How should I resolve this ebay problem I am having?
Asked by
Ame_Evil (
3051
)
November 7th, 2009
I recently bought an xbox 360 from ebay which included 3 games. Two of these games do not work as they appear to be scratched. Now I didn’t really want to play one of the scratched games, but the other I kinda did. The price of the bundle wasn’t really more expensive than just buying an xbox 360 alone.
So should I mention this to the seller, and ask for a £2 or so credit in order to repair the cd or should I just leave him neutral/positive feedback and ignore it (if its too much hassle)? The xbox 360 works fine btw (at least for the hour or so I played on it.. maybe I should test it some more).
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36 Answers
The item is not as described. Yes, you should say something, but start out directly to the seller, not feedback first. the seller may be a cheat or may have honestly not known the game was scratched.
Like @faye says contact the seller first BEFORE leaving feedback. The feedback system there is really harsh on sellers. Neutral is the same as a negative and will reduce their visibility to other buyers.
Contact them and let then know then go from there.
What did the listing say? Did it describe the games as excellent shape/working? Or were they described more as a freebie/throw-it-in? If they said the games all worked and one doesn’t, then, yes, contact the seller to give them a chance to make it right.
BTW, @Dog is absolutely right – feedback is not intended to be used as a means of communication between buyer and seller. It should be a reflection of the transaction as a whole after all aspects are compete, including dealing with any aftermath like your situation.
Tell him the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth!! he’ll want to fix it to keep his ebay status
His listing title says “Mint”, and since he doesn’t comment separately on the condition of the games, I think a reasonable buyer would assume that all the items in the lsiting were in top condition. So I agree with @faye that the listing is “not as described” and you have a case with PayPal , should he brush you off.
Unfortunately, it looks like he’s had similar issues with other buyers in the past.
Never do business with anyone who isn’t accountable for the product they are selling.
Hmm wish I took more notice of the negative comments before buying. guess it’ll teach me a lesson. at least not much damage was done as the xbox 360 seems to be working fine. Guess I should do some extensive testing before deciding though. Might just be one that fails after a few hours of play :x.
And some of those negative reviews he might have just made a mistake on and with almost 3000 sales I would probably expect that.
Oh yeah here’s a draft of what I would say to him, but wanted to run it by you guys first. Damn I suck at dealing with people on my own :p. If there is anything I need to include let me know. Also is it even possible to request a refund of some money?
“Hello, I am writing to inform you that I have received the item I purchased (Xbox 360 bundle with 3 games). Although the xbox 360 seems fine and in working order, two of the games (Hitman and Full Auto) appear to be faulty. I was wondering if you could refund £2 in order to repair these and I will leave positive feedback. I am sorry to cause any inconvenience”
And P.S. Damn I am so tight for just wanting £2 :x. Do you think I should just skip the whole matter?
It’s always good to give a seller the benefit of the doubt, but I kind of dobt that this was a simple error when I look at the nasty negatives he has given to previous buyers who complained.
It’s sellers like this who gave buyers with honest complaints retaliatory negs that led to the new feedback system that swung too far IMHO in the opposite direction and led to honest sellers being hurt by dodgy buyers. I don’t mean you BTW.
Yes, send it. if he craps on you go to ebay. you have to go to ebay within 45 days.
Don’t skip it! The new feedback system will prevent him from giving you an undeserved negative for voicing a valid complaint. If he does not resolve things to your satisfaction, you can file a complaint for item not as described and get all your money back if you want, minus what it would cost you to ship it back.
Are you sure the games can be repaired for two pounds? Unless you are, I wouldn’t offer to settle for a specific amount yet.
@MagRags Which seems a bit pointless as the issue is just with the games which I don’t care as much about as the console :x. What I hate is how confusing it is when the games don’t exactly have a fixed value because I didn’t buy them separately.
I think I can get them repaired at a shop in town for that much, but i’ll remove the price just in case.
“Dear seller, I received “XBOX360 CONSOLE + GAMES + HDMI. MINT!! BARGAIN!” and am happy with the console – it is working well so far. However, two of the three games included in the purchase are scratched and do not work. You may not have noticed before shipping. Can you send me replacement games that work? Or would you rather reimburse me for the cost of replacing the games? Hoping to hear back from you soon.”
No need for you to apologise for contacting him about an error he made. Just be polite and non-accusatory but ask for what you want.
