Misleading item description?

emmiemac

My husband recently bought what he thought was a Mag-Lite torch from ebay, unfortunately he did not read the title quite closely enough:
MAG-LITE style 5 cell extra long BATON TORCH

Item no. 190028532398
So of course it isn't mag-lite at all but a cheap imitation.

I realise the word 'style' is the key one here but isn't this a bit misleading? It doesn't emphasise the fact that it isn't actually a mag lite at all. I actually thought that 'style' was the model name, didn't think about it for long enough. I was wondering what ebay's policy is on things like this, have I any hope of getting somewhere if I complain (paid by paypal).

It looks like I would get a refund for the item cost if I sent it back to the seller but I'd be about 6 pounds worse off after P&P fees.

Any advice, thanks v much

rose_sparky

I had a listing removed because I put Laura Ashley style in the title.

I didn't realise it wasn't allowed but now know that other sellers report you, so obviously it is against rules. Not sure what you can do if the auction finishes though.

frivolous_fay

Mag-lites aren't cheap... if you paid a low price it might be better to chalk it up to experience.

The dilemma would be...

A neg would be in order, but you shouldn't leave a neg without contacting the seller first. But if you do contact the seller, he may offer a refund, but that would leave you out of pocket.

Either way... any on-going auctions ought to be reported for key word spamming.

emmiemac

Thanks for that.

But surely if it's a practice that's against the rules I'd be entitled to a refund?

Not sure if I should contact the seller, ebay or paypal first

And the total price was 12.44. Not keen to keep it

smartie1976

I assume your seller is Harveytrader?

Anyway, he has 6 auctions currently spamming MAG LITE in the title.
I have reported these items.

As for a refund, I suspect the seller would say that it says style, thus you didn't read it properly.
I'm not sure how that stands with Ebay as he's KW spamming.Try raising a dispute.

frivolous_fay

emmiemac wrote:

Thanks for that.

But surely if it's a practice that's against the rules I'd be entitled to a refund?

Not sure if I should contact the seller, ebay or paypal first

And the total price was 12.44. Not keen to keep it

You are entitled to a refund... but it's unlikely that you will get your return costs back. I suppose £6 down is still £6.44 up.

emmiemac

Could anyone possibly tell me if it's paypal or ebay that I would report this to? Have contacted the seller to complain but he was unreasonable. Want to get a full refund for postal costs and item.

Thanks

frivolous_fay

Start with paypal for the item not as described.

When you have your refund, report him to ebay for keyword spamming.

soolin

emmiemac wrote:

Could anyone possibly tell me if it's paypal or ebay that I would report this to? Have contacted the seller to complain but he was unreasonable. Want to get a full refund for postal costs and item.

Thanks

Personally I am not sure you would win a paypal claim, you bought a maglight style torch and that is what you have got, I'm not sure that paypal would see it any other way.

That does not however preclude you from reporting the seller for keyword spamming, alhtough unless they are selling more items ebay won't be very interested as the auction has already finished.

Assuming however that you did win a paypal claim then you would need to send the item back, tracked, at your own expense before your refund would be processed.

The seller has been a bit underhand here, but you'll find dozens on here who will admit to selling items 'like' something else, and yes ebay will pull auctions when they are reported in time, but this is not a priority while there are real scum bag scammers out there. It really pays to read an auction description through a couple of time before you bid as refusing to buy from sellers who use keywords like this is the best way of showing your disapproval.

Soo

pulliptears

Personally I am not sure you would win a paypal claim, you bought a maglight style torch and that is what you have got, I'm not sure that paypal would see it any other way.

I think its worth a shot at paypal TBH, especially as "maglite" is a registered trademark and shouldnt have been in the listing in the firstplace. You could argue that anything "Maglite Style" would be a genuine maglite. I won a paypal dispute over a pair of oakley sunglasses that had "oakley style" in the title.

matto

Using MagLite in the title/description would be trademark infringement.