Item not as described - Seller wants me to return it to CHINA!

[vikmaso-0]

I bought an item which is nothing like the item listed. Infact it is a different item to what I ordered.

I have opened a return case listing it "not as decribed" (I could not see to do this any other way) & the seller has said I must return it to China from the UK & I pay the cost for them to refund it later. This is not my mistake & this is going to cost me a fortune!

As it is going to take weeks for this to arrive back in China, I am not going to be refunded for weeks, & then they could simply refuse to send me a refund anyway. Ebay time limits for this kind of thing could run out while I am waiting for them to get it back by postage. So I do not believe I will be refunded.

Please help, as I can not afford this kind of postage for a mistake that a seller has made.

[tressygirl · Accepted solution]

I've gone through exactly the same by purchasing an item in error, my bad I didn't check the seller's registration,  from a Chinese seller.

Open a case for item not as described,  selecting the reason,  Doesn't Match Description or Photos.

Couple of things here.  Check the item's location if it states a UK location,  then don't be fobbed off that it goes back to China,  it doesn't it goes back to the UK location,  send the seller a polite message to send asap the appropirate postage label for the UK,  for the return of their item.  This is important,  because I feel you'll need to contact Customer Services like I had to later.

I  was asked for my PayPal details,  umm no again,  send a polite message this is not in eBay rules, it's not needed,  ask again for a label they need to pay for.

I waited over 6 days and the option to escalate did not appear.  I had no label, and no refund, and no escalation option !

I'm thinking if a seller sends a Chinese address for some reason it fools the system thinking a label is sent and the option to escalate does not appear.

I contacted CS they viewed the case,  viewed all the messages, and refunded me and closed the case telling me I could keep the item, I kindly informed them the item's new home is my bin.

Disappointingly I received a discretionary refund,  meaning eBay repaid me,  and they told me the seller gets to keep my money too!  The seller after all was selling in their thousands.  

You may well experience the above certainly seems to be heading that way , in which case you may well need Customer Services later.

The easiest and quickest way to contact Customer Services is through this link, for a Call Back .

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/eua?id=5275&mkevt=1&mkpid

On weekdays lines open between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. - 6 p.m.

Weekends lines open between 9 a.m. to 6p.m.

Contact them very first thing in the morning when the lines first open at 8 a.m. as there's more chance of Dublin answering.

@vikmaso-0 

[vikmaso-0]

Thank you for this excellent reply & link.

How do I open a case for "not as descibed" as I don't see the option to do this on the page.

The listing did say the seller was in China & I was happy with this as I have orderd stuff before which was fine. But the item (a plastic cup which is not worth 50p!) is a totally different cup to what was listed. I even sent a photo of it to the buyer in messages & they said nothing is wrong with it! The buyer has even messaged me his return address in China this morning. I estimate to return this will cost me £25 when the item is not worth it. & even more if I send it tracked.

Ebay says I will recieve a return label by the 21st Nov, but I am an old lady with no way to even print this. I  don't have a printer. & I certainly can;t afford this postage.

Out of my mind with worry!

[tressygirl]

Please , please don't worry, you just need to follow this process for item not as described.

Go right of the item in your Purchase History,  and from More Actions select Return this item,  selecting the reason...  Item Does Not Match Description or Photos

The seller has 3 days to accept the case,  if they don't ,  you need to  escalate on day 4,  or within 30 days,  and eBay will step in and force the refund.

If the seller wants the item back first,  they need to pay for a fully tracked return postage.  On receipt of their item they have 48 hours to refund you.  Again,  if they don't,  you escalate the case.

Do not close the case early for any excuse or promise the seller may give,   Chinese sellers usually send many ignore them all you do not need to answer any,  and do not forget to escalate.

You will need to print off the label IF it is issued.  Perhaps a friend can help you here,  libraries usually have this facility.

I had to,  in the end,  contact Customer Services,  they made that refund for me,  keep the link for them safe and after 4 clear days pass, it is timed to the second,  and if there is no label and no escalation this is a link to ' ask eBay to step in' , then contact Customer Services.

Truly please don't worry it can take a few days but follow the above,  and all will be well!  Please ignore all messages from the seller and Do Not Close the case early,  no matter what they say or promise.

Come back to us here anytime you need any help with this.

@vikmaso-0 

[vikmaso-0]

Thank you so much for you're help with this.

I already did what you described, yesterday.

I clicked on "return item" & then "not as described"

But all it seems to have done is start the returns process. Anyway now there is no option to click this again in the drop down box.

The seller in China has now accepted the return request, but all he has done is send me a message with his return Chinese address on it. Along with a message that he will refund me when he gets the cup back. (could take a month!!)

I am going to see if customer serviced can help & do this "have us call you" option" but not sure how long this will take.

So I honestly think it looks like I have no option but to send a cup worth 50p back to China, which will cost me £20 or more though no fault of my own, at the risk of getting no refund at all??

