Bini Posted February 4, 2013 Report Share Posted February 4, 2013 I am literally in the process of corresponding with the eBay seller right now, and would greatly appreciate any suggestions in how to handle this situation.I purchased some cords for our iPhones. Within two weeks, they started falling apart, one by one. Admittedly, our own mistake was not keeping each cord (for proof) as they broke. So my husband threw two away and I threw two away. The last remaining cord finally fell apart a couple days ago, and fortunately, I held onto it. I decided to contact the eBay seller and included an image of the broken cord, requesting for a refund. The seller will not refund and will only replace the one cord (because I can't prove that the other four cords are in the same condition).I'm really frustrated. I understand the seller not wanting to refund or replace products that I cannot account for BUT I do not want the same cheap product for a replacement! I am pushing for a refund - and just for that one item! The seller will not honour a refund, however, will send another cheap replacement of the same thing. Great! eBay says that reports should be made for products that are falsely advertised or do not match description. Here's a direct quote from their eBay seller's store:We offer only quality devices. Our products are affordable but certainly aren't "cheap". Every item is guaranteed for their performance and reliability.The product I purchased was cheap. So I'm wanting to file a complaint accordingly. Has anyone filed such a complaint before? And how did you manage it? Maybe someone can help me word my response effectively? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bini Posted February 4, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2013 UGH. Typo in title. See, I'm really flustered over this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bini Posted February 4, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2013 In addition, my husband left 5-star Positive Feedback the day the items arrived. Sigh.. We hadn't anticipated that these would fall apart like they did. So we can't even give them negative feedback! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vort Posted February 4, 2013 Report Share Posted February 4, 2013 Two pieces of advice: 1. Do not let yourself be upset. If you feel upset now, go walk it off. Never let some eBay seller disturb your tranquility. 2. Do what you can, and do what you feel you must. But at the end of the day, you lost $1000 (or more probably $10). It's only money, not anything important. Let it go with the idea that you'll be a little more careful next time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bini Posted February 4, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2013 Two pieces of advice:1. Do not let yourself be upset. If you feel upset now, go walk it off. Never let some eBay seller disturb your tranquility.2. Do what you can, and do what you feel you must. But at the end of the day, you lost $1000 (or more probably $10). It's only money, not anything important. Let it go with the idea that you'll be a little more careful next time.You are right, and it was only about $10, too. Still I'm annoyed. This seller has a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee and they don't even honour it - that's what really peeves me off! The cords are not Apple product but appeared to be (from description, written and visual) similar quality to the Rocketfish brand. Not even close. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingnut Posted February 4, 2013 Report Share Posted February 4, 2013 Not much you can do about either of these suggestions at this point, but here's my two cents: (1) Everything I've read says that despite the prices, only buy Apple brand chargers/cords for Apple devices. Don't buy generics. (2) I never leave a product rating or review until after I've actually had an opportunity to try a product out. I hate reading reviews that say things like, "just got these in the mail today -- fantastic!" when all the others say, "shoes came quickly, color is as reported, but they're really wide and not true to size." or something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bini Posted February 4, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2013 Not much you can do about either of these suggestions at this point, but here's my two cents:(1) Everything I've read says that despite the prices, only buy Apple brand chargers/cords for Apple devices. Don't buy generics.(2) I never leave a product rating or review until after I've actually had an opportunity to try a product out. I hate reading reviews that say things like, "just got these in the mail today -- fantastic!" when all the others say, "shoes came quickly, color is as reported, but they're really wide and not true to size." or something like that.My husband rarely frustrates me, if ever, but I wish he hadn't left immediate feedback. Typically, we don't. That said, we have never had problems with buying chargers and cords. They've lasted. At least the feedback only reads: Item arrived timely!Side complaint. Apple should have NEVER changed the iPhone charging cord. The new one is terrible in comparison to the older versions for the iPhone 4s and earlier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LiterateParakeet Posted February 4, 2013 Report Share Posted February 4, 2013 You are right, and it was only about $10, too.I agree with Vort, his advice reminded me of good advice my husband gave me eons ago (oh, that makes me sound old...I mean he told me last year, LOL!) I was getting really stressed out trying to get the kids ready for church, "what will people think of us if we are late?" kind of thing. My husband said, "It's not worth losing your peace over." He was absolutely right, and Vort is right too. I have thought about that many times over the years, "It's not worth losing your peace over," and I believe my relationshipes with my children are much better because of it.My husband--brag moment--is the most patient person I know, so yes, he "walks his talk on this." He's such a blessing to me... Anyway, sorry sidetracked.Don't lose your peace over this. If you can walk this off, it will be great practice for dealing with future frustrations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skippy740 