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Item arrived in several pieces.

Hi all,
I bid on a Teasmade teapot on E-bay. I did not pay that much for it but the postage was quite high. It arrived two days ago and strangely to me it arrived by Royal Mail at 7.30 pm. I did not know Royal Mail did deliveries then. Anyway the teapot was advertised as being in perfect condition.
The teapot rim has 9 pieces of broken china inside the teapot and is totally unusable. I was so disappointed as I had ordered a new Teasmade on another E-bay auction but without the teapot.
I wrote to the seller and told them the teapot rim is completely broken and unusable. The seller wrote back and said "WE" might be able to claim something back with the Royal Mail and they would get back to me. I then looked at the person's feedback and there were a few negative comments and one in particular stating that they got an item that was shattered and the seller did not respond to their requests to be reimbursed and item badly packed.
What are the rules about this anyone out there can anyone help? I would expect to get my money back, including my postage is that correct?
Once my hubby packed a duvet cover that I was selling in a blue farm food bag inside out and the other person said the duvet that was supposed to be red and white was also blue from the bag. I apologised and asked her if I could refund the money into her account for the duvet and of course the postage. She was very kind when I told her my disabled hubby was trying to help and she said she would wash the duvet. She wrote back and said it had all come out perfectly and the duvet was lovely and no problem.
What should I expect in this instance? I did reply to the seller's reply to me and told them I expected full payment back and would supply them with photos if they wanted. Is this the right procedure and should I do anything else?
Thanks Taffy

Comments

  • pinkgem
    pinkgem Posts: 3,299 Forumite
    if the seller refuses to give you a ful refund inc postage then you will need to open a paypal significantly not as described dispute - if you paid by [aypal this is, hope you did - you will have to pay to return the item by a trackable method and then you will receive a refund of the item and original postage cost, but you wil be out of pocket by the return postage cost.
  • That doesn't make much sense does it? Especially as the postage was twice the price of the actual item. In fact the item also has a crack the other side of the rim that was not damaged and it was a very black (hence old) crack. The item was not in excellent shape as described, it was very old and worn. I guess I am flogging a dead horse here then. Thanks for your reply anyway.
    taffy
  • Hi, this is a bad suitation since the cost of returning the item will be high, however if the item is damaged and unuseable then there isn't really much point in sending it back anyway.

    I think you should be firm but fair with the buyer and say you'd like a full refund of all the money you paid as you should not be out of pocket due to the item being damaged. Tell them you will happily provide pictures to support this and you are not comfortable with sending broken pottery back to them through the mail - Royal Mail wouldn't allow it either, so pictures should be sufficient (and you won't have to pay return postage). I would suggest that that the seller then attempts to claim for a broken item from the Royal Mail himself.

    You should keep all packaging etc for now - seller may need it for claim.

    Royal mail probably won't pay out for the seller, they like to say things like this were not packaged properly. However this is not your fault and the seller should have packaged better.

    Be nice and don't mention disputes or feedback

    Let us know how you get on

    sleepless
    2012
    *1 A DAY on Ebay*
    Jan 31/31 :D PLUS 24 EXTRA= 55 :dance:
    Feb 29/29 PLUS 21 EXTRA = 50 :)
    March 11/31 PLUS 2 EXTRA = 13 :cool:
    £365 in 366 days = 91/366 :)
  • Hi,
    I do not think the teapot was wrapped properly but my hubby thinks it was. It was wrapped in old worn out bubble wrap and various pieces of tape holding it together. The bubble wrap had lost it's bubble if you know what I mean. Also the other side to the broken pieces on the rim is an old black crack so I do not think the teapot was in the pristine condition that the seller stated.
    I think I should mention feed back to the seller I think it might be the only reason the person would refund me my money. He/she said they would contact the royal mail and try and get a refund but said they were doing me a favour as they could ask me to just do it. Is this right as I do not have any proof of purchase?
    Thanks for your advice sleepless. I did write to someone who had given them a negative feedback for broken items and they said they never heard any more from the seller after the seller said they would contact the mail. They also said that the item was not up to scratch and really tacky anyway. They said they were completely out of pocket.
    Oh well that will teach me, me being the ultimate bargain hound put a bid on the teasmade that was the cheapest and then saw it didn't have a teapot and thought I would be able to get one cheap on Ebay not taking into consideration paying postage twice. Also if I had bought a complete teasmade it would have probably buffered the teapot and kept it in place. We learn something new every day.
    Taffy
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