Statue arrived broken
Recently I bought a rather rare statue on eBay from Italy; in the description the seller said the item was like new, too bad it arrived with a detached piece that I then glued back on. Statue paid for: €360. I asked for a partial refund and the seller blamed the shipper, then offered me the cost of a cocktail, up to €15; I asked for at least €20 and he forwarded the complaint to eBay, which sided with him and closed the issue. So I opened a dispute on PayPal, but the seller wants the item back. Since it’s a rare statue I have no intention of returning it. I’m disappointed because there is no buyer protection; I don’t think it’s fair to spend that kind of money only to have to repair a collectible item myself. Also, I had left negative feedback for the seller and he disappeared. Any advice? Thanks.
heavenwelkin
·1 year agoModifying an item (gluing it and then declaring it too) makes it altered / different from the way it arrived.
You should NOT have glued ANYTHING; you should have opened a dispute and returned the item in the condition it was in when it arrived to you.
But since you wanted to keep the item, you tried to ask the seller for a refund, which he KINDLY also agreed to.
All this fuss over a €360 item for a €5 difference that you didn’t even want to accept??
It’s really a case of saying (when someone goes looking for trouble).
Kind regards.
moreno_7
OP1 year agoMaybe you didn’t understand that I didn’t want to return it; it’s a very hard statue to find, where was I supposed to go and get it back then? Maybe at Japanese auctions, but with no guarantee at all.
And if that’s the case, €5 is also worth something to the seller, but at first he offered me a cocktail of compensation. To this day he still hasn’t even given me the 15 he said, let alone 20, even though we’ve written to each other several times but his willingness to give me anything is very close to zero. It’s done now, but I spoke to eBay by phone; if I hadn’t opened the dispute with PayPal I would have been entitled to a percentage of compensation, or I could have returned the item — this happens in every shop in the world. Bye.
heavenwelkin
·1 year agoI understood perfectly well that you wanted to keep it; if you read my reply more carefully, I wrote it, I quote: "But since you were interested in keeping the item"
If you opened a PayPal dispute, according to their rules, to get a refund you have to return the item, but since and given that you don’t want to return it ...........
I’m not getting into what the eBay operator told you, but all call center operators are usually also good at putting customers at ease....
I’m not getting into the removed negative feedback issue because there are many discussions open on the forum.
If you want, just type the search term "removed negative" up at the top in the white box on a red background on the forum to find out more.
I’m glad you figured out the solution yourself; I’ll just tell you that if this is your first and only account with 2 feedback entries so far, you’d be better off asking on the forum first and/or getting well informed because experience on eBay is usually gained over time.
Kind regards.
moreno_7
OP1 year agoActually, the agent corrected me, saying that I was wrong to open the dispute on Paypal, explaining in detail what to do or not to do. Then he advised me to write to the seller again asking for that promised part of the refund; the seller wanted proof of this, started making excuses, blamed the courier, then told me he would refund me the famous €20, I gave him the details to do it and as of today all is quiet. This story has pretty much worn me out, but I hope it can help me in the future. One thing is certain: never go beyond ebay. Unfortunately, you're right that I lacked experience; I was used to buying from online stores, on ebay I bought very little. Have a good day!
cizeta1964
·1 year agoThe seller is not obliged to provide a partial refund, only a full one: if the item is not as described, you return it and he refunds you, including shipping costs.
The buyer protection is complete, because they are fully refunded if they return the item; it’s you who don’t want to return the item, you had the chance to do so.
eBay also removes any feedback the buyer leaves without following the procedures, in this case the return.
moreno_7
OP1 year agoThat's not how it is, I spoke directly on the phone with eBay. The mistake was opening a dispute with PayPal; otherwise I would have been entitled to either a partial refund or the option to return the item. As for the feedback that disappeared, that's something that always depends on PayPal, that's what the eBay agent told me.
cizeta1964
·1 year agoThe mistake was opening a dispute with PayPal; otherwise I would have been entitled either to a partial refund or to choose to return the item.
Being entitled to a partial refund is a decision for the seller, not for eBay or PayPal.
Otherwise you should have returned it, but you didn’t want to.
As for the missing feedback, that’s something that always depends on PayPal
Absolutely not, PayPal can’t make a decision in eBay’s place; eBay still removed it, but without knowing what you wrote it’s hard to say why.
moreno_7
OP1 year agoI reported to you what the eBay operator told me on the phone. At this point either the operator isn't properly trained or you have incorrect information. I have no way of knowing.
In the feedback I had included the photos of the statue that arrived damaged and explained what happened. That's all.
Have a good day.
technopartsbay
·1 year ago- If, when you requested partial reimbursement, the seller did not meet your requests, you had to return the item through eBay's procedure.
- The negative feedback was probably removed because you did not limit yourself to describing the facts but went "too far".
- You do not file the Paypal dispute with the seller but with eBay (you paid them, not him... and so now they go after the seller who, rightly, wants the item back in order to refund you).
moreno_7
OP1 year agoThe negative feedback seems to have been removed for opening a dispute with Paypal. On the first and third points, you're right.