Seller won't pay return shipping on her mistake. Help!

[dakota_gurrl]

Hey fellow ebayers! I'm having a bit of an issue with a seller. I bought some pregnancy tests on eBay.ca from a seller in Florida. I msg'd her before buying them to confirm that they were in fact for urine and serum (she listed them as combo tests) and not urine only. I let her know that her title said combo but the pic she had up was urine only. She msg'd back in less than 5 mins and said they were for both...so I trusted her and bought them. Fast forward a week and a bit, they arrive slightly beaten up in a bubble envelope, and are urine only. I immediately took pics of the boxes then took a pic of my old empty "combo" box, to show her what a combo box actually looks like. I also took a pic of my msg to her and her reply. I was very polite and asked for a refund and offered to ship it all back, at her expense. I made sure to do this through the ebay claim area (can't think of the name, sorry) so ebay could see our communications etc. She hasn't been helpful at all. She said she doesn't do returns due to the nature of the product but would allow me to return mine. She would refund half now, then the rest when she got the items back and they look like what she sent me. This took her 2 days to reply. I then let her know the cost of return and cheapest method I could use with confirmation etc etc. I told her I wouldn't ship until she agreed to the costs and shipping method, and a quick online quote with tax and cost of shipping box, would be about $56CDN. She took another day and a half to reply and wrote "I did not ship to Canada." She's not making any effort to correct HER error and it's starting to get upsetting. I did nothing wrong here. I'm just trying to calmly resolve this and she's making it very hard to stay polite. I'm not looking to come out ahead, but I also don't think I should be out almost $60 when I was just buying something that I even double checked was what I thought it was. I have a couple more days before ebay steps in to help and I'm honestly not looking forward to it. I don't know what to do. I stopped using ebay because sellers were being so dishonest, I come back to give it another shot and it's gonna cost me $60 with nothing to show for it. I feel like this buyer protection thing isn't protecting me at all. 

I haven't responded to her since she said she didn't ship to Canada. I don't even know what to say to that. She took my payment, put the labels on the pkg, and dropped it off. In my mind, whether it went through 1 carrier or 20, she was the initial shipper whom sent the items to Canada.

*after scouring forums, I should mention that she did ship through GSP, so I assume this is why she says she did not ship to Canada....but, GSP was not the one who listed and sold an incorrect item.

Someone please help. I'm trying to work with her and she just seems like she's trying to burn through my time. If it helps, the grand total of everything (product and shipping) was a little over $120USD. Not exactly pocket change, especially after it's converted to CDN funds.

 

Thank u for any and all advice. 

[momcqueen]

I replied to your other thread.

If you've opened a Significantly Not As Described Return case, the seller is obligated to foot the cost of Return shipping. If she won't, escalate as soon as ebay allows. 

I don't know where the 'doesn't ship to Canada' part comes in. Was this a Global Shipping Program purchase? Did you use a freight forwarder?

[momcqueen]

The key point is to follow all instructions provided on the Return case and escalate as soon as is possible. 

The GSP issue is a red herring. She's enrolled, period. That's none of your concern, only hers, and it doesn't protect her rom SNAD claims where the incorrect item was shipped. 

[dakota_gurrl]

Thank you for ur reply. I sent her the quote and asked if she would prefer I ship with a courier. I made it clear I wouldn't ship without her agreement on the cost and method (I read something along those lines in the return policy section), and she sent me a one sentence reply "I did not ship to Canada". I don't even know how to respond to that because it has nothing to do with what I wrote about the quote and shipping method etc, beforehand. She's just replying for the sake of replying...its solving nothing. I can't escalate to CS for a couple more days. I'm not sure how to further break it all down for her, she doesn't seem to care and I dont trust her to pay me if I ship it out without her saying she approves. I'm trying to make sure I have a leg to stand on, but she refuses to agree to pay for shipping. I'll try rewording my previous message, to fill in the time between now and escalating, and hopefully she'll be more receptive. I can request ebay step in on Aug 10th. What a pain in the butt this has been...why can't ppl just be honest?! Ugh!

Thanks again! I will update if anything productive happens. =))

[ypdc_dennis]

While your seller (if she used GSP) is correct in saying she didn't ship to Canada.

That's beside the point since she did sell to Canada, and is responsible for Item-Not-As-Described.

