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

From Brian Willoughby
Sent Fri, Aug 23rd 2019, 06:00

Thanks for all of the support from folks who copied the list or replied =
privately. I=E2=80=99ve decided to pursue a return through the eBay =
process, despite the fact that this seller does not accept returns. I =
attached 7 photos, any one of which should make it obvious, to anyone at =
eBay with half an idea of what =E2=80=9CNew Old Stock=E2=80=9D means, =
that this was a clearly fraudulent listing.

Being a gear head, it seems like such a waste to send away this unit, =
since I=E2=80=99ll probably end up with another used one eventually. =
However, I clearly paid for NOS (you know, nitrous oxide), and the =
seller knew that someone would pay more for a discontinued product that =
is New Old Stock over any of the many other used rack MD recorders.

I=E2=80=99m still ranting, of course, because I haven=E2=80=99t had time =
after work for two days to take care of lighting and taking photos, =
composing the complaint, and stepping through eBay=E2=80=99s process. =
It=E2=80=99s a serious waste of my time, and if I were well versed in =
the legal process then I=E2=80=99d be tempted to sue for the lost time =
dealing with this obvious fraud. I=E2=80=99ll definitely be giving a =
negative feedback for newchesterlaurelpawn, a.k.a. Chestertown Jewelry =
and Pawn.

I may have missed an opportunity, though. The first time through the =
refund process, I recall seeing an individual=E2=80=99s name - John =
something - and address. I clicked through without saving it anywhere. =
Now I can=E2=80=99t find that information again, and even attempting to =
ask for a refund a second time ends up on different pages (probably =
because eBay has a record that I=E2=80=99ve already filed such a =
request). eBay will eventually get back to me, but I wish I could put a =
name out here on this list so that folks aren=E2=80=99t mislead by John =
(*fubar*) at Chestertown Pawn.

Brian


On Aug 20, 2019, at 7:40 PM, xxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx wrote:
> Brian,
>=20
> 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.
>=20
> 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.
>=20
> ---
> Doug Huseby
> http://synthark.com
> http://synthark.org
>=20
>=20
> 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 =E2=80=9CNew Old Stock=E2=80=9D
>> 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.=E2=80=9D I don=E2=80=99t think that having new =
tape applied over
>> the old to close the box counts as =E2=80=9Csealed in the box,=E2=80=9D=
 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=E2=80=99s 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 =E2=80=9Cbird =
in the hand?=E2=80=9D
>> 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=E2=80=99t actually asked, specifically, so perhaps the =
seller would
>> be willing.
>> c) Does eBay now have a process that makes this impossible? =E2=80=A6 =
or difficult?
>> or, should I:
>> 3) Shut up and learn my lesson that eBay has more scammers than
>> trustworthy merchants?
>> a) I=E2=80=99ll obviously confirm that the unit is functional before =
I choose
>> this option.
>> b) Maybe I don=E2=80=99t understand how flexible the term =E2=80=9CNew =
Old Stock=E2=80=9D
>> 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
>=20