Possible eBay seller trickerys ??? Item not as descibed.

[gbm97]

My laptop needed a docking station, a battery and an AC power adapter.

I went on eBay, searched for and found a package that included all 3 components & I purchased.

On arrival day I opened the package and found 1 of 3 components missing, the AC power adapter.

So all I got was the slice battery and the docking station.

2  messages to the seller unanswered.

I opened up a claim.

WHILE I AM WAITING FOR  RESOLVE ON THIS CLAIM I AM WONDERING....

The TITLE of the item read 

HP 2740P/2760P Slice Dock with Battery/65w AC Adapter - Fully Tested

 The CONDITION read 

Seller refurbished

 “HP Elitebook 2740p/2760p Slice batteries and dock. Refurbished and Tested - 65w AC Adapter Included”

 The ITEM DESCRIPTION read 

Selling HP Elitebook 2740P slice batteries and docks. Each order includes 1 Docks and 1 Batteries.

So as you can see the power adapter was included in the title and condition but in the description the AC adapter was not included.

Maybe the eBay tycoons are going to tell me the poor dumb buyer that hey the description says nothing about an AC adapter????

Thanks

Poor Gary

[marnotom!]

What's the listing number?

[momcqueen · Accepted solution]

Ebay will likely err on the side of caution in that even if the adapter is only mentioned in the title, it can be assumed it's part of your bundle OTHERWISE the seller is guilty of keyword spamming and that is adding extra words to their title of their listing which are unrelated to the product being sold.

So, I don't think you need to worry about getting a refund.

Don't accept an offer to replace, regardless of how tempting it may be to do so. This is often merely a delay tactic unless the seller is one with whom you've already established a relationship built on trust, the dispatch is domestic, and the item will be sent with tracking and you can have it within about five business days.

Oh and if the seller wants you to return to him what you received, he has to pay for the return postage. Not you. 

You may be offered a full or partial refund instead. If the refund offered is partial, you will have to decide if it's worth it to you to take that amount and keep looking for the adapter. If you cannot agree on an amount, escalate and let ebay decide. 

Instead, take your refund and buy another. 

[gbm97]

Hi momcqueen and thanks, feeling better.

Keyword spamming, that's it.

Will let you know how it pans out.

All I want is for them to mail me the AC adapter, not having to return what I did receive.

[marnotom!]

I can't find a completed listing for this sale when I search by item number or the title of the listing.

Was this an item from China, by any chance?  Many of the listings that came up when I did a search seemed to be from there.  I'm wondering if the seller had limited English and was simply copying and pasting from other listings without much thought as to what they were copying and pasting.

@gbm97, is the seller of your item still registered on eBay and actively selling?

[gbm97]

Hi, not sure why, but this link should work. 

[marnotom!]

Thanks for the link, @gbm97.  Not sure why I originally wasn't able to find the listing, either.

So the seller is in Canada. Given that both the listing title and the item condition both specify that the adapter is included, but the item description does not, I'd put this one down to seller sloppiness or carelessness.

The seller seems to specialize in "factory seconds" or refurbished computer equipment and sometimes relies heavily on what appears to be catalogue descriptions for their items.  I don't think anything malicious was intended by the seller.  They're just not as on the ball as they could be.  Their current 98.5% positive feedback percentage strikes me as being a bit low and broadcasts a "proceed with caution" message out to me.

This item was likely a one-off acquisition by the seller and I doubt a replacement or adapter sent under separate cover is possible.  @momcqueen has given you excellent advice.  I'd take a refund--which I believe you're likely to receive--and look elsewhere.

[esclyons]

and if you read in the seller's motes it does say adapter included.  i would just message them again, then go from there, you are right in believing the charger was included..

[marnotom!]

---

@esclyons wrote:

and if you read in the seller's motes it does say adapter included.  i would just message them again, then go from there, you are right in believing the charger was included..

---

The OP has already sent the seller two messages and opened a claim.  If that's not getting the seller to respond, nothing will.

[momcqueen]

Yes, it's fairly clear to me that the seller made a mistake, whether it was to include the adapter in the listing when he didn't actually have one, or that he had one and forgot to add it to the order... this remains to be seen. But given the seller is located within Canada and any 'replacement' being sent would have to come with tracking and fast, I do think this is a rare instance where the buyer could wait a week to get the rest of the parts that he had every right to expect was part of what he bought.

That being said, it seems like maybe there is no adapter and never was, in which case take a refund and keep looking.

The fact that the seller has not yet responded to the case is a bit concerning. Although if he/she never does, the buyer can escalate and ebay will step in.

Thankfully, I get little to no complaints of Not As Described but any Return request for any reason gets my (heart racing and) legs racing to the computer. It's the last thing that a conscientious sellers wants to see is an unhappy buyer due to a mistake made with an order, but give the seller until ebay says to offer some sort of solution to you. If they do not, escalate, escalate, escalate. Once a case is escalated, it is decided fairly fast. 

[esclyons]

my mistake, i missed the 2 attempted messages. perhaps the seller is a business, and doesn't check on the weekends?, anyways i would open an item not as described case,  perhaps, a partial refund would be enough to buy the adapter , otherwise if the seller doesn't have one to ship to you, you will have to return it for a full refund.

[gbm97]

This seller has still not responded, even opened up a claim 6 days ago. I don't get why a seller would choose to ignore a buyer.

Anyway not sure if I errored on the claim process. It states I,m requesting a return.

Not really wanting to go through the process of shipping back to them what I do have.

Rather they sent me a refund or mail the missing ac adapter.

[momcqueen]

It's simply the process. Ebay will step in and refund your money if the seller is AWOL.

Ignoring an open case is the Number One Sin in ebay's books. It's not a smart tactic to take for any seller for any reason. 

[gbm97]

Hi momcqueen and thank you so much once again for your help on this.

Will wait it out for abit.

[momcqueen]

You're very welcome. 

Ebay should probably give the seller about three days to respond to a case when it's open (maybe five days?) and then cite a date you as the buyer can escalate if you are unable to reach an agreement. Escalate to ebay as soon as you are able and do so without guilt. The seller really should never ignore a request for assisntace with something gone wrong with an order. 

[gbm97]

Just an update, eBay supplied a refund, seller even ignored the fact that a claim was against them.

Why  seller would risk his reputation over a lousy missing part is beyond me.

Thanks

[momcqueen]

I'm happy to hear you got your refund. But, yes, for a seller to ignore an open case, that is a Major Sin in ebay's books. It's one of only two things that gets a seller a defect on their account tally and we are allowed precious few 'defects' to keep us in line.

Best of luck to you in finding another adapter.

[momcqueen]

Plus, all the seller in question really had to say in the first place was say, "Oh golly, sorry about that, here's your refund!" and that would be the end of it. As it stands, ebay gave you a refund with their money and they got a slap on the wrist for making ebay do it for them. 

[gbm97]

Hi momcqueen, yes but I would of been really happy if the missing part was re-shipped, or I would of happily agreed to mail back to them what they did sent me and had them refund me.

Take care...next time, better circumstances maybe.