Item not as described, what now?

*cake*

Hi,

I recently received an item that was not as described, and I was wondering if anyone's got any advice on how to safely return, since this is the first time I've had to do so.

I won a coat (listed as adult/woman), cost me about £15, postage (£4) included. Paid by PayPal. When I received the coat it was actually a kids coat, so naturally it doesn't fit like it should.

I contacted the seller via eBay messages and she apologized for the mistake and asked me to return it for a refund. I then messaged her back and asked if she would cover the return postage too, and that it would probably be quite expensive since I would have to send it back with a tracking number (Would cost over £9 through Royal Mail (Special Delivery)! :eek: I found a service called CollectPlus though, that would deliver it for £4.99, but I've never used it before..). I just got a reply saying that the seller use second class postage which gives you receipts in case parcel gets lost or damaged, and that it's a lot cheaper using this service.

I'm not sure what to reply now.. The seller didn't answer my question if she would cover my return expenses, and also, should I really send something back untracked, like she suggests? I keep reading here on the forums that you should always return items tracked. (By the way, no case has been opened yet).

I'm a bit annoyed, since it's the seller's mistake that she didn't notice she was actually selling a kids coat. I can't wear it, so it's no point in keeping it. On the other hand, if I have to pay the return postage myself, I'll be out of pocket, even if it wasn't my fault! Especially if I have to send the coat back tracked, which seems to be even more expensive!

How should I procceed with this? Any advice would be appreciated, thanks very much!

custardy

£4.99 or a tracked service seems fair
The seller charged £4. so at worst if they refunded £4,then its 99p of a difference
The problem is you can't really force the seller to refund your return postage Im afraid

Taadaa

You can't force them to pay return postage if they are a private seller, not sure if they rules are different for business sellers? Most sellers would cover return postage if it's their fault.Have you opened a SNAD case or is this just between yourselves at the moment? I think someone had this on here a couple of weeks ago as well. Is she or has she sold other kid's clothes?

Don't send it back untracked whatever you do.

zenseeker

Just take the risk, you're covered up to £41 if it goes missing anyway. Maybe just pay for Recorded Delivery and hope for the best, not like we're talking a fortune here.

Seller doesn't have to cover return postage unfortunately, so don't waste too much time waiting.

starrybee

If you open a case in ebay (not paypal) they will sometimes provide you with a free returns label although this is not a guarantee.

hermum

I would pay the extra 99p so that she can't get away without refunding me & expect me to get a refund from RM.
She must have known that she'd sold you a kids coat.
A decent seller would offer to cover the cost of the return.
I've used collect+ & not had a problem with it.

*cake*

Thanks everyone for your replies!

Taadaa > I think she might be a private seller, can't find any information about her being a business seller anywhere? (Not sure where to find this information though, but it doesn't seem to say so anywhere on the auction page or profile page). Person seems to be selling lots of worn clothes and home items. Quite a bit though, got 250+ auctions up at the moment. I have not opened a SNAD case yet. I've been politely messaging her, and she has been polite back to me, but avoided answering the question in my last message (will she pay the return?).

starrybee > Interesting, I didn't know of this! How do you know if eBay will provide you with a free returns label or not? What do they base it on? Is this for a tracked service?

hermum > Yes I thought that too, that it's safer sending it back tracked. Seems like £4.99 through collect+ is the cheapest I can send it back tracked for (1,2kg parcel). That's £5 out of my own pocket though, so I'm not happy.. I have no idea if it was deliberate or not, I guess if you look at the coat on the hanger (without closer inspection) it could pass as normal adult coat, but the tag is kids size (11/12 years) and it's apparent when you try it on, the sleeves end up at least 4 inches too short. :pEither way (if it was deliberate or not) it was her mistake.. Should I suggest that she pays me the return postage cost before I return and see what she says? She avoided answering the question in my previous message when I asked if she would cover the return postage.

Is it recommended to open a SNAD case first btw?

Thanks again all for your replies

Crowqueen

Ask her again, politely but firmly, to clarify whether she will pay return postage at all.

Recorded would be sufficient on this.

hermum

Recorded through RM will be more expensive than collect+
OP for under 2kg you can send it in a jiffy bag through collect+ for £3.99.
250 listings for a private seller sounds like a heck of a lot of listings, unless she's having a once a year clear out.
Sounds like she's a business seller masquerading as a private seller.
Under the seller information on the right hand side it will say if she's a business seller.

Caryne

I have had this problem several times, people sell me items which are nothing like their description and then expect me to pay for the return tracked postage (PayPal insist returned items are tracked). I really think this is most unfair as, especially with lower cost items, the cost of tracked return postage is nearly as much as the item itself.

PayPal do not seem interested in this, they just keep sending me stupid , standard, emails saying that I must return the item for a refund but I fail to see why I should lose money because a seller lies.

Has anyone found a way of sorting this mess out because it has happened to me several times now?

hermum

Caryne wrote: »

I have had this problem several times, people sell me items which are nothing like their description and then expect me to pay for the return tracked postage (PayPal insist returned items are tracked). I really think this is most unfair as, especially with lower cost items, the cost of tracked return postage is nearly as much as the item itself.

PayPal do not seem interested in this, they just keep sending me stupid , standard, emails saying that I must return the item for a refund but I fail to see why I should lose money because a seller lies.

Has anyone found a way of sorting this mess out because it has happened to me several times now?

Unfortunately there isn't a way around it, they can't enforce a seller to refund return postage. Ebay will sometimes offer a no fault refund where you don't need to send it back & they refund you, or send a returns label.
A few people on the forum say that they will no longer buy from private sellers because of it. Which is a shame, I sell privately & if I made a mistake on a listing I'd refund the return p&p, after I'd got it back.
All you can do is leave appropriate feedback & stars, never be tempted to threaten bad FB, as that can be removed if the seller takes it to ebay.