Alarm bells on scruffy 'spose to be 'new' item

Sammie_

I bought a camera on ebay. I am a buyer only on ebay not a seller.

New: A brand-new, unused, unopened and undamaged item in original retail packaging

Well when it arrived the packaging was in a terrible state. Bits ripped off..You could tell even where the price tag was stuck on and taken off. Double cellotape over the seal.

I was suspicious so I emailed the seller on 'other' rather than making a claim start on ebay because I thought maybe there was a mistake, and told him about the state of the box.. Open it he said, I am sure the camera is fine.

I then took pics of the box then carefull opened it to find that the contents had obviously been repacked and not very well. On inspection of the camera there were a couple of scratches on the viewing screen.

I have now asked the ebayer (he has really tremendous feedback 4859, 99.9% Positive) to let me know how to send it back and how to claim my postage for the return.

I have not gone down the official "not as described" route because I know things happen, I know how hard it is to be a seller with a business.. This might be a genuine mistake and I don't want to be one of those miserable buyers you hear about on here.

How do I make sure I get the return postage and refund without giving this guy a hit on his sales?

SpammyTheSpammer

the seller sounds like a right chancer!

The description of "New: A brand-new, unused, unopened and undamaged item in original retail packaging " does not cover yours. I personally would open a case but I am "Mrs Horrid"....

SpammyTheSpammer

Make sure that you send it back using a tracked method, just in case it gets "lost in the post" on the return journey.

Otherwise I hope that things go well for you.

fishybusiness

If you paid the 'New' price, expected new due to the listing description and are unhappy you should return it.

Would you have purchased it as condition "New (other)"? Does seem a more appropriate description.

If not it further reinforces you reasons to return.

How do I make sure I get the return postage and refund without giving this guy a hit on his sales?

If it was not described accurately and seller is not being helpful, just request a return formally.

Sammie_

He has come back to me this morning and said he would send a new camera and a prepaid envelope to send the one back that I have.

I bought another camera before I got his message so have said to him just to send the prepaid envelope explaining that I have purchased another elsewhere.

Yes it was 'new' and not 'new (other)' I made sure of that before I purchased.

Even if it is a prepaid envelope it wont pay for the tracking bit which will cost extra. Do I get the cost of sending it back off him before I send it back?

mrcol1000

If you do not get the pre-paid return envelope, open a case for not as described and Ebay should send you a return label which the seller will pay for. There is no way of forcing a seller to refund your return postage costs afterwards. Its better to get them to pay them in advance with pre-paid labels.

Its good to try and resolve this without opening a case, however the opportunity to open a case is there for a reason. Some sellers will hope that you do not know your rights or how Ebay works. Do not forget to leave feedback once you get your money back.

Sammie_

Well I haven't had any prepaid envelopes this morning from the seller or any message to acknowledge that I don't want another camera since I wrote to him.

The camera cost £85 or so but what bothers me is that OK Ebay will send me labels to send it back but what about insurance and the cost of sending it tracked. How do I claim that money back?

Catslovelycats

I had a similar experience, but for something that only cost me a tenner. I went through ebay as seller wouldn't refund return postage and I didn't trust them as they were getting difficult and nasty. Ebay refunded me the full amount within 24 hours or reporting 'not as described' and I kept the item (which I threw away as it was damaged and useless).