Re: [AH] bad eBay seller - what to do?

From doug
Sent Wed, Aug 21st 2019, 02:37

Brian,

Ebay heavily favors the buyer in situations like this.  You should be 
able to return it and get a refund (including shipping) easily.  I don't 
remember if you're allowed to give negative ratings on returns.  The 
partial refund angle will depend on the seller, but Ebay does support 
partial refunds too.

BTW, I quit selling high value items on Ebay, due to it's buyer 
favoring.  I had a synth returned that was serviced and in great 
condition, because the buyer did not understand how to operate it.  I 
was out shipping and had problems getting refunded the selling fees.  
However, I've never had an issue on the buying end.

---
Doug Huseby
http://synthark.com
http://synthark.org


On 2019-08-20 20:11, Brian Willoughby wrote:
> Hello all,
> 
> I bought a rack-mount miniDisc recorder on eBay, described in the
> title as “New Old Stock”
> After it arrived, it was clearly well-worn and used. The paper manual
> was practically shredded; there were three used miniDiscs in the box
> with set names hand-printed on the labels; the styrofoam was beat up
> and clearly had been handled hundreds of times; and the unit was not
> new or even in the typical plastic wrap.
> 
> Only an idiot would actually think that this was New Old Stock.
> 
> The seller showed photos of the box opened, so clearly they saw the
> condition of everything inside. I wrote to the seller to ask why it
> was mislabeled, and the only response was, "It was sealed in the box.
> We opened it for pictures. If you aren't happy with it we will take it
> back for a refund.” I don’t think that having new tape applied over
> the old to close the box counts as “sealed in the box,” at least not
> in my use of the English language.
> 
> I used to be an eBay expert, but it seems that the market has changed
> and there’s a whole new dynamic.
> 
> My question is: What is best option to deal with this?
> 
> 1) Return the unit and wait for another one?
> a) Will I actually get my money back?
> b) Do I have to take a loss on the return shipping costs?
> c) Will I still be able to give this guy a negative rating to warn
> others about the fraudulent labeling and description?
> d) What if the unit actually works and I prefer the old “bird in the 
> hand?”
> 
> 
> 2) Beg the seller for a partial refund?
> a) This sort of thing used to be a universal response from sellers on
> every complaint. Either that has changed, or this seller is taking a
> hard line.
> b) I haven’t actually asked, specifically, so perhaps the seller would
> be willing.
> c) Does eBay now have a process that makes this impossible? … or 
> difficult?
> 
> 
> or, should I:
> 
> 3) Shut up and learn my lesson that eBay has more scammers than
> trustworthy merchants?
> a) I’ll obviously confirm that the unit is functional before I choose
> this option.
> b) Maybe I don’t understand how flexible the term “New Old Stock”
> really is, and I should just tape up the original box for any of the
> used items I sell and say, "New old stock we believe. Was still sealed
> in the box."
> 
> 
> Sorry for the non-Analog content, but this community seems very savvy
> about eBay.
> 
> Brian