eBay question - paid for priority, sent media

[tink fan]

Last week I bought a textbook on eBay. The listing stated the shipping method would be priority mail and the cost for shipping was $11.45. Estimated delivery date was Jan 11-16. I needed the book for a class so I specifically chose this auction because of the shipping method. The item did not arrive today so I checked the tracking information. The book was sent media mail and it has been bouncing around the east coast for the past week. I have no idea when it will actually arrive.

Do I have any recourse through eBay or PayPal? If it doesn’t come soon, I’m going to need to buy it from the bookstore. The seller says he doesn’t take returns. Even if it does arrive it seems wrong that I paid for priority mail and it was sent media mail.

 

[dsanner106]

The bookseller will be forced to take the return by ebay if you have to return it and they did not live up to their posting. What did the seller say when you asked about the shipping? Was it
a mistake I assume? media mail normally takes 5-6 days, so if bounce around the east could be another problem.

 

[robinb]

Last week I bought a textbook on eBay. The listing stated the shipping method would be priority mail and the cost for shipping was $11.45. Estimated delivery date was Jan 11-16. I needed the book for a class so I specifically chose this auction because of the shipping method. The item did not arrive today so I checked the tracking information. The book was sent media mail and it has been bouncing around the east coast for the past week. I have no idea when it will actually arrive.

Do I have any recourse through eBay or PayPal? If it doesn’t come soon, I’m going to need to buy it from the bookstore. The seller says he doesn’t take returns. Even if it does arrive it seems wrong that I paid for priority mail and it was sent media mail.

Have you contacted the seller? I would tell him that you chose his auction because of the shipping method and that he didn’t send it by priority mail. Give him a date by which you need to receive the book and ask him how you should return the book if not received by then. When I sold books on Amazon I asked buyers to write “refused” on the label and put it back in a mailbox. It would get back to me and about half the time I would have to pay for the return postage. This is the seller’s fault and their mistake. They probably cloned another auction and forgot to update the shipping. Shipping text books is expensive and even what you paid probably wouldn’t cover a flat rate box.

If the seller won’t agree to a refund I would file a claim immediately that you did not receive the book.

https://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/money-back-guarantee.html

Don’t threaten bad feedback. Ebay will hold it against you. Just be polite and explain what you said here.

 

[LovesTimone]

Contact the seller and request a refund on the postage, if it was listed priority mail and you paid the fee that they listed for priority mail then the seller should have honored what they had in the listing.

If the book doesn't arrive on time and you have to go another route, then you should open a claim or call Ebay directly and ask for help... I have a similar issue a year ago, I paid for priority mail, around 23.00 and they sent it the item the cheapest way around 10 dollars and it was late for the birthday party, I did keep the item for Christmas... I had to call Ebay, I only asked for the difference but when I looked in my account they refunded the whole amount...I did get a nasty email from the seller about the refund which I called eBay and let them handle.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

You have rights, the seller is in the wrong here. Best of luck resolving this!

 

[My3SweetSuns]

Please keep us posted, OP

 

[zoo2tycoon]

Not for eBay but I had an issue with USPS priority mail two weeks ago. It was a flat rate envelope that was supposed to arrive on Wednesday January 10 (mailed the 8th). It went MIA until it was delivered January 13. It just kept updating delayed delivery and in transit. Thankfully the landlord who was awaiting lease and check was great.

I contacted USPS customer service and went to my local office. No refund on priority shipping if not there in 2-3 days. It was out of my hands as I mailed expecting it to arrive by Wednesday or Thursday.

If seller mailed right away priority and USPS screws up honestly it's out of their control BUT if didn't mail on time it's on them. Yes, I was mad I paid for priority and didn't get benefit of what I paid for.