Sorry, but I am old, have no friends or family to print things for me & I just do ebay to make a few pounds to help with the pension. i really am on my own, I think.

Anyway, thank you for all your help. You have been terrific!

[tressygirl]

Truly there is no need to contact Customer Services at the present time.

You have done everything correctly,  you opened the case,  and this gives the seller 4 days to accept it ad refund.

They will give you many delaying tactics and wrong information ignore it all,  just wai for exactly 4 x 24 hours to pass , so on day 5 you should have received a refund or a postage label.  If not, Then you contact eBay Customer Services to view the case and escalate it for you.

Nothing can be done now as 4 days need to pass.

One thing to check,  go to the original listing so click on the item in your Purchase History on the listing does it say location.....  then a UK location?  This means it Does go back to the UK,  not China.  As said , it's a ploy All Chinese sellers use,   ignore all their excuses, let that case run its course, then you may well need to contact Customer Services.

@vikmaso-0 

[vikmaso-0]

Excellent & thank you.

I have just spoke to customer services & they said the same thing.
Do nothing untill Friday. He was also concerned that the photo of the cup
was so completely different from the listing & he was not happy about it.

Yes the seller was actually in China & not the UK. But as I have bought
from China before & been happy with my purchases, I had no reason to
believe this time would be different. The seller is actually in Shanghi.

You have been wonderfull & have taken a heap of weight off my mind, because
I have never had a problem like this before.

Many, many thanks x

[tressygirl]

You're very welcome.  Sellers can be in China, but it's where the item was located that matters. Check the listing if it shows Item Location as UK  then it is another ploy and lie,  and it does Not go back to China.

Cases are all automated,  once opened it has to run the full 4 days before any further action can be taken, and it is timed to the second from when you opened the case.

@vikmaso-0 

[thesmokingrunner]

@vikmaso-0 

I have been through precisely the same as both you and @tressygirl  with Chinese-based sellers so I know from experience just how frustrating this can be - and just how worrying if you don't know how the process works.

The first thing you must do is keep a clear head. Regardless of what the seller tells you  you are not responsible for the cost of return postage. Once you have opened a Not As Described case deal with all contact between yourself and the seller through the case, not through any messages sent to your Inbox.

The seller may claim you have to pay the cost of return - this is wrong and meant to put you off returning the item. The seller may also tell you that you need to close any case before they refund - DO NOT DO THAT. Once a case is closed you will not receive a refund.

You have done the right thing in opening a Returns case. Now you must follow the process to the letter. And I can assure you you can trust tressygirl's advice.

[tressygirl]

Must admit @thesmokingrunner  even though I did receive a full refund, it wasn't a costly item, but this lady was not for backing down even if it was 50p spent,  I was disappointed that the seller got to keep my payment, and eBay made me a discretionary refund.

The messages I received were beyond a joke from the seller.  Providing a Chinese address to send the item back to at my expense,  for a UK located item.  Asking for my email and PayPal information to send  the refund, all this and they still kept my payment and no bad mark on their account.

Makes you think, eh !  🤔

[thesmokingrunner]

I totally agree @tressygirl , and I certainly don't think eBay deal with these cases correctly. Giving discretionary refunds does nothing to stress to the seller that they need to adhere to eBay's policies.

My particular experience involved some bicycle tyre valve caps, which I intended to convert into guitar pick-up selector switch tips. They only cost a couple of £s but were unusable on arrival - badly machined and extensively damaged - so I opened a return. Like you I had a message to return them at my expense (I told them I wasn't liable for the cost of return), followed by an offer to refund if I closed the case (I declined - and told them why that wouldn't be happening). Eventually I was refunded (they never did send a label) and the valve caps went in the bin.

The biggest problem is that a lot of experienced sellers - and not just Chinese ones - know how to play the system and buyers with less experience often find themselves falling for the "you have to pay the return cost"/"close the case and we'll refund" lines spun by unscrupulous sellers.

I do find it quite irritating that eBay does nothing to prevent sellers from exploiting the system, and discretionary refunds only serve to encourage that type of seller to carry on as they are. eBay seems quick enough to penalise sellers on the UK site - when they have access to a seller's eBay balance and bank account - but not so quick when dealing with non-UK accounts.

Fortunately there are people like you to help guide others through the process and avoid losing money. It's a shame eBay don't see fit to show more gratitude for your experience and advice.

[tressygirl]

Aaah thank you @thesmokingrunner  much appreciated but we do receive chocolate(s) and a pen at Christmas time,  that's appreciated too! 😄   All, I know, will agree. we do this as we enjoy helping people.

Another aspect of my case above which concerned me is ,  have Chinese sellers found a loophole for item not as described cases?

After politely declining to close the case early, not giving my PayPal or email info, the seller then provided a Chinese Address for me to post the item to.  As said,  item location....  UK  , so not falling for that one.

