Seller trying to get item back one month after shipping

[wjmackinbk]

I received a notice a month after receiving an item that the seller was crediting the amount and wanted it back.

I gave his as a gift.  The person has said no to returning it and I have no clue what to do other than contacting my lawyer to resolve his in court. There seems to be no option in Ebay for this issue.

I stopped bidding on other items when I got this, so I lost those auctions too and that makes it a double whammy.

is there an eBay process to resolve this?

[castlemagicmemories]

I'm incredulous.  It just doesn't work that way!

[reallynicestamps]

There is one completely left field possibility, but it depends on a lot of 'ifs".

If the watch was stolen.

whether the seller knew it or not

And if the seller lives in Quebec (where the legal system does not follow the Common Law model of most US states and Canadian provinces)

the seller had no right to sell the watch

and the buyer would have no claim on the watch.

Even if the buyer did not know the watch was stolen.

In most Common Law jurisdictions, stolen items that have been sold to an innocent party, remain the property of the innocent buyer.

Quebec law doesn't see it that way.

But it's pretty unlikely.

I think Louisiana follows the same thinking, which is based on the French/European/Napoleonic law system.

I'm not a lawyer. We ran into this when we ran an auction house on the Ontario /Quebec border.

[partial*eclipse]

The item location was listed as Virginia and the buyer is apparently in NY.

[mudshark61369]

@wjmackinbk,

This is a very unusual situation and there is no ebay policy to deal with it, because once you received the item, and did not find file an eBay dispute, before the 30 day time limit, it is yours. 

The seller no longer has a claim on it, so there is no legal action you need to take. If the seller had no right to sell it, they now have to deal with the person whose it was. If they just want it back because new information came to light about the item, they especially have no claim against you.

Even if the item was found to be reported as stolen. Since you had no knowledge of that when you made the purchase, you cannot be charged with anything. The seller may have to defend themselves against a receiving stolen property charge, but you would not be involved in that.  The rightful owner cannot force you to return the item, since to your knowledge, you made a legal purchase.  They could contact you and offer to purchase it back, then go after the seller for those funds. 

The best thing to do is tell the seller you no longer have possession of the item, and that you are returning their refund.

No matter what the seller has done, including refunding the money, they cannot force you to return the item. You should if possible decline and/or refund the payment, and send it back from your PayPal balance. 

Log into your paypal account, locate the refund transaction, click on it and see if there is a refund button on the payment. If the payment is marked as Pending, on the transaction, there will be a decline/refund button to refuse the payment.  If there is no button, the copy the person's email address, and use the Send Money feature on Paypal, to return the money. You are not entitled to keep the money. Keeping the refunded payment, could result in legal issues.

[4catsand1dog]

hi

Maybe I am missing something, but I don't see that the buyer negged the seller.  I read "the watch looks great"  The OP (buyer) has never left any negative feedback.  

[casey768]

Seller probably found out it is an authentic Cartier watch and is worth more than $$ you paid for.
So he is hoping by returning your payment,you will return the watch.
I dont think this seller knows much about selling and selling on Ebay,you should refund his money and send him a note that you have given away the watch.
you can also pull Ebay contact and get his phone number if you feel like talking to him.
There is nothing Ebay or PAYPAL can do for him,he refunded your payment,

[pingpong517]

in court? for what... you bought it, period...the seller got no leg to stand on... would need a really big reason that a court would get involved... Stolen, long ago in a famous robbery.. nay nay... that would be a really big thing...

the seller figured out he sold something that was worth way more...and now he wants a do over...he is what we call as kids....SORRY for this....an Indian giver....I do not wish to offend indians or givers...

but the seller just can pound sand... \And the fact is...you don't have it anylonger, so you can't return something that you do not have AND is not your now.... 

as for his money send it back to him. via paypal, bank check and regerstered mail...proof in your hand that you returned his money. then if he wants to go to court..then lawyer up...and even get the cost of having to go to court... there is nothing you did that is straight forward business transaction with payment and proof, BY TWO ADULT PARTIES, in a fair  business tranaction...case close! thank you Perry Mason.

[dizzardx]

I'm surprised Ebay would allow an item description like that.  Watches must be authentic or they're not allowed on Ebay.

[creoleorchid]

They don't "allow" it but enforcement is spotty. 

OP has not come back to answer the burning questions of:

1. Exactly what kind of "notice" did he receive of being refunded, and

2. Did he in fact have the refund in his PayPal account. 

Until that  gets cleared up we really don't know what happened. 

[creoleorchid]

Well, it looks like OP has resolved the issue. He revised his negative FB that originally said basically what his title here said. And more interestingly, the seller has since left this for OP  "Very good person . Everything good will turn back to you . very fast payment". It was not there when this thread started so I assume they sorted it out. Whatever "it" was. 

[partial*eclipse]

---

@4catsand1dog wrote:

hi

Maybe I am missing something, but I don't see that the buyer negged the seller.....  

---

Feedback can be revised only if it originally was a negative or neutral rating. As others have said, apparently the buyer and seller worked it out, most likely because the seller offered the buyer an explanation and the buyer sent the money back. Since the buyer never returned to this thread, the outcome will probably remain a mystery to the rest of us forever.

@wjmackinbk  We're glad that your story has a happy ending. We'd love to hear the details.

[wjmackinbk · Accepted solution]

The seller apologized and I removed the feedback. 

[wjmackinbk]

I've been off eBay for a few days after all this and I now owe several people an explanation.

• As it turned out, the seller refunded someone else's money and did not get an item returned.
• He has since said this was a mistake and apologized.

That said, I got an email about returning a watch I had already given away.

• I sent an email and didn't get a reply...
• I tried to open a dispute, but it was over 30 days...
• My account didn't look like it had a credit, but the watch was now listed an not shipped...
• I tried to get it back not knowing my responsibilities or if I could be sued...

I was sort of in the mood not to go on eBay after this all ended and I didn't check the community boards to see so many people had taken the time to respond. I am glad this got resolved, but I don't think I'm going to be much on eBay for a while.

[wjmackinbk]

Thanks. I am trying to just let people know who wrote about this.

• Resolution: The seller has since said this was sent as a mistake. He had given someone else a refund and not gotten a watch back.
• Answer to your question: The only notice I had gotten was a brief email. I did not see a credit and still don't.
• My first action: I wrote back saying I didn't request a return and if I had been credited, I'd cover the cost, but didn't hear back right away. When this did get resolved and I think the seller and I both feel bad.
• Background: I bought myself a watch and thought it would be fun to give one as a gift. I kept getting beaten in the last 30 seconds of bidding so I was actually bidding on a lot of watches at the time I bid on this one. I was surprised I won the bidding, but it came with no guarantees and I think I expected something to be wrong when I got it. When it arrived,  it looked really nice and I did give it away (fully disclosing how I came to get it).
• Getting the email, I decided it was par for the course. I actually got about four watches at the same time with two being nicer than expected (one buy it now and one bidding) and two being unlikely to be worn or given away. This has cured my need to bid.

[postingid2017]

Thanks for coming back with the update - now everything makes sense because when I read it originally, I was confused because it did not make sense  - now it does 🙂

Hoping that the recipient enjoys his/her gift and the best to you 🙂