eBay Seller Sent Wrong Package...and is Being Difficult (?)

[LittleSpiffy]

*sigh*

I don't have time for these shenanigans.  I am posting here for moral support and also to document this interaction in case things go south.

I won an item & paid for it on 4/21/14.  Seller shipped item 4/22/14.  Today (4/23), I get this message:

her"Please accept my sincerest apology my husband has mixed up 2 labels sending you the wrong item. Can you please write "refused" or "return to sender" on the package you are to receive from me. Again I am so very sorry.
Best Regards
[name]"

No biggie - this has happened before, but I've never been asked to write "return to sender."  I quickly sent a reply:

me"Thank you for letting me know - I'll let you know when I send it back."

...and then I Googled how/if I should send it back the way she wants.  I learned that, if you refuse a package you automatically lose any protection under eBay's Money Back Guarantee (which I always call Buyer Protection; i'm old school).  Once I learned this, I sent her another reply:

me"Hello again [name],

I wanted to make sure I return the item to you correctly (i.e. not have it lost in the mail).  I learned that if I refuse/return to sender the package I lose my eBay Buyer Protection.

I can think of two ways to get the package to the correct buyer:

1) I pay for return shipping to you and you can reimburse me for the return postage.

or

2) You can print a new label to send it to the correct buyer and send me a copy via PDF file.  Once I get the package, I can put the correct label on and send it to the buyer.

Please let me know what you would like to do,

Thanks"

her"I would like to sort this out as quickly as possible. I do not want a negative feedback. Please know that you will not loose your buyer protection. I sent you the wrong item. I am a very honest person...I promise this will work out quickly and properly if you simply write "return to sender" since I shipped priority I will not have to pay for the return."

I called eBay to confirm what I read was true.  After 25 minutes on the phone, I was told that I was 100% correct.  If I send it back "return to sender," it's as if I refuse the package and the seller is no longer responsible to refund my money if either I get an item not described or if the actual item I paid for doesn't show up.  So, I sent another email:

me"I also want to resolve this as quickly as possible.  I also don't want you to get a negative feedback.  I have no doubt that you are an honest person.  My concern is with getting the package back to you and also receiving the items I paid for.  I called eBay's customer service and they confirmed that if I refuse the package or write "return to sender" I am no longer protected under their Money Back Guarantee.  I was advised to file a return request through the Resolution Center when I get the package."

her"Will you please pay for the return shipping and I will refund the cost through paypal. You can just go to usps.com for a cheap rate and free tracking. If you file a return request through ebay that would mean you are returning the item that you have purchased from me. My only option would be to issue a full refund to close out the case opened in eBay's resolution center so I do not understand why you would be given that advice. I told you I would honor full money back if you are not happy with the lot...which I am certain you will be thrilled. If the package is not opened it is legal to "refuse" the package. I understand you are not comfortable now with that as an option...the only other is that you pay the postage and I pay back through paypal."

me"Thank you - I will let you know when the package arrives and give you the tracking number when I ship it back."


I'm tired and stressed and therefore grumpy.  "You wont lose your buyer protection," uh, yeah, right - read eBay's TOS (yeah, yeah, okay, Money Back Guarantee).  "...you will be thrilled," erm, yeah, I want the items and there is a very slim chance that I'd return them, but I don't want to take her word for it.  I mean, she sent them somewhere else: I may NEVER get the items.  I mean, what if the other buyer actually writes "return to sender" and the package gets lost?  The last time I dealt with this I was the seller.  The buyer didn't want to pay customs fees and it took over two months to get back to me.  I know this isn't an international transaction, but still: there was no way to track the package when "return to sender" was used!  I want to be protected: I spent nearly $40 for these ponies.  I want to be refunded if they don't show up.   

[ponylady]

While I am sure she is an honest person, you don't know that 

I think you handled it perfectly and if she has an issue then it's her problem, not yours. Keep us updated and *crosses fingers* that you have no further issues.

[bluerose9978]

I think she just wanted to avoid paying postage twice, and did not know you would lose your buyer protection by refusing the package. This scenario probably has never happened to her before and she probably just wanted to get the correct packages to the correct people as fast as possible. I'm sorry this thing has stressed you out so much. But I'm glad you convinced her to do the right thing and fingers crossed you get your correct package soon.

[Dragonflitter]

I understand what your seller was trying to do. I work in a small office where we occasionally mail out books to people, and once or twice we accidentally have sent the wrong book. In that case we ask the person to write 'return to sender' on the package and give it back to the post office, and we send out the correct book. The post office will send the package back to us at no cost to the person or to us. Basically it's a free way to get things back to us in the mail. Your seller was trying to get you to send the package back without you or her having to pay an extra shipping fee.

But like you said, this ruins your protection, so of course you didn't want to do it. But your seller apparently wasn't aware of that, and when you pointed it out, she agreed with what you said (eventually heh). I think she is doing the right thing. I probably would have asked the same thing if I was in her position, if I didn't realize it would have negated your buyer protection.

Edit: Oops bluerose posted before me with the same thing.

[LittleSpiffy]

Thanks, guys!

After a good night's rest I've cleared my head.  She wasn't being difficult, I was just irritated.

The last time this happened to me, the seller re-purchased the postage and sent a copy of the label of where it was originally supposed to go.  I immediately sent it back in the mail with the new label and, to my knowledge, the other buyer was none the wiser.  I was hoping this buyer was willing to do the same, since I don't want her to be out the additional postage either.  Ah, well, as long as I get my ponies! ^_^  I was hoping to re-sell the majority of them to get most of my $40 back...and this delay has made me more impatient than usual!