Refund on product

[arg_86]

good morning,  i purchased a product and it failed during the warranty period.  we were troubleshooting for a few days and the time lapsed.  the seller has asked me to request a refund through ebay but ebay will not allow me to.  buyer and seller are in agreement that refund is acceptable.  please advise

Order:05-11076-14908

i can screen shoot the conversation if needed

[sandypebbles]

Other members cannot see anything from the order number

There is no warranty, unless you purchased from an authorised seller/reseller who is registered in Australia 

You are out of time to do anything through eBay, and the seller would know this

The time limit is 30 days past the estimated delivery date

No use is posting a screenshot of the conversation 

My advice, if you want an actual warranty is to only by from authorised sellers, otherwise warranty is just a word on the screen

What is the item number?

[countessalmirena]

There is no “warranty” period - unless the seller is an authorised dealer for the item. (E.g., authorised by Apple (Australia) to sell Apple products in Australia; authorised by KitchenAid (Australia) to sell KitchenAid products in Australia, etc.)

There is a Money Back Guarantee offered by eBay with strict terms & conditions. A guarantee is not a warranty. eBay’s MBG covers the buyer for 30 days (to the nanosecond) after receiving the item in the event of its being not as described (faulty, damaged, not the item as described in the listing, fake, parts missing, and so on. The acronym for this is SNAD or INAD (Significantly Not As Described / Item Not As Described).

Unfortunately some sellers will take advantage of buyers who haven’t made themselves aware of the T&Cs. If you haven’t opened a dispute within 30 days, or haven’t escalated it by asking eBay to step in (once opened) within 21 days if the seller hasn’t refunded you within that timeframe, you are no longer covered.

It seems you have allowed the seller to delay you from action until the time ran out.

eBay will not force the seller to refund you in this event. That’s it. Case closed (or never opened.) Finis.

However, if you paid by PayPal, you can still open a claim through PayPal. Their Buyer Protection covers you for 180 days from the date of the transaction. PayPal won’t cover the cost of returning the item, though… but if the seller is in another country, you could plead the case to PayPal (get on the phone to PayPal in that event) that the cost of returning the item isn’t commensurate with the item price, if that’s the case. Your requirement to return the item for refund may be waived - possibly. It’s not unknown.

If you didn’t use PayPal but did fund the purchase by your credit or debit card, you may be able to have your bank initiate a chargeback, but it depends on your specific card’s T&Cs. Some timeframes could be as short as a month - most are longer - at the very most, I’ve seen 6 months but it’s more usual to have 3 months. Check.

I should point out (and you should point this out in any claim or chargeback process) that your seller was unlikely to be charming and nice by offering helpful suggestions; it was almost certainly a deliberate tactic to stall until you could no longer open a Money Back Guarantee dispute (or it closed automatically without resolution). If I’m wrong abd the seller is not a Chinese seller (for instance) who’s been leading you on with time-wasting tactics, there is absolutely no reason that the seller can’t refund you directly themselves right now, I’m betting that the seller won’t do that… so you’ll need either PayPal (preferred option if possible) or your bank to assist at this point.

[domino-710]

Given you are totally out of time for MBG - I have to ask if both buyer & seller are in agreement that a refund is acceptable - why has the seller not refunded off their own bat. ??

[sandypebbles]

Exactly , no reason they can't

If they had any intention of actually doing so

[springyzone]

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@arg_86 wrote:

good morning,  i purchased a product and it failed during the warranty period.  we were troubleshooting for a few days and the time lapsed.  the seller has asked me to request a refund through ebay but ebay will not allow me to.  buyer and seller are in agreement that refund is acceptable.  please advise

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The seller finally asked you to open an ebay claim because they knew very well you were out of time (30 days from arrival of product). The seller wasn't troubleshooting so much as trying to delay you, as others here have said.

The seller is actually treating you as a fool or is hoping, at least, that you have no idea of procedure and so far, you have reinforced their hope by letting the 30 day window for an ebay claim to pass.

The seller also knows he could refund you on the spot, immediately, he doesn't have to wait for you to go through ebay.

You have some possible avenues.

1. If you paid by paypal, open a claim immediately. However, just state that the item was faulty. Don't go saying that it was fine then failed later. Paypal does not cover people for a warranty, all it covers are items received in faulty condition or not as described and items that failed to arrive at all.

2. Did your seller ask at any stage how you paid? Sellers these days have no idea how the buyer paid.

If you have not told the seller how you paid, & even if you did not pay via paypal, then you could send another message to the seller, all very polite & helpful of course, say you appreciate their offer of a refund for the faulty item, but as the time for an ebay refund has run out, you have been advised (don't say where) to open a paypal claim or that the seller can make a refund themselves. Could they please do that asap?

The bluff may or may not work, but cannot harm to try and it isn't lying.

[45wayne45]

this poor fella is not the first to be caught out.. I too fell for this tactic.. as a newbee.. to ebay.

Treat it as a lerning curve.. open your despute and contact the seller at the same time.. if it is solved.. you can close out easy.. if not. the seller has more time to resolve the matter.. and the stall tactics wont work..