Bought clock that doesn't work

[BoBoo]

Have just moved house and mother broke clock so bought a new one for the kitchen. Paid £16 plus £5 postage and when the clock arrived I put a battery in it and it doesn't work. The listing stated in good condition with a small scratch being the only issue, so I contacted the seller to ask if he had any idea why it wasn't working.

He then responded and said that he hadn't checked it was working before listing it because he didn't want to spend the money on a battery. ?? Like somehow it's okay for me to spend money on batteries and a broken clock. He has offered to refund my £21 if I post the clock back to him and meet those costs.

Do you think I'm being unreasonable to ask him to also meet the cost of postage back? He should have checked the clock was working before selling it, I have just moved house and have 101 things to do and it's a total pain to have to pack up a clock and lug two kids to the post office, and then end out out of pocket and still without a clock at the end of it all. Where do I stand?

He is not obliged to pay the cost of returning the clock but a good seller will do so. I personally would return the clock by second class recorded delivery and then ask him to refund you your initial costs plus the cost of return postage. If he refuses to refund the cost of return postage, you will have to suck it up but then you can always leave him a negative feedback

Ebay is a joke at the moment - there is so much crap on there at the moment - it's like a big jumble sale.

YOu can file a snad dispute with ebay or paypal via the resolution centres for item not as described. However, even when you are asked to return you have to do so trackable at your own expense, however you will recover the whole of what you initially paid.