Item not as described help

[gemgemrosettes]

Hello, I am having trouble with an ebay transaction and was wondering if anyone could help me.

I won a lot on ebay for a single pony that was to replace a 'placeholder' pony that I had as it should have been an upgrade.

The item was described as
'In great condition, a real collectors pony'

Well when the pony arrived this morning I was horrified.  Its mane and tail had been cut, not significantly but about half an inch from both.  One front leg had a huge ring around it like something had been wrapped around it for a long time and left a dent in the plastic and the other front leg had the end of the toe rubbed away and a small split in the plastic.  Also upon placing the pony next to my existing one it is very off coloured.

The pics provided in the listing are from 4 different angles but not very close up and none of the problems could be picked up from the pics.

I emailed the seller this morning and they said they are happy to refund but I need to send the pony back first.

This was not an expensive pony but I am peeved none the less.  I have read ebay rules and they said it must be sent back recorded so a signature is obtained otherwise the buyer may refuse to refund me.  If I send the pony back I will therefore be £5 out of pocket on a pony that only cost me £6 in the first place.

Any advice as to what I should do, should I just chalk it up to just one of those things or try and take it further?

I don't mind buying from ebay and usually take my chances and buy lots that need doing up to various degrees but I specifically bid on this pony as an upgrade to my other one based on the description and in fact she is ten times worse!  TIA

[Galactica]

Something like that happened to me, only the guy sent the wrong item completely. I didn't want to send it back unless the buyer would pay for return shipping, which he refused to do.

Ebay has buyer protection though, so while the seller is not required to give you a refund unless you send the item back, you can refuse to do so unless shipping is also covered, and ultimately Paypal will side with both of you and issue you a full refund (but not require buyer to refund you).

It might depend on the facts of the case, but that's what happened in my situation around Christmas.

[Ringlets]

Thats definitely a toughie   Ebay *does* usually require you to send the item back with tracking even if you open an item not described case and win.  Sometimes ebay will offer to pay the return shipping instead if you win the case.... but it doesnt happen that often  (it did happen to me earlier this year BTW but my case was a bit different in that my seller was refusing to give me a full refund even if I returned the damaged items).  Your seller has offered to refund you in full already if you return the pony so it seems a little harsh to just open a case on them at this point.
You are right that you would be out of pocket sending the pony back recorded though. Cheapest would be second class recorded small parcel at £3.90, or you'd be losing £4.30 for first class recorded so its probably not worth it.
I think in this situation I would  try contacting ebay and ask them their advice - it cant hurt to ask , right? mention that ' you bought an item from----- but when it arrived unfortunately the item is significantly not as described (you could mention what is amiss with the pony here if you wanted as well) , and that you contacted the seller already about the situation. The seller responded that they would refund you if you sent it back, but sending it back would cost you £3.90/£4.30 and you only paid £6.oo for the item so you would be losing quite a bit of money on it- what do they think it is best to do?' - words to that effect.
Then see how they respond, and take it from there.
Let us know how you get on

[gemgemrosettes]

Thanks for everyones help.  After a long drawn out chat with ebay they have sent me a collect plus label so I can send the item back so hopefully everything is sorted now.

[Ringlets]

Awesome! thank you for the update  - I'm so glad that everything is sorted and you arent going to lose money on return shipping