what should i do to get my refund?

foxymom

uh-oh....
O.G.
Dec 4, 2006
1,643
3
hi ladies!

okay here is my story....

im from the philippines and i bought a bag in ebay on feb 15. Starting bid price was $399 (i think) and BIN was $550. I offered seller if she would take $450 for it and she accepted. she told me to do a BIN and she will send me a separate paypal invoice for the $450+$12 shipping fee. i agreed so i did a BIN in ebay then she sent the new invoice via paypal.

i usually have my bags sent to my shipper based in nyc, then my shipper will be the one to mail the bags to me at my own expense. shipping time from new york to philippines usually takes 7 days.

after sending the bag to nyc, the seller message me that once i get the bag would it be okay to cancel the transaction to save on ebay fees since i did purchase it for a lower price. i agreed since she seemed to be nice and sincere. once the bag reached nyc, she sent the ebay cancellation notice and i stupidly accepted. i did not even think i would have a problem with this.

okay so i finally receive the bag yesterday, march 1, and i am not happy with it. SNAD :cry: seller claimed in her listing that bag was rarely used but what i got was a very filthy bag! the pictures she showed were the best parts of the bag, she did not show the flawSSS it had. i loved the style so much that at first i was willing to clean it. but upon close inspection i knew no amount of cleaning could salvage it.

so i emailed seller again via ebay messaging informing her i am not happy with the bag and would like to return it and get a refund. she actually accepted the return and gave me the address on where to send it. she did not mention how and when she will refund me.

now this is my concern --- when should the seller send the refund? is it safe to send back the bag to her first? seller has not protested return and im waiting for her reply re the refund.

do you think this case is a potential problem? if seller does not refund me immediately can i file with ebay and paypal?

thanks in advance for your help :smile:
 
For non-eBay transactions, you unfortunately don't qualify for buyer protection. I think it may be safer to file a PayPal buyer complaint and go from there, but hopefully somebody else chimes in soon.
 
thanks blackonmaroon. but i bought it via ebay buy it now option -- this does not qualify as ebay transaction?...

update... seller told me she will send my refund once she received back the bag. is this correct? should i send first? also should i declare it for the full amount i paid? i paid $400 for it but for the condition it was in it just looks like a $100 bag (or less!)
 
OH MY.. once you cancelled the ebay transaction, you literally CANCELLED the transaction. Period. Per ebay AND PP, I would think.
So, now, the question in my mind now becomes... will ebay hold the seller's feet to the fire for cancelling the transaction and force a refund....??

My GUESS... and I mean GUESS.. is that once the transaction is cancelled, PP & ebay are both going to bail out. There is no transaction. The only question is since the buyer is returning the bag, will ebay enforce a refund since the transaction was cancelled by the seller.... who agreed to return/refund?? And I do not know.

My ONLY advice at this point is for the OP to CALL ebay, advise that the seller has agreed to refund upon return, but the seller requested a cancellation of the transaction and buyer complied, so is the seller now obligated to refund upon return?

Did you pay for this w/ a CC.

YIKES!!!!!!!!!!
 
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thanks blackonmaroon. but i bought it via ebay buy it now option -- this does not qualify as ebay transaction?...

update... seller told me she will send my refund once she received back the bag. is this correct? should i send first? also should i declare it for the full amount i paid? i paid $400 for it but for the condition it was in it just looks like a $100 bag (or less!)

You cancelled the transaction.... there is no longer any transaction.

IF you return this bag...Ship back as RETURN, insure for $400, purchase online sig confirmation and tracking.

But, I really would talk to ebay b4 I shipped this bag out.
 
Also, with the insurance, you only will get the money if there's a receipt for the item. If there's no receipt, you won't get what you insured it for, but a base amount (that's usps shipping). So I'd go with UPS or FedEx because their insurance is better.

And I would agree that since you cancelled the transaction, paypal and ebay will bail out on it. I had a seller ask me to cancel from a non-ebay purchase that I paid via paypal...they told me once a buyer cancels anything on their own, they're basically saying they don't want the company's (paypal) help.

