eBay seller warning - BUYER BEWARE

[andy_k]

Recently I purchased an item from an eBay seller victor_mk. The item was described as brand new and of superb quality in the following advert

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8000830470&sspagename=ADME:L:AAQ:UK:1

The picture in the advertisement clearly shows a nice dark burl gear knob so you can imagine my disappointment when I opened the package from the vendor.

Just in case the ebay auction link disappears here's the photo from the advert

As you can see from the photograph below the gear knob was far from a dark rich burl it was almost orange and from the grain pattern clearly not the same item as advertised. The wood looks and feels more like stained pine than burl, the "engraved logo" is a poor quality plastic badge set into the wood, the quality of the varnished finish is very poor with runs and imperfections and the "chrome" on the shaft is dull and feels rough to the touch

The seller insists that it is the same but just a different shade - hmm how can something be the same but different? I don't really understand that either.

Getting a refund is proving tricky, although he has agreed to refund the original costs should the goods be returned in absolutely A1 condition (what's the betting he says that I have damaged the gearknob and therefore not eligible for a refund?) he will not accept any liability for return postage despite the advert being misleading which of course leaves me out of pocket for the return postage. Paypal and eBay won't help beyond a simple refund as they are only interested in getting their slice of the auction fees

I can only recommend that all club members avoid buying inferior quality goods from this seller who has absolutely no concept of customer service and look elsewhere to buy accessories for their cars.


Andy

 

[marnix]

Did you use Paypal for payment?
If you did, contact them as there is a buyer protection scheme in place.
it is also worth contacting Ebay with your concerns, as they can sometimes resolve this sort of problems

 

[andy_k]

already done

did you know that you can't report an item significantly different to description for 10 days?

once you've reported an auction to Paypal eBay won't act

Paypal, won't pursue any costs other than the original auction fees. even if the seller has completely misrepresented the goods the buyer is still responsible for any return postage. Their so called customer protection used to be OK but nowadays it's hopeless

Andy

 

[panason1c]

Hope you intend to 'neg' him.

 

[paulcallender]

Can't you make a deal where if he refunds the postage, he will receive no feedback rather than a rather stiff negative feedback? The negative feedback he would receive will be far more damaging than the couple of quid to pop it in the post. I assume you kept the Jiffy bag it came in?

 

[panason1c]

Can't you make a deal where if he refunds the postage, he will receive no feedback rather than a rather stiff negative feedback? The negative feedback he would receive will be far more damaging than the couple of quid to pop it in the post. I assume you kept the Jiffy bag it came in?

Dangerous territory......ebay has a strict policy regarding 'extortion' and would take action against you if the seller reported such activity towards himself....best if you can negotiate with the seller to accept a return of the item with a full refund given and if not successful then make a claim to Paypal under the 'goods not as described' section.

Whatever the outcome you really need to leave him a rating and comment that reflects your experience with this seller. For example, If you did get a full refund then i would leave him a 'neutral' rating with a comment similar to ..."Goods not as described, full refund given".....that is what feedback is all about....to help other potential buyers (and sellers) avoid this kind of trader.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
This from ebay's policy on feedback.........


Feedback Extortion

Threatening to leave negative or neutral feedback for another member unless they provide goods or services not included in the original listing is not permitted.

Violations of this policy may result in a range of actions, including:

Listing cancellation

Limits on account privileges

Account suspension

Forfeit of eBay fees on cancelled listings

Loss of PowerSeller status

 

[paulcallender]

I doubt if it would be seen as goods or services not listed. It would simply be righting the wrongs suffered. But, I don't know the seller's side to this story.

Maybe the real lesson here, is if you want to purchase genuine parts, ebay's not the place for it! Unless it cost mega-bucks, then perhaps just return it, get the refund and move on.

 

[andy_k]

I agree with everything said, and yes moving on is the right idea, I posted on here (and MB Club) to avoid anybody else getting caught by the same seller. It's not a lot of money but it's the principle that if something isn't right it is the sellers responsibility to sort it out and that includes being held responsible for the return costs of faulty or unsuitable goods.

eBay don't recognise this either and say that they won't pursue the cost of return postage and simply wash their hands of anything more than the very basic legal requirements.

I've already made it quite clear that I intend to leave negative feedback unless he accepts liabilty for all costs and he's made it clear that he will leave retaliatory feedback but so be it (I've forwarded his email to eBay where he made the feedback "threat") that kind of tit for tat feedback left by vendors is very obvious, easily answered, generally ignored by others and unlike what I say in my feedback to him makes no comment on the quality of goods I offer for sale.

I don't believe eBay feedback counts for much anyway, people still continue to buy off vendors with horrendous track records and then wonder why they get ripped off. Far better a warning in places where it counts (like club sites) where owners of the car might just think twice before buying his inferior products.

Andy

 

[paulcallender]

eBay don't recognise this either and say that they won't pursue the cost of return postage and simply wash their hands of anything more than the very basic legal requirements.

Yes, unfortunately this is the case. But ebay are quite unique, they are merely an 'introduction' service between buyers and sellers. Their feedback system is the most powerful tool to assist buyers, and also to allow sellers to build up a good reputation.

