Disappointing transaction on Ebay - advice?

[Naraya]

4 weeks ago I purchased Mexican Peppermint Crunch from Ebay - well, I guess I overpaid a bit, but that was okay since I really wanted this pony for my Sundae Best army. So I waited and waited and there was nothing in the mail. (The seller is located in the UK, I'm in Germany.) On April 17th(!) the pony was finally marked as "shipped" on Ebay. So I wrote a message to the seller, asking if it was true that she sent the pony about 3,5 weeks after my immediate payment via Paypal. She responded yes and that she was sorry, someone in her family had died.

I thought: well, that sounds fishy to me, but I didn't want to judge her. So today the pony arrived and I can only say that she was misrepresented. On the picture in the auction she looked nice and I know that the condition of Mexican ponies can be quite bad. The seller stated that she was in "gorgeous condition" so I was tempted. I guess that was a bad idea: several streaks of her mane are cut, the head is nearly loose and there are stains on the symbol. I'd say she is in okay condition, but not gorgeous.

So I wrote a message to the seller stating that I'm not happy with the pony's condition. And she is playing dumb! She said that she hadn't seen any flaws, that she looked totally fine to her. But the haircut is obvious and so is the loose head! Even my fiancé, who has no knowledge about such things, said: "Look at her head!"And I know that the seller buys and sells ponies frequently, so I think that she knows very well about collecting and the value of ponies. I also searched her Ebay name here at the Arena and found out that she seems to like telling stories like the one with the loss of a family member.

So, what should I do now? I'd like to keep the pony, so I asked for a partial refund. In my first mail she didn't answer my question about it, so I asked again today. If she doesn't respond properly in her next message, I think I will file a case against her.

What do you think? Am I right to do so? Am I a bad person for thinking that she is lying to me and playing dumb about the pony's condition? And what would you do?

Any advice is appreciated - thanks in advance!

[tulagirl]

I think rather than anticipating whether this seller is honest or not and playing games just be proactive. Could you tell from her photos that the head was no longer sealed?  Did you happen to ask the seller any questions before your purchase?  The reason I ask this is that gorgeous to her may not be what it is to you so, I was wondering if you asked her about specific flaws before you bought it?  Talk to her you are not happy with the condition, why, offer to send pictures give direct quotes from her auction that were not represented correctly based on condition and ask her how she wishes to handle it that you would like a partial refund. Wait for her response. If she doesn't take responsibility you will have to decide if you want the pony with the flaws as ebay will require you send it back for your refund should the case go in your favor.

Oh and I was going to mention that its perfectly understandable that you are upset that the pony didn't arrive in the condition you felt she was described in.  You are right that Mexican ponies are usually pretty beat up.  At least the ones I have seen, but its her auction description that matters..not really that fact.  If she isn't willing to do a partial which may happen prepare yourself for either keeping the pony or shipping her back.  She isn't required to partially refund you at all.  I know that you want to keep the pony and feel you paid too much, but it may end up that you will have to decide to keep her or get a refund if the seller doesn't do a partial.  I am sorry for your disappointment.  The thing is you just really have no way of knowing what is up with this seller whether they are honest, lying or playing dumb..there is no way to prove this as its just your instinct.  You may be right, but the issue really is that you need to get this resolved as the fact is the pony was poorly described and the seller needs to address this issue with you or you may have to open a case.

[Galactica]

I'd send her back for a complete refund if you are unhappy.  Agree with the above that she is not obligated to give you a partial refund.

I don't know that "gorgeous" equates with "mint condition" - it just means she is pretty, right?  If the pictures were misleading or she claimed the pony had no flaws, that would be different in my opinion.   Sounds like shipping was pretty late but I wouldn't automatically assume she is lying about that- 

Post Merge: April 22, 2013, 03:21:30 PM


I think I found the auction-  this was the picture- honestly she doesn't look very minty to me, you can see the problems with her symbol in the picture- but I don't see any haircuts (unless those first few plugs are what you mean)- so if she had cut hair she should have mentioned it.
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The description was:


MY LITTLE PONY MEXICAN PEPPERMINT CRUNCH VARIANT
WITH PURPLE HAIR

HARD TO FIND PONY IN GORGEOUS CONDITION

We only accept Paypal only
No returns so please ask question prior to bidding
Payment MUST be made within 48 hours & non paying bidders will be reported
Please only bid if you intend to pay
Proof of postage is always obtained and all items are sent at the buyers own risk
For extra protection please ask for registered/recorded shipping
All international buyers will be required to buy tracked shipping which costs £11.50

[ponylady]

I sympathize with your disappointment. I looked over the auction and her description is vague, just gorgeous condition is stated. I probably would have asked some specific questions about the condition but that is either here nor there now.

I think your best course of action is to return it. I know she states no returns but ebay does not acknowledge that if you open a case.  They also will not force her to give you a partial. It's an unfortunate situation especially since she is not responding and thus seeming unwilling to address the issue. So opening a case is your only real recourse at this point.

