Misleading item description?

soolin

matto wrote:

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

Quite right, hence the suggestion of reporting the seller to ebay.

A paypal claim is a different matter though, if someone had bought a maglite and had a fake delivered then you could claim for that, whether or not paypal would agree that this has been mis sold or not is another matter and could go either way.

Soo

culpepper

I dont think paypal will care either.
Style makes you think it looks like a mag-lite but doesnt neccessarily mean it has the same sort of bulb or action.
If you put 'chopper style bike' on a bicycle sale ,you wouldn't expect exactly the same as a raleigh chopper ,you'd expect high handlebars , different sized wheels and a banana saddle.

frivolous_fay

I'd have thought that there's at least a chance of pp ruling in OP's favour. How can you hold someone to a description when that description clearly breaks ebay's terms?

Anyone know how paypal tend to view people who buy items that say 'this is a box only' in tiny print?

OP can say - it said mag-lite, it was not a mag-lite. It's up to paypal to take the time to check the auction and decide if the word 'style' is something to cause a fuss about.

I say it has to be worth a shot, and it certainly wouldn't hurt to try... although refer to my previous post about the money side of things.

soolin

frivolous_fay wrote:

I'd have thought that there's at least a chance of pp ruling in OP's favour. How can you hold someone to a description when that description clearly breaks ebay's terms?

Anyone know how paypal tend to view people who buy items that say 'this is a box only' in tiny print?

OP can say - it said mag-lite, it was not a mag-lite. It's up to paypal to take the time to check the auction and decide if the word 'like' is something to cause a fuss about.

The problem is that ebay and paypal are not looking at the same thing. Ebay may well pull an auction or set VERO on a seller, but paypal only deal with the payment. Therefore an auction may breach ebay terms and conditions but still not be eligible for a paypal chargeback if the buyer got what they paid for.

For instance if you bought a pirate DVD from a man in a pub and it was dodgy, the police might arrest him a few days later but they wouldn't automatically hand you over his wallet and tell you to take a refund. You might be the victim but dealing with a crime, or in the OP case a breach of ebay terms and conditions, but it doesn't give you an automatic right to your money back.

The OP has nothing to lose by trying a paypal chargeback, so it is worth a go but it is also worth remembering that the torch will have to be returned at the buyers own cost and fully tracked before a refund can be given. The way paypal will look at it is simple, did the buyer get what the auction stated? They won't ask, did the buyer get what they assumed they would get.

Soo

mrbadexample

frivolous_fay wrote:

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.

Nope. With no torch that's still £6.00 down. :rolleyes:

Sorry OP, I hate to say this but you should have read the description more carefully. It's not exactly uncommon for sellers to be "careful" with their choice of words. (Take that dodgy seller posted about recently selling dummy mobile phones. Mentioned once in small print at the bottom of the listing). That said, I do hope you get it sorted satisfactorily.

frivolous_fay

mrbadexample wrote:

Nope. With no torch that's still £6.00 down. :rolleyes:

Purchase price: £12.44. IF it is refunded, OP will get £12.44. Deduct £6 for the return postage, and they'd be £6.44 better off than they are now. This is based on the fact that the torch is worthless to the OP.

Alternatively... they could list it themselves (not mentioning mag-lite). If they got £12.44 + enough to cover fees, they'd be laughing.

mrbadexample

frivolous_fay wrote:

This is based on the fact that the torch is worthless to the OP.

Why is the torch worthless? A torch is a torch is a torch.....it's just not a Mag-Lite.