I thought ebay had some really good policies protecting its users from nefarious practices, they certainly claim to be tough on people misusing their returns policy, so I am pretty miffed. I have been left out of pocket by a dishonest buyer and even though there's loads of evidence to show she is in the wrong, eBay still gave her a refund and took it from my PayPal account.
I have only been selling for a month, was clearing out my attic, I have loads of old toys and games from the 1980s and they are really collectable, if a bit dusty. I looked after them well but they have been put away for a long time.
One of the first things I sold was a doll, in really beautiful condition, original accessories, and I had no idea how much they go for so I sold it to the first person to send me an offer, of only £10 plus £3.10 p&p. When she got it though she said it was filthy dirty - oh, but she'd wash it, if I refunded her the £10 she paid for the trouble.... So, a free doll?I refused so she insisted on sending it back for a full refund - at my expense...
Messages were exchanged, I completely refuted that it was filthy (the pictures were really clear), I phoned eBay several times to ask advice and they told me to accept the return because she was entitled to a refund anyway, then I could offer her a partial refund when I had got it back ....
When I got the doll back, she was still beautiful, really sellable, but I was out of pocket two lots of postage and fees so I only issued a partial refund - all exactly what eBay told me to do..... But I was getting more confused, the seller was adament, quite rude, that I had sold her a filthy doll, too dirty for her to give to her kids..... Who buys a 35 year old doll off of ebay to give to their kids without washing them first!!! I asked for specifics - maybe I had missed something. She just kept saying that as I was new to Ebay I didn't know how it worked, etc.... But it turns out this lady also had a selling page full of vintage toys!! So of course, she would know how much my doll was worth, would never have given it to her kids, and would have known how to clean a dress - she just wanted it for free. At least I got it back undamaged, I guess, but even after all these phones calls, messages and it seemed to me a clear cut case of someone trying to take advantage of an ebay newbie, ebay still gave her the full refund and took the money from my PayPal....
It may only be a few quid, but it seems common place for people to try it on - I think she particularly targetted me because I am new. If it's that easy for buyers to take advantage, then why wouldn't it happen to me again, and again, what can I do to protect myself if ebay will always side with the buyer?
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