Hi,
I recently bought an iPhone that was advertised as clean and clear for activation on the Sprint network, was a white 32gb iPhone 5C in great condition other than minimal use, and had a clean ESN/MEID ... The only thing true about the phone was the color and the cosmetic condition of it! The phone was only 16GB and it was reported lost/stolen when I went to the Sprint store. 😞 This was literally the third phone I'd purchased on eBay that had some kind of defect, but the other sellers quickly resolved the problem and I was refunded. However, with this latest purchase, the seller has been extremely slow to respond to any messages and comes across as anything but concerned about the defective device. (For the record, I finally found a phone on Craigslist and met the seller AT a Sprint store where he stayed and waited until I could solidly confirm that the phone was in great shape! --- I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a used phone btw, too... hate to say it but after three bad attempts, it's frustrated me to the point of no return <no pun intended> as far as buying used cell phones here).... Anyway, I ended up paying $175 for a beautiful white iPhone 5S 64gB - less than I paid for a 16gig 5C (which was falsly advertised as a 32gig with a bad MEID! Crazy! lol)
Anyway, back to the problem, I requested a refund and the seller slowly and begrudgingly accepted. I was offered a shipping label (economy) but I wanted to get my refund faster so I purchased a flat rate expedited shipping label from the post office. Unfortunately, I never did get to the post office the day I created that label (and subsequently added its tracking number to the refund/not as described case I'd opened here on eBay.
I did manage to get the item shipped and have the new tracking number. The item has arrived according to the USPS tracking number I have, but there doesn't seem to be any place to put the tracking number on the case details. I did add a "note" under the 'purchased items' section of my account but I think that area may just be for my own use - not sure if anyone else sees it. I also sent a message to the seller providing this information to him. Of course he hasn't responded in any way and I only have my tracking number to go by. The case still shows the old tracking number and nothing has escalated, though the device was returned to him at 2PM Sat Oct 3, 2015.
So where does this put me with my refund status? If the incorrect tracking number is in the case details and there is no way to update that information, am I still protected my eBay's guarantee? I paid nearly $200 for this phone and I'm feeling like I'm being ignored by the seller - and when I go to help/contact on eBay, I have to go through so many steps that all just lead to an article or 'helpful video' ... nothing helps with the problem I have and I don't know how to get ahold of eBay. Can someone please advise me on this? I need to be sure I get my refund and without guidance from 'the powers that be' in eBay, I fear I won't get the refund - and even worse, the seller will have made a profit off of nothing and could likely list the same phone again!
I'm just frustrated and need help. Thanks to anyone who has any advice.
Here's some screen shots to better explain the problem. I've covered any information about the seller for their protection at this point. Also I added my own descriptive notes in red. Hopefully this helps explain better than my rambling! Thanks again!
