ebay seller says item not up to scratch, refunded me but item says despatched

raphanius

hi i'm hoping someone can help me get to the bottom of this strange ebay transaction.

this is a powerseller with a lot of feedback. i ordered a paperback book - to read not to admire - and the seller sent me a despatch email yesterday. now hes refunded my paypal account and says he cant send the item because its poorer quality than he thought. he had two of the same book for sale on the same buy it now listing.

is this some weird scam - he claims to have given me a £1 discount off my next purchase from him if i order again but i have to give him the order number and mess about to get £1 sent to my paypal account.

do i report him to ebay for advertising stuff he hasn't got?

do i neg him?

thanks

chancesare_2

Not knowing the ins and outs. It sounds as if he has gone to pack and item is faulty or perhaps missing.

It is up to you what feedback you leave, but I routinely offer vouchers off a future purchase, when breakages or delays, such as the snow, occur. However to apply the voucher, the buyer has to email as there is no provision on eBay to apply it.

raphanius

but i'm after a specific book so a voucher off another book is useless to me. i am annoyed at the fact he listed 2 copies of the book and can't sell me one, its an unusual title too so he won't have sold the other copy to someone else. i've emailed him to ask if he has the book or not but he hasn't replied yet.

RegWorts

The chances are that they may also be listing books on other sites (such as ABE , Amazon etc) so it might have been sold elsewhere...but the listing was still on Ebay...either in error or before they had time to remove it. In the meantime you bought it.

Unfortunately , this happens with quite a lot of the larger booksellers

terra_ferma

What would the scam be?
You've had your money, and a £1 voucher.
These things happen, when I buy stuff online from major high street retailers, particular in the sales, I often end up not getting everything I want.

We live in an imperfect world, with imperfect people who make mistakes.
Obviously there is a chance that Reg is right, which would be a bit naughty, but a scam? C'mon!

Crowqueen

is this some weird scam - he claims to have given me a £1 discount off my next purchase from him if i order again but i have to give him the order number and mess about to get £1 sent to my paypal account.

A scam means that you get nothing and your seller gets everything. In this case, despite the bizarre way he has implemented the discount (although it may be that he is limited by the eBay software and has to do this in order to be able to discount his items for you), you would be getting something and there is no way he could take anything from your account without your say so by this method, if that is what you are worried about.

The only thing that could cause a problem is you being charged a fee to receive the payment but I'm sure he would understand he could gift you the pound without this happening.

George666

The whole pound discount thing seems a little long winded.
However if the item is showing as despatched the seller may have sent it to you anyway but to avoid your disappointment with its condition refunded you before it arrives.
I would wait awhile before leaving feedback you have 60 days in which to do so.
Waiting a week or so and seeing if the item turns up won't hurt any and if it does I would be leaving a positive for the seller being honest enough to refund you due to condition with no fuss and still sending the item.

chancesare_2

The pound discount thing is not long winded, there is really no way to give buyers a recompense voucher off a future purchase, particularly if you offer free postage.

As for the item being marked as dispatched, this is perfectly feasible. When I pocess my orders, I print a packing list, picking list and the address labels. The software then marries each label to the address and inputs the tracking, each item is then marked as dispatched. When the pick list goes to the store, if an item is missing or broken, it is only then it is realised. The pick list comes back, with the item if it damaged and the buyer is then emailed. But as far as the system is concerned, a tracking number has been issued so the parcel stays dispatched.

pinkshoes

I don't see how this is a scam. You have your money back, and £1 off should you want another book, so technically you're quids in!

Perhaps he gets his books as seconds, which sometimes means that the pages can be in the wrong order or missing, rather than just scuffed etc...! I've had a book with about 10 pages missing before!

raphanius

i just think its odd...in all the years ive been an ebay user ive never been offered a discount or had my order refused like this. he hasnt replied to my email to say whether he has the other copy of the book or not so he seems iffy generally. dont ask me what the scam would be....simply to get a puchase outside ebay is enough for some traders.

Crowqueen

raphanius wrote: »

i just think its odd...in all the years ive been an ebay user ive never been offered a discount or had my order refused like this. he hasnt replied to my email to say whether he has the other copy of the book or not so he seems iffy generally. dont ask me what the scam would be....simply to get a puchase outside ebay is enough for some traders.

Perhaps it's genuine and you really can't force him to sell something.

You can probably report him as a non-performing seller, or leave him bad feedback, but the offer of a discount seems like he's trying to do what any other retailer would do and compensate you for messing you about - you haven't incurred any other cost, unlike him (unless you are willing to cancel the transaction to get him his fees back). It depends on his prices whether that's a bit derisory or not, but I'd accept that some things can go wrong and leave it at that.