jesse1dog
Light Catcher
In mid-September having previously been assured by the seller that the item was ‘unused’ I bid on, and won, a Panasonic Lumix camera on eBay. It arrived at the end of the following week very badly packed with the camera rattling around in the box and without the additional items listed. What damage could the camera have suffered?
Two emails to the seller went unanswered and as I was dubious about the camera because of its potential damage due to the bad packing I contacted eBay. Having given the seller a week to answer their email and no reply having been received the eBay Resolution Centre became involved.
My preference was to return the camera to the seller and I did so obtaining a tracking number which eBay require. However the courier was unable to make the delivery and obtain a signed receipt, so left a card indicating that the item had been taken to their centre store and could be collected. After a week without any seller action, eBay agreed to refund me my purchase price and postage which was duly done.
After 3 weeks the parcel had still not been collected from the delivery centre. As a result it duly came back to me the sender 4 weeks after I had last seen it! I contacted eBay who were initially rather reluctant to discuss the situation as they had ‘closed the case’! But as I asked – ‘what happens now to this parcel?’ they agreed to contact the seller again with the statement that ‘if eBay haven’t heard back within the week we have instructed the sender to dispose of the item as he wishes’. I insisted on an email from eBay to this effect, and got it within the hour! eBay agreed that I had ‘gone by the book’ and done everything I should have done in the circumstances, and that they had no other way of dealing with the situation.
This all raises interesting issues about eBay – what sellers and buyers agree to in using this market place. It seems we are bound by eBay ruling whether we subsequently decide we don’t like it or not. This case was certainly a new one for the operative I talked to but can’t be unique.
During the weeks that have passed since this all started I have looked several times at the seller’s entries on eBay. Initially he had 100% rating but a ‘negative’ appeared urging potential buyers to ‘BE AWARE’. I contacted the author of this posting to discover that he too had been supplied with mis-described goods, and had got a full refund using eBay Resolution Centre. I also posted similar negative feedback! Looking again yesterday I see that my seller ‘is no longer a registered user’ of eBay.
So I now have my money and a camera that at present might or might not work. I do have responsibility for it and it’s in my store cupboard. The seller can’t be contacted, eBay really don’t want to know. I have put in time and effort in trying to resolve the situation and it would seem stupid to leave the camera unused especially as it’s a depreciating item. However I feel somewhat uncomfortable but can’t see what else can be done. Is the camera really mine? Are eBay able to dispose of goods in this way?
Comments, suggestions, and advice from RFF members, please.
jesse
Two emails to the seller went unanswered and as I was dubious about the camera because of its potential damage due to the bad packing I contacted eBay. Having given the seller a week to answer their email and no reply having been received the eBay Resolution Centre became involved.
My preference was to return the camera to the seller and I did so obtaining a tracking number which eBay require. However the courier was unable to make the delivery and obtain a signed receipt, so left a card indicating that the item had been taken to their centre store and could be collected. After a week without any seller action, eBay agreed to refund me my purchase price and postage which was duly done.
After 3 weeks the parcel had still not been collected from the delivery centre. As a result it duly came back to me the sender 4 weeks after I had last seen it! I contacted eBay who were initially rather reluctant to discuss the situation as they had ‘closed the case’! But as I asked – ‘what happens now to this parcel?’ they agreed to contact the seller again with the statement that ‘if eBay haven’t heard back within the week we have instructed the sender to dispose of the item as he wishes’. I insisted on an email from eBay to this effect, and got it within the hour! eBay agreed that I had ‘gone by the book’ and done everything I should have done in the circumstances, and that they had no other way of dealing with the situation.
This all raises interesting issues about eBay – what sellers and buyers agree to in using this market place. It seems we are bound by eBay ruling whether we subsequently decide we don’t like it or not. This case was certainly a new one for the operative I talked to but can’t be unique.
During the weeks that have passed since this all started I have looked several times at the seller’s entries on eBay. Initially he had 100% rating but a ‘negative’ appeared urging potential buyers to ‘BE AWARE’. I contacted the author of this posting to discover that he too had been supplied with mis-described goods, and had got a full refund using eBay Resolution Centre. I also posted similar negative feedback! Looking again yesterday I see that my seller ‘is no longer a registered user’ of eBay.
So I now have my money and a camera that at present might or might not work. I do have responsibility for it and it’s in my store cupboard. The seller can’t be contacted, eBay really don’t want to know. I have put in time and effort in trying to resolve the situation and it would seem stupid to leave the camera unused especially as it’s a depreciating item. However I feel somewhat uncomfortable but can’t see what else can be done. Is the camera really mine? Are eBay able to dispose of goods in this way?
Comments, suggestions, and advice from RFF members, please.
jesse
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