How I Got eBay to Refund Me Even After 12+ Months
Summary: jo_905619 shared their experience of buying a phone on eBay that was misrepresented as new. After encountering obstacles through eBay's support and PayPal, they sought legal advice and leveraged Australian Consumer Law in their communication, eventually receiving a partial refund from eBay. sandypebbles advised avoiding purchasing from sellers with poor feedback and reiterated the importance of discerning trusted sellers. e_purchasing argued eBay had no responsibility and suggested the refund was a courtesy. springyzone praised jo_905619 for resolving the issue, highlighting the growing scrutiny of online platforms. Other participants debated the implications of consumer law, especially with international sellers.
I bought an iPhone 13 on eBay from Worldsmartfone for $635.00 in June 2025 that was advertised as brand new. A year later, Apple confirmed it had actually been activated in 2022, meaning it was used/refurbished.
)n 6th July, when I informed eBay, they removed the seller’s listing immediately. From then on, every normal eBay support path failed to get me a refund
eBay bots blocked me due to the 30‑day limit for returns
Chat support repeated scripted responses saying the same thing.
PayPal could not help due to their time limits
The seller initially agreed to refund me but then stalled and ignored me.
I could not find any way to speak to someone in eBay – either by phone or email.
On 27th July, I sent a registered mail complaint to eBay’s Head office in Sydney, giving the concrete evidence I had regarding misrepresentation & reminding them that under Australian Consumer Law (ACL), misrepresentation has no time limit, and that their platform policies don’t override ACL. The response was another roadblock – on 19th August, eBay stating they were not responsible for refunding the money and that they could not force Worldsmartfone to do so.
I took some free legal advice & wrote back to eBay saying they did have a responsibility under ACL for the seller to comply and that I would refer the matter to the ACCC. I said I was prepared to keep the used iPhone if they were prepared to refund me the difference between the cost of a new iPhone and a refurbished one - $235.00. Within 2 days, on 1st September, eBay refunded me $235.00.
Key takeaways: If your complaint falls outside of normal eBay support timelines, don't waste your time trying to go through their normal support systems. Go directly to registered mail. Use ACL language if appropriate, be reasonable, and mention ACCC escalation. eBay will act once the case reaches the right level of support.
springyzone
·1 week agoEbay is not currently liable for what was sold.
They were not obligated to refund.
But at the same time, this is exactly the sort of situation that is being looked at. Where items are coming in from overseas, might even be very unsafe, carry no warranty and consumers are being caught out because they thought they were buying from a reputable site.
I took the issue to be not that sites such as ebay would carry the full load of responsibility but that current legislation was being looked at to see if there was some way to make them more accountable, to put more in place to help make sure sellers were complying.
If that is the case, they do not want complaints going to ACCC. Even if ACCC can do nothing, they can definitely report to government that it is a growing area where they are powerless and that's the last thing ebay would want. And this is definitely a buyer who was persistent and extremely likely to try to take it further. Hence the refund.
sandypebbles
·1 week ago@gutterpunkz05
Exactly
ACL does NOT cover sellers in China for one, so total nonsense right there
Every listing states the seller is responsible for the listing, so again, total nonsense
Wonder if the 'free legal advice' person was told the seller is registered in China?
Or maybe they are the 'legal lawyer' from the old forum?
gutterpunkz05
·1 week agoSo ebay gave you a goodwill payment, as simple as that. Happens all the time without liability.
ACL & ACCC has no relevance to chinese sellers.
Ebay is aware of that and aware that they are not liable for the sellers actions.
springyzone
·1 week agoWell, I'd like to congratulate you as it seems you managed to get blood out of a stone.
You're one of the first people I have heard of to get money back in these circumstances-and from ebay no less- after all that time.
I don't agree they did it just to get you off their back. That is probably part of it.
But if they were 100% confident in their position, they would have fobbed you off.
No, they don't want you making waves or this issue getting any traction, because they could end up with a deluge of claims against them.
From what I was reading on this forum, ebay and quite a lot of other online stores eg Amazon, temu etc are being looked at with a view to making them more accountable for what is sold on their sites.
My take on your post though is to advise you never, ever buy some of these sorts of things on ebay or similar sites. If you want a phone, computer, any electrical item with a genuine warranty, head into a store.
And 100% don't buy anything like this from a place in China. Doesn't matter what they say in an ad, the reality is they are overseas and you can't get at them legally. You can sometimes get at ebay, but it is not easy, as you discovered. So avoid trouble.
e_purchasing
·1 week agoApple confirmed it had actually been activated in 2022, meaning it was used/refurbished.
That is not what activation means. It could easily mean someone went to the Telstra shop, signed up, got their phone, ACTIVATED it then decided to go for a Pro Max as the screen was not big enough for them and the Telstra shop obliging . Or a kid gets one without their parents knowledge , comes home and is immediately made to return it without making a call on it.
The seller you mentioned advertises New "Unlocked" and you need to activate an iphone to unlock it. Unlocked means it was tied to a specific carrier and a process has taken place to enable the phone to be used through any carrier. New Unlocked phones are generally lower priced compared to new retail phones
An item is "used" when it has been continually in service for more than 1 day.
Your "free" legal advice should have told you that eBay has no responsibility in the matter, of which you expressly agreed in the terms of using the site when you signed up. It is like you threatening Westfield over an incident with one of the shops/traders.
Ebay did not give you a partial refund under threat of ACCC , they did so as a courtesy and probably to stop your harassment of them.
For me, I just see someone that was perfectly happy with their item to begin with, probably saved 25-33% because it was a new unlocked phone, continued using it for well over 12 months and then got to putting 2 & 2 together to get 5 and has enough time on their hands to angleshoot for some moneyback.
jo_905619
OP1 week agoMate, what you said is not what Apple told me or what the seller admitted to when I initially approached them about it. They agreed the phone was not new, apologised and blamed a new supplier.
As far as me being stupid to buy off them in the first place - I AGREE - but that doesn't excuse fraud.
Outside of that, I ended up paying for what I got - a second hand phone.
sandypebbles
·1 week agoYour key takeaway should be to not buy a knock off phone from a random seller registered in China
20 negs for selling garbage
Almost half their positive feedback is eBay automated = no input from buyers
8 revised feedback = they lied to buys to get the neg feedback changed to positive
Care about who you buy from and you would not have had any issue
jo_905619
OP1 week agoYou are exactly right. I have learnt a lesson - DON'T BUY ON EBAY! But that does not excuse FRAUD.
I posted this thinking it might help others who have a genuine concern and need to contact eBay.