I lost over $20 due to eBay's "Buyer protection".

I purchased a lot of 33 sixpence coins from a seller. While the title and description said "50's", the pictures showed ones from the 40s. So I figured the seller made a typo, as did other bidders, because the lot realized over $18.00.

I received, 33 sixpence...from the 50s. OK, no big deal, I will just return them. So I sent them back to the seller at my cost.

I waited...and waited...the seller never replied to my emails. So I opened a case.

Seller never replied to the case, so I escalated it to the support team, before it would close.

Guess what? Ebay decided in the seller's favor. I cannot leave feedback because of this, either.

So besides the $21 I paid for the coins, and the $3 to ship it back, I now have no coins or money.

 

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So did you send them back with tracking (delivery confirmation)?

 

It may have been an honest mistake on the seller's part, and too bad eBay ruled against you. But "buyer protection" does not absolve buyers from asking questions when there are apparent discrepancies in listings.

 

That is why you open the case before you send the coins back and wait for the decision. At least then you have your items.

I don't think it's fair for you to blame eBay for this - you clearly took a gamble on a listing error and it didn't work out in your favor. I'll admit that the seller should have at least responded to you as a good practice - but not knowing the details of the auction it would be unfair to judge the seller's actions.

As many have said on this forum before, be thankful it wasn't a costly mistake, and learn the lesson for the next attempted gamble.

 

So, let me see if I get your complaint...

You bought a lot of 33 1950s sixpence coins and got mad because the seller sent you 33 1950s sixpence coins?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/251315614042

I don't see why you wouldn't be able to leave feedback, since you paid for the item. Did you contact the seller prior to returning the coins? Did you provide eBay with the return tracking information? If you answered no to both of those questions, I can definitely see why eBay would make a ruling for the seller on the case.

Did you file the case as SNAD? I mean, it might be difficult to prove, but if you called Trust and Safety directly and tell them to look at the pictures, they may be able to give you a refund. Beyond that, how would eBay refund you, given that you refuse to use Paypal? eBay does have an appeals process for Buyer Protection cases if you can prove the item was returned.

 

Thanks! I finally got the formula for my riches:

1. Utilize PHOTO of higher-value, super-cherry coin(s) to make 'em bite, but
2. WORD the Item Description to accurately describe what you will be mailing the unfortunate buyer (eg. "Damaged, decroded piece of crap 1979 Canadian quarter").
3. Watch the bids soar.

Sorry, but I sympathise with Detecto. Here's why:
Doesn't each Ebay item say that the seller is responsible for the LISTING? Call me crazy, but I would think that "the listing" includes the pictures(s) attached to said listing. I swear, some of these people on ebay would rather climb a tree to tell a lie than to stand on the ground on their own two feet and tell the truth. (Don't ask. Even I don't know what that means).

 

Ha ha...that's a great quote!

I'll also agree that the seller should be responsible for a solid listing.

 

I honestly cannot remember if I had tracking or not, it's been over 2 weeks since I returned them. I did contact the seller previously.

That was on 9/9.

That was on 9/16.

I waited until 9/26 before escalating the case.

Seller never said he sent me the refund, and I never got one, either.

 

Man that's too bad! Try emailing the seller again and see if he will refund you as promised.

 

Ah...I had a feeling that more details would come out as the thread grew longer...

 

I am sorry to hear that.

 

Umm, basically your quotes show that eBay decided the case was closed, because the seller offered to refund your money. If that's the case, and you didn't use Paypal, you'd have to wait for the following events to occur prior to having your refund even sent to you:

1) Original payment must fully clear. Although banks will usually credit out of state checks within a couple days, the payment isn't fully cleared until the bank notifies the account holder of such.
2) Returned items must be received by the seller.

At that point, the seller would send you back a check for the amount of your original purchase. That might take another week or so to reach you.

Now, I'm confused. If eBay wrote you on the 16 that the refund would be processed, why were you even able to file a complaint/claim to the resolution center on the 26th?

 

I feel like it was a week after the 19th...but that's still not enough time to make sure a letter with a check or money order would get there from the seller, assuming they actually mailed it on the 19th.

 

It also assumes that the seller had received the items back by the 19th. That isn't exactly proven yet, either.

Also, Tim, I'm really curious on your claimed timeline. The listing ended on 12 Aug. You said you returned the items on 9 Sept. I highly doubt that you didn't receive the coins until 26 Aug, since you would have posted here complaining about the seller scamming you and not sending your coins out. That being the case, even if the seller didn't offer a refund, eBay would simply have ruled that the description was accurate and you exceeded the 14-day return period.

Anyway, let this be a lesson:

When dealing on eBay, protection only matters if you have a Paypal account or use a credit card.

 

How did you you pay? Paypal? open a case with them.

 

No, he doesn't have a PP account...check/money order. And no tracking for the shipping, most likely...(just an educated guess.)

Also, I do enjoy how you (Tim) said in your first post that the seller never responded to your emails...and yet clearly the seller responded to something.

Honestly, I would have just kept the coins and tried to sell them to get my money back. Think of all the stuff you could have gotten done in the time you've spent trying to use eBay Buyer Protection to cover your gamble...JMO

 

i thought ebay buyers protection only works with paypal

 

Hi coinbuyer2012,

The seller has responded to you and offered another solution to solve this issue.

Seller's message:
"please return for a full refund, sorry gene"


Who's Gene? Your name is Tim, correct? Maybe the seller has you mixed up with someone else.

 

Correct. It's clearly stated in the terms that it only works with Paypal. Why? Because Paypal is owned by eBay, so it's easy for them to reverse charges.

I assumed the seller's name is Gene.

 

TC - I think the seller's name is Gene. He just doesn't care to punctuate his sentences...just a guess...lol