OT: Help - Been Wronged on eBay - What Do I Do Now? (UPDATE - Need More Input)

[HLAuburn]

I don't mean to be the Devil's advocate here, but I don't really understand why people believe they can get a hot item bag like a LV for a tiny fraction on the retail price. It just doesn't happen. I understand the seller stated that it was "authentic", but as an informed buyer you should know most of the bags on eBay are fake, and the fact that its selling for 15% of its retail value should be a major red-flag. Buyers pay $200 for an $1000 bag, and then they're shocked when it comes and its not real? You know what they say about things that are too good to be true...

I think if you go thru PayPal and say the item is "not as described" they won't do anything about it. You should go thru your credit card and they will get the money from the seller/PayPal and you get to keep the (fake) bag!


Oh and by the way, SAKS doesn't sell Louis Vuitton!

 

[Tigger113]

I am confused here! Why don't you follow your instinct and the "if it's too good to be true it probably is" saying??? A $500 - $800 purse is NOT going to sell on Ebay for $50 - $100, so if you bid or bought a purse with shipping for only $100 or so bucks you should know it's FAKE!!

I know everyone here is going to shower me with all kinds of negatives , but people, YOU are the ones bidding/buying! If the seller wants to sell fakes or junk, just walk away from them, YOU do not have to bid! If everyone would ask questions or be aware of what they are bidding on this problem would not happen as often as it does!

Sorry for the honesty, but this is MY opinion and I just had to get it out.

 

[~Kathie]

I am obviously responding back, telling them exactly what they can do about it - refund my money as requested, and upon receiving a full refund, I will return the bag to them via UPS ground and provide them with a tracking #. I am also pasting in links to eBay's policy against counterfeit goods, claiming authenticity when they cannot personally verify, etc., and pointing out that they could very likely be removed from eBay, amongst other things, if I move forward with my claim. I have also told them if I don't receive a refund, I will begin the grievance/claims process on Monday.

The fact that the OP bought the bag is water under the bridge so to speak.

Just a heads up that most sellers will not refund unless they have received the item and it is the same item and in the same condition as it sent to the bidder. I don't know of any that will do this.

I've been the victim of the old "bait & switch" where people try to send me their junk for a refund and keep my brand new items. It happens more times than you might think. A lot of seller friends report people trying this scam mostly from new bidders with low feedback.

Maybe the person was told by someone the bag was authentic, bought at Saks Fifth Avenue etc, and didn't know herself so she believed them....not all sellers are experts in what they sell.

Please reconsider making demands and threats to the seller. Yes, you are upset, but if a seller receives demands and threats from a bidder, the tendancy is to get very defensive and would lean towards not dealing with the bidder at all. It's human nature to have that reaction. This seller seems willing to work with you from her response.

Just state the facts, keep your emotions in check. There is no need for threats of filing claims with ebay or Paypal at this point. The seller asked what you wanted them to do. Email them and calmly state that you would like to send the bag back and have your money refunded to PayPal. If then they don't agree to that, then you just file the appropriate claims with your CC company, PayPal and ebay without any more emails. Just do it. The action is better than the threat. Easier on the stress level too.

You'll catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

I'm very sorry this happened to you. Please don't let it deter you from ebay. There are a lot of great sellers out there.

"One bad apple don't spoil the whole bunch."

Just my 4½¢.

Good luck!

 

[Tinkaroo]

I appreciate those on this thread that have been helpful in advising on proper next steps to take in the process. Believe me, no one can call me "stupid" more than I have in my own head for taking a "too good to be true" deal. Being new to eBay hasn't helped (not knowing my recourse, protections, and those handy "how to tell it's a fake" guides that some of you have been helpful in sending to me). I have learned a valuable lesson (and will have to swallow it as a $117 lesson if I have to in the end) - I guess I just expected more from sellers on eBay - shows my naivete, I guess.

And HLAuburn - they do sell LV's at Saks. LV operates their own "stores" in such high-end dept. stores such as Saks and Neiman's. I know because I was in one Wednesday night. I can't believe I'm actually defending my seller on that point, but it's true.