[nsunshine]

is everyone tired of peoples 'Vague' Descriptions of items these days? Especially people who deal with ponies all the time? They know what to look for, cause they are either collectors or strait dealers, or both...either way, you figure out what is what when you deal with anything for a good while. I know we are suppose to ask questions, but what the heck is a description for then? Should not have to ask, "What does the other side look like" "Is there any cut hair" "Any large amounts of paint loss"...etc. They should state all that in auctions!!! It totally makes me mad...I'm sorry you had to deal with this, it sucks when you think you got a dang good pony and they turn up all jacked up!

[LadyMoondancer]

They shouldn't have described it as "gorgeous condition" if it has a haircut . . . or they should've at least specifically mentioned the haircut.  I wish people would describe things better. :/

[tulagirl]

is everyone tired of peoples 'Vague' Descriptions of items these days? Especially people who deal with ponies all the time? They know what to look for, cause they are either collectors or strait dealers, or both...either way, you figure out what is what when you deal with anything for a good while. I know we are suppose to ask questions, but what the heck is a description for then? Should not have to ask, "What does the other side look like" "Is there any cut hair" "Any large amounts of paint loss"...etc. They should state all that in auctions!!! It totally makes me mad...I'm sorry you had to deal with this, it sucks when you think you got a dang good pony and they turn up all jacked up!

Yes I am sick of it.  I bought 4 ponies recently and all of them were poorly described.  I always ask questions so the seller can't ask me, " why did you not ask me about the pony to make sure you would be pleased?"  I have gotten that...plus recently I asked questions..my questions irritated the seller so much they were rude.  Even with questions I am still getting ponies not described right.  I am so tired of this, I am just not going to buy ponies anymore for a while. 

I hope this works out the way you want it to.

[Naraya]

Thank you, Galactica, for searching for the picture. That's her.

I was aware that she would not be minty when I bought her. I didn't expect her to be - I have never seen a Mexican pony that was really really mint. And I could ignore the head and the symblos, but the haircut bugs me. Here's a picture - don't you think a (former) collector like her should have noticed?

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The seller responded and she said that the pony was the most beautiful version of Mexican Peppermint Crunch that she had a ever seen. And she stated that I should have asked questions before buying the pony. But if she states that she hadn't seen this haircut, how would asking for a haircut been any better?

Well, she isn't offering anything. No return, no partial refund. So it seems that I only have 2 options: open a case against her and make her take the pony back. Or leaving neutral feedback. (I think a negative isn't appropriate, is it?) *sigh* I sent her one last message containing the picture of the haircut and telling her that I only want a samll part of the sum as a refund. We'll see....

But sorry, if she isn't willing to cooperate, I can't give her a positive for that! (I didn't say that to her because it sounded like a threat.)


EDIT: She is now offering a refund of 5 GBP - should I accept? (The total for the pony would have been 43 GBP then which equals 65 USD.)

[blonde2themax]

Wow, that hair cut is icky. I'm sorry that this happened to you sellers on ebay can be very tricky.

[Ringlets]

I guess its up to you whether you feel that £5 is enough (its not much but you did say you only wanted a small amount)  and whether you will be happy with the pony if you keep it or whether you'll only ever look at her with disappointment  .  She wasnt cheap, she wasnt well described, and the seller isnt being very helpful either.  The haircut is pretty obvious. As far as I know Mexi ponies dont have the head glued on - I may be wrong there but I've only ever had loose headed ones - so thats common even if the heads were originally glued.  If you still love the pony after everything and want to keep her for your army then take the partial, and leave honest feedback

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Can you PM me the name of the seller if you aren't comfortable with posting it publically?  That kind of haircut needs to have its own special picture in the auction, which was conveniently NOT done!  You can't tell in the first picture!   

[tulagirl]

Wow how did she manage to hide that hair cut? Is it the same pony? I mean thats pretty obvious and why can't I see it in the photo? Really that would be hard to hide in a photo.  Good grief.  The hair is a huge part of the pony value.

[ponybanker]

that is a pretty obvious flaw to miss on the sellers part. I hope everything gets resolved

[Naraya]

@lovesbabysquirmy: PMed you.

@tulagirl: I'm quite sure it's the same pony. The mane has two rows of plugs and the shortened streaks are all in one of those 2 rows. You can comb the mane in a way that hides the haircut and I guess that's what she did in her photo.

[tulagirl]

@lovesbabysquirmy: PMed you.

@tulagirl: I'm quite sure it's the same pony. The mane has two rows of plugs and the shortened streaks are all in one of those 2 rows. You can comb the mane in a way that hides the haircut and I guess that's what she did in her photo.

I have to say I agree that a haircut that bad would be so hard to hide without taking extra measures.  That is just such a shame.  We could speculate that she did this on purpose but really the whole issue is you deserve something more than a small amount back for that.  Thats just me though.  I would expect quite a bit for something like that or I would do a complete return for a full refund.