Help with bad ebay seller

[ChiBub]

I have seen posts periodically with ebay advice, so I'm hoping there may be a Dis-er with advice for me.

I bought two of an item (a box of 12 gold Sharpie markers) from ebay from what appeared to be a reputable seller (lots of feedback, over 99% positive I think). But when it arrived yesterday, there were only two markers. I was expecting two boxes of 12 each! I went back and looked again at the description, and sure enough, the picture is a box of 12. The title of the item itself does say "Sharpie permanent marker" -- marker being singular, so I guess I should have caught that. But then, in the product description, it says "markers" plural.

I contacted the seller immediately and they're willing to give me a refund if I send them back their two measly markers. My problem though is that the description is still so misleading - how can you picture a box of 12, use the plural in the description, and never once say "this is for one marker." And it was $7! A good deal for 12 (the gold are more expensive), a terrible deal for one. Is there any way I can contact ebay so that they can force the seller to change the description? I looked back through the seller's feedback and it turns out, the only other person who purchased this item had the exact same problem (I assume they're the only other one because it says "over 10 available, 3 sold, and I know I was 2 of them).

Anyone know if there is a way to do this? I want to warn others before they go through this headache. The worst part is I was SO excited to give this gift. I'm very disappointed.

On a related note, anyone know a good place to buy a box of gold sharpies?

 

[pilesoflaundry]

You can try and file not as described through ebay but it sounds like the seller knows how to word it so as to not have to give refunds. You have to be really careful with ebay because they often have pictures of multiple items but it's for one and the wording isn't always helpful.

You won't be able to force them to change anything, you can leave feedback mentioning you only got 2. If you file the NAD with ebay, they usually make you ship it back and pay for the shipping to get a refund.

 

[chimilady]

You can never go by the title, and you can never go by the picture unless they said it was an actual picture.

I would return the markers. And I always use the "ask seller a question" if I'm not sure.

 

[princess barbara]

DD 13 broke her ankle last year and opted for the dark purple cast. I found gold as well as silver sharpies for signing the cast at Staples. My local Rite-Aid had them buy 1 get 1 50% off about a week later. And they were all single markers in the packages at both stores. Funny thing, about a month after she got her cast, a boy in her class broke his wrist and got a dark red cast- she lent out the markers and later he only returned the silver one- not the gold.

 

[Jewel3k]

I think I saw gold or silver at Target in the Christmas gift shopping area. I know I saw them somewhere Christmas shopping this week.

 

[Fire14]

I have not seen boxes but for that you would probably have best luck at office supply or teacher supply store. I have bought multipacks(2 or 3) in walmart and seen at most places you can buy other sharpies.

 

[tzeitel]

Make sure that you get delivery confirmation when you ship them back. If there are any problems with the seller refunding you then you can show ebay you mailed back the markers.

Hard to say how misleading the listing is w/o reading it, but I checked Ebay and these markers seem to be pretty expensive (for markers). A box of 12 seems to be selling for $25 so you getting it for $7 would have been an amazing deal.

 

[Tistal]

I think I saw gold or silver at Target in the Christmas gift shopping area. I know I saw them somewhere Christmas shopping this week.

This.

They have a 3 pack in my Target back with the gift wrap. Gold, silver and a bronze. I don't remember how much they were though

 

[thebeesknees]

Do you have a Michael's nearby? I got a 3-pack this week there for about $7 (gold, silver and bronze) and then was able to use the 40% off coupon to save even more so it made for a decent deal.

 

[SandrA9810]

2 packs are going for $5, no way should one cost just $7.

This is their ratings. That's a lot of negatives from one seller. It's for various complaints as well.
Positive 2428 13619 30458
Neutral 20 99 226
Negative 20 97 228


Try a regular box store for the markers. Staples and art stores sell Sharpies and sometimes BIC individually. There's also a variety of metallic colors that will show up on a dark purple cast. I used to buy the multi packs when I was working at Disney.

 

[ChiBub]

Thanks everyone for your advice and suggestions. I have certainly learned a lesson about ebay-- even if a store's rating is 99% positive, read the negative reviews!

The advice about checking Target was fortuitous, it happens they have metallic sharpies in their ad that started yesterday. $3 for a 3-pack, and b1g1 50% off. So 6 sharpies for $4.50, or $0.75 each. Only slightly more than I thought I was paying. I'm very excited!

One more question though, I got an e-mail last night tha paypal would be taking the fund out of my account soon. I forgot that paypal had the pay-after-delivery option for dispute situations. Even though the seller agreed to issue a refund when I send them back, is it easier to start a dispute with paypal now to avoid having the fight if they don't live up to their promise?

 

[mm1971]

Thanks everyone for your advice and suggestions. I have certainly learned a lesson about ebay-- even if a store's rating is 99% positive, read the negative reviews!

The advice about checking Target was fortuitous, it happens they have metallic sharpies in their ad that started yesterday. $3 for a 3-pack, and b1g1 50% off. So 6 sharpies for $4.50, or $0.75 each. Only slightly more than I thought I was paying. I'm very excited!

One more question though, I got an e-mail last night tha paypal would be taking the fund out of my account soon. I forgot that paypal had the pay-after-delivery option for dispute situations. Even though the seller agreed to issue a refund when I send them back, is it easier to start a dispute with paypal now to avoid having the fight if they don't live up to their promise?

I may be in the minority here, but what is the problem other than you misunderstood what they were selling. You got your order, it wasn't what was expected and they offered a full refund. Sounds like a positive seller to me. Just return the markers and get a refund. Or as you say, contact Paypal and provide the communication with the seller. I'm sure they won't charge you as that is the whole point behind the delayed payments.

At worst, I would submit a neutral feedback response. Just my opinion based on the information provided.

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

My husband ran into a similar situation where the picture of an item was misleading on Ebay. He contacted Ebay and they agreed that the picture was misleading, and the support person he contacted actually said that sellers aren't supposed to use misleading pictures in their ads, and they gave him an Ebay credit, which ended up being more than the item he bought. They also said they were going to contact the seller to "remind" them that misleading pictures, which I would consider a box of 12 for an ad for 1 with out a big notation that the auction was for a single marker hugely misleading, weren't allowed.