Pony from EBay not as described...wwyd?

[RainbowQuartz]

I won a pony on EBay the other day. The listing showed her from all sides but below, and she looked great. The seller mentioned tail rust and "some marks" but otherwise said she was gorgeous and clean without issues.

I just got the pony and her hooves have tons of chew marks.

I've never had a pony come in with problems like this, and I'd never paid so much for a pony before. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do now. Do I contact the seller and mention the chews? Do I let it ride? I don't like complaining, but this was a lot of money for me and this issue was NOT mentioned. I wouldn't have paid so much if I knew she had these marks.

ETA: They're definitely cat or a similar animal chews. Human teeth didn't do this, not that it makes a huge difference who chewed it lol.


[moving to TS ~ Kiwi]

[Motion-Paradox]

Save screen captures of the original listing and the pictures and try contacting the seller and asking if there is anything they can do

If they don't offer a satisfactory solution, open a case with Ebay for the item not being as described

[RainbowQuartz]

Save screen captures of the original listing and the pictures and try contacting the seller and asking if there is anything they can do

If they don't offer a satisfactory solution, open a case with Ebay for the item not being as described

Thank you for responding! I'm so non-confrontational I'm nervous about saying anything. I was going to just let it ride but my husband told me not to.

[LadyMoondancer]

I'd send the seller pictures of the chew marks and nicely say they weren't shown in the auction listing and see what happens.  The seller may offer you a partial refund.

Be aware, though, that the seller may choose to initiate a return, i.e. you send the pony back (not at your expense, I believe eBay sends you a paid-for shipping label) and you get all your money back.  You can't insist on the seller giving you a partial refund, you can just hope that they do.

Some flaws would annoy me so much that I'd want to return the pony anyway . . . I think chew marks would really bug me.

[pilarsworld]

I returned a bunch of ponies once that were nothing more than bait in real life.I had to pay for the signed for return out of my own money.I know some people state "no returns" but I believe it is everyones legal right to return an item within 14 days....or if the seller is nice a partial refund.Good luck.You have parted with good money...the pony should be good too...I dont like chews.

[bluerose9978]

Even if the auction says no returns, eBay forces sellers to offer returns if an item is not as described. I would contact the seller and try to work things out first and if they don't provide a satisfactory solution, then open a not as described case where you will have to send the pony back for a refund.

[Aliyahbetd]

I bought one (inexpensive and common pony) described as nice, with a few marks, but it turned out she had an unfortunate haircut and was filled with rust. Her head was partially off too. But in the end I just kept her. I figured I could have noticed her messy mane seemed a bit stort (I was distracted by the great symbols!), and the seller didn't look like they collected ponies. the rest of their stuff looked like various thrift store finds. Plus I got a good deal, so *shrugs*

[Aurora]

As a seller, what would you like it if the buyer did? That's how I try to look at things. I would prefer the buyer messaged me, saying that the pony has some flaws that a non-collector might not see, and that were impossible to see in the picture. (This has happened when my mom sold some ponies- the pony had little holes, and the buyer was fussy. I caught the whole thing mid- sale, so we nipped any potential anger before it started. But Mom honestly just didn't see the holes!)
Then ask the seller how they would like to proceed. Tell them the truth- (which I think is) that you want to keep the pony, but you don't like that you paid so much money for an item that wasn't as described. Then they get to say what they prefer to do, whether it is return the pony or partial refund. As long as you are open about what you are thinking, and what you wish could happen, they shouldn't be defensive or confrontational.
Lady Moondancer is right, though- they might want you to give up the pony. Decide what you are willing to do, and hope for the best. I always try to assume that the seller just isn't as attentive as a collector would be.
Good luck- let us know what happens!

[Ringlets]

its always disappointing when that happens! it makes it worse if its an expensive and /or rare pony too. The seller may have genuinely missed something like that or not thought important if they aren't a collector, but either way definitely contact them in a non confrontational way and keep it polite - that always works best

You do need to decide first what you'd like the outcome to be though. Would you like to return the pony for a full refund? or would you prefer to keep the pony but hope for a partial. As mentioned, the seller has to accept it if you want a refund/return  even if they state they don't if the item is not as described and ebay will side with you, however, if you want a partial and to keep the pony you need to be extra polite with the seller as they are not obligated to give you a partial and may demand that you return the pony instead 

When you've thought it through , then send a message. Here's a general response I use for situations like this one - I recently wrote it in another thread so pasting here and added your own situation. You can re-write it in your own words    Keep it friendly and polite , thank her for the fast shipping or some other positive point about the pony/experience  *first* then tactfully introduce the situation   you could say something like this :
 " Hi, I received my pony (insert name of pony here ) , thank you for sending her so quickly (or for good packaging or whatever other  good thing you can find to say about the pony or some positive remark about the transaction) but unfortunately I noticed that she has chew marks on her feet . I checked and they are not mentioned in the listing and I couldnt see them in the pictures. I understand that the listing says the pony does have some small flaws and its easy to miss something like this when listing ,  but I was a bit disappointed that she has these chew marks since they are permanent and they show on display (if they do of course) , so I wanted to talk to you about what to do next "  ......
what you actually write next  depends on what you would like the solution to be. If you don't want to keep the pony you could ask if she would mind doing a return/refund, or if you would like to keep the pony then  perhaps  leave the message at that and then allow the seller to give you some options before you take it any further . You cant make the seller give you a partial even if you end up opening a case, and a case is a last resort if you want things to end amicably
The seller may suggest to you a partial refund , or they may not do partial refunds so they want the pony back.
See what they say in response to your message before opening a case though ( I think you don't really need me to say that reminder but sometimes you have to be careful as ebay has been known to open a case on someone for you when you really meant to just send a message. be careful of the wording ebay uses when you try to message the seller ). Hope that helps a bit
Please let us know how it goes

[silverdawn]

As a seller, I'd definitely want my buyer to contact me and let me know if I'd missed something like that!  I'm curious to see what's happened.  I really hope it's all been worked out for you!