eBay shoe size wars

[Treezees]

So I ordered some boots off eBay for my daughter - listing said "Boots, Infant 7". Seller is in UK, I am UK.

Boots arrive and they are a USA 7, but a UK 6.

So I contact the seller and let them know they have made a mistake. Response back is "Oh, don't they fit?". My response "No, she needs a 7". So I ask if they can cover the postage back as they are not the size as advertised.

They says no, it's not their fault they don't fit and I should have asked for size clarification. But I don't understand why I would clarify that they are a size applicable to the country that we are both in especially when on the label it says UK 6.

I think that they sent me the wrong thing, should own up to their mistake, and cover return postage. They've now totally lost their rag because I flagged it with eBay and asked them to intervene. They've called me a liar and told me that my child's feet are fat!

Am I mad?

You're right.

Open a case on Ebay and let them decide. They will most probably have to pay return postage.

They're not as described- if you open a case Ebay will get the seller to pay for return and refund.

Start a return on the grounds they are not as described, and Ebay will send you a return postage label.

You are right, its their mistake. Don't message them back and leave eBay to deal with it.

And saying your child has fat feet is just ridiculous!

eBay's policy is to find in favour of the buyer unless there is strong evidence against what they are saying. They'll probably agree with you.

Well I hope you get it sorted, but I’d never base an eBay shoe purchase on an assumption of the sizing regime. ‘6’ doesn’t mean anything. It’s a global marketplace, even if you’re both in the same geographical bit.

And given the variation between brand sizing (even within one country’s sizing regime) I’d always ask for the length in cms, to compare with the foot and a shoe we own that fits.

If you haven’t asked for extra pics, preresearched the brand sizing and requested the info you need to be sure then you’re going to have a very hard time on eBay.

More generally, the asinine international shoe sizing system needs a serious overhaul. I like the Japanese version best- the number equates to ‘number of centimetres long’ as far as I can tell.

The size is entered in the 'item specifics' that you fill in underneath the title, there are separate fields for UK, EU and US sizing.