Now , this was an address and definitely NOT a label,  when 4 clear days passed,  I think it went well into day 8  there was still no refund or Return label,  but No escalation option.  Did this address then stop the escalate to eBay process.   Then, looking like I was not returning the item = no refund?

That's when I called CS and the discretionary refund made.  Odd eh? !  🤔  

[vikmaso-0]

Thank you both for you're very kind & very helpful replies!

I did have another message from the seller insisting that the cup was the same as the one in the listing picture (it is not even vaguley the same!) but as you both said I will no longer be replying to this person, & will sit it out & wait to see what happens on Friday. To be honest I would send it back to them if it was no cost to myself, but I simply cannot afford it.

Well I wont be ordering anything else from China (I have had some nice shoes & a pair of reading glasses in the past) as this has really put me off. So if it is not available in the UK or Europe I wont bother.

Thank you again for your excellent help!

[thesmokingrunner]

You must have a lot of pens @tressygirl ... : )

There certainly does appear to be loophole which is being exploited by certain sellers but sadly, and rather annoyingly in my opinion, there is little or no incentive for eBay to do anything about it for two reasons: firstly, any discretionary refund made by eBay is actually a part-refund because part of that refund is effectively funded by the seller's fees, and secondly not sanctioning the seller means that eBay continue to earn income from fees from the seller's other sales, some of which may result in the buyer losing out if they don't know the correct returns procedure and either don't pay to return the item or close the case on a promise of a refund. Either way eBay doesn't really lose much, if anything.

@vikmaso-0  Thank you, but I take no credit for any of this. I initially posted to confirm the advice given by tressygirl and to assure you that the advice given was correct.  I wouldn't necessarily never buy from a Chinese seller again - there are good ones and bad ones, as there are on any online platform - but if you are unlucky enough to encounter a similar situation with any future purchase you will at least know what (and more importantly what not) to do in order to obtain a refund.

I shall leave you in tressygirl's very capable hands...

[bubblewrap_paradise]

Personally I won't buy any items from outside the UK due to hearing about issues such as this. 

One thing I noticed many years ago was items being sold in the UK yet when I clicked on the sellers feedback profile it stated they was in China or an overseas seller I did not wish to buy from!

My advice it to check a sellers feedback profile if you only want to buy items from sellers who are located in the same country as yourself as it is easy to be caught out. 

I always filter sellers by those being in the UK, but still see sellers from China. 

It pays to spend a few minutes checking before buying. 

[sml192]

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@bubblewrap_paradise wrot

I always filter sellers by those being in the UK, but still see sellers from China. 

---

The filter is for 'Item location' not 'Seller location' hence why you will still see overseas sellers.   As you say, you need to look at the seller's feedback profile or click where it says 'Registered as a business seller' in order to see the seller's location. 

[nat11911]

Here's a quick and easy idea to implement eBay ...

When a buyer opens a return request, automatically disable the seller's 'send a message' tick-box. It wouldn't cause any issues to either party as there's no legitimate need for a seller to contact the buyer at all.

Or is that too difficult for your programmers?

[vikmaso-0]

Thank you all for your excellent replies!

It would appear that this is a big issue with ebay, that I was not aware of. I have had some really good pairs of reading glasses from China (the plastic frame ones fall to bits but the metal frame ones last!) & I will continue to buy these as I have a seller I always buy my glasses from. But this mess with the mug was rather upsetting. I am guessing also that because I left neg feedback & included a photo of the mug sent to me, compared to their photo, in the neg, they are not too happy about this. But that is not my fault. The mug is supposed to look like crystal (but made of a resin) & the one I was sent looks like a badly painted lump of plastic, & is so tiny I could not even use it for espresso!

I will post an update here on Friday to let you know if this has been sorted out or not.

[vikmaso-0]

Hi everyone!

I did indeed get my refund sorted out.

However, my negative feedback (including the photo I posted of the mug not matching the listing) has been removed from the Chinese sellers page.

I am quite upset about this as this seller is not selling the item that is in the picture & the customer service person I spoke to on the phone said they would look into this for me. Instead they have just removed my feedback.

Is this even fair?

The seller is not selling the same item that is in the listing, so somebody else is going to be taken in like I was. I am really not happy about this. Sorry.

[sml192]

Glad that you were able to get the refund sorted out. 

The negative being removed is frustrating and not particularly fair.  Did the seller refund voluntarily in the end or did eBay have to force the refund?  If the seller refunded voluntarily then, unfortunately, under the terms of eBay's 'Feedback Policy' any negative feedback left would automatically be removed.   As I said, not particularly fair but not much you can do about it now as it can't be reinstated. 

eBay site or programme issues

We remove neutral/negative feedback when

• An eBay Money Back Guarantee case or payment dispute was closed with the seller having met their obligations to the buyer

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/feedback-policies/feedback-policies?id=4208