posted on September 26, 2001 08:48:21 PM new
When I received my goods after winning an auction, a very important part was not at all what was named in the description. The seller said he made a mistake, did not even notice it and would not make good on it. I paid more in the auction to win it because of what was advertised! I was just wondering if that has happened to anyone else and what they have done?
posted on September 26, 2001 10:49:14 PM new
Post was real vague, it's hard to offer help with little or no details. Please expand with details maybe we can help.
Joe B
posted on September 26, 2001 11:00:57 PM new
Read the SafeHarbor and the insurance pages at ebay. They have sections on grossly misrepresented items, I believe, though Billpoint use may now be a prerequisite?
If you used a credit card and can't work it out with the seller by your next billing statement, you can try inititating a direct chargeback with your card issuer.
If you went through paypal, you're definitely SOL as far as PP is concerned: they don't cover these "quality of goods" complaints.
If you paid by money order and other such cash instruments, you're most likely SOL unless you want to travel to his jurisdiction to sue him in small claims court.
Personal checks have been known to bounce up to 30 days later, so you __could__ ask your bank about a stop-payment order, I suppose.
Edited to add: How specific were his terms re: condition/guarantee of item, return policy, "as is", "all sales final", etc etc
[ edited by icyu on Sep 26, 2001 11:08 PM ]
posted on September 27, 2001 09:15:24 AM new
Hi..thanks for the response. I'll try to make my complaint clearer. The seller was selling a handheld radio with rapid (3 hr) charger. He admits that is what he wrote in his description. He sent me the radio and a 10 hr. charger. Also, he fully admits to his mistake and was sorry for it. I told him I needed the rapid charger and he said he would not send me one, but he would send me a new battery..which he did. I think he was very wrong and obligated to send the charger I needed as that is what I bid on in the auction...and, bid more because the auction had that specific charger with the radio. Any more questions and I'll be glad to respond. Thanks!
posted on September 27, 2001 10:32:57 AM new
If he doesn't have the charger, he doesn't have it, end of discussion. Did you (or he) offer to send the radio and the charger back, and get a full refund of all your money? Any professional seller should be willing to do that, especially if he admitted his mistake.
posted on September 27, 2001 11:14:36 AM newAlso, he fully admits to his mistake and was sorry for it. I told him I needed the rapid charger and he said he would not send me one,.
Sorry, Eventer, the seller did not offer to make good on the item auctioned. A full refund with shipping both ways is the only amends to be made here.
posted on September 27, 2001 11:22:41 AM new
KatyD,
I didn't see any statement to that effect. What I did see was he fully admits to his mistake and was sorry for it and he said he would not send me one, but he would send me a new battery.
I didn't see anything where the buyer turned down this offer to send another battery.
I agree the seller should send what was advertised or offer a full refund. BUT the buyer should be agreeing to take alternatives then continue to ask for more.
posted on September 27, 2001 11:28:35 AM new
The problem is that msmoose states that she bid on the auction for the advertised 3 hour charger. Offering to send another battery doesn't fulfill the terms of the auction. If the extra battery doesn't satisfy msmoose, then the seller should refund her money and shipping no questions asked, and no excuses. WHY is this seller trying to "bargain" after the fact? Make good on the auction as described, or refund. It's pretty simple.
posted on September 27, 2001 11:30:59 AM newthe buyer should be agreeing to take alternatives then continue to ask for more.
I don't see why the buyer should agree to ANY "alternatives", and I don't see where she has asked for "more". She simply wants what was advertised and what she paid for. I don't blame her.
posted on September 27, 2001 11:37:41 AM new. I told him I needed the rapid charger and he said he would not send me one, but he would send me a new battery..which he did.
Yes. When he offered to send a new battery, she should have refused it right off. mea culpa.
posted on September 27, 2001 11:41:53 AM new
We don't know if wht we have been told is the full extent of the correspondance on the issue.
Did the seller offer to accept a return and give a refund? Did the buyer ask the seller for a return and refund? Was a return suggested by the seller and the buyer refuse?
Without knowing the total correspondance on this transaction we can't judge either the seller or buyer.
Msmoose, may I suggest that you ask the seller to take the item back and refund you your money..if you have not already done so.
posted on September 27, 2001 11:44:06 AM new
It is not at all clear that the buyer ACCEPTED the extra battery as "full" payment for the mistake.
It just says the seller said they would send an extra battery, and did. they might have just done that, hoping to close the deal out.
So, more questions:
1. Did you (the buyer) ask for an extra battery as compensation for the mislabelling? (I presume not, but asking just to be sure).
2. If not, did you AGREE to accept it as compensation? (this isn't at all clear, either way). I don't think that not physically refusing the package is the same as agreeing to accept it as compensation, by the way. If some seller had done this to me, I would also have gotten the battery and would be planning on mailing them both back in one package.
