Need eBay help (non-MLP purchase)

[ShortyBoo]

I bought a replacement charger for my son's 3DS off eBay from a US seller and when I got it, I discovered it was a counterfeit charger, which looks to be a cheap Chinese knock-off. The Nintendo branding that's on my 3DS charger is missing from this one (there's an oval shape where the logo should be) and it's also missing the UL certification logo, which makes me think it could start a fire if I plug it in. Besides that, it's lighter and feels cheaper, it rattles and the cord is really short, like half as long as the real one, making it not useful anyway. Oh, and the description said: "This item is brand new and factory sealed." It wasn't. It came loose with no packaging at all. The cord was tied up with a twist tie, but that was it.

So I contacted the seller and mentioned everything above and they said to send it back for a refund (they didn't say if the shipping would be refunded) and mentioned that I "may" be charged a 15% restock fee. Of course, I'm not happy with that response. I don't feel like I should have to pay to ship the charger back to them or pay a restocking fee when they hid the fact that it was a fake. And since it wasn't new and factory sealed, isn't this a case of item not as described? I think a restock fee is only ok if I decided to change my mind, which isn't the case.

So should I just file a case with eBay? I've never done one so I have no idea what to expect. In the past when I've contacted a seller with an issue, they just sent a replacement or refunded me, depending on the circumstance. Really, I didn't pay a lot for it and I already ordered a replacement (this time from Amazon because I know they'll back me if I'm sent a fake) but it's just that I feel like people shouldn't be selling fake stuff like this. The way they photographed the charger made it so you couldn't see the missing Nintendo logo and you also couldn't tell the the cord length was only about half the length of a real one.

[Sunshine]

I think you need to report to eBay, they are pretty strict about trying to cut down on counterfeit items being sold on there... especially if the seller is trying to pass it off as real...

[Skeen]

Hey, I need a replacement 3DS charger too and was looking on ebay.  Can you please PM me the seller's name so I don't buy from them? 

[ponylady]

Unfortunately, there is so much knock-off stuff out there for cheap especially coming out of Hong Kong and China. I got burned once on a phone battery. I am sorry you got caught up in it, if that is the case.  Can you post a link to the auction in question?

[ShortyBoo]

The seller I got it from is level8games. Here's the listing: http://www.ebay.com/itm/301053098845?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

What I found kind of hilarious is if you scroll down a bit and look on the right side of the page there's this thing that says "WHY BUY FROM US" and it lists the following:

- Outstanding feedback rating
- Professional packaging
- Highly rated customer service
- 100% genuine products
- Order and tracking info notifications
- Items are guaranteed to work
- Items in stock and ready to ship
- 30 Day Warranty
- Thousands of satisfied customers
- Fast Free Shipping!

A few in particular I would argue with.
- Professional packaging: Not quite. They didn't even spring for a bubble mailer. It was just in one of those cheap silver bags with no extra padding and the item didn't have any of the packaging it came with.
- Highly rated customer service: So far, I'd disagree. If I send back the charger, I'd have to pay for a bubble mailer, plus postage with tracking, so I'd be out that amount, plus the original shipping amount for a $3 refund. And that's if they don't charge me that 14% restocking fee.
- 100% genuine products: Obviously, this is a lie.
- Fast Free Shipping!: Shipping was not free, so again, lies.

[flying_narwhal]

I think you did the right thing by trying to contact the seller first to resolve the issue. However, a 15% restocking fee plus the potential to be out of pocket the return shipping for an item that was deliberately misrepresented as being "brand new" is absurd. You are 100% in the right to open an "item not as described" case, especially if the item is counterfeit. As Sunshine mentioned, eBay has strict rules about counterfeit items and should be notified of this (although the seller was smart, they never did say it was an officially licensed product). I would be really surprised if you don't win should you open a case.

[ShortyBoo]

If I do file a Item not as Described case and win, will I still have to return the charger at my own expense? Because by the time I'd pay for a bubble mailer to ship it and postage (plus I'd have to have tracking or they could claim they never got it), I'd have put more money into it then I'd get back. I don't have a scale and I can't print postage at home, so I have to pay the more expensive rate at the post office.

