She damaged a designer gown and now wants a refund....

[ackj4]

I don't usually post on these boards but I am just so angry I have to vent.

I have bought and sold quite a bit on eBay over the years. Particularly designer dresses that I only ever wear for functions once. So I recently sold a Lisa Ho gown, which was beautiful, for $120. An absolute bargain.

The buyer paid, I sent it. The day I sent it I received an email from the buyer asking if she would receive it by the weekend because she wanted to, and I quote "show it off to her friends".

Anyway a few days later a receive an email telling me that I had misrepresented the dress in the listing as it has at least 20 holes in it! Including a couple of very large ones!

Now I know the dress had no holes in it when I sent it. 2 other people looked it over before I listed it. Not only that, I wore it once for a few hours, had it dry cleaned and then stored in a vacuum sealed bag. I am 100% positive there was nothing wrong with this dress.

I asked for photo's and she returned some saying, and again I quote "it looks like someone has put their foot through it". And she's right. It does. But it certainly wasn't my foot.

I am so irritated. I did some searching and it looks as though eBay always side with the buyer in cases like this. Especially seeing as I don't have photos of every inch of it. So it's her word against mine.

Has this happened to anyone else? And what advice would you give?

I feel as though I have little choice but to offer her a refund - for a dress that is now worthless. I could cry.

[ackj4]

Thanks everyone for all your advice. I really appreciate it. I've never been in this situation before and it has come as a real shock.

I really wish I had taken more photo's - but you can't go back! You do live and learn though. Next time I will be taking plenty of pics.

And she would have had time to wear it. I heard about the damage on Monday, so it was after the weekend.

My listing didn't include any damage at all - because there wasn't any. What it did say was that I am quite tall and wore the dress with heals. And even though I am tall the dress had to be shortened a bit before I could wear it. So I mentioned that if the buyer was shorter than 5 foot 9 they would have to have it shortened. Particularly given it was 100% silk and very delicate.

My guess is she wore it as is - it was too long and the bottom has been damaged beyond repair from constantly stepping on it.

I do have people who would be willing to sign a stat dec so that is always an option. I am going to go and chat to my dry cleaner as well. I'm sure they will help out. I know them quite well. They dry clean all my dresses and always comment on how lovely they are.

I'm also going to do a bit of a Facebook search, and give PayPal a call.

At least I feel as though I have some options now. I was so upset that someone could do that - and be OK with it!

I will keep you posted...

[thecatspjs]

What it did say was that I am quite tall and wore the dress with heals. And even though I am tall the dress had to be shortened a bit before I could wear it. So I mentioned that if the buyer was shorter than 5 foot 9 they would have to have it shortened. Particularly given it was 100% silk and very delicate.

Whilst this scenario might be difficult to evidence , I think that it is worth noting in any dispute, particularly if the photos sent by buyer show damage to the bottom of the dress. 

The buyer may inadvertently write in a paypal claim something that may even further support this scenario - you never know, but worth including as the length of the garment is is clearly mentioned in your description.

[missbrown1978]

I did that. I rang PayPal and they said that the were siding with the buyer as the buyer had no reason to make it up as they had to cover costs of returning the jacket.

[missbrown1978]

Sorry clarification on my post.

I did contact PayPal before the jacket was returned. They said that the were siding with the buyer as the buyer had no reason to make it up as they had to cover costs of returning the jacket.

I requested a review of their decision after the jacket was returned as there was no stain. I still lost as they said I could still re-sell the jacket and make up my costs.

[thecatspjs]

Can you also clarify what you mean by the following statement you made in an earlier post so the OP and other readers are not misled to think that you do not need to provide a written response and evidence via the dispute console and think that a phone call is all it takes to defend a dispute:

Second phone, don't message PayPal. I called PayPal and spoke to a lovely lady that looked over my listing.

[thecatspjs]

IMO a phone call to paypal to get advice on the progress of a dispute, and advice to check on specific requirements of evidence, is wise.

BUT a detailed written response and uploaded supporting evidence in the dispute console is IMO essential for the OPs situation where the listing does not provide enough evidence to have the best chance of getting a satisfactory resolution

[digital*ghost]

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@missbrown1978 wrote:

I did that. I rang PayPal and they said that the were siding with the buyer as the buyer had no reason to make it up as they had to cover costs of returning the jacket.

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What a load of hooey (what PayPal said, I mean, I'm not questioning that they said it 🙂 ).

A) How can PayPal make that kind of judgement call regarding a buyer's motivation, what evidence are they basing it on? Do they know the buyer personally and can vouch for their honesty? 

B) So, getting a $120 refund when one is not otherwise due isn't reason enough to make up things like that?

I wonder if it is worthwhile making some enquiries with Australia Post, if the item was that damaged on delivery, there would most likely have been some damage to the packaging, which often means it's repackaged, or taped up, with a notice, so perhaps AP keep some kind of record. It sounds like you can provide clear evidence of the item condition when sent, and you may be able to build a good enough case that the damage was not in transit as well, which leaves only one other possibility - one which you shouldn't be liable for.

[thecatspjs]

lol dg ... load of hooey ... spot on  !!! 

made me laugh as I haven't heard that saying for a long time 

[i-love-my-sheep]

So sorry this has happened to you. I got hit with an item significantly not as described at the end of 2012 that ended up in a lengthy legal battle (which they instigated and I won!), so I do feel your pain when you know you are in the right, but being told otherwise. I think my only saving grace was, this woman was a low feedback buyer, she paid via direct deposit, so couldn't make a claim through PayPal and didn't know what other avenues there were apart from taking us to court.

I'm wondering where the actual damage is? Is it just around the bottom of it, or has she taken to it with a pair of scissors all over it? If it's just around the bottom, could your dressmaker who shortened it for you, shorten it a bit more to cut off the ripped bits, so it can be resold? There are plenty of shorty's out there who might love that dress, but consider it too long for them ordinarily.

Please, keep us updated on what happens, because it really could help so many sellers that find themselves in this situation. I guess it's a good reminder to us all to take as many photos as possible of our items, even if all the photos don't end up on our listings. I generally delete my photos after I've sold something, maybe I should hang onto them for a little longer, just in case! There are too many crazy's out there.

GOOD LUCK!!

[missbrown1978]

I didn't need to make a written response. It was all taken care of by the PayPal rep I spoke to.

The first time it went in my favour and the second time as I said PayPal sided with the buyer. They said that was because if the jacket wasn't stained I could re-sell it to make my money back so tere was not an issue. I protested that I was still out of pocket on the postage but they didn't care.