If the buyer didn't agree to it, then they are still at square one - the seller has not sent the item as described, and they are still entitled to a full refund with shipping both ways.
posted on September 27, 2001 11:54:21 AM new
Hi again...the main thing is the "radio" that I was bidding on. They usually all come with some kind of charger. When this one had a "rapid charger" with it, I thought that was great and bid more than I would have if it had just been the regular 10 hr. charger and radio. All I wanted from you guys out there was your thoughts on this. I am not going to do anything more on this. By my accepting the battery in replacement of the rapid charger....I agree, I accepted his terms. I still do think though that if someones says they have one thing and then renig on it, it doesn't seem quite right. What do you think?
posted on September 27, 2001 11:59:40 AM newMsMoose: OF COURSE it is NOT right! But, when an auction goes wrong, ya have have a set idea of what you will accept to then be made WHOLE...i.e., ya should have told him that the deal was off & ya wanted a refund + SX2!
By accepting the battery, you accepted the TERMS.
The seller is a bozo (maybe), but negotiations take TWO!
posted on September 27, 2001 12:00:46 PM new
Of course making a mistake isn't "right"..but we all do it. The question that distinguishes "good" from "bad" sellers is how they respond to it.
In general, there are 3 valid remedies to this problem:
1. Full refund with shipping both ways
2. Partial refund but you keep the item
3. Extra items (like the battery)
A "good" seller should agree to at least #1 if you want it (maybe #2 and #3, just depends on the situation).
so the question still comes down to what did you ask of the seller to fix the situation (refund? since if they don't have the charger, they don't have it, no matter how hard you ask) and what did you agree to. if you didn't ask for a refund, and did accept the battery, then as far as I can see, the seller did his best to make you satisfied, and the case is now closed.
If you asked, say, for a refund and he refused, then its "his bad" in my opinion.
posted on September 27, 2001 12:01:13 PM newI still do think though that if someones says they have one thing and then renig on it, it doesn't seem quite right. What do you think?
Once he said he didn't have the item, did you ask for your money back?
It's possible the listing error was an accident. People make mistakes. I think this could be one of them.
posted on September 27, 2001 12:30:14 PM new
I think that if someone makes a mistake then they are human...just like the rest of us.
If he didn't have the rapid charger but mistakenly listed it as if he did then he didn't renig...he just made a mistake. If he doesn't have a rapid charger then there is no way he can send you one.
Did you, in your first email to him, say you were happy with the radio and still wanted it but wanted the charger stated in the auction? If so, then he seemed to have assumed that you didn't want a refund. If he didn't have the charger you wanted he couldn't make you whole by sending another one...so he seems to have found what he thought was a reasonable solution...a second battery so you could use that one while the other were charging, giving you an approximation of the usefulness of the rapid charger.
If the battery was an unsatisfactory solution to you then you should have told him you would be returning both radio and charger for a full refund.
posted on September 27, 2001 01:04:50 PM new
Being a buyer fulltime and a seller partime, I can see both sides!
As a buyer, I like to think that a seller will make good their mistake.
As a seller, I have learned that if someone is not really happy (for whatever reason) you might as well take the item back. I do not believe a seller should eat the shipping unless it was 100% their fault.
My TOS says refund for any reason less shipping. I used to say if I made the mistake I'd refund shipping. I do NOT say that anymore. If a buyer were to contact me and I really was at fault, I would refund the shipping, I just don't advertise that ahead of time. It's on a case-by-case.
posted on September 27, 2001 02:17:50 PM new
It wasn't that he didn't have the rapid charger...he told me that he would lose too much money on the deal to send me one. The battery was about half the price of the charger. I settled for the battery..making the deal reasonable. But, when you are shopping in a store and an article is listed as a sale price and you want the said article...you get to the checkout and find they made a mistake..what happens?? They usually sell you that item for the advertised price. Their mistake. I'm sure that has happened to all of us at some point. Remember, I was bidding in that auction for the radio as the main item that I wanted.
posted on September 27, 2001 02:28:16 PM newwasn't that he didn't have the rapid charger...he told me that he would lose too much money on the deal to send me one.
That doesn't sound ethical to me. I've lost money on a few deals to do what was right.
(I won't lose money just to make someone happy if they are being unreasonable, but I will to do what's right)
posted on September 27, 2001 02:49:50 PM newThe battery was about half the price of the charger... Remember, I was bidding in that auction for the radio as the main item that I wanted.
Well, it sounds like you each got less than you wanted from the deal. You got the main item you were interested in but not the right charger, and the seller had to part with a battery he wasn't expecting to.
If it were me, unless I had fairly solid evidence that the seller had intentionally misdescribed the item, I think I'd just let it go at this point.
posted on September 27, 2001 03:05:42 PM new
Yes mrpotatohead, I guess we each did lose alittle. The auctions are all fairly new to me and I thought that standards for buying and selling were high. (To everyone's benefit) I have found that 99% of my auction deals have been perfect..so, this one kind of caught me off guard. What's done is done and it will be put on the "backshelf". I just wanted some opinions....sure did get them! Thanks all!
