@reed_degray wrote:

If you're thinking about buying a magnetic tumbler, steer clear of one eBay seller. I purchased one from them, and it arrived in October 2024 without any magnets, meaning it didn’t work at all. They promised to send a replacement, but never provided a tracking number. In February 2025, they offered a refund, but as of March, I’ve still received nothing, and they keep stalling, telling me to "wait and be patient." It seems like a tactic to get you outside the eBay and PayPal protection windows. Be cautious—this seller does not deliver what they advertise. Please share this to warn others, as they are refusing to refund a significant amount of money. Ive sent more than 20 emails both Ebay and Paypal have not helped at all so the seller gets away with $300. I am beyond disappointed.

I think I probably speak for a lot of the boardies on here when I say that this is so frustrating because it is hard to help people who don't help themselves.

Look at the red bit. That's the problem right there. It arrived in Oct 2024 and it was faulty right from the start or missing pieces.

You didn't do anything about it.

Contacting the seller is not doing anything. A lot of the time it leads to more problems, with a seller trying to fob you off or offering a replacement, which you definitely don't want.

You only get 30 days after an item arrives in which to open a proper ebay claim. That is what you should have done, citing an item not as described, faulty.

You would have got your money refunded, because ebay would then be in charge of the process, not the seller.

You had the easy solution at your fingertips right back in October and you totally ignored it.

Maybe you're thinking-but, but ebay says to contact the seller. Of course they do, the less work for them the better. But you don't have to obey.  It is a suggestion, not an order. The second the seller said they were sending a replacement and you noticed no tracking, you should have swung into an ebay claim and kept it open till you received the refund.

Just an extra note: The seller offered you a refund in Feb you say. Has it not occured to you they could have mnade a refund immediately if they had wanted to? Yet you procrastinated on that one too. It sounds as if you paid via paypal. You get 180 days to claim for that. The seller knows that and of course they offered a refund, they were hoping to get you over the 180 day mark in case you paid via paypal. And you fell for it.

Ebay and paypal have not let you down because you didn't use their help in the first place. You could have, but you procrastinated for 6 months, with $300 at stake. Not clever.

You opted to play with the seller and spam eBay and PayPal with emails

both pointless

You could have used the tools you are given and opened a dispute within the time limit but you chose not to

Be disappointed in yourself 

As a buyer, one has significant power on eBay. The MBG covers buyers when an order hasn’t arrived by the latest EDD (Estimated Delivery Date), and when an ordered item isn’t as described. eBay put a time limit on this - so buyers simply need to use the MBG within the specified timeframe.

If one’s aware of that timeframe, there oughtn’t to be any way that a seller could delay a buyer’s opening a claim when there’s an issue – unless the buyer doesn’t act within the timeframe. Why would anyone allow the timeframe to lapse, knowing that there’s no protection or cover beyond that timeframe? And yet… and yet… some buyers will.

The posters here can only keep hammering home the point, and repeatedly entreat buyers to use the MBG when there’s a problem. Don’t be “kind” to the seller when they are stretching out the time and spinning you a line. You can always repay the seller if an item arrives later after you’ve received a refund - but you almost certainly won’t see a seller refunding you if a problem has arisen but you’ve been finagled into not opening a case in time. After all… what kind of seller strings you along like that?

And if an item isn’t as described, I would not want a replacement from that seller - unless they are a large, known and respected retailer in Australia. Return for full refund is the way to go in an INAD case - done officially through the MBG process.

Use the Force, Luke. Use the MBG.

The seller only ever gets away with whatever the buyer allows them to get away with... if the correct steps are followed, the buyer will always get their money back.

It seems like a tactic to get you outside the eBay and PayPal protection windows.

Doesn't seem to be, is.

Handy hint - read the eBay MBG and ensure you raise cases within the relevant time limits.

14 years a member and this is your first issue. Lucky you.