Help!! Question About Refunds on eBay

[kittykit]

Hi girls,

I've no idea how this is supposed to work! I recently bought FAKE MAC eyeshadows off eBay from 2 sellers. One of them
refunded me back immediately and I've shipped the e/s back to her this morning (she even paid for the shipping!). The
seller also offered to refund me the money only after she has received the returned e/s in mail.

Should I send the e/s back to her first and she'll refund me? What if she's not going to refund me later?

I've been buying stuffs off the internet for ages now and have never had any problems until yesterday!

What would you do first?

 

[Cinci]

well I wouldn't trust her seeing as she sold you something fake.. if it were me, I would demand the refund first, and then I would send it back - if you return it and then wait for a refund, you may miss out on your chance to make a paypal claim. If she doesn't give refund you first, you can always send it out in the mail and make a paypal claim after... But to be honest I think i would be so mad that would probably be a bit of a jerk about the whole thing and tell her that since it was her screw up and not mine, that I wanted the refund before I shipped and if I didn't get it, I would file a paypal claim and one with ebay about her selling fakes. Techincally she didn't send you what she was supposed to.. that gives you grounds for making a claim right there... You trusted her the first time, and she broke your trust. Now it's her turn to extend the same courtesy.. but keep a close eye on the time, so you don't miss your chance to file.

 

[MACATTAK]

I've always had to return items before I receive a refund. That being said, make sure to send it with a tracking# or some sort of confirmation (signature is good), so that you make sure it got there.

 

[MAC_Pixie04]

Your best bet to protect yourself as a buyer is to file a dispute through paypal, if that's the method you paid with. If you didn't go through paypal, you should file a dispute through eBay. I've seen people get screwed via eBay and other websites, and they try to work it out with the seller directly, who will say "Just send it back, I'll give you your money back." Then the person sends it back and the seller suddenly disappears; their account is deleted and you have no claim. Or they claim the item never arrived, even if you use trackable shipping, and then they still can't be compelled to refund you.

So if you used PayPal, I would login to your account and file a dispute int he Resolution Center. And you can email her to let her know that you're going to do this; I've had to do it recently, I received a counterfeit ghd styling iron on eBay, and the seller claimed she didn't know it was fake, which is likely, because I emailed the other people who bought irons from her, and theirs were authentic and they were able to register them through ghd. She told me if I sent the item back she would immediately refund me, but just to be safe, I told her that I would prefer to handle the reverse transaction through paypal to protect myself as the buyer and to protect her and her feedback record as a seller.

Be firm, but be polite about it. Just let her know you'd like to do things officially to protect yourselves on each end of the deal. If they refuse, then that's even more of a reason for you to file the disputes through Paypal or eBay rather than direct contact.

Good luck!

 

[kittykit]

Thanks girls!

I've shipped the items out via registered post this morning and the seller said she'll refund me once she receives them. She's a PowerSeller since 1999 with 100% feedbacks. I hope she's not going to run away, closes her shop!

I'm definitely going to file a dispute. This sucks.

 

[MizzHotTahiti]

I agree. File a dispute with Paypal, don't just trust the sellers word.Leave her negative feedback for sure also.

 

[MAC_Pixie04]

^^I would wait until after the reversal of the transaction is complete before leaving any feedback. If she's cool about it, leave her positive feedback for being accomodating, but include a brief comment about what went wrong. it's possible that she didn't know the items were counterfeit, like the seller I'm currently dealing with. Several other people who purchased from her got authentic ghd stylers, and I happened to get a counterfeit, and she even purchased it from a salon and had a receipt.

If she's rude to you or takes forever processing the refund, then definitely leave negative feedback, but wait until after you've gotten your money back before you do anything; if you piss her off she'll probably stiff you.

 

[MAC_Pixie04]

Also, make sure you save all communication between you and her, in case something does happen, if you don't have proof that she agreed to refund you upon receiving the item back or that you sent her the item via trackable shipping, then there's nothing that can be done if she doesn't follow her end of the deal.

 

[kittykit]

Thanks again! I've all the conversations saved

After I found out those MAC are counterfeits, I sent her a message and she offered to refund. I hope she keeps her words!

My friend's currently dealing with one PowerSeller on eBay who didn't ship his stuffs and offered to refund but after weeks, there's nothing! He's filed a dispute with Paypal. I can't believe some people are so nasty!

 

[MAC_Pixie04]

Just FYI, my seller received her item back today, and my refund was back in my PayPal account in an hour. Just goes to show if you're polite but firm with your seller and keep up good communication, things can work in your favor. On the other hand, even if she tries to run with your money, PayPal won't let her as long as you file a dispute. If you don't see your refund soon, you can escalate your dispute into a Claim and PayPal handles the rest, and usually when there's proof that the items weren't real and proof that the seller promised you a refund and they go back on their word, PayPal will almost always rule in your favor.

Again good luck! Stay on her girl, don't back down until you're satisfied =)

 

[kittykit]

Good to hear you've gotten the refund.

Will keep you all updated here

 

[kittykit]

Seller refunded me the money and claimed her e/s are authentic. She said she brought them to her local MAC counter and the girls there said they're fine.

She continues selling those e/s on her eBay.