fraudulent seller and ebay won't help

[eclectic101g]

I was interested in trying a putter from seller   Before clicking purchase, I checked to see what the return policy was and read "30 day hassle free returns."   I would never buy a golf club without being able to return it.  Assured that it was returnable, I clicked buy.  I got an immediate confirmation which added this phrase: "Item cannot be returned."   Because this was a gross violation of my expectations, I thought about it clicked the cancel button and told that it was "too late to cancel."  (What's  the use of a cancel button if it is too late to use it once the item is purchased.).  The message also directed me to "try to work out something with the seller."  I have written two messages to the seller and the seller has failed to respond in over 36 hours. (nice that they give buyer no time to cancel, but seller can't respond in over 40 hours.)   I have tried to contact Ebay to get help and all I get is an automated response that I have to contact the seller.  How can I contact Ebay to get help and get through their roadblock that keeps sending back to the non-responsive seller?  I am 80 years old and beginning to feel like an easy mark for an unscrupulous seller who is committing fraud by adding phony non-return policies.  Ebay is aiding and abetting this scam. how can I get help?  Time is of the essence, I want to get this resolved before the item is shipped or the problem gets worse.  HELP.  Thanks

[eclectic101g]

Actually most ebay golf sellers have "no hassle return policies."   My concern was not the shipping costs which could be avoided if the seller just responded to my timely cancellation request.    I wrote the seller and told him of my age soon after I saw this condition.   He just hasn't deigned to answer. He is waiting for the item to ship and then say he can't do anything about allowing the return.      He just hasn't deigned to answer. He is waiting for the item to ship and then say he can't do anything about allowing the return.  He just hasn't deigned to answer. He is waiting for the item to ship and then say he can't do anything about allowing the return.        If all it involved was return shipping I would not be concerned.  But we are talking about an item that cost 16 times the cost of shipping.  He just hasn't deigned to answer. I suspect he is waiting for the item to ship and then say he can't do anything about allowing the return.    If seller responds, the situation could be adjusted reasonably. 

From the general tenor of the remarks on this board, I realize that I naively got on a board that, despite its name,  is funded by sellers and I suspect many of you are paid piecework for your comments supporting sellers.  Your motto seems to be the customer is always wrong.  That is not the way I was brought up.

But I will take the basic advice I am getting -- ebay is just not a good place to find reputable sellers.  I will unlikely to ever do business on ebay again other than to obtain my money back and  alert consumers to the way this seller treats customers.  

[bonjourami]

(Sellers are buyers too.) Nobody in here is 'paid' by Ebay, they have bigger fish to fry, and could care less whats said on the boards, unless it violates the board guidelines. Even, then, Ebay does not monitor the boards, that is outsourced to a company named Khoros.

[bonjourami]

"   I wrote the seller and told him of my age soon after I saw this condition. "

Let me just say I am older than you, and have never played the 'age card' with a seller...or wIth anybody else.It speaks of entitlement.

[eclectic101g]

Entitlement?  I was asking for consideration since eye sight  and  online facility are not the best.

Are you paid for your nasty comments or do you just do it for the love of kicking people when they are down?  

[bonjourami]

I dont see anything 'down' about you.

[kh-leslie]

Hi everyone,

This discussion has gotten a bit heated. Please remember that, while it is fine to disagree with others, discussion should always remain friendly and respectful as required by the Community Guidelines.

Thank you for your cooperation.

[safan80]

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@klhmdg
You know how ebay likes to changes things around ;D 

Thank you for clarifying. 

@klhmdg wrote:

@safan80  Asking for a listing number is not "naming and shaming"

It is so people can help the poster.

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[mudshark61369]

@eclectic101g,

"Before clicking purchase, I checked to see what the return policy was and read "30 day hassle free returns." I would never buy a golf club without being able to return it. Assured that it was returnable, I clicked buy. I got an immediate confirmation which added this phrase: "Item cannot be returned."

Because you immediately received the message saying the item cannot be returned, it seems you may indeed have been scammed.  That message would only show up if the seller had the item listed in a category such as Business & Industrial, instead of Sporting Goods. If you open the listing and look at the small print just under the item title Example of a correct category, for a replacement electric piano key, I bough the other day in  screen shot below.

Items listed in the B&I category for example, are not covered by eBay's money back guarantee (MBG).  That could be why you got the message when you bought the item. The seller could not make that change on their own at check out.

This is the reason why many people have asked you to post the 12 digit (no hyphens)  ebay item number.  If you post it, then we could tell you if you bought from a scammer, and how to deal with the situation. We would not see any of your information if you posted that number, we would only be able to see the listing you bought from.  The ebay item number is given on the purchase history page. 

You do not seem to understand what a 30 day Hassle free return policy means, and what it covers. That policy is for items that are not as described, do not function, or get damaged in shipping. It does not cover items that are Bought To Try Out, if they do not work for you or fit, which are Buyer's Remorse returns.

  eBay is not set up for buyers to "Rent" items to see how well they will work for them.  You would be buying a New never used item, then returning a used one.  It doesn't matter how careful you are when trying it out, it still becomes a Used item. 

[ittybitnot]

That message would only show up if the seller had the item listed in a category such as Business & Industrial, instead of Sporting Goods.

@mudshark61369 

The "no MBG" message/display would also show if the item was listed in the correct category  AND listed in one that had no MBG as a second category at the same time.  Though I have not checked in a while the 'second' inappropriate category is NOT displayed on a mobile device.  

Below is an example of a product listed in an inappropriate category.  Though this one says 'seller does not accept returns' it could easily say 'free returns'.  Since the absence of the MBG, the buyer would not even be able to make an eBay claim at all, be it INR or SNAD.   

[fab_finds4u]

Asking for an item number is not naming  and shaming anyone. If anything it will clear up the seller didn't  change anything in the listing. 

[fab_finds4u]

Ms Alberta's typed  reply was not rude or condescending. What you specifically pointed out was not the reply, it's her signature. 

Her signature tag line  or the saying or quote that automatically  follows a reply  may be a bit cheeky but the Mentors here understand it completely. 

Don't  take it personally.  Everyone gets it.

[albertabrightalberta]

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@eclectic101g wrote:

I can explain human decency, but I don't think you can understand it.  Being  condescending is really not a helpful mode of communication.  

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That's my signature. It's not condescending. 

[eclectic101g]

Thanks for taking the time to respond.  It appears from your post and some others that Ebay is not using language in its customary meaning.  I don't think the gloss you and others have put on it is legally sustainable. What I find most frustrating is that when I saw that the conditions were not what I had been lead to believe they were, I immediately tried to cancel.  The failure of the seller to cancel and ebay's apparent enforcement of that policy is in my view unconscionable and in violation of a party's legal duty to mitigate damages.  I am pretty sure that none of the people in this thread are golfers. I have ordered golf clubs on a trial basis on Ebay only a couple of months ago. As I said, I never would have ordered a club without such a proviso which I thought I had.  But one thing is clear, after this fiasco, I will never have anything to do with Ebay. The parent organization is encouraging sellers to screw their customers and the community seems to think that is just fine.  Bon voyage. 

[myangelandmyprincess]

 sorry couldn't resist. 

There is no legal requirement to allow a buyer cancel. When you get a notice it's too late to cancel it's either one because if was marked as shipped an hour has passed.  Even within that first hour it is only a request.  

[buyselljack2016]

 As I said, I never would have ordered a club without such a proviso which I thought I had. 

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Not sticking up for the seller, but............

One last time.

A seller cannot change the return policy.......................... after a purchase has been made.

ETA...............  I cancel whenever a buyer requests to do so.