Seller being difficult, pony not as described, what should I do?*UPDATE*

[LilAlleyCat]

Hi guys!

*(update posted in response post further in this thread)

I bought Dutch Star recently off ebay. The seller has perfect feedback (as do I) and I trusted her as I have bought from her before. However, this sale is going terribly wrong and I don't know what to do at this point.

Here is the original description: Am I allowed to link to the auction? With a well known seller it may be best to keep it anonymous for objectivity?

"She is in great condition!
Her body is bright and white,without issues or discoloring etc
Hair soft and shiny
Eyes gorgeous without wear or rub
Symbol DP-side is mint,ND-side has wear on 1 small place within her yellow star symbol."

The pictures show only the sides but not the underside of the pony. So, according to the description and what I can see from pics I figure I can live with the small symbol rub. I paid higher than her value $57 ending price plus another $20 for shipping= $77 total. I knew it was a lot but I was tired of looking for a NM-Mint one and always getting outbid/missing the auction.

Pony arrives and is NOT as described. She has a pink highlighter line along her underbelly, an ink "S" initial under one hoof, one eye outline is noticeably rubbed, and a couple other small marks. The marks are a bit faded so it is clear the seller tried to remove them already. These are likely permanent. Now, if I knew about the marks I would not have bid at all. I know I'm picky and I won't buy a pony that is questionable. I don't need the hassle and neither does the seller.

So I contact the seller. She says she will refund me (minus shipping) if I send back the pony. Um, no. I'm not spending $40 in shipping fees and have no pony to show for it. I thought a partial refund would be the best way to go considering the expensive shipping. I'm sure she doesn't want to spend $40 either. She insists I send it back to her. The seller accuses me of only wanting my money back and getting to keep Star too. She says the marks are "minor" and can be sunfaded (which honestly, it looks like she already attempted that) and she wishes she never sold her because Star is "so nice!". There was more to her messages but overall they are just aggressive and accusatory, clearly showing she doesn't want to compromise. She is the one who didn't list the flaws. This is not buyers remorse on my part!

Well, guess what. I wish I never bought her!

Here's pics of the flaws. Again, the issue is not how dark they are, or if they can be seen while she is standing. The issue is she did not mention them at all, claiming there were no issues other than the symbol rub. I would not have bid on a flawed pony like this. I certainly wouldn't have paid almost $80.


visitors can't see pics , please register or login


visitors can't see pics , please register or login


/sigh
Yet another reason I hate ebay and buy from there less and less.

What would you do? What is an acceptable partial refund? I am not losing $40 over this.

[tulagirl]

I am sorry she didn't turn out as you expected.  If this seller is international and thats why the shipping is so so high, I would discuss that with her and see if she might do a partial refund.  That seems fair enough.  The problem is though that she is not obligated to do a partial and ebay would require a return for a refund. In all fairness to the seller, it is so common for buyers to try to get partial refunds so they can keep their ponies for a lower price.  Its happened a lot on ebay and its a huge problem.  Maybe you are not one of those types of buyers, but the seller has no way of knowing this and it is safer for her to just do a return/refund.  Also, minor issues to her or not they should have been mentioned and shown in pictures.  To me the initial on the bottom of the hoof is quite common and can't be seen on display but all sellers should state they were there.  Its not right for her to accuse  you like she is and not handle things better. I guess I try not to mention partial refunds as a possibility to sellers so they can't accuse me of extortion because they will.  I try to hope that if I mention the loss of money on my part they will consider this as an option.  I just don't want ebay to not allow me to leave a negative if I want to leave a very deserved negative.  I am sorry she will not work with you. I have a feeling I know who this seller might be as I recall seeing this pony and the seller was in a country where the shipping is outrageous in price.

Post Merge: June 11, 2013, 08:53:08 AM

If you open a case, ebay is just going to require you return the pony to get your money back. I really don't know what you can do if you are not wanting to mail the pony back and I totally agree with your reasoning for not doing so.

[LilAlleyCat]

I stopped selling on ebay because of how difficult buyers can be. I know there are those out there that will try and use feedback extortion for refunds etc over nothing. However, this is clearly an error on the sellers side, not mine. I hate asking for partial refunds and only did so in this case because of the extreme international postage cost. Returning the pony is just not happening because of that cost.

The seller really does have perfect feedback and I've bought from her at least a couple times in the last year. No problems and thrilled with the ponies. She was actually becoming a "favorite" seller of mine (even if I didn't always win/buy) because I appreciated how detailed she would be and the great pictures. I am just shocked she is being so mean over this when it was her error.

Even if she gives me a partial (which I hope) that means I will still have to try and find another Star that meets my standards and sell this one to try and recoup my costs (which is unlikely since I overpaid).

Thanks for the response. It helps to just get it out sometimes. I like buying/selling on the forums so much better. Sellers here know my standards and I know their rep so it's win/win for everyone.

[Shiromisa]

Eurgh, that sucks! Sorry she's being a butt about this.

[ClosetAvalanche]

The seller will be required to refund your full amount of $77, but if you return her, the return shipping will be on you. Ebay will not force a seller to pay return shipping nor force them to do a partial. As a seller, her customer service sucks- I honestly could see how the highlighter was missed- I often forget to look under the bellies when listing, but the seller should own up to her mistake and make it right. good luck.

[ponylady]

I normally would opt for the return the pony thing and be done with it. But seeing as it is an overseas transaction it is going to cost you a fortune to ship back. Plus she has taken notice that the pony did in fact have issues by telling you to sun fade her, which leads me to believe she may have known. I am not saying that for sure but it is just a guess.

I know I have overlooked things on their hooves before, not intentional but it happens. If my buyer shows me pictures and proves that the item was not as described I most certainly will give a partial. It's part of business and mistakes do happen.

I am not sure really on how to guide you in this situation. If you open a case they will instruct you to send the pony back at your expense. 

Have you made any mention on what amount you are seeking with a partial? Perhaps if you make an offer first she will oblige???

[nhal039]

sorry to hear of this, I think although the seller has perfect feedback not everyone is happy with her (if its the same seller from austria?) a friend of mine brought from her recently and never will again due issues that arose during the transaction, its so hard to leave neg feedback on ebay I think most people don't bother now but make a mental note never to by from that seller.
Maybe the only way you will get some off your money back is to on sell her?

[LilAlleyCat]

**********UPDATE************

Thank you everyone for your replies and advice 

The seller has given me a partial refund! We communicated a bit more and smoothed things over (I think). She explained that she thought there was a misunderstanding and the tone communication ended on a much nicer note.

Everyone makes mistakes at some point or another as a seller. Maybe her first reaction was just to be defensive due to dealing with crappy ebayers.  I'm just glad that she became easier to talk to and hopefully that is because she realized I really wasn't trying to scam her.

I'm not going to speculate further on what happened or why, I'm just thrilled it ended in a more positive way than it all began. I don't like having negative seller/buyer juju out in the air ya know?

[lovesbabysquirmy]

She's a pretty pony; I hope you can fix her up!

[rosierjay]

she is cool.
glad you were able to get a partial refund.
if it's a language barrier. the change in attitude might be because she had someone help her translate or something. that happens a lot too with international sellers

[ponylady]

I am glad that the two of you came to a resolution that seems to be satisfactory for both of you.