the seller states free returns but doesn't want to provide a label, it's also listed on eBay
Good morning everyone, I bought some LEDs from a shop (which for now I don't feel like naming) online also present on eBay, where the site homepage features a banner indicating free returns up to 60 days, but if you read more carefully in the terms of sale he states the exact opposite. I thought, I believed, that I would be more protected by PayPal rather than with eBay, but I was wrong. The items have never worked, in fact one even came unstuck, since they are terrible Chinese LEDs soldered with 2 drops of alloy and the CAN bus absolutely doesn't work.. (almost surely false certifications) I sent several emails but he never replied, however after opening the PP dispute and attaching the banner he replied right away (well look at that!) and meanwhile he doesn't provide any free return label if this isn't a scam it's pretty close.. on eBay instead he says that the shipping costs are to be paid, but if there are errors as far as I know eBay forces the seller to accept the return and provide the label too, he also states that in the case of errors there will be easy and quick refunds (proof that negative feedback is indeed scary) well, since PP and eBay are linked companies, can I kindly ask you what I can do?? PP support only gave me a 10 euro voucher to apologize and told me to contact them https://difesaconsumatori.com/ the fact is that this guy is very sneaky and in my opinion scammy, he behaves this way (potentially) with everyone who buys on his personal site and once the item doesn't work he takes it and says bye-bye with a little wave because he risks nothing and has nothing to lose.. I understand that running a physical shop + online is hard, even because of rent, but behind it he also has a workshop where he works for various installations and I really think he manages to make a living since through waybackmachine I found out that it has been open since 2007..
Given the banner he is in the wrong, so I don't really feel like letting him get away with it.. over the years with various tricks they managed to extort almost 100 euros from me.. with this one we get to that amount and frankly I would have bought food with it, so please what do you advise me to do? Should I contact PayPal again this time asking for an operator inside the European Union, does anything change?
Thanks, bye !
bladerunnerthebestmovie
OP2 years agook thanks even if the amount is less than 50 but apart from that I'd like to understand why paypal changed the rules if before it stepped in now it doesn't intervene anymore.. did they sue them?
keep in mind that the proof that he claims to provide, that he releases the label, I supplied it but paypal tells me that it can't do anything about it.. once upon a time, if anything, it could and it would have already compensated me.. potentially this guy can sell junk and then get away with it about 70% of the time and he's definitely doing it..
heavenwelkin
·2 years agoOn paypal, unlike ebay, the seller has more chances to defend themselves and get a few more possibilities to protect themselves.
So depending on how the dispute is set up, it can have a positive or negative outcome.
I don’t know how you set up the dispute, but if for example you tampered with and/or altered the items in some way, paypal will rule against you.
Usually you just need to open a claim stating that the items do not match what was purchased, writing that they are not working (for example)
If instead you set the dispute based on the fact that the certifications might not be real, that the goods are of poor quality, etc., you put yourself in a not-so-great position regarding any possible developments in the dispute.
So if paypal rules in your favor, you have to send the items back at your own expense.
If paypal rules against you, all you can do is try contacting your bank and maybe you can get a chargeback.
Best regards.
bladerunnerthebestmovie
OP2 years agoThanks to those who chimed in. In the past I would have already received the refund and that would be it.. too bad that now it’s not possible.. the seller, who’s a scammer anyway, doesn’t want to give me the return label and for an item worth just a few euros he doesn’t care, it makes you wonder if he does the same with other items too..
I imagine there’s no kind of support, not even consumer support, that would hold up. and whether you need to become a member first and only then receive the services..
from a legal point of view it doesn’t even make any logical sense..
needless to say that in other countries he would already have the heat on him..
turn to law enforcement? for less than 50 euros they tell me it doesn’t make sense...
So what do you recommend? even if I fear I’ve already answered my own question..
heavenwelkin
·2 years agoIt depends whether you want to make it a matter of principle or whether you're interested in getting RIGHT TO THE POINT, that is, recovering 50 euros at the cost of the 7 / 8 euros you have to cover for shipping.
I recommend you file a proper dispute on PayPal, return everything (at your own expense) and get these 50 euros refunded.
There are no BETTER cost/benefit alternatives.
Take legal action to not pay 7 / 8 euros in shipping ????
Next time buy on eBay, because if items don't match the description, the seller has to pay for shipping; otherwise, if they refuse (as in this case), they lose money and the items.
Best regards.
actar80
·2 years agoAs you’ve already been advised, I think the lesser evil is to open a dispute on PayPal, return everything at your own expense, and get your money refunded. You’ll pay the return shipping costs, but at least you’ll get back almost 50 euros.
sika700
·2 years agoPaypal and ebay are not at all connected; they’re quite different!
So if you bought outside ebay paying with Paypal, their policy, in case of disputes or complaints, is that the buyer has to arrange the return shipping themselves.
Ebay is different; it can force the seller to provide a label, otherwise the customer keeps the item and the money.
The banner you’re referring to means nothing to ebay, since it has always prohibited purchases outside the marketplace.
So I think you need to come to terms with it...
Kind regards.
bladerunnerthebestmovie
OP2 years agoyes, but the banner is clear and despite the controversy it doesn't cooperate.. why doesn't PayPal reimburse me and force the seller (if they want the defective item back) to provide free return shipping??
this clearly goes on like this with all customers..
sika700
·2 years agoThe banner can say everything or it can say nothing!
If you rely on a simple banner but not on what Paypal says, we can stay here discussing it forever.
Paypal doesn't require it... so it's up to you...
Best regards.
bladerunnerthebestmovie
OP2 years agoSo in a case like this what could one do? contact https://difesaconsumatori.com/ or who else? as far as I'm concerned, no way I'd let a shop that does these underhanded tricks get away with it.. if everyone did this, help.. then someone complains about why everyone is buying on Ama.....n
Thanks again.
sika700
·2 years agoYour reasoning clearly shows how the marketplace you mentioned has ruined the entire world of e-commerce with their easy returns policy... in this case, the same thing is expected from all websites, but remember that the anomaly is Amazon, not the e-commerce sites that apply Italian laws.
Kind regards.
actar80
·2 years agoSorry, but you shouldn't confuse Amazon with other types of platforms. Amazon is a direct seller and also hosts third-party sellers, often undercutting them. If anything, it should be compared to Aliexpress, Temu, Shein, etc.
It's true that with Amazon's guarantees, especially when buying items sold and shipped directly, you have greater certainty, but it's one company with its own warehouses and mega logistics.
eBay doesn't sell anything and doesn't have its own logistics; it simply hosts sellers and buyers on the platform, regulating and mediating transactions.
actar80
·2 years agoI can confirm that eBay and Paypal are no longer integrated as they were years ago, there was a spin-off of Paypal years ago already (around 2016-17 if I remember correctly) so much so that in 2018 the eBay guarantee was created in view of Paypal’s abandonment in 2021, which remains only as one of the many payment methods for buyers. In fact, for sellers Paypal no longer exists.
As for guarantees, the eBay guarantee has nothing to do with Paypal’s, they are 2 separate things.
Paypal has never offered any prepaid return label: in the past it reimbursed the expenses independently incurred by the buyer, up to a maximum cost of 30 euros and for 12 reimbursements per year.
But since November 2021 (if memory serves me right) Paypal has changed its contract terms, eliminating reimbursement of return shipping costs, which are therefore the buyer’s responsibility in any case.
Since you did not buy on eBay, you cannot ask for assistance from that platform, but you can only act through the payment platform, namely Paypal, which however has not reimbursed return shipping costs for almost 2 years.