-..-

[dakota_gurrl]

Thank you! That's what had me scratching my head...I wasn't claiming it was damaged in transit, or never arrived, so her shipping method shouldn't even be brought up. I still haven't replied to her so maybe I'll gently point that out to her. I'm trying so hard to keep things pleasant but she's making hard. Lotsa face-palms and head scratching.
Thanks for replying! =))

[dakota_gurrl]

OP here. This is like pulling teeth. She just keeps saying she's happy to refund me when I return the items. I don't even want to reply anymore but am worried it looks like I'm making no effort if I don't reply. I'm typing out long msgs and she sends 2 sentence replies. I did a cut n paste of the seller's responsibility written in the return policy and told her to please review the policy (kindly, of course)...I don't imagine that will get me anywhere. She's just dragging it out and I don't even know why. Would it look bad if I just stop replying and wait til I can escalate? This feels very one sided, she doesn't care.
Thanks for reading and replying...I'm truly regretting my decision to come back, which is a shame cuz I really used to love buying/selling on here. 😕

[dakota_gurrl]

I give up! I'm done replying. It went from being a full refund, to her paying the cost of the items and her shipping to GSP. She won't pay return or GSP charges. What a nightmare.
Thanks everyone. I don't think anyone here can help fix this...time to let ebay do their job, I guess. Hope I don't end up on the losing end of this. Will update for anyone looking for answers to a similar situation in the future.

[pjcdn2005]

The seller shouldn't have to pay gsp charges. The gsp would pay those out when she refunds you but she should be paying for return shipping.

You quoted $56 for shipping...that must be a very large box? Which service are you quoting and what are the dimensions and weight of the package?

If you are asking ebay to step in you might end up having to phone them to explain the situation. Sometimes they don't recognize the transaction was done through the gsp. 

[dakota_gurrl]

It's an extra large mailing box (40cm x 30.5cm x 21.6cm). I did the weight at both 2lbs and 2.5lbs and they're the same price. The weight of the tests without the mailing box is just under 2lbs so I added a bit for shipping box weight. Either way it'll hit 2lbs minimum. Cheapest method via Canada Post is Expedited Parcel USA. Base rate is $39.19 plus $2.25 for $100 additional insurance. $100 insurance is included but that is Canadian and I'm insuring a purchase in USD so I need to buy extra insurance in case she needs to claim it as lost. Fuel surcharge is $1.96 for a subtotal of $43.40 CDN. The mailing box is $6.49 so that bring the sub total up to $49.89 then we have tax. If tax is done at 13%, that's another $6.49, making the final cost $56.38. If no tax...then she pays just under $50. I told her the estimate and kindly requested she do a paypal deposit before I ship. I told her I would provide an invoice/receipt and refund any extra she paid over what the invoice/receipt states. I'm really trying here and she's ignoring it completely. She refuses to accept paying a return shipping cost. I don't wanna keep going back and forth and saying the same thing over and over, but I don't want to stop replying and make myself look like I don't care to resolve this.

[pjcdn2005]

Expedited parcel pricing is based on the size of the box when the package is larger so in this case, you will be paying for a package about 5.5 kg's. If you can use a smaller box that would keep the cost down. Just changing the size to 40x31x16cm lowers the cost including fuel charge to $34.  A 26x26x16cm parcel would cost about $30 so the box can make a difference. I'm basing the rates on shipping from Ontario to Florida.

There is no tax on postage for items being shipped outside of Canada.

I think that most buyers use the packaging that the product came in. That isn't possible in this case? I'm torn about you adding the cost of a box. If you were both in the US you would be sent a return label and would not be reimbursed for packaging so being reimbursed for packaging is not the 'norm'.  Can you pick up a used, clean box from a local business? I would be careful about anything that was used for food though.

[momcqueen]

Generally speaking, the buyer is expected to return the package in the shipping container it was sent inside. Unless, of course, that shipping container is damaged and no longer maintains its structural integrity. Also, I'd pass on the extra insurance. Tracked packages rarely go missing. If it were me, I'd go with the amount of insurance included in the service, and send it back within the box it came. Adding too many bells and whistles to your Return Postage request will taint your request as unreasonable. 

