So I purchased a set of two bills on Ebay- a 100 kroon and 10 kroon from Estonia but the bills the guy sent weren't the ones he showed on the photos. Still in decent shape, but fact of the matter, I paid $20 for the two notes because one of them was a binary note. The one I received was not a binary though. I don't necessarily want to go through the whole returns process and they are nice bills, but is it unreasonable to ask for a partial refund? I mean the only reason I paid a premium was because of the binary bill shown on the photos... Advice is appreciated.
You can ask for a partial refund, and if the seller says NO, you should initiate a return, as the Seller misrepresented the items. If it were me, I would ask for a refund, as the seller is likely breaking eBay policy:
I think the smart thing to do is ask for a partial refund as his listing misrepresented what was being sold. If the seller doesn’t agree, than file for a refund, unless you want to keep the notes at the price you paid. Shipping cost may cut into the picture.
I was going to say to check if the listing mentioned it is a stock photo but the policy you quoted is pretty clear. Plus it is bad business to show a nicer stock photo than what is sent. I would message the seller and politely explain what happened. If the seller reacts positively, then all is good. If they are rude or nonresponsive, then you can decide if you want to return or keep but avoid them in the future.
This happened to me a while back with a $2 bill on Ebay. The auction picture looked exactly like the bill I wanted. When it arrived, it clearly wasn't the same bill (the different serial number made that pretty obvious). I contacted the dealer and he said the bill pictured was no longer available, which irritated me because why post it if it's not the one you're actually selling? But, to his credit, he said I could send it back for a refund. The cost was so small that the whole thing ended up getting forgotten about, but I regret not going through the refund process just out of principle. There's nothing worse (well, maybe a few things) than receiving something different than what was pictured, especially if no text around "stock photo" exists. I won't even buy from "stock photo" auctions because who knows what will arrive?
Damn Skippy! Good advice Sir. Do this always in any case except in a restaurant. They might spit in your food.
Unless the listing explicitly stated the photo was a stock photo or something to the effect "serial numbers may vary" than the item you received is not as described, and you're entirely entitled to a refund according to eBay policy. How you choose to handle that is up to you, but I'd be polite to the seller unless/until you're given a reason not to be, is my suggestion. I personally am not too particular about serial numbers unless the note is specifically advertised as there being something special about it as a selling point. But if I get something that clearly isn't as it was described, I definitely wouldn't just let it go (unless the value is just too low to make it worth bothering about).
I don't know: my gut tells me you're overreacting otherwise you would not have posted a thread here seeking validation. Your complaint is vague & a red flag for me is that you want some discount (rather than go through the hassle of a return). You have not stated which note had a binary serial# & you have not stated whether the note was listed as such. You just stated that there was a picture of a binary note. If the note was listed as "Binary 10 Kroon" or "Binary serial on 100 Kroon" then by all means, complain & initiate a request for a refund. I would estimate that at least 50% (or even a majority) of Power Sellers list an example image of the note to be sold. Some Power Sellers put images of great serial numbers to entice new collectors. They put this statement "item may not be exactly as pictured" on their listings. This is one of the reasons collectors complain about eBay (that & notes are often not truly UNC as sellers state). Personally, if I got both a 10 Kroon & a 100 Kroon for $20 USD I would not initiate a return b/c that is what I would expect to pay for regular serial #. I would chalk it up to "lesson learned"
