eBay

sisterawake777 · ‎10-15-2012

I bought a dvd set recently and only one disc in the set works. I checked all 6 discs on two different dvd players.

When contacting the seller I was informed that in order to receive a refund I have to send the discs back so that they can check them. If they work on their system, no refund will be given and the discs will be sent back to me. That alone is not right.

I had to file a claim with PayPal as the seller could not guarantee me that they won't just ship the discs back to me claiming that they work when in fact they do not. PayPal has guaranteed me a refund but only if I ship the discs back with a tracking number. Understandable.

My issue now is I paid $26 to buy the dvd set and it cost me $24 to ship it back! So even with a refund it doesn't make a difference. I'm still losing the same amount of money. Is there a way to have the seller refund the return shipping as well? I have tried contacting them regarding this matter and my messages are ignored.

I understand having to pay for return shipping if it were a matter of "buyer's remorse" but these dvd's don't work. It's not my fault that they sold me defective discs. I bought in good faith that these discs would play. It's the seller's responsibility to provide a quality product and own up to it when their products are faulty.

Any advice?

ggsale27 · ‎10-15-2012

That sucks. If I understand the system properly, if the seller says that return shipping is your responsibility, then they are not obligated to refund the return shipping to you. A good seller would if the item is defective, but they don't have to. Some times, you are better off to just chuck the product and be done with it.

toby_le_pue · ‎10-15-2012

Why did you leave them Positive feedback if only 1 out of 6 discs worked.

reallynicestamps · ‎10-15-2012

The Paypal policy, which has become Standard Practice, is that the unhappy buyer returns the product to the seller , with Delivery Confirmation, and receives his original payment, including postage back.

The Best Practice is that when the seller realizes she is at fault, the entire payment, including the return postage, is refunded. However, this is not mandatory.

If your seller is adamant about returning the discs that you believe will not work, start an Item Not As Described dispute. Paypal will tell you to return the discs with Delivery Confirmation. In North America, this is Expedited Parcel. You can print that shipping label through PP and get a discount on PO counter prices. Using the PP label has a slight advantage in keeping all the paperwork straight too.

You have 45 days from purchase to open a Dispute. You have 60 days to leave feedback and Detailed Seller Ratings. Complete the Dispute before leaving feedback.

bb_cool_stuff · ‎10-16-2012

Hope you didn't pay too much for this DVD Set.

pjcdn2005 · ‎10-16-2012

It is frustrating when a seller won't pay for return shipping for a defective item but as others have said, there is no way to force them to pay.

You could save some money by printing the return label through paypal shipping. You would save 20-25% off of expedited parcel USA which does have delivery confirmation. To print the label go to www.paypal.com/shipnow

cbsalesnb · ‎10-16-2012

I'm surprised at the shipping cost, $24. If you use paypal shipping, as small a box as possible, and choose expedited, I really can't see it being more than 15 bucks for a dvd set. (And that's assuming it's international.

I just shipped 14 games in individual cases to the USA for less than you're paying to ship a 6 disk set in a case that's probably the size of 3 of my games.

I agree with you about not having to pay to return if the item is defective. I wonder if it's this way to prevent people from intentionally damaging goods.

nuvistors · ‎10-16-2012

An honest , ethical seller will pay return shipping on a defective item.

A dishonest , unethical seller (who may have known the item was defective) will not pay return shipping. In this case the seller made a profit from shipping.

0000

femmefan1946 · ‎10-16-2012

I agree with you about not having to pay to return if the item is defective. I wonder if it's this way to prevent people from intentionally damaging goods.

Basically, yes. Part of the idea is that neither seller nor buyer should have both the item and the money (unless both agree to that). And Delivery Confirmation is the only way either party can prove that the item has been returned.

Remember that in the USA DC costs the sender less than a quarter for domestic service. Only foreign transactions are expensive ($25 for DC to Canada for example) for them. For Canadians all DC services are relatively expensive.

However, this also serves to curb returns for Buyer Remorse. If you order a red sweater and when it arrives it is cherry instead of scarlet, your disappointment should not cost the seller money. (If you ordered red and got blue, that is the seller’s responsibility).

I suspect the OP used ExpressPost for the return, instead of the cheaper “business” service of Expedited. Some outlet clerks may not be aware of Expedited. But that is a guess.

A dishonest , unethical seller (who may have known the item was defective) will not pay return shipping. In this case the seller made a profit from shipping.

How would the seller have made a profit on shipping? The return shipping cost went to Canada Post. Many sellers divide the cost of the goods and the cost of the shipping in ways that they prefer. With FVF on shipping, there is no other advantage to shifting the costs. Which costs more $10 asking/$10 Shipping or $20 asking/Free Shipping or $5 asking /$15 shipping? This is a business/advertising decision.

Paypal is returning the entire original payment to the OP, so the seller is making no profit at all, and actually loses the actual cost of shipping which went to the PO.

bb_cool_stuff · ‎10-16-2012

Unfortunately you could never prove the seller knowingly knew the item was defective. They also have no proof from you that the item was indeed defective.

Frustrating yes, but what can you do. Some dishonest sellers & buyers know how to work the system.

Not suggesting anyone is being dishonest here. Maybe just write this one off.

Karma does catch up with dishonest people.

I had one time sent a shirt unaware of a small tear on the underarm seam. They really wanted the shirt as there wasn't another one on ebay & asked if i had another as they would send this one back.

I did not & paid for his return shipping. Item was defective & i felt he was being honest. It was the right thing to do.

sisterawake777 · ‎10-16-2012

Thanks everyone for your comments and advice.

I did open a claim with PayPal to ensure that I would get a refund on the cost of the original purchase. Since the seller insisted I send the discs back so he could inspect them I felt it was necessary to file a claim to ensure a refund. The seller told me that if the discs work on their player they will have to send them back to me and not issue a refund. That is absolutely ridiculous as I checked them on two different dvd players and only the first disc works. However there is no way to guarantee that the seller will be honest and issue a refund so I filed the claim.

As for feedback, unfortunately I jumped the gun on that one and left positive when I saw the first disc played fine. I didn't have the time to watch them all when they first arrived and trusted that they would all function. My mistake, I know.

This is definitely not a case of buyer's remorse, the discs really are broken and arrived in that condition. I have passed along Ebay's Standard Practice policy....of course, no response from the seller.

I'm shocked at the shipping charge too. Unfortunately the cheapest shipping option available with tracking from Canada to the US was $24 (incl taxes, etc).

I've been using Ebay since 2006 (with a different account from this one) and have never had such problems with a seller.

tafbird · ‎03-26-2013

that's what i was supposed to do - put a claim first then send it back; now that i paid for the item, then the cost of sending it back international and the seller 010big (jung ok cho) claims he never got it back and sends me his cynical regrets and it's to late to recover money thru paypal; good lesson for me 😞 i wish i read this first

reallynicestamps · ‎03-29-2013

If you backed your Paypal payment with a credit card (rather than a PP balance or a bank balance) you can go to the 1-800 number on the card and ask about a chargeback.

Have your transaction numbers, values and dates handy for the customer service clerk.

Credit cards also have deadlines, so do this as soon as possible after the PP dispute is refused.