Is this a reasonable return request?

[ajarnjenny]

I bought a dress (used) in good condition, but, the darts are sewn on the outside of the dress, overlocked with threads hanging off and the back zip is sewn in on the wrong side of the dress. When I first got it, I thought that it was inside out, but the side seams are sewn the correct way. The seller claims that this is a design feature of this 'very expensive' dress, which I bought cheaply.

It may well be a design feature, but was not mentioned in the listing and I think if it is a design feature, it is quite a different feature and should have been mentioned. I have looked at the photos again and now that I know the dress has an inside out look, I can tell, if I zoom on those parts, but I would never have thought to check whether the  darts and zip have been sewn on the right side.

She has refused the return and accused me of buyers remorse and is very insulted that  I didn't like her 'very expensive' dress.

I could never wear it. People would look at me and think 'that poor old lady has her dress on inside out'.

I have never returned anything before.

What to do now?

[i-love-my-sheep]

After seeing how easy it was for the OP to snap her fingers and get her money back, plus keep the dress she clearly doesn't want, I think as sellers we are screwed monumentally.

It doesn't matter what the seller says, the buyer is always right, regardless. The violin incident a couple of years ago was a prime example. The buyer said the violin was a fake, they were believed, so they were ordered to destroy it to get their money back. Turns out it was a very rare violin and the buyers word was taken as gospel.

I for one am so sick of this one sided discrimination against sellers on this platform. Here we have a buyer snapping her fingers and possibly destroying a new seller to get her own way, and another buyer telling other buyers to leave negative feedback. As I said above, we're screwed.

[cq_tech]

We are indeed screwed, sheep. I received an email from eBay today which virtually admits that the buyer is always right, after complaining that the buyer who defected me in retaliation for not accepting his unsolicited offers had been NARU'd after being a member for just 3 months, presumably for doing the same thing to others, and I wanted my trashed DSRs and defects removed as a result.

I have highlighted the relevant part of the email which made my blood boil (I've left the ID intact as the buyer is now NARU)...

=============================

Hi William,

Thank you for contacting ebay about your two transactions with m8ship (item #:141470704084, 141470735219). I understand that you're concerned about these two defects on your record.

Our defect rate measures how often a buyer has a problem with a transaction. Most of the time, we're unable to verify the claims of the buyer (the quality of the item, what condition the item was when the buyer received it or when it was returned to the seller, etc.). Since we can't verify the claims, we will want to err on the side of the buyer. The benefit of the defect rate for the seller is that it tells them immediately when there is a pattern of concerns that they should address.

If you feel that the buyer you are working with may be abusing the site, our Buyer Risk Management team is dedicated to action for buyers that have a pattern of abusive behavior. If we don't see the evidence needed to back up the removal, it doesn't make it removable. We must have the evidence to prove that it falls within policy to remove for it to be eligible. The lack of evidence doesn't make the defect removable.

Thank you once again for bringing this matter to our attention.

Best regards,

Judith D.

ebay Customer Support

==========================

How's that for a load of unintelligible and meaningless bullsh*t? It didn't even address the issue at the heart of my problem, but I particularlly liked the way eBay admitted that they "err" on the side of the buyer. Bunch of useless bloody tossers, as I did indeed have photographic and documentary evidence to support my claim that the buyer had lied. Nevertheless, the ba$tards at eBay were still not the least bit interested. Then again, are they ever?

[Anonymous]

This is why I don't like to sell any thing, the buyer gets the cake and eat it as well, she should have to return the dress, in my opinion.

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@i-love-my-sheep wrote:

It seems you got what you wanted. A defect for the seller, the dress and the refund. I bet you're feeling quite pleased with yourself now. Why don't you top it off with a big red dot for the seller and trash her stars while you're at it? That will be the cherry on the cake.

The seller had photos, you looked at the photos, you bought the dress. That should have been the end of it. There is a zoom feature on photos for a reason. I suggest in future you use it.

Are you going to send the dress back now you've got a refund? I already know the answer to that......

---

[Anonymous]

A good way to get free stuff I guess, Now she can sell the dress and profit, its scandalous really.

[elusiveeditions]

Christ on a bike cq_tech. Helluva response you got there from Judith D (do you think that's her real name?)

I liked this line the most-  "The lack of evidence doesn't make the defect removable."

Plus the lack of:

a) addressing the issue at hand

b) GSSS (grammar, spelling, sentence structure)

c) adherence to most peoples' idea of logic (aka 'the average person test')

Friggin' awesome.

I feel your pain..... it'd be hilarious if people weren't losing money hand over fist.

Oh, and sorry to take the inside-out dress thread so far off track.But since I'm here-

OP- you were wrong. Blind Freddy could've seen the problem you've angsted over. I was tempted to buy something/anything from that seller just to make up for your behaviour. Send the dress back and be nice, hey?

[i-love-my-sheep]

---

@Anonymous wrote:
A good way to get free stuff I guess, Now she can sell the dress and profit, its scandalous really.

---

I buy far more than I sell and I've never claimed an item not as described. The few things I've bought that I raised my eyebrows at, I went back into the listing and it was all there in black and white. I had misread the listing (my fault, not the sellers!). If it doesn't turn out to be what I thought it was, I try and sell it (usually for what I paid for it, with fees tacked on so I'm not out of pocket).

