EBay seller sent different pics from picture, what to do?

[TornadoTitan]

So I bought two pins from the same seller, they arrived today and right away they look much more worn than the picture he posted on this listings. For both listings he only had one picture for each.

These are the pins I received.

The first one, the Hades Bosses Day pin had serverly bent springs for both, the one holding Panic is so bent there was no way for me to pose it exactly like the original photo which I think came from PinPics.

Next is Figment, which looks very worn while the original has nice clean overlays. The one I received is on the left and listing photo is on the right.

Here are the differences that stood out to me automatically. The black ink on the eyes and the red ink on the sweater look much more worn and scratched off than the picture in the listing, also some orange in the tail is missing. Despite it listing saying "the picture is of the actual item you will receive, not a stock photo, please refer to it for the exact condition" it looks completely different.

So yeah, first time I had to deal with this, what do I do, contact the seller for a refund or new product? Open a case with eBay?

 

[Piglet]

So sorry to read this! I've had that once too and we contacted the seller & agreed that we'd send it back. Shortly after we received a refund.

I'd contact the seller and see if you can find a solution before opening a dispute. If you agree to send it back, make sure you have some sort of proof of delivery on their side (send it tracked?) as I read some stories here about how eBay can't do anything about your refund in case there's another dispute unless you can prove it was delivered.

If you can't reach an agreement, you could open a dispute. Your pictures are quite clear.

 

[trjessie579]

As a buyer and seller on eBay and similar sites for many years:

Definitely contact the seller first and tell them your concerns. Ask for a return for a refund as the items are not as described. If the seller won't work with you, you can open up a dispute with ebay (or PayPal if you paid through them) for "item not as described." Even if the seller says "no returns" ebay/PayPal will always facilitate returns if the item isn't what the seller said it would be, or is damaged in some way.

If you need to send the item back, DO send it with tracking! Within the U.S., it's not expensive. You can send a small package 8 oz or under for $2.60 with tracking as a First Class Package. You need a tracking number to prove that the item was sent back.

Good luck!! Hope you're able to get this resolved.

 

[TornadoTitan]

As a buyer and seller on eBay and similar sites for many years:

Definitely contact the seller first and tell them your concerns. Ask for a return for a refund as the items are not as described. If the seller won't work with you, you can open up a dispute with ebay (or PayPal if you paid through them) for "item not as described." Even if the seller says "no returns" ebay/PayPal will always facilitate returns if the item isn't what the seller said it would be, or is damaged in some way.

If you need to send the item back, DO send it with tracking! Within the U.S., it's not expensive. You can send a small package 8 oz or under for $2.60 with tracking as a First Class Package. You need a tracking number to prove that the item was sent back.

Good luck!! Hope you're able to get this resolved.

Thanks for the tips. So would this mean I will basically be losing money on this purchase with shipping or does eBay cover that amount?

 

[TornadoTitan]

So sorry to read this! I've had that once too and we contacted the seller & agreed that we'd send it back. Shortly after we received a refund.

I'd contact the seller and see if you can find a solution before opening a dispute. If you agree to send it back, make sure you have some sort of proof of delivery on their side (send it tracked?) as I read some stories here about how eBay can't do anything about your refund in case there's another dispute unless you can prove it was delivered.

If you can't reach an agreement, you could open a dispute. Your pictures are quite clear.

Alright thanks, just contacted the seller with the photos, I will see what happens.

 

[trjessie579]

Thanks for the tips. So would this mean I will basically be losing money on this purchase with shipping or does eBay cover that amount?

If the seller is honest, they'll send you a pre-paid return label. Sometimes ebay will do this too out of their pocket so the customer is happy, though it depends on the situation, the customer service rep you get, etc. I'd definitely ask to be reimbursed. My policy is a full refund, including shipping, PLUS return shipping for any item that arrives broken or isn't as described but many sellers don't have that policy. :/

 

[TornadoTitan]

Okay just got a response from the seller:

"i'm sorry about that, would you like to exchange it for another one?"

