eBay refunds. Urgent help!!!

[shredder]

A friend had an experience on eBay wherein he purchased a Blackberry Playbook. The item was listed as "brand new, opened only once to check the contents. With bill and 18 months warranty". On receiving the product he found that the brightness adjuster was not working (stuck at 50%). The LED on the device was also constantly ON all the time which should not be the case. He contacted the seller who asked him to file a claim with eBay. The claim was rejected on the grounds that the item came with manufacturer warranty. I think this is pretty unfair. The item was listed as brand new (but not sealed) and he got a defective product right out of the box. Should the eBay Guarantee program not cover such purchases?

I don't know whether anyone has faced such an issue before. My friend chatted with Customer Care a number of times and they keep telling him that the claim has been escalated and he will get a response within 24 hours. But no response has been forthcoming. Looks as if they are dragging their heels on this one. What actions are available to him in case eBay should decide to reject the claim again?

 

[shredder]

No reply yet??? Anyway this should serve as a warning to buyers about the pitfalls inherent in the eBay "Guarantee" program. If you happen to receive a defective product, advertised as NEW, then your refund claim may be rejected on the grounds that the item comes with manufacturer warranty. So much for safety in buying on eBay.

 

[ajay124]

Last year I bought a third party lens from a seller through eBay. There was nothing wrong with the lens but some functions did not work properly on my camera. With third party lenses that risk is always there. The product was covered under a 7 day return guarantee. I initiated proceedings for returning the lens and requested for a refund. eBay put the payment to the seller on hold and started looking into the matter. Ultimately I got the refund because the seller (New Era Exports, Raipur, Chattisgarh) turned out to be a really nice guy. We chatted on the phone and he agreed to take the lens back. After I returned the lens the seller wrote/phoned eBay that he had taken the product back and the money should be refunded to me.

In such cases eBay's established procedures seems to be to hear both sides of the story before making a decision about whether to release payment to the seller or to refund it to the buyer. I feel that you will only get a refund or replacement if the seller supports your claim. Stay cool and follow the procedures laid down by eBay. Get in touch with the seller on the phone. Personally I have come to realize that losing ones temper does not work. It only makes vendors more stubborn and uncooperative. Best of luck!

 

[sam9s]

Can you share the product URL if its still listed on ebay ..... wanna have a look at it.

 

[goyal.sanchit]

I have used ebay many times for buying various stuff and lately for Business too. I have been lucky to deal with good sellers as well as buyers.

There have been a few issues with the products sometimes but all the time (except one) talking with the seller solved the issue. Regular sellers on ebay are particular about positive feedback and would try to resolve genuine complaints. However a fraud seller who is for a short period wont do so.

Only once it happened that I ordered the product which didnt work out of the box. The seller was new, his email address was wrong and the phone number was switched off.

I thought that refund would be very easy in this case since it was clear he was a fraud seller. However when the ebay customer care called and the type of questions they were asking I got worried for a moment that I might not get the refund.

The amount wasnt much but I was surprised at the interrogative questions when it was evidently clear that the seller was fraud.

Luckily I got the refund but after reading your case I guess it wont be easy to get refund at all incase the seller contests!

Thats why I generally buy from reputed sellers only with high percentage of positive feedback and do not buy highly expensive items on ebay.

 

[shredder]

Like I mentioned, it happened to a friend not to me personally. But I'll be sure and tell him about what the forum members have to say.

 

[goyal.sanchit]

I have filed for "Item not received" case on Ebay. The seller had about 90% feedback which is not at all good according to ebay standards. It was an international purchase. Ideally I would have liked to buy the product from some other seller but there was noone selling the same thing so I took the risk.

The seller never shipped the item and doesnt respond to mails. Lets see how does ebay respond to this.

 

[goyal.sanchit]

After I filed a case ebay gave seller 1 week time to respond to it. The seller never replied back. Since it was evident that the tracking number was wrong and the item was never shipped I have got a refund from ebay.

 

[amit.nagar]

I bought a mobile from ebay but it was factory sealed so working fine.