Misrepresented item purchased

[jsmith1994]

Hi all,

New to this forum.

I purchased 6 vintage pokemon booster packs as, and I quote, the seller described them as:

"they are in good condition and have not been opened or weighed". The packs looks like they have indeed been tampered with, and one of them even has a big tear in it (attached picture)! In that picture you can also see what looks like glue residue.

I purchased them with the intent of on-selling them on my collection store, but I cannot do that now based on their real condition. They also listed the item as "New", which one would assume is a box-fresh pack. as you can see by the attached photos, this is not the case.

I have opened a return request but fear the process. Am I likely to see my $485 back?

[jsmith1994]

The seller has now said he wont accept the return/refund and that he is sorry i am not happy with the items, EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE COMPLETELY MISREPRESENTED.

It is so frustrating because I now have to wait 6 days for ebay to step in and help. 

He said:

"Hey mate I don’t see what appears to be wrong with the packs? When I shipped them they were in good condition as showed in the photos which show the packs clearly....."

I contacted him prior to the end of the auction with my concerns and he told me it was only "a little weathering" on the edge of the packs and that "the cards are definitely safe tho".

His listing photo was from a distance which is why I messaged him asking the extent of the damage to the packs, which he blatantly lied about them having "a little weathering". He completely left out the fact that there is a tear in one of the packs.

Am I likely to see a refund?

[enigmabear]

Have you opened an item not as described dispute?

It does not sound like the seller is interested in being helpful or admiting fault

[jsmith1994]

Yes I definitely have, was the first thing I did 😛

I just have no experience with having this happen to me, and just want guidance on what I can expect from this dispute.

[*tippy*toes* · Accepted solution]

Wait out the 4-6 days until you can ask eBay to step in and help, and escalate. If he refuses to rectify the situation, you will receive a refund without having to return the items. You can in good conscious return them of course. As if he wants them back and if he does, he needs to send you a postage label so you can send them back. If eBay close the dispute, he will cop a defect on his account, which can affect his selling.

EBay protects buyers. They hate sellers and rarely look out for sellers. You are OK.

[jsmith1994]

Thank you so much for the clarification, puts my mind at ease 🙂 

[*tippy*toes*]

If the seller isn't an experienced seller, I'd probably mention via the dispute that if they ignore the request, eBay will close in your favour and they will lose both the money and the items. Inexperienced sellers probably don't realise that. If you mention that, he might be more inclined to respond to the dispute, and even accept the return. If he doesn't, escalate.

[jsmith1994]

He definitely has been responding, but is adamant he won't be giving me a refund and that he did not misrepresent the item (which he has, and quite badly). I am worried that even with the escalation that I will be stuck with the damaged packs, so I hope ebay take into account all the evidence I put forward about the misrepresented items. He claims there was no damage, but I even found one of the packets glued at the top to try and hide a tear in the pack. I am quite upset so I hope it gets resolved.

[countessalmirena · Accepted solution]

The seller chose "new" as the item condition, and that was the incorrect condition, given that there was a tear in the packet. Even the mention of "weathering" is contradictory if the item condition was "new".

If eBay end up stepping in, it will almost certainly be in your favour. Make certain that upon returning the item to the seller, you are not out of pocket for postage. You might be best off phoning eBay via Have us call you in that event, pointing out that the seller hasn't co-operated and that you are worried about the seller refusing to refund you for postage.

eBay say: We'll call you at the phone number registered to your account, or you can enter a different number.

We’re available from 8am to 10pm AET, 7 days a week.

But let that wait until you know how the situation ends up playing out. It may be that the seller will realise that accepting the return (seller being responsible for return postage) is the best solution.

[springyzone]

I'd say you would be likely to win your case because you have some clear pictures of damage.

A seller shouldn't be writing 'new' as the description without adding explicit details of any damage and a tear definitely comes into that category. 'A bit weathered' doesn't cut it.

I would expect anything described as new to be in excellent condition, not just good.

A better word would have been unopened.