What is the best way to respond? First time having to return or replace an eBay purchase.

 

[trjessie579]

Hmmm...I'd probably go with something like:

"Since they aren't the same pins that were shown in the photos, I'd like to return them for a refund. Would you be able to send me a return shipping label so I can make sure they get back to you safely?"

 

[trjessie579]

Aha! I just checked my ebay app and found this in the help section:

"If there's a problem with an item, the seller is responsible for paying return shipping costs."

So if the seller won't give you a label, definitely open a case. You have good picture proof that you didn't get what you paid for.

 

[TornadoTitan]

Aha! I just checked my ebay app and found this in the help section:

"If there's a problem with an item, the seller is responsible for paying return shipping costs."

So if the seller won't give you a label, definitely open a case. You have good picture proof that you didn't get what you paid for.

Alright thanks then, I sent a message asking for a return label. I also noticed I ordered something else with this buyer so not sure how this will effect that purchase. Hopefully things go smoothly, looks like this seller calls out anyone who give bad feedback.

 

[AvatarAng1]

Wow, that's awful man. I've been lucky enough not to have any problems with pins so far, good luck with your seller!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320A using Tapatalk

 

[trjessie579]

Ugh, you can tell a lot about a seller by the way they respond to bad feedback IMO. Hope it all goes well!!

 

[TornadoTitan]

Okay just got a response back:

"we don't do return labels. this is a strange case because typically our policy is not to accept returns but i was out of town last week and since someone else was doing the shipping i don't know for 100% certain exactly what was sent so i'm making an exception in this case. you can send it back in the same envelope with "return to sender" on it and once we receive it i can send you a picture of one we have in stock"

So, I guess what would be the next course of action? Am I able to do a return to sender or press for a return label?

 

[trjessie579]

I wouldn't do return to sender. A) You're not supposed to do that unless you haven't opened the package, it might get sent back to you or have postage due when it arrives. B) Your pins won't get tracked back that way and there will be no proof of return, which is important.

Ebay's terms appear to be that you are entitled to a return shipping label. I'm not sure if I would continue trying to reason with the seller or just open a case at this point.

 

[TornadoTitan]

Oh boy, so I was looking through the seller's listings and found another Figment pin they are currently, it's the exact same photo and description. It even said "the item shown is what you get" and what's interesting that the they list the serial number of the pin on the back, both postings the one up now and the one I won has the exact same number. I just check my pin and same number. I assumed the number for each pin changes or are they the same for each pin type?

 

[trjessie579]

The serial numbers I have no idea, hopefully someone more knowledgeable about pins will come along with that answer. But I did find your seller on ebay and most of their negative feedback mentions fake pins or the pins not matching the pictures in the listing. A few people even mentioned the seller lists items using the same picture over and over. I'd go ahead and open a case with ebay at this point, it doesn't look like an oversight to me, it looks like a seller selling fake or damaged pins.

 

[TornadoTitan]

Oh wow, okay so I told them since I opened my package the Post Office would not "return to sender" like they told me to do and that there wouldn't be return tracking. And they said:


"you're not really supposed to with the post office but it will work if you black out your address info."





On the topic of pointing out that the current pin listing they have has the exact same photo and information they tell me:


"i know we have multiple ones and when they all get tossed in the box it is hard to tell which one was which since they are all basically the same. we take a picture of whatever one we have at the time but if another one comes in it's pretty hard to tell which is which."

So, now it's time to open a case with eBay. A shame too because I also got a Mystery Box from the same seller today and was pretty happy with the results.

 

[TornadoTitan]

For some reason eBay not allowing me to create a case, keeps saying "forbidden from this server" each time I try to send it, also tried on browsers. Not sure what's happening.

 

[katelouise]

Honestly, the Hades pin looks the same to me, their photo is actually a scan of the pin so Pain and Panic are sitting flat on the glass of the scanner/copier and you can see the the spring is bent and Hades is out of focus.
The other one does look different though, I hope you can sort it out with the seller or just chalk it up as a loss.