I've bought from plenty of sellers over the years that I could have ripped off. Just recently, there were major delays in shipments from China in mid to late October. Quite a few buyers were complaining of these delays. I actually only realised when the items fell off my purchase history, which meant it was way to late to open a claim.

I sent all the sellers a message, not to ask for a refund, but just to let them know the items haven't arrived, in case they got returned to sender. EVERY SINGLE ONE said if they weren't there in a week, let them know and they would give me a full refund, including postage cost. It wasn't long after some buyers here said their delayed shipments were starting to arrive, so I held out. I'm glad I did because they all ended up arriving (as far as I know).

The point is, I could have taken a refund from all those sellers (some in excess of $US100) and they would have been none the wiser when the items turned up. I'm sure there are plenty who would take the money and run. My conscience won't let me. The one time I did get a refund ages ago, the item turned up, so I resent the payment. Besides, I want to keep buying off these sellers!!

In the last few days I've bought from some sellers I haven't bought from before. None have been sent with tracking. I could easily open a case for not arrived.....even if they did. Again, my conscience won't let me. I would feel like a thief.

Sadly, there are plenty of buyers out there who will gladly take something for nothing and think nothing of it. It's become a very sad state of affairs.

[i-love-my-sheep]

---

@cq_tech wrote:

We are indeed screwed, sheep. I received an email from eBay today which virtually admits that the buyer is always right, after complaining that the buyer who defected me in retaliation for not accepting his unsolicited offers had been NARU'd after being a member for just 3 months, presumably for doing the same thing to others, and I wanted my trashed DSRs and defects removed as a result.

I have highlighted the relevant part of the email which made my blood boil (I've left the ID intact as the buyer is now NARU)...

=============================

Hi William,

Thank you for contacting ebay about your two transactions with m8ship (item #:141470704084, 141470735219). I understand that you're concerned about these two defects on your record.

Our defect rate measures how often a buyer has a problem with a transaction. Most of the time, we're unable to verify the claims of the buyer (the quality of the item, what condition the item was when the buyer received it or when it was returned to the seller, etc.). Since we can't verify the claims, we will want to err on the side of the buyer. The benefit of the defect rate for the seller is that it tells them immediately when there is a pattern of concerns that they should address.

If you feel that the buyer you are working with may be abusing the site, our Buyer Risk Management team is dedicated to action for buyers that have a pattern of abusive behavior. If we don't see the evidence needed to back up the removal, it doesn't make it removable. We must have the evidence to prove that it falls within policy to remove for it to be eligible. The lack of evidence doesn't make the defect removable.

Thank you once again for bringing this matter to our attention.

Best regards,

Judith D.

ebay Customer Support

==========================

How's that for a load of unintelligible and meaningless bullsh*t? It didn't even address the issue at the heart of my problem, but I particularlly liked the way eBay admitted that they "err" on the side of the buyer. Bunch of useless bloody tossers, as I did indeed have photographic and documentary evidence to support my claim that the buyer had lied. Nevertheless, the ba$tards at eBay were still not the least bit interested. Then again, are they ever?

---

I am NOT at all surprised about that response. After all, they think a buyer has one bad experience and will leave eBay forever. What about the sellers leaving? How will that affect their precious buyers when they have no-one to buy from? EBay would be a much better place if all sellers disappeared and let the precious buyers strut their stuff. 

We often say at work how much better our day would be if there were no patients (of course it's a joke), but some goodie two shoes schmuck always pipes up with "if it wasn't for the patients, you wouldn't have a job". Still, our day would be heaps better! Same as eBay would run so much smoother without all the pesky sellers upsetting their precious buyers.

[Anonymous]

yes I hear ya, in all my years on here I've not once asked for a refund or sent things back, I just suck it up if I'm not happy, the perfumes I've bought that say brand new unopened but I get them and they are used, arrr, I cant be bothered fussing over it. Maybe I'm a loser but I sleep well at night.

[i-love-my-sheep]

---

@Anonymous wrote:
yes I hear ya, in all my years on here I've not once asked for a refund or sent things back, I just suck it up if I'm not happy, the perfumes I've bought that say brand new unopened but I get them and they are used, arrr, I cant be bothered fussing over it. Maybe I'm a loser but I sleep well at night.

---

It's one of the risks of buying online. Of course if it was something really bad I might ask for a refund, or something expensive. Although one time I bought some vintage crockery. The silly seller stacked the plates on top of each other with a small piece of paper between them, then wrapped them together in a single sheet of newspaper. THEN, she put them in a 3kg satchel bag. Of course, as you could imagine, they arrived completely smashed.

I contacted the seller, not to ask for a refund, but to let her know that due to poor packaging, they all arrived smashed. I also pointed out that it was dangerous for the postage workers because they could have been injured. It was more a courtesy message and I was polite. Not once did I mention a refund. Within 5 minutes of me sending the message, I got a PayPal email saying I had received a refund. 

[black*poppy]

Still no one can answer why the seller was SO detailed in her listing about the zip, but FAILED to mention anything about the inside out seams - important missing detail IMO.

Obfuscation, clear and simple.