Advice on return of cheap items

[ekrabappel]

Hi all

I recently bought a bunch (about 20) of dvds which were disc only.  The seller posted them at 4 for $1.40 which is fine by me.  Problem was 2 of the discs were not as decribed. One was the wrong movie (same title) and the other was not the correct release company (not Sony as described).  I paid about about $3.25 for the wrong movie and 99c for the other.  I think it was a genuine mistake.  I contacted seller and sent photos and they responded to send back items and they will pay return postage plus refund.  Dilema is, should I send back via Registered Post? I know Paypal says yes but that will then make postage nearly $4 which is the cost of the items so seller will be out of pocket. Or am I being set up for the "never received" items saga?

Thanks

[designers*n*more]

Return the items via PayPal, before you open a dispute, there's an option on the main page about shipping being refunded, you need to opt in for this. Keep a copy of the postage receipt, take a photo of the package with the sellers address given to you by PayPal. That way you will get your postage refunded and the cost of the items you are returning.

[ekrabappel]

As a movie buff and someone with a hearing impaired member in the family, yes it does matter. A Sony Pictures release (as described) would be 1.85:1 with subtitles.  Instead I got a Pan & Scan (4:3) version with no subtitles by a company I'd never heard of before.

As for the wrong title, the decription clearly stated Redline 2007. The actors and rest of the description definaitely related to Redline 2007. What I received was the movie Deathline 1997 (aka Redline).

In both cases not my error.  I purchase lots of DVDs from Ebay and notice a lot of sellers use a pre-filled forms for movies and grab the nearest photo which is often misleading.

[padi*0409]

Very good advice "designers" especially the bit about the photos and copy of the postage receipt, as Paypal use a different entity to process the return postage payment (Telus Iternational I think) who require both those items before they'll agree to the payment.

It's also essential to sign up before opening a dispute.

[lane-ends]

Given the value it is hardly worth your effort, nor the sellers, to return them. Odds are seller just responded automatically without thinking it through, or as an ambit that you just wouldn't bother. If you selected not as described return it is very likely that he would straight out refund. I doubt he is setting you up for a not received as that is dicing with a neg for very little reward.

What is their feedback like? If a volume seller then that will be a good indicator.

[designers*n*more]

Yes, I found out during a returning an item that was totally different to what we ordered. It wasn't on eBay but we paid with PayPal. The seller was listing photos of beautiful outfits, so my daughter bought one for her formal. Despite paying for express post (and we are both metro Melb) we didn't get the parcel until 2 weeks later,  3 days before her formal and OMG, the outfit was just a mock copy, nothing like the picture, ill fitting, uneven seams, hence to say my daughter was absolutely distraught.  The seller had no phone number, would not answer emails

anyway opened a dispute, returned the item, sent PayPal a copy of the receipt and they said they also require a photo of the package addressed to the seller. As I had already posted it I just made up a parcel and wrote the address on it, took a photo.

But yes, it is a requirement, photo of parcel with the PayPal return address and a copy of the postage receipt.

[redders_60]

Hi Lyndal; Good point about title & reading the description & etc.. Hubby once bought a DVD (on my ebay account as he doesn't have one)

He wanted Chariots Of Fire - but bought St Elmo's Fire - his mistake not the seller's. Was disappointed when the item arrived - until I pointed out he'd got exactly what he ordered! 

[springyzone]

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@ekrabappel wrote:

Hi all

I recently bought a bunch (about 20) of dvds which were disc only.  The seller posted them at 4 for $1.40 which is fine by me.  Problem was 2 of the discs were not as decribed. One was the wrong movie (same title) and the other was not the correct release company (not Sony as described).  I paid about about $3.25 for the wrong movie and 99c for the other.  I think it was a genuine mistake.  I contacted seller and sent photos and they responded to send back items and they will pay return postage plus refund.  Dilema is, should I send back via Registered Post? I know Paypal says yes but that will then make postage nearly $4 which is the cost of the items so seller will be out of pocket. Or am I being set up for the "never received" items saga?

Thanks

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What I am wondering here is if there is even an ebay or paypal option to return only part of a purchase? I didn't think there was, but I could be wrong as I have never been in this situation so i don't know. But I gathered that was what you might be intending to do?

If there isn't that option, a formal not as described case might mean you were required to return all 20 DVDs to the seller and then you would be fully reimbursed.

If you go down the track of privately sending off only a couple of DVDs to the seller, I am not sure where you would stand if you weren't reimbursed and then wanted to open a dispute. And it doesn't appear to me that that is exactly what the seller said-he said to return items for full refund-he may well expect all items.

So I guess my question would be-how much do you want to keep the other 18 DVDs?

If the answer is you would like to keep those ones, maybe it is worth being a few dollars out of pocket for those 2, or perhaps the seller will work out a  slight refund on the 2, although even if he offered to just reimburse you half the price of those 2, it still comes to only a couple of dollars.

[digital*ghost]

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@springyzone wrote:

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What I am wondering here is if there is even an ebay or paypal option to return only part of a purchase?

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On eBay, yes, on PayPal, not really. 

On eBay, you need to open a return request for each, individual item in an order that you want to return, so it doesn't affect the remainder of the order. On PayPal, you can open a dispute and request a partial refund, and work things out with the seller via the dispute, but if the dispute is actually escalated to PayPal, it becomes all or nothing. 

[letscleanupmycupboards]

For all those saying it's only $1.50 so why bother complaining (and for the one who said they've bought $30 items and not returned them) isn't this the reason we get peddled so much crud from overseas? Because people don't want to complain since "it's so cheap".

Sorry but how cheap it is shouldn't be relevant should it? I mean if the order was wrong and it's a $2 item isn't it the same as it being wrong and it's a $200 item? I'm not saying go and open a case or anything but price should have no bearing on getting the item you ordered and sellers should still be providing acceptable service.

For those who feel that way do you behave the same if your $2 or $30 item don't arrive at all?

[fixnwear]

letsclean, I can only tell you from personal experience that the ptice has EVERYTHING to do with it.

I normally don't buy online anything that costs $1.50 - but if I did and it didn't arrive or arrived faulty I would not invest any more time in it.

Same when shopping in real stores: you go to cheap shops, buy something for a dollar, usually there is no service of any kind involved - then you go to a upmarket store where they remeber your name! And give you a glass of something while you are seated in a plush sofa.

Dollar item, if faulty - wild horses qouldn't drag me back into the car, and the store - to get a refund!

So, if the loss is negligible, so minimal that it "costs" more one way or another to pursue it defeats all reason & economics - why bother with any of it - unless youhave heaps of time on your hands. It becomes no longer relevant whose fault the mistake was, yours or seller's and pursuing it at length is flogging a dead horse.