When Things Are Not As Expected

When buying on eBay you will run across some sellers who either didn't know or are unethical. It's bound to happen with millions of transcations taking place every day. Condition on items is subjective to begin with, but there's also items that any expert or reasonable person would consider damaged.  So, what to do if you feel taken or something didn't live up to what was promised.

First, be upfront and disclose to the seller what was wrong. Example, you didn't say there was tons of Continental Postcards, 100 postcards vs. 50 you received, or disclose damage. If the seller is ethical a reasonable compromise can be worked out. Examples are reimbursing shipping charges, suggesting a dollar amount to be taken off, or giving a merchandise credit. If everything is damaged and the seller was unaware, they might just let you keep the lot and write it off as a business loss. Lastly, mistakes happen and although you may be irritated, the old saying cooler heads prevail should be exercised.

Avoiding A Situation to Begin With

Read the whole listing, not just the description? If uncertain or there's a gray area - question the seller.  If the answer is vague - move on. Odds are someone is puling something.  More lots are listed every day. What eBay needs to do is say item is not returnable vs. just leaving it open to the public to assume. It's a major fault. A seller whoose ethical will say AS IS in the description.

Look at the feedback and User Id info. Is the person changing their user idinfo frequently? Is there a lot of negatives in a short time frame. To me, something is wrong. Be careful, sometimes the seller is ethical and they simply ran across a buyer whoose unreasonable, or is trying to pull a scam.

I did all of this, but still feel taken - Now What?

Did you pay by Paypal? If so, open a transaction dispute and disclose all your facts. It can take well over a month to get something resolved. Bear in mind you may not win your claim, so document everything. You may also have to send photos or the actual item to Paypal.  By law people can't misrepresent items regardless if it's a mistake, oversight, or done intentionally. In otherwords, I can't sell you a car and say there's 20,000 miles on it when in fact there's 30,000. The car example being misrepresentation which I see occuring a lot on eBay as of late. 

It may take awhile, but eBay will for one suspend the seller if it's a minor and his mother/family member opening account, secondly, there's a long history of problems as reported by other users, or third the person is not completing transactions in a reasonable period of time.

Charged it on a non Paypal credit card? Credit Cards hate losing money and will go to bat for you. Again, state all your facts.

Third, archive every message in your e-mail.  Some people can be nasty and start making accusations. Warn them by saying you'll report them for abuse. Likley nothing will get done, but at least the parties are on record with their internet provider, FBI, or US Postal Service. a lot of people may be unaware, but charging people a higher amount then what it actually cost to send an item is a violation of US mail.

Great, but where do I go for help?

Rather than give links to sites, I just provided a list of what I feel is helpful.

eBay Customer Service - At the very least a record is made about the dispute.

Paypal Resolution Center - Pretty good at settling things at least from my experience.

The persons internet provider/providers if harassment and fraud is taking place

FBI Cybercrimes and FTC websites

You also can report the latest scams as to consumer/commercial marketplace fraud to: SPAM@UCE.GOV - at the very least you'll make the FTC aware of these crooks.

US Postal Inspection accessed via usps.com. - They'll send a info card acknowledging your complaint and at the very least likely document the persons address.

The persons Attorney State Generals Office.

Final Words

I felt this was overdue. Overall with the millions of transactions taking place sales are successful with no returns. Things will happen and ethical sellers regardless of Powerseller status or someone who sells infrequently will acknowledge and correct an error. People who don't and are pulling scams won't last too long here on eBay. The latest trend is trageting eBay trading assistants to sell counterfit or knock-off clothes (i.e. Ralph Lauren).