Oops saw they sent cheap way! Your right in that case!!! Probably was cheaper sending that way.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

Yea, I don't think you have any recourse other than returning it and buying elsewhere. I'd be upset about seller charging shipping and then shipping via media mail, even moreso if you asked seller about it beforehand. At this point, let seller know you're not happy and that you would like to either send it back or get some partial refund for it being sent media when you paid priority. I personally don't offer partial refunds, but it doesn't hurt to ask about it.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Almost all sales are covered by eBay's guarantee even if they are "no return" sales. You absolutely have recourse ability here. You did not get what you paid for. If it doesn't arrive when it's due and you don't want it contact the seller to initiate a return for a 100% refund. If it arrives after it's due and you want to keep it contact the seller to initiate a refund covering the priority postage upgrade. DO ALL CORRESPONDENCE THROUGH THE EBAY MESSAGING SYSTEM. This way if eBay has to step in to resolve the problem they can see exactly what has happened quickly.

If the seller refuses to do what you request or stalls do not yield just escalate to eBay. From the eBay Money Back guarantee: "If asked to step in and help, we review the information provided by the buyer and seller for evidence of successful on-time delivery to the buyer's address or proof of collection by the buyer." http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/money-back-guarantee.html

 

[robinb]

Did you get your textbook yet?

 

[tink fan]

OP here. The textbook finally arrived Saturday (Jan 20). I had to deliver it to my son who had already left for school.

I emailed the seller before it arrived and told him that if it didn’t arrive by Saturday that I would need to buy a book and return his. His response was “sorry for the inconvenience, keep me posted on the tracking.”

But when the book finally did arrive it was pretty beat up from being poorly wrapped and shipped around for 12 days. (Corner dented, ripped on some pages, covers creased.) It was listed on eBay as nearly new, which based on the listing photos was probably accurate before it was mailed. The damage is cosmetic so it’s still usable, but not even close to nearly new.

I then emailed the seller again, sent photos of the book and asked for a partial refund- the difference between the cost of shipping media and priority—$8. I thought this was more than fair. Since the item was damaged, I could easily win a “not as described” claim with eBay and he would have to accept the return, refund shipping and item costs, and pay for return shipping. He hasn’t responded, which does not surprise me. I’m pretty sure he is a college student and he is definitely new to selling on eBay. I’m starting to almost feel bad for him because I could just imagine one of my kids doing the same thing and then being out of everything. I want to email him back and say really, I’m doing you a favor—it is not in your best interest to ignore me. I’m still deciding what to do. Any suggestions?

(The only option I refuse to do is to return the book and only receive the cost of the book back. If that happened the seller would actually be making money off the transaction. He would have his book back and the $8 that he didn’t spend on shipping. I would be out at least $15 in shipping charges with no book.)

 

[robinb]

OP here. The textbook finally arrived Saturday (Jan 20). I had to deliver it to my son who had already left for school.

I emailed the seller before it arrived and told him that if it didn’t arrive by Saturday that I would need to buy a book and return his. His response was “sorry for the inconvenience, keep me posted on the tracking.”

But when the book finally did arrive it was pretty beat up from being poorly wrapped and shipped around for 12 days. (Corner dented, ripped on some pages, covers creased.) It was listed on eBay as nearly new, which based on the listing photos was probably accurate before it was mailed. The damage is cosmetic so it’s still usable, but not even close to nearly new.

I then emailed the seller again, sent photos of the book and asked for a partial refund- the difference between the cost of shipping media and priority—$8. I thought this was more than fair. Since the item was damaged, I could easily win a “not as described” claim with eBay and he would have to accept the return, refund shipping and item costs, and pay for return shipping. He hasn’t responded, which does not surprise me. I’m pretty sure he is a college student and he is definitely new to selling on eBay. I’m starting to almost feel bad for him because I could just imagine one of my kids doing the same thing and then being out of everything. I want to email him back and say really, I’m doing you a favor—it is not in your best interest to ignore me. I’m still deciding what to do. Any suggestions?

(The only option I refuse to do is to return the book and only receive the cost of the book back. If that happened the seller would actually be making money off the transaction. He would have his book back and the $8 that he didn’t spend on shipping. I would be out at least $15 in shipping charges with no book.)

