Item not as described

bails1964

Hi,

Leather accessory purchased from ebay and arrived today.

It has the words 'LEATHER' in the item title, 'leather' as material, 'LEATHER' in the item description and '£25 PRICE TAG ON PLUS LEATHER ONE THAT SAYS (manufacturers name)'

It isnt leather however. The tag doesnt state leather, just the manufacturers name, there is no mark or anything anywhere to indicate that it is leather. Its obviously not leather, it doesnt smell like leather, but it could be what is referred to as PU (man-made?) leather. I own many leather items, so know it when I see it. As an occasional ebayer I've never had to cross this bridge before. How do I best appproach this, do I need to contact the seller first to see what they suggest, or do I just raise a paypal 'item not as described' dispute?


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Many thanks.

techspec

You contact the seller - claims are a last resort.

bails1964

techspec wrote: »

You contact the seller - claims are a last resort.

Thanks techspec - I wondered that. I have honestly never purchased anything before that I could be bothered returning, but I just dont want to keep this item.

I havent as yet contacted the seller, I'm hoping that he will agree to a return, but am unsure of the process.

Thanks again.

techspec

Just tell the seller you want to return it. If they say no - come back on here and there are plenty of people to guide you through it.

If its a business seller - you have 7 days to decide if to keep it anyway. But even if not - you will still get the cost and initial postage back, if not as described - but return postage is up to the seller - as ebay/paypal won't enforce this.

Most sellers will deal with this - as claims now go against the sellers rating. Let them know ASAP you intend returning it.

judyb

It is illegal in the UK to sell anything as leather that is not so if it is a business he could be prosecuted by Trading Standards.

bails1964

Thanks techspec and judyb. Its not a business seller so those aspects dont come into play, just a casual trader who may, or may not, have made a genuine mistake. I'm prepared to give the benefit of the doubt.

Anyway, seller has replied with "Fine will refund you, please send bag back".

Is that it, do I just send the bag back, wait for him to recieve it, then he refunds my paypal account? Postage charge was £2.50, actual cost £2.16, non recorded. Do I send back by the same method, or do I increase my loss by sending recorded. I know he doesnt have to return my postage costs, and probably wont.

Thanks again for the help.

terra_ferma

I did once sell a leather item I had in my possessions that didn't state leather anywhere...
I know it was the real thing because I bought it myself, although I had it a few years and did not keep the receipt.

But I took lots of high def pictures showing the tags as well, and stated that the item looked and smelt like leather although tags did not confirm the type of material (would probably not do that knowing what I know now....)

But the point is that sometimes older items don't have clear labels (this was a designer item bought 5-6 years ago).

Norma_Desmond

I've been caught out a couple of times on handbags listed as real leather - only to receive cheap (Chinese?) plastic.
I only buy vintage leather goods now from 'names' that I know as quality and who only make the genuine article.
The eBay market's flooded with plastic rubbish masquerading as leather.

Crowqueen

bails1964 wrote: »

Thanks techspec and judyb. Its not a business seller so those aspects dont come into play, just a casual trader who may, or may not, have made a genuine mistake. I'm prepared to give the benefit of the doubt.

Anyway, seller has replied with "Fine will refund you, please send bag back".

Is that it, do I just send the bag back, wait for him to recieve it, then he refunds my paypal account? Postage charge was £2.50, actual cost £2.16, non recorded. Do I send back by the same method, or do I increase my loss by sending recorded. I know he doesnt have to return my postage costs, and probably wont.

Thanks again for the help.

Since he's amenable to a return, ask him politely if he will refund that money for you.

bails1964

Seems to be a genuine mistake and seller. Initial purchase cost and postage refunded via ebay today.

As it would appear return postage will be at my own expense, do I just mirror the original postage method of 2PK (second-class-parcel?).

Thanks.