Posted February 4, 2013 Report Share Posted February 4, 2013 Forget the "guarantee". That's practically meaningless. What does their return policy state on the listing? Is the seller honoring what they put in writing as their return policy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bini Posted February 4, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2013 It's less about the money and more about the frustration of this eBayer selling product as "quality" when it is not.Forget the "guarantee". That's practically meaningless. What does their return policy state on the listing?Is the seller honoring what they put in writing as their return policy?Their Return Policy says that they will honour a refund or replacement of a defective or incorrect item. As far as I'm concerned, what I received is defective, and is pure junk. It is not quality or reliable as they claim in writing via their store description. At the very least, I'd like to bring attention to eBay of this, even if we don't get a dime back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pam Posted February 4, 2013 Report Share Posted February 4, 2013 UGH. Typo in title. See, I'm really flustered over this. Fixed. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skippy740 Posted February 5, 2013 Report Share Posted February 5, 2013 Take a picture of the item along with a copy of today's newspaper to verify the date. (Newspaper? What's that? Yeah, I know.) Then send a copy of the photograph and notate the original date of purchase to ebay and let them decide. You could also file a complaint through your credit card company? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tubaloth Posted February 5, 2013 Report Share Posted February 5, 2013 Can you not go back and change the feedback? I think its only available for like 90 days. You could try to fight it more through paypal, but that would also be tough to do with out having the cords with you. I bought this Portable CD player and head phones from e-bay... Its was $5.00 but $20 shipping (which you could do that back in the day). The picture wasn't that clear. I bought it, and came to find out it was probably more refurbished then really used. (Somewhere in between) I contacted the seller, they said they could refund just the price of the item $5, (they aren't required to refund shipping) but I would have to pay to ship it back, which wasn't worth it. Honestly with the Head phones and CD player (that played mp3 cds it was probably still worth $20) I had left Negative feed back, but they contacted me, and said because I was willing to keep it, to at least change it to Neutral feed back so I did, or they did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smudge Posted February 10, 2013 Report Share Posted February 10, 2013 I would be inclined to open a complaint against them. Me and my housemate recently had to do it when we bought an item, which was then removed by ebay - and because of problems with ebay (saying we hadn't paid so we shouldn't - meaning we couldn't complain through them) we ended up opening a paypal complaint and got our money back :) Sometimes it is definately worth opening a complaint Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmarklin Posted February 12, 2013 Report Share Posted February 12, 2013 It's less about the money and more about the frustration of this eBayer selling product as "quality" when it is not.Their Return Policy says that they will honour a refund or replacement of a defective or incorrect item. As far as I'm concerned, what I received is defective, and is pure junk. It is not quality or reliable as they claim in writing via their store description. At the very least, I'd like to bring attention to eBay of this, even if we don't get a dime back.Seems like the seller is willing to honor his bargain. You only have one to return, and he is willing to replace it. Should have kept the others.Typically, you get what you pay for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bini Posted February 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2013 Seems like the seller is willing to honor his bargain. You only have one to return, and he is willing to replace it. Should have kept the others.Typically, you get what you pay for.It's laughable. The seller hardly wants to honour a refund and we don't want another crappy product of the exact same thing. But a case has been opened and is in process. Looks like we may get our money back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miztrniceguy Posted February 13, 2013 Report Share Posted February 13, 2013 I advise sticking to Amazon. Look for items that have free shipping. If you have a problem contact Amazon seller, typically they will refund and tell you throw item away. That being said, the few occasions I buy from Ebay I am very careful about who I deal with. I also work thru my wife's account as she has been a hi rated seller for a long time. A couple of times I had a problem, I told the seller I wanted an immediate refund, and I would leave positive feedback saying seller handled issue promptly, and I would return Item. Or I if the didn't I would leave negative feedback. Their choice. Worked every time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bini Posted February 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2013 We filed a complaint but didn't get a refund. Fortunately, it didn't cost much, about $10. Anyway, the whole situation was not in our favour. The eBay seller was a Top Rated seller with over 99% 5-Star Positive Feedback. Largely, this is WHY we chose them instead of other sellers in the 97% range.. Doesn't sound like a big difference but it is in fact a MASSIVE difference. Our personal eBay account has about 300 transactions (both buying and selling) and we are 100% Top Rated with no negative or neutral feedback. Unfortunately, doesn't hold much weight against a business that has about 33K sales with a vast majority of happy customers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miztrniceguy Posted February 18, 2013 Report Share Posted February 18, 2013 Did you pay with a credit card? If so, call credit card company and initiate a billing dispute with reason "not as described" and "defective". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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