Problems with seller on Ebay...

[Baby Mischief]

I am so dissapointed right now! I found this auction on Ebay with 4 ponies and some accessories, and two of the ponies is on my wantlist! And I win the auction, so happy!!
The seller has described the ponies as "need a wipe over", but when I get my ponies they look like this:
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Like, what the h-ll?!
So I write to the seller telling her the ponies are useless and she doesnt reply. I wait for four-five days, then I open a case. She wants me to send the ponies back, why? Is she going to try to sell them to someone else?
I want my money back and she says I get my money when she gets the ponies. But it will cost me the same money she owes me to send them back! So either way I loose a lot of money for absolutely nothing!!
And because she has offered me money back, when I try to reply to her Ebay wants me to write trackingnumbers and stuff, but I am not going to send them back. I want to send her pictures of the ponies so that she can understand that she cant sell them again!

[Unicorn_pops]

Ebay rules state that in order to get a refund the ponies must be received back in the same condition the seller sent them in. Sadly you have to pay return shipping fees as the seller doesn't have to be responsible for it. If you do decide to ship back, make sure you get tracking because they could state "never received" and then you would be out the ponies and your return money.
Sorry and best of luck!

[ponylady]

Oh my..a wipedown??? really?

The unfortunate thing is that you will have to return them  to receive your refund. She is under no obligation to refund without having her ponies back. Please do not take that wrong, it is how the return process works through Ebay. It doesn't seem fair considering they were not as described but unless Ebay gives you a courtesy refund for your troubles, they will have to be returned.

I guess your best bet maybe to send her pictures, as you suggested doing already. And explain it is going to cost you money in the end to return something that was not as described back to her. I know I wouldn't even argue it, to be honest. I would just return your money or pay your shipping expenses to ship back to me. But some sellers stick strictly to EBay's policies.   

[zora]

if you decide to keep: ultra hot water and soap and a fingernail and you can scrap the pindot mold off the pony. worked for me with a french starshine ^^

[lovesbabysquirmy]

You can always share with us who the seller is, because that' s certainly not just a "wipe-over".  That's a few days of scrubbing - they are restorable but it will take some work!

[bluerose9978]

Yikes, how disappointing! I'm so sorry! Some sellers have no idea what they are talking about!

[ClosetAvalanche]

is the seller even familiar with ponies? I can see how someone that doesn't know anything about them would consider that needing a whip down. Either way, sellers do not have to refund before receiving their items back. Good luck

[Baby Mischief]

About the seller, I dont think she knows anything about ponies, they were probably some stuff she found in her basement. But anyway, this is just too much work getting my money back... And I cant even find how to send her a picture.
But if you guys say there is hope for the ponies I will keep them and give it a chance! Unfortunatly, I do not have any nails.. Any other suggestions? 

Post Merge: May 22, 2013, 10:49:50 AM

Can I boil them and then rub them or should I just use hot water?

[Sarahlacewing]

That stinks, I hate getting excited only to have my hopes dashed when a seller turns out to be unreliable!

Like you said above I don't think it's worth sending them back.  One because you don't want someone else to have to go through this.  And two you'll still be out the money regardless so you might as well just keep them and try to restore. 

In regards to feedback.  The seller did offer you a refund minus return shipping as is standard practice.  (was she polite?)  If it really was an honest mistake and she did everything she could to make it right I don't think a negative is really founded.  If this is the case I say ding them in the detailed rating under 'How accurate was the item description?'  but still leave a positive or neutral.  However, if she was mean about it, intentionally mislead you, or there were other problems with the transaction I'd say go ahead with the negative. 

[Baby Mischief]

Actually, I think she is just ignorant. But I will definitly say something about the description!
Did someone have any pointers about using something else than nails to get rid of the dots? (What is that on my ponies anyway?!)

[ponylady]

It is pindot mold.  It can be removed with a lot of hard work but it may also leave pock like marks in it's path.

I personally would write your seller again, send pictures and explain, politely of course the error in their description. Do not mention anything about feedback, it can land you in a world of trouble. There is nothing wrong with trying to work it out before you leave feedback.

I am curious though what did the sellers pictures look like?

[Stormy31685]

I think it is always wise to remember that not every seller is a collector.  Non-collectors tend to be far more forgiving when they evaluate the condition of a pony.

So sorry this happened.  I say it ultimately comes down to how willing you are to work with cleaning them.  If you don't want to work on them, then maybe the best choice would be to return them. 

I would not fault the seller though if he or she is clearly not a collector.

[Baby Mischief]

Thank you all for your support! I wrote this to the seller:

"Hi again! I am trying to send you pictures of the ponies, so that you can see the pindot mold on them. But I cannot find how to do this. If I send you the ponies back, that will cost me the same amount of money that I payed for them. Therefor I want to suggest a partial refund instead. How about you give me back what I payed for the ponies, but not for the shipping cost? That way you dont loose any money. What do you think? If I could just figure out how to send pictures, you would see that the ponies would be impossible to sell to someone else, so there is no use sending them back. I really hope we can come to an understanding, so that we can close the case. kindest regards Kimberline"

And she gave me her email so I could send her the pictures AND she apologized for any inconvenience. After I sent her the pictures she accepted my offer and she even finished her mail "warm wishes"!

So a happy ending to this one! 

[Unicorn_pops]

Oh Yay! See communication is the key. So glad to see that it was worked out.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Glad to hear it worked out!