Buyer protection is not as it used to be.

[vtredit]

Older days, when there was a problem with item I have bought, I have a number of choices, how do I want to fix the problem. Presently, Ebey offers only returning item to seller, when there is something wrong with the purchased merchandise.

This creates opportunity for all kind of fraudulent activities.

I have received counterfitted integrated circuit worth $12 from China.

If I send it back, the shipping will be more than item value.

The seller knows that, and it cost him pennies to print numbers on blank chips.

With massive selling of high demand, and expensive chips, this is a good bussiness opportunity for scammers.

[pjcdn2005]

The seller has always had the option of requiring a return before the item was refunded.  In past years, the buyer had to pay for return shipping but since they started the ebay Money Back Guarantee, the seller is responsible for the cost of return shipping when an item not as described claim is opened.   If the seller does not want to pay for the return shipping, they have the option of refunding without a return.

However, when the buyer and seller are in two different countries the seller is unable to send a label to the buyer so in some cases, the buyer just gives up. But the seller is still responsible for paying for return shipping if they don't want to refund outright so they need to either send the buyer the money to buy a label to return the item or find some way to send them a label.  If they don't do that, the buyer needs to contact customer service so that they can be refunded without a return. Probably the best way to do that is by sending a private message through ebay Twitter or Facebook.  The process does not seem to be explained that well by ebay but that is how it works if the buyer knows what to do.

[clemowbooks]

In most cases the Seller is required to pay return shipping, even if the Terms of Sale say No Returns.

If the cost of return shipping is too high, many sellers will abandon the item and just refund.

Usually the seller's cost is lower than the shipping price, especially when the return shipping is at Western prices. (China Post has in the past few years started charging more for international shipping, but it is still low compared to Western postal prices.)

Open an Item Not As Described Dispute.

State in the text box that you believe the item to be counterfeit.

You will be refunded without paying for return shipping, but you only have 30 days from delivery to open the Dispute.

You may also want to report the suspected counterfeit to the actual manufacturer, who has deeper pockets and more lawyers than you.

And of course,

If it sounds too good to be true, it isn't true.