Using Ebay.

[hotspur]

Hi Folks.

I think a lot of people here use Ebay.I use it occasionally-never had any bother with it really.But last week I purchased two fishing reels,from an Australian based firm.The reels arrived,but they were not the same specifications as advertised-the line capacity of a given braking strain was much less than stated in ad-the model name and number was the same.

I contacted the seller,and pointed this out-they replied that the recent shipment was 'smaller; than previous batch.They want me to send the reels back (at my expense) and swap them for something similar to what I saw in ad.

What have other members found when something like this happens,and what is the best thing to do? Its going to cost me to send them to Victoria-but I really think its the sellers fault there was a disparity between item advertised and what arrived-they have admitted so.I'd have thought I'd get a partial refund or similar.

What do others here think-thanks Chris

[casstony]

I bought a diagonal from an aussie astro shop, they sent the wrong one and I had to pay the return postage - not impressed, but can't be bothered arguing about it. I think the safest thing to do is just stop buying stuff Chris :) .

I think we're going to be seeing more shonky deals (private and retail) as the economy gets tougher. Maybe only buy from places/people you really trust.

[hotspur]

Thanks Tony.

Just wanted to see if other thought it reasonable for me to have to pay to send them back.Its not so as a shonky deal-but just poor management of the
company not to check for disparities -on their products-it really does not take much to look.I am amazed no one else has pointed this out to them by now.

Sorry to hear about details in your PM-hope it arrives Tony,might stop buying things for a while too!

Cheers Chris

[rmcconachy]

I'm with you Chris. If the goods shipped do not match the description then I expect the seller to fix the problem without me having to pay for them to fix their mistake (e.g., the seller pays for all required extra shipping).

[TechnoBill]

I have bought many hundreds of items on ebay and overall the experiences are good.
It is dissapointing though to see real traders using ebay to get around our trading laws. If a retailer ships you a different item to what you ordered the onus is on them to get the order right at their expense , not yours. In your case the seller made the mistake not you. They should have contacted you before shipping an item that was lesser than the one you ordered. It should be their expense for the mistake not yours.

However what's fair and what's law are often two different things.

[PCH]

If you paid by Paypal, you could try raising the issue with them with a view to getting your money back just as in any other unfair transaction.

I think it's unreasonable of them to expect you to pay postage. I'd 'talk' to them in more determined terms if I were you. It's amazing what you can achieve if you're persistent :D

[traveller]

I see you are still getting the fishing gear in order chris. If the seller is Aust based, you have a much stronger case to either get them to send you out a new reel as they described, or replace the wrong one at their cost. the trades practices act is very strict about this (I think it's section 57, misleading and deceptive conduct, but google it and you will find it easily).
So I'd get in touc with them, saying their actions potentially consistiutue misleading and deceptive conduct under the trades practice act, and that if they do not resolve this issue, you may consider raising a compliant with the accc etc (after you tried the soft approach first). this may get their attention.
Good luck chris,
Bo

[OICURMT]

Most eBay sellers are HK based with distribution centers in Australia to make them "appear" Australian.

The reason for them wanting you to pay shipping is simple. Their margins are so low, they lose money by having to triple ship (there-back-there again...). You can't get items cheap and think that if something goes wrong you'll be taken care of... Sellers on eBay have never worked that way, period. Probably some exceptions out there, but I would argue they are a rare find.

[Allan_L]

Hi Chris,

Have you already left eBay Feedback for them?
If not, a threat of bad feedback often has required outcome.

Also, mention that you intend reporting to eBay management that they are sending goods not as described in their listing.

however, having said that, i have previously paid return postage for an item.
when they received it they reimbursed me the full ebay payment plus my return postage costs.

On another occasion, I asked that they send out the replacement item, and include with that a return paid envelope.

Depends on what is involved and how much you paid.

[AdrianF]

Recently bought some cratf stuff for my wife from the UK. After a reasonable time I contacted the seller to tell them that no item had turned up. She asked me to leave it another 14 days to see if the item arrives. After 14 days the item had not turned up I told the seller and she sent another item. 12 days later the 2nd item turned up let her know via feedback. 2 days later the 1st item arrived. I let her know that it had arrived and if she gave me her return address I would return it. She told me to keep the second item and refused to accept payment as well. In total it was about 4 months. Ordered in January and the original item arrived in May IIRC.
Can get good eBayers, havent bought from any shoddy ones yets but I have only bought 410 items so far from eBay. Everything from gemstones to astro gear.

Adrian

[hotspur]

Thanks Gentlemen.

For your advice and view points.Just to clarify-the seller is Australian bases-in Victoria-a buyer can pick up the items from there place of business.

I have not left any feed back on their comments page.I have contacted them again.So will see what reply-if not I'll follow on Bo's advice-I did think there was something like that.They have admitted in a PM the goods are 'smaller'.

I do not think I'll have too much trouble getting some sort of refund or similar.
Yes they do operate on small margins.But the disparity is not my fault.

Thanks again for everyone's useful thoughts.

[overlord]

ebay is better than buying from an online store cos sellers are TERRIFIED of having their reputation tarnished. They will BEG BEG BEG for you to give them good feedback so make sure you're happy. Once or twice I got diddled but I think ebay got back most of the cash. Also I bought a good desk for ten bucks.

