Question About Returning Defective Item?

[canadianguy786]

I purchased a Tablet from overseas and it includes a 1 Year Warranty, now the tablet is having issues few months past the "30 Day Money Back Guarantee", so I spoke to the eBay Seller and they told me to ship it back for warranty.

My question is who should pay for shipping it back for Warranty, the Buyer or Seller?

I would really appreciate any feedback!

[aubreyclay56]

Good possibility it could take many months to send it back and then receive it fixed,if its a name brand there should be a repair depot in canada,if it has a warranty card it might give you that information,worth checking into or maybe find someone local that sells that brand it might save you a big headache?

[maximus7001]

For the most part when you buy something like that from there there is not really any warranty.

[dmil8030]

Hello 'canadianguy', 

What were the terms of the warranty?  Did you get a real warranty with the item?  Have you read it?

If the seller did not include a written warranty then most likely you didn't get one. 

This here is ebay's policy on items with warranties:

http://pages.ebay.ca/help/policies/warranties.html

When you file a claim for an Item Not as Described, even if you have missed the ebay deadline you still have 180 days 

from the time you paid if you file through paypal:

https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/ua/useragreement-full#13

I do not, however, believe that an item that breaks down sooner than expected will qualify for return.  For Not as Described 

returns, the seller pays return shipping.  In this instance I don't see how you can enforce that since it arrived as anticipated 

in the listing.  That it is a poor quality is likely reflected in the purchase price.  

Moreover, when an item really is 'NAD', the only way to get a seller outside your own country to pay the shipping cost is if 

he volunteers to forward the money to you in advance.  There is no way to extract the amount from a seller otherwise.

It is always risky buying something like that overseas.  Sure, you can send it back and if you did you would want to do that

you need to use Delivery Confirmation, - have you seen what that might cost?

https://www.canadapost.ca/cpotools/apps/far/business/findARate?execution=e1s1

What assurance would you have that your item will be repaired/replaced and mailed back?  In my opinion the odds of you 

getting anything back other than empty promises are slim to none.  If you opened a NAD claim and the tracking showed 

it was delivered you may then get some compensation but if it is merely a poor quality item and not significantly different 

from what was featured in the listing (such as malfunctioning from day 1)  I'm not sure as you'd have any success. 

What does the seller's feedback suggest?  Any complaints about these items?  Do other buyers say nice things about 

how helpful the seller is?  That will give you a clue what to expect.  

It is my opinion that you would be better off buying something like that closer to home so that after a few months when it 

breaks down you can march it back to the shop and explain that for the money you felt it should last a little longer.  

For now, though, see what the seller's feedback indicates and decide if you want to bother risking mailing it back or not.

I wish you well with your decision. 

[momcqueen]

Regardless of who pays for it, if the Original Poster ships it back for 'Warranty Work' what actual assurance does he have that he will ever see it again? 

[momcqueen]

I think this might be one of those times that going instead to Paypal to open a Not As Described Case would be a better idea.

That way, you are still on the hook to pay return shipping (with tracking) but once the seller receives it, you would get your full purchase price back. You are out-of-pocket only the return shipping.

I'm going to make a bunch of assumptions here but correct me if (and where) I am wrong:

(a) Cheap tablet from Asia which is the reason you bought it, way cheaper than anywhere else

(b) Probably not totally legit brand which is the reason it is now falling apart

(c) Warranty, sure okay but what does it actually say? Where is your copy?

(d) You ship it back (at your expense) for warranty work and you will never see it again. Or your original purchase price.

This is one of those areas where cheap from overseas is probably too good to be true.

When I was new to ebay, I too followed the lure of the siren song of cheap from overseas. Ten years later, I have learned it's just not worth it. Of course, my main interest is toys so I don't take any chances with manufacturing standards. 

Your scenario is more common than you may want to know.

[femmefan1946]

now the tablet is having issues few months past the "30 Day Money Back Guarantee",

If you are past the 'guarantee' , you cannot Dispute through eBay which only allows Disputes for 30 days from payment.

If you are past the 180 days, you cannot Dispute through Paypal.

You might be able to do a chargeback through the crediit card you back your PP account with.

Best bet is the authorized dealer, if there is still a warranty the clerk will be able to tell you, will be able to correct the problem if the item is authentic, and will charge you if the warranty cannot be enforced.

[maximus7001]

Forgot to mention an important thing. I have been in the computer industry since 1984. Computer (in this case tablet) issues usually turn out to be a software problem. Many people will chuck their machine and buy a new one when the operating system goes funny. Operating systems go funny all the time. In this modern age people are chucking phones every 2 years or less because of this. A tablet is just a phone without the ability to actually phone someone.

Most of the time the machine could have just been wiped and the operating system reinstalled. This applies to android as well. Try a reset to factory defaults.