Ebay purchase - item not as described. False/deceptive advertisement

[jeromedawg]

Hey all,

Question for you Ebayers - wondering what you guys typically do when you discover an item you bought isn't as described due to false/deceptive advertisement. In my case, I bought some fishing sinkers that were advertised as "tungsten" when they definitely aren't and are brass. The seller is in China and doesn't want to deal with returns, so is offering a partial refund of about 50%. This went up from a 30% partial refund after I demanded a full refund for all items. It may seem a bit over the top to request a full refund and keep these things but I'm guessing he knew these weren't tungsten either. A long time ago I bought lures that were advertised as "Lucky Craft" (expensive lures that were highly discounted) and received counterfeits - complained to Ebay and got my money back fully; I'm thinking this instance might be along the same lines.
That said, do you guys think I should keep pressing on demanding the full refund, flat out call these counterfeits, and escalate the case with Ebay/Paypal?

[RocketSurgeon]

If brass is a satisfactory substitute for tungsten, then I would just keep them and call it a day. If not, I would go directly to eBay's support center and open a ticket to get your money back. I've had this happen to me twice, and my thinking was that the seller is gambling that I'm too lazy or timid to fight them; Let's call his bluff.

[jeromedawg]

If brass is a satisfactory substitute for tungsten, then I would just keep them and call it a day. If not, I would go directly to eBay's support center and open a ticket to get your money back. I've had this happen to me twice, and my thinking was that the seller is gambling that I'm too lazy or timid to fight them; Let's call his bluff.

I'm sure it would work - the problem is that tungsten costs significantly more than brass. I purchased these "tungsten" sinkers at discount though, but I still think the price paid is more than what it would cost to just buy brass sinkers. Tungsten is more dense than brass, so the sinkers should also be significantly smaller in size. In any case, I'll probably just escalate. I think I did go through Ebay's support center but the first step is to initiate a return request. The seller is just trying to quell the problem by offering a partial discount.

[Bernard]

My wife sells on eBay since 1999.
As time moves on, eBay increases buyer protection. Just a few months ago she sold a 15 year-old quality acoustic guitar, described accurately, for (if I remember correctly) $910 plus $75 shipping. The seller received it, and wanted to return it based on "item not as described." It was a first time experience for her, so she politely refused. The case escalated to a point where eBay got involved. Turns out, eBay's computer automatically decides in the buyer's favor. They don't even look at the case. I had to research that online to believe it.

PayPal immediately reversed the seller's payment.

Shipping the guitar to the seller cost $137 instead of $75, so my wife had to bite the $62 difference. The seller sent the guitar back, and it was indeed as described. She put it on Reverb and it sold immediately for $900, and she got an out-of-this-world positive feedback for it.

Weeks later, eBay charged her for the return shipping. What do you know . . . again $137. So my wife lost 2 x $137 on shipping, a total of $274 because of this buyer. That was the last time she sold something like that on eBay. It's one thing to pay $10 for shipping; it's a totally different thing to lose hundreds of dollars!

So what can you take from this? File a claim with eBay, "item not as described," and they'll refund your money in full.

[SwordGuy]

Did you get what you paid for?   No.

Was what you got what was described.  No.

Do you know how to report the item as not as described?  Yes.

So, the only remaining question is "Will you do the work to get your money back or let that seller defraud you?"   Why the heck are you asking us that?   You're the one with the answer!

[BDWW]

My wife sells on eBay since 1999.
As time moves on, eBay increases buyer protection. Just a few months ago she sold a 15 year-old quality acoustic guitar, described accurately, for (if I remember correctly) $910 plus $75 shipping. The seller received it, and wanted to return it based on "item not as described." It was a first time experience for her, so she politely refused. The case escalated to a point where eBay got involved. Turns out, eBay's computer automatically decides in the buyer's favor. They don't even look at the case. I had to research that online to believe it.

PayPal immediately reversed the seller's payment.

Shipping the guitar to the seller cost $137 instead of $75, so my wife had to bite the $62 difference. The seller sent the guitar back, and it was indeed as described. She put it on Reverb and it sold immediately for $900, and she got an out-of-this-world positive feedback for it.

Weeks later, eBay charged her for the return shipping. What do you know . . . again $137. So my wife lost 2 x $137 on shipping, a total of $274 because of this buyer. That was the last time she sold something like that on eBay. It's one thing to pay $10 for shipping; it's a totally different thing to lose hundreds of dollars!

So what can you take from this? File a claim with eBay, "item not as described," and they'll refund your money in full.

Yeah sell on ebay at your own peril. Learned that the hard way.