even North America from the Item Location on the Search page), and

avoiding purchasing anything from over there.  

Items from that country look nice and new, and the photography before you buy is gorgeous, but if an item is in

any way intended to be used it will not last.  Many people complain that the item broke the first time they used it.

For now, however, if it has been less than 180 days since you paid, you may be able to file a claim through paypal.

The following link tells all about your paypal buyer protection, and that you have 180 days - that's nearly 6 months -

to open a dispute.  

https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/ua/useragreement-full?country.x=CA&locale.x=en_CA#13

You do not say when exactly you bought it, but if there is still time, - do it now.

If that is no help to you, -- and if you paid for the item with a credit card, you can call the 1-800 number on the back

of the card and ask about a chargeback.  It may be too late for all that as well, as cards also have deadlines.

But it costs nothing to call and ask.  

If this is a possibility, do it now.  You will need all the transaction details in front of you when you call, any numbers

and so on, including the emails between you and the seller.  

Otherwise you must learn from your mistake.  You have a low feedback score and that indicates to those scammers

that you may not know how to get compensation.  Any time you hear a seller promise to send a replacement

it means nothing will be coming.  

In a case like this, if you are offered a partial refund, it is probably best to take it if you cannot negotiate for anything 

better.  You could be asked to send a poor quality item back with tracking, -- and that is extremely expensive.

If you do not use a Delivery Confirmed service and just mail it back cheap-o post, the seller will say it never arrived.

For future use, have a look at this link that explains what to do about an item that does not arrive or is not what was

described in the listing:

http://pages.ebay.ca/help/buy/item-not-received.html

To be successful at ebay it takes a bit of reading, - all those policies, - but it will help you get the most out of your

experience and never ever be tricked again.

Best of luck 

[momcqueen]

If you made the purchase within 180 days, you are still backed by paypal BUT you will likely have to return the item with tracking to the seller before you are refunded. Go to the Resolution Centre and open an Item Not As Described case today. 

[patken123]

"you will likely have to return the item with tracking to the seller before you are refunded."

That's the problem,in many cases the cost of sending the item(s) back will exceed the amount the buyer paid for that item ,I bought a knife from China 4 months ago that broke after a month, if I had filed a claim with paypal, I would have had to send it back and would have had to pay (I assume) at least $10 which is what I paid for that knife, it just didn't make sense to return it,the seller knows that so does paypal .

Needless to say, I kept the knife and saved myself the aggravation.

[momcqueen]

---

@patken123 wrote:

"you will likely have to return the item with tracking to the seller before you are refunded."

That's the problem,in many cases the cost of sending the item(s) back will exceed the amount the buyer paid for that item ,I bought a knife from China 4 months ago that broke after a month, if I had filed a claim with paypal, I would have had to send it back and would have had to pay (I assume) at least $10 which is what I paid for that knife, it just didn't make sense to return it,the seller knows that so does paypal .

Needless to say, I kept the knife and saved myself the aggravation.

---

Well, I hate to say it but will anyway: try buying local for a little while to compare the experiences you will have.

Within Canada, you can ship stuff back for about $15 CAD in most cases. I know you pay more upfront but, trust me, it's well worth it in the end. I too began my career on ebay as a buyer looking for the best deals and, brother, they ain't to be found in the cheap foreign markets. It just was not worth the aggravation. Honestly. Tracking to China runs about $75 for postage on a service that will get an average-sized item back within the timeframe necessary to recover monies for a refund due to a return. Of course, if it arrives on your doorstop wrecked, the seller is supposed to cover that cost but only if it comes to you within the 30-day timeframe allowed by ebay which many shipments from overseas do not, leaving you only paypal as recourse which means it must go back with tracking.

Those sellers know that. It is a different environment.

I'm not saying you won't ever have a bad experience with a domestic seller or an American one; I've had those too. It's all about the feedback. A little bit of bad feedback can be overlooked on a seller but read between the lines and see what feedback is left for others and how buyers say they deal with mistakes. Or unsatisfied customers. Not everyone on ebay is peaches and cream but if you can find sellers here on the boards, for example, who offer what you like to buy, stick with them. They are among the ones most heavily invested. And, of course, they also obviously have time on their hands to troubleshoot solutions if something goes off the rails. 

Good luck as you carry forward.

[majid1374]

Many thanks for your complete explanation and instruction! Actually I bought it on Apr 12th, and I think I cannot dispute because it has been already more than 6 months, but as you mentioned for future, I learnt what to do in case.
Cheers,