I don't believe eBay feedback counts for much anyway, people still continue to buy off vendors with horrendous track records and then wonder why they get ripped off. Far better a warning in places where it counts (like club sites) where owners of the car might just think twice before buying his inferior products.

Andy

I think it does, for example if I make a purchase, however small, I always take a browse through the seller's feedback. But I can see in your case you've been unlucky here becuase he previously had 100% positive rating.

I am surprised ebay aren't interested in this, under the "goods not as described" issue. But I'm not an expert on all the ebay rules, etc here. I suppose if your gearknob isn't burl wood, then its fair game. But a mismatch on colour is a difficult issue.

 

[littlebrooklyn]

I use eBay quite a lot and so does my partner, in fact there are times I feel like an eBay widow. I don?t really feel that eBay are very good in helping with problems and one constantly hears about items listed that are breaching the rules or are fake.

Case in point, as a parrot owner I often browse the pet part of the site and I have lost count of the number of times someone puts a parrot up for auction, even though it?s against their trading policy to sell live animals. If no one reports the item then it just slips through the net.

A friend of mine bought a ?genuine? Louis Vuitton handbag a while ago on eBay and not only was it an outright fake, but it was a very bad one too. Did she get any help from eBay? No!

I myself bought what was described as a ?genuine? Burberry swimsuit. Fortunately I?m not stupid enough to think that I could buy a genuine Burberry for £20, but it was an acceptable fake. You would be surprised the amount of people that think they can buy genuine designer gear at knock down prices.

I think if you really want to buy a genuine item then you are probably best buying it from a reputable source and accept that if you do use eBay you could be taken to the cleaners.

 

[kit820]

My recent predicament:

Item won, I paid by paypal right away then a few days later ebay informed me that the listing had been removed for breaching certain regulations. Their advice was for me not to go ahead with the deal and avoid conducting any private deal with the seller.

It was a little late since I had already paid for the item. I conveyed this to Ebay and 48 hours later I got a reply from ebay telling me that there was nothing they could do; I should contact the seller and resolve the issue there and then. Failing to do that, ebay adviced me to contact my bank/credit card to cancel the payment or ask for the fund to be refunded (impossible since I paid for the item right away and the seller withdrawn very soon after). Ebay's final advice was for me to contact my card service provider or paypal to see if I am protected from fradulent purchases etc.

By the time the seller responded to my messages, the item had already been sent and up to now, I am still keeping my fingers crossed.

In short, I found ebay as totally inept in their action and worse still, trully irresponsible. Unfortunately though, it has become an essential part of many's life, including mine. I simply hope that this was just an one off.

 

[Copiertech]

both of you should get in touch with paypal. they can freeze the amount you paid the other party in their paypal account and then investigate the matter and refund your money after they contact the seller. they are normally very good about the whole thing.

 

[PINBALL]

Just a couple of thoughts to the unnaware..

After being self employed for the last 20 years & being an approved VISA merchant for 15 of those, you can take the following action "IF" Pay-pal takes the same views on credit card disputes.

Complain to Paypal that "goods were not as shown" or "fraudulantly shown" and they should act on your behalf to get your payment returned.

Send them the same photos.

Did you know that although it takes 4 days to clear a cheque, the payment can be clawed back by your bank for up to 14 days - ask your bank about this little known fact.
& maybe it would be better to start sending a cheque in future, it may be drawn out, but at least you'll have better peace of mind that you can claw back payment when you recieve goods.

When I had my own stand at the Ideal Home Exhibition in 96, I sold 2 x £5,000 Wurlitzer jukeboxes with cheque payments up front & made all sorts of excuses to not deliver them untill cheques cleared in full after 14 days!

Pay-pal should be able to threaten the idiot enough by withdrawing his account with them, as the last thing they need is adverse publicity like BBC-Watchdog has displayed them in the past.

Finally, ask your local 'Trading Standards' office if all the above action fails to get your satisfaction, perhaps an official letter from them to Pay-pal will make them sit up & listen.

Good Luck,

Keith.

 

[Lambfoot]

Dodgy knob

victor_mk has a 100% positive rating on ebay on over 50 sales. Perhaps you were just unlucky?

 

[andy_k]

ah but


1, Viktor also has another eBay account which has a slightly less impressive feedback ratio

2, Viktor also witholds feedback until buyers have left his feedback and says quite clearly that he will leave retaliatory feedback if anyone leaves him negatives - it's very easy to get a 100% record when you conduct business like that

Andy

 

[tom7035]

ah but


Viktor also witholds feedback until buyers have left his feedback and says quite clearly that he will leave retaliatory feedback if anyone leaves him negatives
Andy

This is also against eBay rules.

 

[stwat]

His second to last feedback reads as, "great ebayer, not sure about the knob but does the trick and looks very gud"

Why would someone give good feedback if they ain't sure about the quality of the thing they have bought??? :-? It must be the bullying feedback technique he uses.

"Quote"

Viktor also witholds feedback until buyers have left his feedback and says quite clearly that he will leave retaliatory feedback if anyone leaves him negatives

One very nasty ebayer to stay well clear of.

Stu