Bought Item at Online Auction - Not as described

AnaMarquex

Hi everyone,

I bought an item via an online auction (saleroom.com) last week. It was supposed to be pictures of Victorian convicts but when I received the item it's actually photocopies - not original photographs.

I paid quite a bit of money and feel the item description was misleading.

Can I return the item if it's not as described? I would appreciate some advice on my rights.

Thank you in advance.
Kind regards,
Ana

theonlywayisup

How did you pay, how much was the purchase and are saleroom.com in this country or another (I can't seem to get onto that site to see).

betsie

You can go through eBay and request a return. Seller either agrees and pays postage or offers you a partial refund to keep them.

theonlywayisup

betsie wrote: »

You can go through eBay and request a return. Seller either agrees and pays postage or offers you a partial refund to keep them.

The OP didn't buy from eBay that I can see.

soolin

betsie wrote: »

You can go through eBay and request a return. Seller either agrees and pays postage or offers you a partial refund to keep them.

The sale room .com is a site used by real B and M auctions, not eBay.

dlusman

theonlywayisup wrote: »

How did you pay, how much was the purchase and are saleroom.com in this country or another (I can't seem to get onto that site to see).

... and what was the description ?

cannot see a site called saleroom.com, but at the-saleroom.com says
"
When you bid in an auction, there is no right of return, unless an item is materially different to its catalogue description.
Just like when you’re in an auction room, bidding online is a contractual commitment to buy.
"
so the actual description is vital -was it actually described as "photographs" or just "pictures"

RFW

AnaMarquex wrote: »

Can I return the item if it's not as described? I would appreciate some advice on my rights.

It's unclear what your rights are. First step is to contact the seller and outline your problem then ask if you can return for a refund, or whatever else you want.
Several things will be at play to determine what your rights are. One of the most important is if the items were physically able to be viewed. Did the auction have a specified viewing time?
As mentioned above, the description would be quite important.
I can't tell how much money we're talking about here, that too could be important. If, for example, you've paid £200 for 10 photocopies then that could show the auction was misleading.

First stop though has to be to find out what the seller says.

Tealblue

Did it say 'photographs' or just 'pictures'? If the latter, you've clearly got pictures, so the description was accurate.

mrcol1000

As RFW says you need to contact the auction house first. Auction houses seem to wildly vary in my opinion. Some go out of their way to help you, some make life very difficult.

If they refuse to refund you then you'd probably have to consider private action. Normally there is a line in the terms and conditions (that you agree to when you bid) that they try their best to accurately describe lots, you should inspect before bidding and if they aren't as described then tough luck.

Marcon

RFW wrote: »

I can't tell how much money we're talking about here, that too could be important. If, for example, you've paid £200 for 10 photocopies then that could show the auction was misleading.

Not necessarily. It could just show the buyer made assumptions and bid without checking them out.

Carrot007

Marcon wrote: »

Not necessarily. It could just show the buyer made assumptions and bid without checking them out.

If that were true then I would say the seller was also gaming the system much like when people sell new console "boxes" on ebay.