I have used ebay off and on for years. I am not a frequent ebayer, but when I need something, I will check to see if I can get it cheaper on ebay. I had my first bad experience at the end of June. I only buy from top rated seller’s- I always make sure their rating is in the high 90th percentile and that they are regular sellers. Therefore I was completely shocked when the item did not meet my expectations.
The item was advertised as brand new- it arrived with scratches, a small dent and no instruction manual. It was clearly not new. Furthermore, the item did not fit the model the seller had specified.
I immediately contacted the seller via ebay email service so there was tracking record. They responded two days later and asked me to take pictures and insisted their products are new. I took pictures that clearly showed the damage and that it did not fit and sent a response email. Then the waiting game began.
I waited a week, partly because I was on vacation, and sent a followup email asking if they received the pictures. No response.
Now we are at about three weeks out since I received the item. I decided it was time to leave negative feedback and file a claim with ebay. The claim process is pretty easy although ebay wants you to try to work it out with the seller first. What happens is that ebay contacts the seller and lets them know they have 7 days to resolve the problem. If the problem is not resolved, ebay will get involved.
A day after filing the claim, the seller contacted me. They offered a full refund and if I revised the feedback, I didn’t have to ship the item back. I went for their offer because I didn’t want to pay the shipping fee for the return shipping.
It’s amazing how quickly they responded when I filed the report! I did tell them that they could have easily avoided the negative feedback and the report if they would have responded to my emails.
So, if you shop ebay, remember that you do have an option if the item you buy is not correct. Leaving feedback and filing a report can be very powerful tools if you are getting no response via email.
By the way, once I revised the feedback my refund was issued five minutes later! It’s like magic!
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I’m sorry you had such a horrible experience. I’m glad you were able to get it resolved though. It crazy that you had to go to those lengths for them to fix their mistake
Hi Katherine,
It was crazy that I had to jump through all of those hoops! I am so glad it was resolved though and I will know what to do if I ever use ebay again! Thanks for your comment!
Oh my gosh…eBay, where do I begin?
Like you, I shop eBay when I’m in the market for a specific item and I turn to eBay to see if I can purchase it cheaper there.
Well, I have learned my lesson NOT to purchase name brand items on eBay, no matter how good of a deal it is.
In the past I have purchased a few, what I thought were, Coach purses, only to find out they were 100% fake. I have also purchased perfume and was dealt the same fate as the ‘Coach’ purses.
Again, like you, I contacted the seller(s) of the fake items and got no where. Finally, I filed a complaint with eBay and low & behold, I was returned my money, once I shipped the product back.
Thank goodness eBay has the guarantee they do or I wouldn’t buy via eBay at all! Paypal offers the same protection as well.
Thanks for sharing your story, I enjoyed the read.
– kimbuckjr
Thanks for sharing your story! Glad I am not alone!~