[dakota_gurrl]

Thanks guys! =))
I can't use the original packaging because it was one of those grey plastic bubble envelopes and was cut open and tossed after. I thought about just grabbing another one of those but I worry about the product being further damaged. *If* she sent them as brand new, they took a bit of a beating. The worry I have is these boxes each have a tamper seal on top, it needs to stay intact. Opening the box would easily break the seal, it's just a paper sticker, so I worry that if the pkg gets tossed or something heavier put on top and the lid to the box gets pushed in a bit, the seal will break. I will no longer have a "new" product in my pkging and she can't resell them. Plus without the extra insurance, if she made a damage claim, I'd be on the hook for the extra over the initial $100. I figured putting them in a box would offer a bit more protection for the tests and myself. I'm not looking to drag costs to an unreasonable amount for her, I do want to make sure I don't end up losing anything if she isn't fully satisfied with what she receives. She needs to be able to resell them.
Once I find my tape measure, I will give u the dimensions of the boxes, going by eye, they're very comparable to an Eggo box (8 pk) and theres 3.

I'll keep playing with the shipping thing on CP's site, maybe I can find a way to make a bubble envelope work...I'm very hesitant though.

Thank you both for the info, I don't return things often. Obvious?!! 😉

[dakota_gurrl]

Found a box! It holds all 3 with mm's to spare. The top needs a bit more cardboard added so it closes completely, but it's as small as I'm gonna get. 23x23x16 gives a quote of about $30. It is an apple sauce box with pics and ingredient labels etc on it, so can I just wrap it in some reversed wrapping paper to make it plain white? I used to have a bunch of brown shipping paper but pretty sure hubs threw it out and I really want to avoid buying more than I have to.

[dakota_gurrl]

Nevermind about the wrapping paper, I cut the tape on the Apple sauce box and turned it inside out. Plain brown box. I wish I could just edit comments instead of blowing up my thread with random thoughts. 😐

[momcqueen]

When I have to re-use an existing box, I turn it inside-out and hot glue the seams back together. The post office prefers unwrapped boxes, and prohibits the use of string completely. 

[pocomocomputing]

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@dakota_gurrl wrote:
Found a box! It holds all 3 with mm's to spare. The top needs a bit more cardboard added so it closes completely, but it's as small as I'm gonna get. 23x23x16 gives a quote of about $30. It is an apple sauce box with pics and ingredient labels etc on it, so can I just wrap it in some reversed wrapping paper to make it plain white? I used to have a bunch of brown shipping paper but pretty sure hubs threw it out and I really want to avoid buying more than I have to.

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What kind of cardboard is the Apple sauce box? Is it corrugated cardboard or is it thin cardboard like a cereal box? You need a box with some strength otherwise it will crush.

[pocomocomputing]

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@pocomocomputing wrote:

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@dakota_gurrl wrote:
Found a box! It holds all 3 with mm's to spare. The top needs a bit more cardboard added so it closes completely, but it's as small as I'm gonna get. 23x23x16 gives a quote of about $30. It is an apple sauce box with pics and ingredient labels etc on it, so can I just wrap it in some reversed wrapping paper to make it plain white? I used to have a bunch of brown shipping paper but pretty sure hubs threw it out and I really want to avoid buying more than I have to.

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What kind of cardboard is the Apple sauce box? Is it corrugated cardboard or is it thin cardboard like a cereal box? You need a box with some strength otherwise it will crush.

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If this was shipped by the GSP, do you have to return it? I thought if a buyer had issues with a GSP item, you just open a claim and the GSP refunds the buyer for the item and the GSP shipping and keeps the item. The seller is protected and keeps their money too.

[momcqueen]

That only happens in cases where the GSP is responsible for the error, not if the seller sent the wrong item.

[dakota_gurrl]

It's thicker than a cereal box but definitely not as strong as corrugated. It held like 6 of the individual Apple sauces. I have an inch on the sides that I can pack with newspaper or something. The end is adjustable because I have to make a new bend and add on to it for full coverage, so if need be I could just not bend it, and stuff the ends as well. This will increase the size and price I quoted her so I may be on the hook for that part.
As far as I've read about GSP, the claim with them would only be for damage or non-delivery. The seller sold me the wrong item entirely. I could be wrong though, I'm new to this whole return shipping gig. So far I'm hating it too! Lol!