I bought an item which was described as being able to be dismantled for transport purposes.

[6764terry]

I purchased a wardrobe & dresser from eBay and after speaking to the seller & owner who was the mother of the seller, I arranged a courier to organise 2 men to collect the items tonight.
Part of the description of the wardrobe stated "THIS WARDROBE IS ABLE TO BE DISMANTLED INTO 2 SECTIONS FOR TRANSPORT.
I didn't go to the owner's address & was waiting at the delivery address. When the courier arrived at the owner's house this evening, he found that the wardrobe couldn't be dismantled. He phone me to explain & I then asked to speak to the owner. I spoke to the seller's mother & then offered to take only the dresser & leave the wardrobe so they could sell it on eBay again & I wouldn't ask for a refund. The owner wouldn't let the courier take it.
I have to pay $140 to the courier.
I've received an email from the seller this evening in which he stated the following: Message from merchant: " Hi.  I have refunded your purchase due to being incorrect in stating that the wardrobe was able to be dismantled in 2 pieces.  An honest mistake". 
This is extremely disappointing. I believed the description is inaccurate which has resulted in me not receiving the items. I thought I was being very reasonable when I offered to only take the dresser. 
I have $140 courier costs & no items. This is extremely disappointing.
I have been purchasing from eBay & paying through PayPal for many years without anything like this occurring. It is paramount to ensure that description of items is totally accurate to ensure that there is a clear understanding of what the buyer agreed to when an item is purchased.

I believe that I shouldn't have to pay the courier costs as this was due to the inaccuracy of the seller's description & the seller should reimburse me for the costs..

[lyndal1838]

Which is exactly why I suspect that the OP did not engage a regular courier company.

I suspect it was a private arrangement with someone who has a truck/moving van and was prepared to do out of hours work.

No courier company that I know of would allow their drivers to dismantle furniture....it is strictly against the OH & S rules for a start.  Couriers are not supposed to lift more than 5 kg...what a laugh.

[springyzone]

It looked like a bargain there, price wise.

If I were the seller, I would not want to split the items either as it would be harder to sell them.

That was a pretty big wardrobe, I couldn't see where it could be taken apart, unless the legs came off.

One thing that did surprise me is that here is a person selling 2 biggish items of furniture and they don't mention the measurements, which I would have thought would be one of the first things potential customers would have wanted to know.

Your problem obviously was with the courier you hired or size of the truck. I would be upset too that the ad was misleading but it is odd you didn't check on what size the 2 pieces would be, because the ad didn't mention where it would be split.

Maybe you should just hire another courier with a bigger truck. It would cost you I know, but at least you would end up with something for your money.

You've done the $149 though, whichever way you look at it.

[lyndal1838]

Springy, couriers are not furniture removalists.  No matter how big their truck is they are prevented from moving large items like furniture by O H & S rules.

Heavy weights are moved on pallets by forklifts, not by the driver lifting them.

What the OP needs is a removalist with at least 2 people....that wardrobe would be quite heavy with all that glass.

[thecatspjs]

Couriers or removalist - what ever one calls them neither is not wrong or right.

There are companies that label themselves as couriers and handle all different sizes of items to be transported.

There a broad range of specialist courier services such as in the motor vehicle industry that courier car and truck parts off all sizes on a daily basis, as well as in the furniture freight area that has many courier businesses that label themselves as couriers - google dumbo move for example.

[lyndal1838]

Of course you are right thecatspjs.....your opinions are always right.

What would I know about it....I have only been a sub contract courier for over 20 years so have no idea what I am talking about.  Couriers can not carry large pieces of furniture requiring more than one person to handle it no matter what size their truck is.

The OP should have been looking for a removalist.

[thecatspjs]

I am not always right. Just noted that i thought that everyone was right.

Search furniture courier in ebay plenty come up - isn't that what matters?

[thecatspjs]

You obviously didn't google dumbo movers - on their website they outline they are a furniture courier service. They are one of thousands of businesses that describe themselves that way.

Lots of businesses in the industry use both terms.

Don't be fooled, i might sell dresses and frocks on this id but I also have a broad range of experience, as we all do, I just don't feel the need to boast about it.

[springyzone]

Springy, couriers are not furniture removalists.  No matter how big their truck is they are prevented from moving large items like furniture by O H & S rules.

Heavy weights are moved on pallets by forklifts, not by the driver lifting them.

What the OP needs is a removalist with at least 2 people....that wardrobe would be quite heavy with all that glass.

------------------------------------------

Ah, I understand what you mean. The buyer needed a company that was willing to move furniture and I may have got my terms wrong, because you're right, couriers often just deliver parcels.

But I am thinking that whoever they hired, they would have had to mention to them that it was to pick up and deliver a wardrobe and dresser, and most normal courier services would have declined or explained that it was a job for furniture removalists or 2 men.

So whoever they hired must have been furniture removalists and the only thing i can think of that may have stopped them picking up the item was their truck wasn't big enough. I suppose the buyer may have found removalists who dealt only in smaller furniture items, but even so, if you split that wardrobe in half, each piece would still be quite big and heavy, I would have thought.

I can't understand why a furniture removalist wasn't able to deal with it, even if they had to go back with the right truck or equipment.

It's not any area of expertise of mine though, have to admit. Only furniture I have dealt with lately was a piano delivery and I hired a specialist remover for that. Similar price too, from memory. I'm thinking the wardrobe would not have been much heavier, although definitely bigger.