[overlord]

I been in just this situation. What you do in this case is accuse them of selling defective merhandise and DEMAND a 2/3 refund and you KEEP the product. Make it clear that you are VERY ANGRY by your tone. They will be scared of getting a -ve feedback and let me tell u their attitude changed so fast it was amazing. They went from `send it back and i'll give u a refund' to 'oh please have mercy'. :eyepop:

[csb]

I bought an item from an Australian retailer that did not work as advertised.

The seller would not refund postage and refused to pay return postage.

So I contacted consumer affairs in that state (possibly Vic - I live in SA) and got ALL my money back - purchase price, original postage and retailer paid for return postage.

It didn't take long to sort out and online complaint register is easy.

[mercedes_sl1970]

Chris - you can also raise a complaint/dispute with Ebay itself as well as with Paypal. I've heard of people resolving things this way in similar circumstance.

Good luck.

Andrew

[dannat]

eBay dispute resolution is fine, very much prejudice towa buyer though, I think in eBay terms somewhere it states post doesn't have to be refunded, & they can air till you post them the item back to refund you..how much did the fishing gear cost

[hotspur]

Its not a great deal of money involved,Daniel.

The seller has admitted the reels are 'smaller',but they have give me no details of where to send back etc.I contacted them again,but no reply-so I followed the ebay disputes page,and simply stated the disparity.Really do not expect anything to happen-bit of a learning curve.The seller can just go on their page and adjust the specs-so it looks like they are not at fault.I have the purchase page in my ebay file-with specs shown-not sure if they can change that.I really am disappointed the reels are both nothing like what was advertised by seller-I am sure the pay pal note will get posted to them,after I know they have it-I message them saying if they do not do a partial refund or give me a discount token-I'll make a negative comment in purchasers' comments.Going by experienced ebay'ers here it might have a chance of even be successful.

Thanks for all your advice-cheers.

[overlord]

Don't even have to tell em that cos it sounds threatening. Tell em ur upset and if they don't work that out they are lost anyway. Just let em know ur fuming and they can work out the rest and imagine the possibilities. I got a full refund after demanding a 2/3 refund. Anyway, you can just open a dispute resolution and get back the money from them anyway if they refuse. Ebay is stacked towards the buyer which is why I use ebay all the time. It's best to only buy from local ebayers or ebayers who have sold thousands of items. Everyone else is less experienced and more dodgy. I have bought thousands and thousands of bucks of stuff off that place. IT's awesome. I've only bought 2 fake listings and in both cases I opened a dispute resolution and ebay took money out of their paypal accounts for me.

[overlord]

I once bought a mechanical watch off an online store. (non ebay) It was busted. Eventually they decided to replace it IF I sent it back at my own expense and sent a video of how it was broken, after MANY complaints. I had no recourse. I had to accept the terms. If it was ebay they would have just sent another watch or got the money back one way or the other without any haggling crap. I will never buy from that particular online store again (a large one). Stack the odds in your favour and don't take too many risks. That's my motto in life.

[hotspur]

Thank you all for your useful and practical advice and thoughts on this matter,I put a report into PayPal,the seller came to the surface quickly and offered to pick up the reels and swap them for the larger ones-no hasseles.No expense to me.

The seller is in Australia,and I felt that with the correct prodding would be reasonable-just was not sure how to go about it all.Really-just a learn curve for me,as I do not use ebay much,and gives me an idea of how to go about things if a much larger amount of money was involved.In this case-it was not very large-and I could have sold the reels easily-but the advertiser made a clear mistake with specifications-which as people he can understand-makes a big difference in the unusual projects that many of us go about doing.

Does make you wonder-the general public that buy any sort of stuff,must not be too exacting-as this error should have been picked up ages ago.The first thing I do about any purchases -is look at the specs.

Anyhow-I'm going fishing now:)

[traveller]

Good to hear a good outcome chris. How did you go with the courier company that shipped the old rods from mlebourne? Post photos of some nice barras when you hook them!
Bo

[steve000]

Hey Mate,

if you paid by paypal you can contact paypal and tell them all the actions you have taken (with proof) and often you will get you money back, act fast as you only have 60 days i think. Any good business should just send you the replacements and write it off as a business mistake/loss I ordered batteries that went through Austria and took 6 weeks to arrive from the US, they seller send me replacements even though it was not their fault. The originals ended up arriving, i offered to refund they said don't bother as we just write it off. Although competition is hard id imagine a proper ebay business would have enough profit to cover mistakes like this. At the very minimum they could request they get sent back but they will reimburse you Or offer instore credit for some other product or perhaps a 3rd reel for free or heavily discounted etc.

TLDR? They sent the wrong thing, if you paid with paypal you are covered, if paid with bank transfer then it could be a harder fight as although they should fix you up, lets face it most of them are ran from home and they done really give a hoot about you. 1-2 bad feedback out of thousands of good is nothing to care about.

[starlooker]

I am a Power Seller on eBay. If I make a mistake in sending the wrong item, or the item is not as described, I pay for return postage. You can initiate an "item not as described" dispute with Paypal to get your money back. Paypal would want proof that you returned the item back to the seller, so you will have to use registered post(with tracking).

PS - I haven't read all posts, so I might be repeating what has already been said. :-p