 

[katelouise]

Oh boy, so I was looking through the seller's listings and found another Figment pin they are currently, it's the exact same photo and description. It even said "the item shown is what you get" and what's interesting that the they list the serial number of the pin on the back, both postings the one up now and the one I won has the exact same number. I just check my pin and same number. I assumed the number for each pin changes or are they the same for each pin type?

Serial numbers don't change for each pin, they're mass produced in the thousands (especially OE's) so they'll all be stamped with the same number. This number is also usually on PinPics.
Older pins don't often have serial numbers though.

 

[TornadoTitan]

Honestly, the Hades pin looks the same to me, their photo is actually a scan of the pin so Pain and Panic are sitting flat on the glass of the scanner/copier and you can see the the spring is bent and Hades is out of focus.
The other one does look different though, I hope you can sort it out with the seller or just chalk it up as a loss.

Apparently that wasn't even the same pin, seller said they found that photo on PinPics. But no mention of the damage springs in the description, I wish I had known, I guess I need to ask the seller for more photos for future ebay pins with single pictures.

 

[TornadoTitan]

UPDATE:

For the Hades pin, I was given a $7 refund which was roughly 50% of the cost, so got that resolved.

The Figment pin however, the seller kept wanting me to return it to them in the original envelop it came in, but everytime I tried to open a case the website would not allow me. I had to call eBay and tell them the situation, they STRONGLY advised me not to listen to the seller and told me if I sent it back in the original envelop they would regard the package as one sent to the wrong address and it would revoke whatever buyer protection I had. Also there would be no tracking. They eBay person I was talking with ended up opening a case for me over the phone and now I guess I will wait till Friday to see what happens. So far the seller has not contacted me back.

 

[trjessie579]

Glad to hear you were able to open a case! And I'm glad you got a rep who's familiar with the "return to sender" rules. Ebay's generally really good about getting buyers their money back when they didn't get what they paid for.

 

[TornadoTitan]

Troubling Response from eBay Seller, don't think I will buy again.

So before I contacted eBay this was the last response the seller sent me, when I informed her my Post Office would not allow me to return my package to the sender after it's been opened:


"you're not really supposed to with the post office but it will work if you black out your address info. i know we have multiple ones and when they all get tossed in the box it is hard to tell which one was which since they are all basically the same. we take a picture of whatever one we have at the time but if another one comes in it's pretty hard to tell which is which."


This was what threw me off and caused me to contact eBay who was the one who opened the case for me, this was my message to the seller:

"Hello, so I called eBay the other day to ask their advice in this situation and they told me I am not suppose to "black out" my address info as you said. They informed me if I did return in the original packaging then they would simply flag it as being sent to the wrong address and I would lose my buyer protecting. The lady at eBay I spoke to on the phone informed me I was to get a return label from you or try to work out another situation like a refund. She noted since you specifically said in the item description "the picture is of the actual item you will receive, not a stock photo. please refer to it for the exact condition" that I was to receive that exact item in photo not another one. If you want to work out something like a refund I would be okay with that instead of going through the hassle of doing all the mail stuff over again. Thanks.:


This was the seller's response today:

[h=3]"the woman at ebay doesn't know what she is talking about. between buying, selling and trading i have about 1500 packages a month coming through here. obviously the post office doesn't want you to send things back as return to sender since they don't get paid again but it is how i have done it for over a decade so i know without a doubt that it will work if you want to exchange the item. if not a return for a refund can be handled through ebay." [/h]

So this seller just keeps on sending me red flags. The other package I got from them seems good, and I would have easily left a good feedback for them if it wasn't for their responses that keep on asking me to "black out my address" and what not.

 

[trjessie579]

Yeah, maybe the seller DOES do it this way but it's against post office rules and it also doesn't track on the way back. It might technically "work" but if you don't have proof that you delivered it back to the seller, it can be much harder (if not impossible) to get your money back. Between the responses and the multiple negative feedback for this same kind of situation, I absolutely wouldn't deal with this seller again.