Hi everyone,
Recently, I had an intention to purchase some ebooks on Google Playstore. However, the prices were steep, leading me to consider buying a Google Play gift GC from eBay, as a means to save some money. One such card was available, with a 'best offer' option, to which I proposed 80% of the card's original value, and the offer got accepted. It was not explicitly stated that the delivery would be digital, and considering eBay's policies, I expected a physical delivery. By the way, this was the seller's only sale, a detail I inadvertently overlooked at the time.
In the item's description, the seller explained that they were selling the card because they hadn't realized it wouldn't work outside of the [Country] when they bought it during a recent visit. After returning to Europe, they decided to sell the card. Although I found the story somewhat dubious, I trusted in eBay's protection measures.
Upon making the payment, instead of a physical card, the seller provided a digital code and marked the item as 'shipped' using a budget parcel mail service. I assumed I'd receive the physical card alongside the digital delivery, and saw no major issue.
However, upon attempting to redeem the gift card, I encountered an infamous error, "We need more info to redeem your gift card". The seller had become impatient, requesting me to confirm the item as delivered after providing the digital code. I informed him that the code wasn't working and required additional details. The seller then provided a screenshot of the card's reverse side and a receipt. I forwarded these additional details to Google, and was informed it would take two days to receive a response.
Two days later, Google informed me that the card was not redeemable due to "inconsistencies with your account and the information you provided us". Subsequently, I informed the seller about the unsuccessful redemption attempt and requested an alternative solution since the physical gift card was yet to arrive.
The seller responded by demanding an extra $20 for the card's delivery. Amidst back-and-forth communications, I opened a dispute with eBay, confident that I'd recover my money due to several reasons, which I will explain later. In the meantime, I decided to purchase the ebooks directly from the Google store.
The seller informed me that a person "R" was looking into the matter. I advised him that eBay would wait for the required minimum days before making a decision. On the day the decision was expected, I contacted eBay for reassurance. The representative advised, "Do a charge back with your credit card, don't go to paypal", a statement I did not understand at the time. To my surprise, eBay ruled in favor of the seller.
I was taken aback, particularly because eBay's policy stipulates that gift cards must be shipped, and electronic delivery is not permissible. The following day, I disputed the transaction with PayPal, citing the lack of shipment. I presented evidence showing that the seller claimed to have shipped the item, but failed to do so. At the conclusion of the dispute period, PayPal received a new tracking number from eBay that read,
"DIGITAL0DELIVERY Shipped by Easy Mail"
insinuating electronic delivery, with a non-existent service "Easy Mail". I subsequently provided additional details of the predicament, only for PayPal to close the dispute, stating, "There is no protection for gift card". The eBay representative's earlier advice now made sense. PayPal advised me to contact my card issuer for a charge back."... Once the card issuer reach us to get the detail of the receiver, we will make sure all the details are submitted to them so that they can reverse the payment to you."
The most frustrating part of the experience was my inability to reach eBay support after they ruled in favour of the seller. Despite my attempts to contact them via eBay chat and calls, I was unable to get through. Also the fact that ebay does not adhere to their own policies and arbitrarily enforce rules. Interestingly, eBay's system requested my feedback on the purchase, which I provided. However, it was subsequently deleted by eBay.
However, I had made the purchase using a debit card linked to PayPal. My bank informed me that eBay and PayPal suggested a chargeback because banks typically don't cover against gift card fraud. It's a method to avoid assuming responsibility by assigning it to others. Essentially, if ebay says we don't care, paypal will go along with it.
The only remaining option was to further reach out to Google support, which after several attempts, declined to allow me to redeem the card, citing, "As the decision from the team is final and we cannot allow to redeem ... because of inconsistencies with the gift card."
Having been with eBay as a buyer for eight years, this was my first dispute. Given their disregard for their own rules, there is no point of making a purchase in the future when they don't follow their own rules. Anyway, this was a somewhat expensive lesson for me.
It'd really help me out if I can get some insights that highlight the mistakes that were made and suggest what actions should've been taken or skipped.
Thanks.