Kathie, thanks for your comments. I am just attempting to be as specific with the seller as possible to my next steps - more to insure a response from them if anything else. I am attempting to follow the eBay and PayPal recommendation of doing your best to work it out with the seller before filing a claim, but since the seller hadn't responded to any of the other messages I sent them, I wanted to be specific about when I expected a response. I don't want this to drag out. I don't feel like I have threatened them at all - I just want my money back. I haven't said I'm going to report them, get them kicked off, etc. - I will effectively be doing that, though, once I begin a claim process. I understand your comments about what the seller might prefer as far as shipping, and we'll just have to see. I also don't want to see this bag leave my possession until I get my money back, even though I don't want it. I will likely have to prove it's in-authenticity if I make a claim, and I'm assuming I will need the bag, not just the pictures I take of it, to prove it. I made my payment in good faith without having the product in hand - I would expect it to work the same way in reverse.

 

[d4est]

Not a purse, but I bought an item once that wasn't accurately described. The seller offered a refund if I wanted to return the item. I returned it. He NEVER refunded my $. Unfortunately, I had no recourse because of the time that had passed. (Item was a Christmas gift for DS, I had won the auction in Sept, didn't find out the game didn't work [brand new] until Christmas morning when son opened it).

Just because you send it back, doesn't mean the seller will automatically refund. Just a warning.

 

[~Kathie]

Just because you send it back, doesn't mean the seller will automatically refund. Just a warning.

In the same respect.....just because you do send it back, doesn't mean they WON'T refund you. Works both ways.

Everyone has to follow their conscience, and their gut when having any kind of problem on ebay and elsewhere. You asked for opinions and everyone jumped on the bandwagon including me. I wasn't criticizing you. I apologize if it came across that way.

I'm glad you are trying to work it out with the seller. If they are not responsive...that is another story. I hope it all works out for you and you get your money back. Good luck!

 

[Goofyzgurl]

I am confused here! Why don't you follow your instinct and the "if it's too good to be true it probably is" saying??? A $500 - $800 purse is NOT going to sell on Ebay for $50 - $100, so if you bid or bought a purse with shipping for only $100 or so bucks you should know it's FAKE!!

I know everyone here is going to shower me with all kinds of negatives , but people, YOU are the ones bidding/buying! If the seller wants to sell fakes or junk, just walk away from them, YOU do not have to bid! If everyone would ask questions or be aware of what they are bidding on this problem would not happen as often as it does!

Sorry for the honesty, but this is MY opinion and I just had to get it out.

I think that the op is asking for advice on what to do next since she already bought the bag. Just because you have an opinion doesn't mean that you have to share it all the time. That's what's wrong with some of these replies lately, everyone wants to lecture and see their words in print instead of helping out.

As for the op, I think you're getting great advice from the other posters. Don't forget to track everything you're doing with the seller and make sure you keep all correspondence, which I'm sure you are. Good Luck!

 

[KPmom]

My 2c is that you have to try to work it out with paypal before contacting your cc company. The rep at paypal told me that if I file a chargeback I would lose my paypal account. I know that you said you no longer plan to buy from ebay but you may change your mind and then not have a paypal account. I would contact paypal and start a claim, and file a fraud report with ebay as well. If everyone that gets ripped off would file a claim a lot more of the scam artist would be booted from ebay. Paypal is going to tell you that you have to return the bag, take lots of pictures and get a letter stating it is fake from LV. Return it with a signature required at delivery when they tell you too. I am sure that you will get a refund but it will take some time. Leave a negative and if they do the same, respond it it and explain what happened. I had the same thing happen with a lot of Disney Movies that were vaulted. I paid big money for 3 movies and they were all bootlegs, Disney wanted them but they wanted me to give them up with no money being refunded. I did give them the address off the return label and the guys sellers name and information. I also gave them his real name from the paypal reciept. And I took pictures of the disk, boxes and inserts and sent a notarixed statement to them. Not sure if they did anything with it, but I did my part. I hope you get your money back, I would also ask for return shipping to be refunded. Good luck to you~Mandy