I'd call both ebay AND paypal and talk to them about it before doing anything else.
 
if you cancelled the ebay transaction, you have no protection on ebay and paypal.

when you send it back, it's up to the honesty of the seller if they will refund and honor what they say.

maybe send it back with tracking, and if she doesn't refund, do a credit card chargeback
 
i knew it! arrggghh, i shouldn't have cancelled it! i hate this. :cry::cry:

all of our communication -- including her request to cancel the transaction has been via ebay messaging. i hope this will count for something. i will call ebay now to ask for help and advise.
 
to everyone who is helping, a big thank you!

i paid via cc. if seller does not refund me and ebay/paypal will bail out can i do a chargeback? how do i do this? should i call my bank now to advise of the possible chargeback request?

im getting worried. i just hope this is an honest seller...
 
I feel for you here.

Based on what she did for you in terms of lying about the bag's condition, I'm not sure you should put your faith in her being an honest seller. Can you check to see if she's a longtime seller with a track record of making good on refund requests?

I'm just worried that she may choose to not refund you when she gets the bag back, since you cancelled the transaction and there is no "e-paper trail" and ebay doesn't get a closing sale fee (or something like that), they're not going to rally to your side. Whether Paypal has buyer protection for non-ebay transaction items I'm not sure about.

Just be careful. Even with return shipping confirmation, insurance etc, if paypal doesn't offer any protection she could just take the money and bag and walk.
 
I feel for you here.

I'm just worried that she may choose to not refund you when she gets the bag back, since you cancelled the transaction and there is no "e-paper trail" and ebay doesn't get a closing sale fee (or something like that), they're not going to rally to your side. Whether Paypal has buyer protection for non-ebay transaction items I'm not sure about.

Just be careful. Even with return shipping confirmation, insurance etc, if paypal doesn't offer any protection she could just take the money and bag and walk.

this is what im afraid of. what if she decides not to refund me when she gets the bag? can i still do a chargeback when this happens? will doing a chargeback affect my future paypal transactions? i really want to kick myself for agreeing to the cancellation. i just hope ebay will be able to read all our communication and give me a favorable reply.

i've actually messaged the seller again requesting if she could give me half of the refund initially so at least i have some money with me. but i hope this will all end well.
 
this is what im afraid of. what if she decides not to refund me when she gets the bag? can i still do a chargeback when this happens? will doing a chargeback affect my future paypal transactions? i really want to kick myself for agreeing to the cancellation. i just hope ebay will be able to read all our communication and give me a favorable reply.

i've actually messaged the seller again requesting if she could give me half of the refund initially so at least i have some money with me. but i hope this will all end well.

I wouldn't hold my breath for the 1/2 refund up front - your seller sounds pretty shady.

Anyway, I wanted to write to say: Don't kick yourself too hard. Take a deep breath.
You've gotten some great advice here - Ellie Mae is a master at all things eBay.

As far as eBay goes, since you have gone off eBay and canceled the transaction, it's likely that eBay won't cover you here. Paypal does not cover non-eBay transactions in cases of SNAD, so if your seller gets the bag back and does not refund you, you will have no choice but to file a chargeback with your cc. Not to worry about chargebacks affecting future transactions - I had to do one a while back, and have continued to use my Paypal account with no problems.

  • First, you should call eBay and see what they can do (probably nothing).
  • Second, call Paypal and see what your options are (advice for shipping bag back, etc. - but they are probably going to be useless as they do not cover SNAD in non-ebay transactions)
  • Lastly (before you ship back), you should call your cc and advise them of the problematic transaction, and that you may file a chargeback if you do not get your refund as promised. Ask what documentation they need from you, what forms may need to be filled out, and make sure you find out what method of shipment you should use to ship the item back. This is the most important call, because in all likelihood, you will have to file a chargeback.
Just be thankful that you paid with a credit card, because at least you are covered in this situation by them.

Be sure to keep us posted on your progress!
 
  • First, you should call eBay and see what they can do (probably nothing).
  • Second, call Paypal and see what your options are (advice for shipping bag back, etc. - but they are probably going to be useless as they do not cover SNAD in non-ebay transactions)
  • Lastly (before you ship back), you should call your cc and advise them of the problematic transaction, and that you may file a chargeback if you do not get your refund as promised. Ask what documentation they need from you, what forms may need to be filled out, and make sure you find out what method of shipment you should use to ship the item back. This is the most important call, because in all likelihood, you will have to file a chargeback.
Just be thankful that you paid with a credit card, because at least you are covered in this situation by them.

Be sure to keep us posted on your progress!

:tup::yes: