Mendon Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 (edited) I haven't used eBay for buying or selling in several years, for a couple of reasons. But I recently wanted to get back into some retro gaming so I went looking at listings on eBay. Long story short, I bought an O2 bundle for a reasonably cheap price (at least cheap to me) because it had a Voice Unit and a couple games I needed for my current O2 set-up. It arrived but the Voice Unit didn't work at all and several of the "good condition" cart's were in TERRIBLE condition, with much green stuff on them. I contacted the seller, he said he was sorry, and to ship the system back to him. I did so and sent him an Email with the tracking number and asked to please contact me when it arrived. He sent a Email back saying that when he received it, he would refund me my money minus shipping and eBay fee's. I haven't responded at this time but began wondering what the normal protocol is for refunds. In my case, I paid $15 to ship the system here and I'm paying $16.50 to ship it back. This means I am out $31.50 (plus eBay fee's whatever they are) just to have a broken system in my house for 24hours. Questions: is this the normal way that everyone here handles refunds? Is this considered fair? Is there an alternative method of handling refunds? I'm not looking at starting any sort of trouble, but I feel a bit taken advantage of that I have incurred all the loss in the transaction, though no fault of my own. Am I out of line in feeling this way or should I view any future transaction as a "you roll the dice, you take your chance" situation? Thanks in advance for any comments. Mendon Edited October 20, 2011 by Mendon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disjaukifa Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 I would open a case with eBay that way you will at least get your original shipping fees back I believe . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxpressed Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 Yes, the best thing for you to do is to open a case. eBay's "Buyer Protection" program will get you your original purchase price + shipping back. If you had opened a case before you sent it back, you could have gotten either the seller or eBay to pay for return shipping as well. eBay does a lot to protect the buyer, often at the seller's expense, but in your case I think the seller deserves to pay for all shipping AND refund your money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mendon Posted October 20, 2011 Author Share Posted October 20, 2011 (edited) Thanks for your comments and input. What's the protocol for opening a case.... should one wait to see what the refund is before complaining to eBay or do you instantly file a complaint? Again, I'm not trying to open up a whole hornets nest but would just like to know what the normal way of handling things are. The Voice unit was the main attraction for my purchase. And since it didn't work, I'd like all my money back as it being defective isn't my fault at all. But maybe my getting a 100% refund but paying to ship the system back is the totally fair thing to do as maybe the unit worked before shipping and its not the sellers complete fault either. Mendon Edited October 20, 2011 by Mendon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galeforcerm Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 I would call ebay or find the customer service chat on ebay. I have had good luck contacting them this way. You can also go to paypal and click resolution center or something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxpressed Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 (edited) Once the seller refunds your money, you cannot open a case. You should open a case now if you want to recover your original purchase price and shipping. Opening a case is the only way you can "activate" the Buyer Protection policy. You can do so with one of the links under "More Actions" next to the item in your "Purchase History." The link is entitled "Resolve a problem." eBay will take you step by step from there. Edited October 20, 2011 by boxpressed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mendon Posted October 20, 2011 Author Share Posted October 20, 2011 Once the seller refunds your money, you cannot open a case. You should open a case now if you want to recover your original purchase price and shipping. Opening a case is the only way you can "activate" the Buyer Protection policy. You can do so with one of the links under "More Actions" next to the item in your "Purchase History." The link is entitled "Resolve a problem." eBay will take you step by step from there. Thanks very much for the info.... much appreciated! I went ahead and opened a case just to protect myself. Mendon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mendon Posted October 20, 2011 Author Share Posted October 20, 2011 I would still like to know how other eBay sellers here on Atari Age handle their eBay returns: You sell something, the buyer says its defective or not as advertised, you tell the buyer to return it, now what do you do? Give a full refund, give a partial refund (deduct shipping or fee's), something else... what is the normal protocol you use? Mendon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akator Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 I give a full refund of everything the buyer paid upon receipt of the item. It's only happened once, though, and the item I got back was in perfect working condition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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