How the heck did he pack it? I sent books by Media Mail lots and they always got there in one piece. I always packed them in bubble envelopes.

I think what you asked for is more than fair. I probably would have asked for more since he packed it so poorly. Since you've already delivered the book I would just work with the seller for the refund for the difference in shipping. Set a mental date and if he doesn't respond by then take it up with eBay.

 

[LilyWDW]

How the heck did he pack it? I sent books by Media Mail lots and they always got there in one piece. I always packed them in bubble envelopes.

I think what you asked for is more than fair. I probably would have asked for more since he packed it so poorly. Since you've already delivered the book I would just work with the seller for the refund for the difference in shipping. Set a mental date and if he doesn't respond by then take it up with eBay.

I mean, I would have to see how it was packed but I have seen packages get just about destroyed during shipping. In some cases, it wouldn't have mattered how "well" it was packed at the start, unless it had been packed in a metal box lol.

 

[starry_solo]

OP here. The textbook finally arrived Saturday (Jan 20). I had to deliver it to my son who had already left for school.

(The only option I refuse to do is to return the book and only receive the cost of the book back. If that happened the seller would actually be making money off the transaction. He would have his book back and the $8 that he didn’t spend on shipping. I would be out at least $15 in shipping charges with no book.)

FYI, PayPal will refund you the return shipping charges. You just have to opt into their program, but it's up to 6 claims a year, $30 per claim.

 

[gottalovepluto]

OP here. The textbook finally arrived Saturday (Jan 20). I had to deliver it to my son who had already left for school.

I emailed the seller before it arrived and told him that if it didn’t arrive by Saturday that I would need to buy a book and return his. His response was “sorry for the inconvenience, keep me posted on the tracking.”

But when the book finally did arrive it was pretty beat up from being poorly wrapped and shipped around for 12 days. (Corner dented, ripped on some pages, covers creased.) It was listed on eBay as nearly new, which based on the listing photos was probably accurate before it was mailed. The damage is cosmetic so it’s still usable, but not even close to nearly new.

I then emailed the seller again, sent photos of the book and asked for a partial refund- the difference between the cost of shipping media and priority—$8. I thought this was more than fair. Since the item was damaged, I could easily win a “not as described” claim with eBay and he would have to accept the return, refund shipping and item costs, and pay for return shipping. He hasn’t responded, which does not surprise me. I’m pretty sure he is a college student and he is definitely new to selling on eBay. I’m starting to almost feel bad for him because I could just imagine one of my kids doing the same thing and then being out of everything. I want to email him back and say really, I’m doing you a favor—it is not in your best interest to ignore me. I’m still deciding what to do. Any suggestions?

(The only option I refuse to do is to return the book and only receive the cost of the book back. If that happened the seller would actually be making money off the transaction. He would have his book back and the $8 that he didn’t spend on shipping. I would be out at least $15 in shipping charges with no book.)

Do not email him back saying you're doing him a favor, don't ignore you, etc. ok? Do not. The next thing you do is contact ebay if you do not hear back from the seller within the allotted time period (I think it's 3 days, I'm not sure so double check). They will give the seller another chance to respond before taking matters into their own hands. Ebay has the power to issue you your refund . As for refusing to return the book because you'll eat all the shipping costs: if your item is not as described you would receive a 100% refund of every penny you put out for the purchase, shipping, taxes, etc. and you do not have to pay for return shipping (but if they buyer wants the item sent back you do have to send it back). Here are ebay's policies for sellers so you know the rules the other side of your transaction is supposed to be abiding by: http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/item-not-as-described.html

I'm sorry you got stuck with a bad eBayer. Do not feel bad for them, a decent seller would have immediately apologized and offered you that $8 refund (grateful you weren't demanding a 100% refund which it sounds like you were within your rights to do) the other side of your transaction is trying to outright steal, at minimum, that $8 from you. Ebay won't let that happen as long as you follow their dispute process.