Item damaged and partial refund promised. But seller has disappeared.

[november1947]

Item damaged and partial refund promised.  But seller has disappeared.  

Can ebay help? The only option I seem to have is to return the item, not an option with international postage costs to pay.

So much for a safe place to shop!

[silverpinups]

Open a "item not as described" claim through ebay. The seller will have to pay for return shipping. Make sure you send the item back with a Tracking Number or eBay will side with the seller if there is no proof of delivery.   

[puritygems]

Why don't you at least give ebay a chance before you become the judge and jury. Have you even bothered to file an " item not as described " claim ? I have ordered tons of stuff from international sellers, and yes some of it has arrived damaged or in some cases not shown up at all. Most sellers are very good but in the cases that I didn't get what I paid for Ebay has always stepped in and refunded my money. I'm not sure what you mean when you say the only option is to return the item. You can file a claim or even call Ebay. Filing a claim takes way less time and I wouldn't bother calling ebay you are just wasting everyone's time including yours if you do, because filing a claim takes less than a minute.

[reallynicestamps]

But seller has disappeared.  

Do you mean he is unresponsive to your eBay messages? How about messages to his Paypal  ID which is an email address?

Or do you mean he is Not A Registered User (NARU)?

If the latter, forget eBay and go to Paypal.

Find the transaction and copy the number.

The PP Resolution Centre is at the top of your PP account page under Tools.

Open a Not As Described dispute.

State in the dispute that the seller is NARU.

While PP normally requires that you return the item on your own dime, with tracking, the fact that the seller was kicked off eBay may get you a refund without return.