Ebay item damaged in transit due to sellers poor packaging?

Emma285

I have to say it never occurred to me that a partial refund could be misconstrued. I genuinely thought it would have been a better solution for everyone - save us rebuying and them reselling. I now know not to do it again though!

Hopefully, things will still go our way with ebay as i believe it was the sellers responsibility to insure the delivery...

BLT_2

Emma285 wrote: »

Bought a laptop off ebay last week - it arrived on wed and i signed for it as the outer packaging looked fine. When i opened the box, there was a dent on the underside of the laptop and the DVD drive didn't work. We were also a little concerned about a blue security type mark on the bottom that wasn't mentioned in the listing.

Contacted seller saying item was not as described and they offered a refund straight away, apologising and stating the laptop worked fine before listing, didn't have any dents and they thought the blue mark was standard on all laptops.

Shortly after we noticed that the dent was the exact match for the plug which had been packaged underneath and let the seller know, but also asked if they would be prepared to negotiate as we still wanted the laptop just working. We never refused the refund... just asked another question.

Anyway, at that point the sellers emails got a little 'abrupt' and they started saying how 'ridiculos' (spelt wrong everytime) it was that we expected them to pay for it to be fixed. (We suggested sending back to apple as the laptop is still under warranty and any other work would invalidate this.)

The seller has contacted the couriers who have said as i accepted the parcel, there's no comeback for them and even so the max claim is £50 and estimated damage is £200+.

Since then, i've opened a case with ebay and we're currently waiting for it to be escalated to them as we've been exchanging messages with the seller who feels they have done everything they can to help us and that as we refused her offer of a refund there is nothing more they can do. We have clearly stated that we never refused the offer and just want to send the item back for a full refund, but the seller has not responded to this. We just get more 'i've done everything i can' and 'how ridiculos'...

The plug clearly wasn't designed to go underneath the laptop as the plastic packaging is not deep enough to accomodate it. The seller believes this is how it came from the shop, but i'd question whether they really bought it from a shop, and there's no way apple package them this way. Incidentally, the box the plug would usually be packaged in was missing - but then it was never detailed anyway.

Does anyone have any ideas of what to do from here? Or even any experience of how ebay handle this type of situation? Any help greatly appreciated.

So the seller offered a complete refund and then you tried to negotiate a reduction on the price if you kept the laptop. Clearly he suspects you of being a scammer, as most people would.

Not quite sure what the point of continually highlighting the fact that he cant spell 'ridiculous' is, unless it is to prove your superior command of the English language.

If I were the seller I would now refuse all communication with you and leave it up to ebay to resolve. The seller has offered a refund, you should have accepted it instead of trying to re-negotiate.

Hopefully I didn't spell anything wrong there, I would hate to be on the receiving end of the human spell checkers ire

pinkshoes

Emma285 wrote: »

I have to say it never occurred to me that a partial refund could be misconstrued. I genuinely thought it would have been a better solution for everyone - save us rebuying and them reselling. I now know not to do it again though!

Hopefully, things will still go our way with ebay as i believe it was the sellers responsibility to insure the delivery...

As soon as I read your initial post, I suspected that they seller saw you as a scammer if you asked for a partial refund, as I completely see why it came across that way!!

I think partial refund offers should always be suggested by the seller.

You'll no doubt win your dispute, but you'll also have to send it back special delivery at your own cost I'm afraid, and the buyer has no obligation to pay this cost for you.

custardy

TBH,why would you want it?
Apple wont do any repairs under warranty for damage
so sending it back to them means paying their labour rates

porto_bello

To be fair, the seller immediately offered you a refund, which you followed up by asking them to renegotiate. From the seller's perspective, (who clearly has some experience), it came across as though you are trying to obtain both the laptop and a refund, which is why they had a change of heart and have changed from nice to nasty.

As the item is damaged, I'm sure that eBay/paypal will find in your favour, so I think you should get your refund without too much of a problem. I would take photos of the damage and as a courtesy, email them to the seller, so at least they can see the damage is genuine and as pinkshoes says, you will have to return it at your own cost.

It sounds to me like the seller is honest, but to be truthful, it appears you have managed to convince them that you are not. From THEIR perspective, they played things by the book and you then tried to move the goal posts. I don't think they deserve negative feedback for offering an immediate refund, however bad their spelling.

lee636

Not quite the comments OP was expecting i'd be willing to bet!

Mrs_justjohn

I actually don't think there is anything wrong in doing what the OP is doing, afterall there is a procedure within paypal to request/offer a partial refund. Although I agree that it can look suspicious! Assuming the OP is not pulling a fast one then if a partial refund can be agreed then I don't see the harm. As it stands if the OP goes through with a dispute they will/should win. This means that they will be out of pocket by the cost of returning it and the seller will be out of pocket by the cost of the original P&P. Therefore open and honest negotiation could resolve it.