Not another SNAD!...... Come shop on eBay and loose some money.

[aussietastic]

Hi Everyone

I think I would have better luck betting on the Gee-Gee's.

Here's the story for you to chew on, I'm fixing up an old motorbike and purchased this item from the USA - Item number: 380551918557 wheel spokes for RM250.

Looks all good stated as new genuine part at a reasonable price and reasonable postage, feedback not 100% but I suppose very few of the larger sellers are. So I thought Virgil, engines are go and purchased the item. I wasn't in a great hurry and new it would take a few weeks but there was nothing on eBay AU.

Time rolled on and the sun went down, then came up, then went down, then came up and seemed to continue to do that for quite a while. Then one day.....you have a package....Woo Hoo! With great anticipation and a deep feeling of excitement you peruse the package.... from USA... yes! Steadily open the package and extract the contents and think... err... well... it isn't quite the same package but they are still spokes.

I opened up the plastic to look at the tag inside and it says DRZ 400 19",from Buchanan's Spoke and Rim ....umm...that can't be good, certainly not what I would call genuine. I took the packet of spokes out but did not unwrap them and got an old spoke to compare the size and found the new ones are way shorter, as the RM wheel is 21". The new spokes also have a different shank bend angle on the bottom.

These arrived on Thursday afternoon and I have been messaging the seller the last two nights ( time diff is a pain). This is just the crux of it..... I messaged to say the part arrived and I think there is a problem and described the situation, a lady messaged back and said she would like some photos, no problem I sent those. I thought this would be an open a shut case and mentioned return postage as well.

This is the response I got - " got the pictures ok......i wanted to make sure i sent you the correct part
i checked with ....local dealer......this is genuine Suzuki part........sometimes theu use aftermarket suppliers
for there spokes, and he verified that the part number is correct with my description.......so im not sure how to fix this". Did not even listen to what I said

So, I did some research and spoke to a dealer in Sydney and then let fly with a response, not rude, just reiterating some points in a concise manner about:- not same as picture ( has a genuine number on the plastic pack but written on with felt pen) and it is what's inside the pack that counts, the tag in the pack saying DRZ 400 19", research shows  RM250's did not come out with 19" front wheels so they cannot be genuine anyway and Buchanan's seems to make custom wheels, that is why these spokes are an odd size. I finished by saying, the right thing to do would be to take the part back and pay return postage.

Which was probably not good because they then battened down the hatches and sent a reply saying send the part back and we will refund your purchase.

Now here are the questions, what does refund your purchase mean? do you think that means postage as well? Should I return this outside the PayPal dispute system but with the same process (registered etc) or use the dispute? They have agreed to take the return, but what happens after the 45 days and the package is in transit and they change their minds?(will take 3-4 weeks return postage, took about 3 1/2 to get here).

And here is the kicker about loosing money, they charged US $14 to ship it out and Aust Post is Quoting online something like $35 or $45 to send it back, as the package is right on the 1kg threshold, won't know until an official weighing but will be one or the other. In contrast the USPS has a flat rate package up to 4 pounds, not cheap in Aus for OS posting and I cannot keep the spokes and resell them because they will only fit a rim that they were designed for.

Any way that's my rant, any opinions will be appreciated but be gentle I'm fragile.:-)

Thanks

[*new2vintage]

You are only guaranteed to receive a refund from Paypal so I advise you to open a dispute. A seller can take an item back and give you nothing otherwise. Even if the seller should cover return postage they aren't obliged to.

[*new2vintage]

Also when you want to buy an expensive item please check the seller's feedback. Your seller is notorious for supplying incorrect parts.

[putney32]

definitely open the dispute before you return

yes, return shipping by registered post at your expense!!

but the paypal refund will be for the item plus postage to you.

dont go outside the paypal guidelines, only causes headaches down the line when its too late to do the right thing

[shypansy]

Open a dispute with paypal,  when they instruct you to return the item, call PP and explain that the cost of return post which needs to be by trackable means is excessive and ask if there is an alternative,  show them the picture of the advertised item and the one of what you received, there is obviously no comparison.

I am not saying you will be successful but on occasions when this situation arises paypal will refund without the need of returning the item. but you will need to put your case forward.  You have nothing to lose by trying.

[aussietastic]

Mmmm.... how did this get into selling? Thought I was in buying... anyway.....

Good morning everyone, thanks for the replies.

I thought that opening a dispute would be the way to go, however I am not sure of the nitty gritty. I read a brief overview of the process in help somewhere but how does it work if the seller agrees to return prior to dispute? It says you open a case and communicate with the seller to try and work out a solution but they have already said they will refund? Is it just to go through the initial process to have it on record?

This is the bad part of eBay, when things go wrong and I still have to find more spokes and with this I don't want to go OS again. I can get some from a bike shop here in Aus but they wanted $150 plus it would be a 150km round trip to pick them up and now another $35 or $45......just for spokes. The old girl is going to be worth $10,000 when it's finished!

Ahh well, that's life I suppose, pats you on the head one day and bangs you up the ringer the next.

[phorum_junkie*]

First question is did you buy through the Au site so it has Paypal buyer protection or did you buy through the US site so it has ebay buyer protection?

Second question, how did you fund the Paypal payment? Was it with a credit card or not?

[aussietastic]

Hey phorum_junkie*

The listing was on eBay Au and it was PayPal  from a saving account.

Thanks

[aussietastic]

Also when you want to buy an expensive item please check the seller's feedback. Your seller is notorious for supplying incorrect parts.

Yes, I saw that but he does have pretty high stars, it was a gamble alright but with the price, hard to resist.

It's a bit like a beautiful sexy woman (or handsome man) asking you to buy them a drink at a bar, you know it's going to be trouble, but how do you resist. 🙂

[phorum_junkie*]

OK it would have been better if it was ebay protection and a credit card but still not impossible. May take a little time and effort but if you go about it the right way you can probably win.

Open a Paypal dispute, be very explicit about the differences between what you purchased and what you received, bullet points are best.

If the seller responds that they will only refund on return leave an immediate neg, do not mention disputes or Paypal, just say g item sent, wants return, cost more than item worth.

That may, if they already have a lot of poor feedback change their mind and decide to refund you, if they don't ring Paypal.

The next bit depends on how helpful the person you speak to is, some of them are very jobsworth and others are very friendly and will bend over backwards to help you.

Explain that what they have sent is of no use and of very little valur and that it will cost you $50 to send back. Ask if there is any way you can get a refund without having to return. You may be one of the lucky ones and they will agree straight away, if they do ask for their employee number and name and make a note of it.

If they don't agree ask to speak to a supervisor, go through it all again and again if they agree take the name and number.

If the supervisor doesn't agree tell them you are not happy and you are going to contact the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Don't get stroppy, just keep it calm and factual and say if you do not have a refund within 48 hours you will have to proceed as promised

If you haven't received a refund then go to the FOS website and put in a complaint, it is a quick, easy process..

If you can't be bothered with all that then you have two options, you can return at a cost that is less than you paid in total, it will cost about $35 using pack & track if you can keep it under 1kg which should be possible ;-), so you will get something back or if you think there is any value in them leave the seller a meaty neg and see if you can sell them on with the correct description to get your money back.