[Ringlets]

Hmm good question about having to pay to return the fake item - I'll have to check that out   I do know that if you open a "item not as described "case , one of the options to select is that the item is fake  (at least thats true on ebay UK - I opened an item not as described case yesterday unfortuately (bleh! totally damaged MIB items due to poor packaging, and the seller is not wanting to do a return/refund) and I saw the option about the item being fake   )
eBay is pretty strict on fake stuff though so i think you may not have to pay to return it - you may not have to return it...., but as I said, without checking I dont know 100% .   Based on your sellers response I would  still go ahead and open a case though 

[flying_narwhal]

Here is what I found on eBay's Money Back Guarantee page:

"Counterfeit items: If a buyer suspects that an item is counterfeit and there are strong indicators that the item is counterfeit, the buyer isn't required to return the item to the seller. The buyer agrees to cooperate with us to ensure the proper disposal of the item. In these cases, we refund the buyer for the full cost of the item and original shipping, and the seller reimburses us for the refund. The buyer may not sell the item on eBay or elsewhere."

You can see the original page here: http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/money-back-guarantee.html#description

[MikeysGrrrl]

At the risk of sounding ignorant I'm gonna go ahead and ask anyways

Can you claim something is counterfeit if the seller doesn't state in the listing details that it's a genuine Nintendo product? There are several companies that make knock off/cheaper products, it's not illegal to do so, many consumers will pick the cheaper product since 9/10 the quality is just as good but without the branding. I always that that it was only illegal to misrepresent an item stating it's genuine when it isn't.

*By no means am I standing up for the seller, it's always cruddy to get something completely different from what you were expecting*

I do hope that this gets resolved for you

[ponylady]

I hate to be the barer of bad news but the item is not a fake/counterfeit. It is a power adaptor that is compatible to use with Nintendo DSi / DSi XL / 3DS / 3DS XL. 

While they may have put "genuine items" in a premade template, it does not say anywhere that it is an official Nintendo power adapter in the main description, nor in the title description.

So I am not sure how your case will go, because once you open the case, they are going to be able to challenge it. While I understand that you are clearly disappointed these sort of items are all over eBay and are allowed per eBay policy. If they had wrote in the description and or title "Official Nintendo Power Adapter" then they would clearly be selling you something under false pretenses.  If you want to open the case because it came loose and not in packaging then I believe you have more of a chance to win the case. But going the other route might be a crap shoot.

MG I am with you, I am not sticking up for the seller. I am just trying merely to point out that the item is not a counterfeit.

 

.

[brittney_rochelle]

I'm with Ponylady. Unless it stated that it was official Nintendo authentic, then they sold a compatible charger. I see it all the time at work (GameStop). People try to trade in handhelds that have chargers that work, just not official ones. Or like with controllers.
Nyko makes compatible controllers, but they aren't official Sony/Nintendo.

However, it wasn't as described because it didn't come sealed. It could have been used for all you know.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[hannaliten]

However, it wasn't as described because it didn't come sealed. It could have been used for all you know.

Tapatalk

it does say that it's "bulk packaging" which means that the items will not be individually packaged.

[ShortyBoo]

Well, I just decided in this case, it's not worth fighting. It would cost more to return than I'd get back. I did get the one I ordered from Amazon and that one was real, so I'm happy now. From now on, I'll definitely be more careful with reading the descriptions to be sure it says I'm getting an authentic item. I know that's not a guarantee, but it will be easier to fight if the item does turn out to be fake.

So around the same time I ordered the charger, I also ordered a few new purses because my current Hello Kitty handbag that I got from the Sanrio store a few years back is falling apart. I ordered three different ones, all from China, so I knew there would be a chance that they could be counterfeit. The first one arrived and it looked to be authentic to me. The tag looked authentic and I couldn't find any indication that it was fake.

Then the second bag arrived and I'm pretty sure it's a knock-off. Now, the listing doesn't say it's authentic Sanrio, however, it's clearly not the same as the photos from the listing. It's similar, but the quality isn't the same. For one, the pattern on the bag isn't the same. Then the embroidery isn't as detailed, like with the bow being absent from the "O" in "Hello Kitty" or the little sparkles being missing. And then there's the little diamond looking crystals that were replaced by plain silver in the bag I got. The tag does look authentic and I was almost fooled by it. But the thing that tells me it's fake is where they list Sanrio's official Japanese site, instead of "Sanrio" in the web address, it says "san-io". I know I have a case for it not being as described, but I went ahead and contacted the seller first anyway. They asked for a photo of the bag I got and said they'll make it right, but I guess I'll see what happens.

This is the original listing:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/231050738801?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

Here's the bag I got:
visitors can't see pics , please register or login

[ShortyBoo]

The seller for the bag asked me to send the bag back for a refund. I have a feeling it won't be cheap to send it back to China, especially once I include some sort of tracking so I have proof they got it back. So I asked them if they could do a partial refund instead. I really don't want to have to involve eBay, but I clearly have a case for "item not as described" and actually, I could probably win on the fact that it's clearly a counterfeit with the seller using photos of the real bag to sell it.