Edited response:
Hello, I am writing to inform you that I have received the item purchased (Xbox 360 bundle with 3 games). Although the xbox 360 seems fine and in working order, two of the games (Hitman and Full Auto) appear to be faulty. Hitman stops working early in the game even after cleaning it carefully many times and Full Auto seems to have texture problems and whilst playing emits strange noises on the xbox. I was wondering if you could refund the cost to repair these and I will leave positive feedback. I am sorry to cause any inconvenience.
Perfect?
Best not to mention feedback in connection with a refund request. Sometimes that can be interpreted as feedback extortion.
BTW, I’ve sold on eBay for about the last 9 years. I have over 1000 feedback, 100% positive.
Hello, I am writing to inform you that I have received the item purchased (Xbox 360 bundle with 3 games). Although the xbox 360 seems fine and in working order, two of the games (Hitman and Full Auto) appear to be faulty. Hitman stops working early in the game even after cleaning it carefully many times and Full Auto seems to have texture problems and whilst playing emits strange noises on the xbox. I was wondering if you could refund the cost to repair these. I am sorry to cause any inconvenience.
Sorry if this is annoying but I am pseudo-perfectionalist.
@Ame_Evil That is a nice email. Later, you will be able to file a SNAD w/Paypal if you are still disappointed. However, you don’t really seem to be displeased with the deal, “The price of the bundle wasn’t really more expensive than just buying an xbox 360 alone.”
You might want to consider keeping the X-Box and faulty games and not push any harder.
@jimmyjones If the person doesn’t provide any indication that he is going to refund the repair work then I will most likely just repair one game myself and bin the other or give it to whoever I repair it with as charity. I am still happy with the offer even without these two games, but I did quite want to play Hitman which sort of decided into my choosing of this bundle.
I have sent an email on ebay to this guy and await a response and will write on here what his action is.
Thanks a lot guys. I shall provide great answers for those which were helpful.
He sent me this message:
IF YOU SEND THE 2 GAMES BACK M8EE I WILL REFUND THE GOING RATE FOR THEM TO YOU. MY ADDRESS IS XXXXXXXX
SORRY FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE CAUSED.
REGARDS
PETER
I guess thats the problem sorted. Unless of course if he doesn’t refund me :p.
In which case you slam his feedback. You have the power.
Make sure you send them with delivery confirmation. PayPal requires it from sellers when shipping and from buyers when returning – without it, you have no proof that you returned anything as far as paypal is concerned, and you’re over and done and no recourse.
By delivery confirmation what do you mean? Do you mean I get a receipt from the post office?
Oh, I see you’re not in the US. It might be called something different in Engand – your local post office should know. Basically, here in the USA, we pay an extra 65 cents or so to get tracking – the package is assigned a tracking number that allows on-line updates of the package’s progress from your post office to theirs, ending when the package has been delivered to the recipient.
It’s only good for packages shipped within our own country which is one of the reasons some US sellers refuse to sell internationally – paypal requires on-line tracking which is not available overseas without paying an outrageous amount. If a complaint is made to paypal that a package has not been received, if you don’t have online tracking, you automatically lose the dispute, even if you have other evidence to prove the package was delivered, like an email from the buyer.
Hmm there is this option called “recorded delivery” where the person receiving it has to sign for it. I assume that will make paypal happy enough as I see on ebay uk that loads of people offer recorded delivery as an option.
Oh yeah, is it wrong to ask how much refund I would get before sending the games back to him?
Ok so here is an update.
I have sent him the item, recorded, and had asked him to send an email when they had arrived and he had credited my account. That was last week and I have checked where the item is and it says it has been delivered. I sent an email to him 2 days ago asking if the item had arrived and I have not got a response.
Where do I go from here. How long should I wait before taking further action if he doesn’t respond?
Thankies
Go straight to the ebay bosses -there’s a time limit.
45 days from auction?? I tried to get satisfaction from a seller who would not send my duvet covers but like a nice little girl I kept sending emails and waiting. When I went to ebay to complain it had passed 45 days so all I could do was leave major negative feedback which made him mad and so I got my duvets covers if I would retract it. But ebay didn’t get involved which you might need.
@fate It’s only been 17 days, but I guess come Monday and he doesn’t reply I’ll talk to the ebay gods.
Ok so hes not replying. How should I contact ebay? What should I say?
Tell them what happened- the questions walk you thru it.
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