Help with returns

[dng_tng_3upexpkvp]

Going to make this brief.

Spoke to seller about a car downpipe. His model of his car is different from mine but only in body shape we both share the same engine. Note that parts for both cars are interchangeable and this is known in the aftermarket community.

He listed the downpipe as a very popular knock off brand. Which is again well known in the after market community. He gave reasons as to why he was selling it. I messaged him for an offer on the part and inquired if it would fit my model. We both agreed that since it shares the same engine and a host of other parts, that indeed the downpipe would be interchangeable. 

I paid for the item and received it on May 5th. At the time I did not fully inspect the item. I am not a licensed mechanic so I figured and took his word since his listing said: "Downpipe Uncatted B9 S5 Audi Heatshielded. NIB"

My car is the same model Audi b9 but an s4. Again parts are interchangeable. I took his word and left him positive feed back and the part sat in my living room until I found time to go to my shop and have it installed. The stars aligned and that day was today May 31st to have the parts added as well as the tires I just purchased and a fresh oil change. Everything was done except the downpipe. My shop sent me an image showing how the new downpipe does not fit vs my OEM one.

I went back to the listing and checked the image. The seller used a stock photo of a well known knock off brand called Mertop. The item he sold me was of the same finish which was where I was confused, the heat wrapping was the same, but the way the pipes were angled differently then the stock photo. You can tell it was off after comparing it to the OEM unit. The part belongs to a Audi C8 A7 (same engine different body) And the y configuration for the down pipe differs that of the B9 platform. Now I was under the impression the unit I recieved would be the same as the stock photo. It was not; the item wasn't even for the same car.

I attemtped a return through the seller but he declined my request and now I am running in circles as to what do as ebay keeps saying to initiate a return. Then it says I have a return in progress. But the return was denied by the seller.

As per the "eBay Money Back Guarantee policy", I am entitled to a refund if the part is not as described.

Seller listed it as a b9 s5 downpipe, but it is not what I got was a C8 A7 (this was after sending it to another audi shop who deals with aftermarket downpipes and the mechanic advised that it was for the c8 platform).

Seller then says the following:

1. I am trying to scam him, since i waited 20 days. The return policy is for 30 days I advised him.

2. He said that since I waited so long there is no way he knows what i got was he sent me? Which makes no sense. I asked him about the gaskets. He told me it came with none. So by visually looking at the photos I sent him he can tell the item I sent him was indeed his.  (he is denying he ever saw the item).

3. He touts his perfect score and that he never dealt with any refunds.

4. That I swapped out the original part that I needed and wanted to the current one I am trying to return. Note that I was attempting to have this item installed today by the way. So If I wanted to swap it out, I would've just swapped it out. why pay 180.00 to have it installed on top of the cost of the item?

5. The last one was my favorite. He said that I sold my car and now i have buyers remorse and am trying to return the item? that makes no sense I have receipts showing that my car was indeed in the shop today for an oil change, and tire change ( of which i purchased the tires here on ebay) the last part was the downpipe for installation. So that to me makes absolutely no sense at all. If the item fit I would not process a refund therefore there would be no buyers remorse? 

Since the item does not fit, and clearly is not for my platform. Let alone even the sellers platform. His listing there for was fraudulent.

Any help is appreciated. 

[comics-scifi-collectibles]

@dng_tng_3upexpkvp   Did you use the reason doesn't fit for the return?  If so then the seller can deny the return request.  You should have used doesn't match pictures or description.  

If you used doesn't match pictures or description then you can ask eBay to step in and force a refund from the seller:   https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/returns-refunds/ask-ebay-step-help-buyers?id=4701&st

You can try contacting customer service and see if they will change the reason or not:

1. You can select the option to have eBay call you or chat from the left hand side of the screen on this linked page:

https://www.ebay.com/help/contact_us?id=4822&st=10 (If you receive the chat bot type AGENT)

If you are located outside of US or Canada then you will need to use the Chat option or Social Media.

If you are using a cell phone turn off the spam filter or it may block the call back

2. Or you can also contact customer service by sending a private message on social media. You leave a message and an eBay employee will get back to you as soon as possible. To speed things up you can leave your registered account information in the PRIVATE message: Full name, address, phone number, email address, user ID, and a brief explanation of your problem.

twitter.com/askebay
facebook.com/eBay/

If they will not change the reason then your next option is a PayPal return request after you close the eBay return .  

Paypal has a "return shipping on us" offer for Paypal members with a USA residence and a USA bank account linked to their paypal account. They will reimburse you up to $30 per return for up to 12 items per year.

You have to activate the offer prior to opening a return case for an item that was not as described. Payment for the item must have been made using your paypal account

https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/returns

You have 180 days from purchase to file an item not as described claim on paypal.

Follow all of the steps. Do not let it time out.  Escalate the dispute to paypal if the seller has not refunded you a few days after tracking shows delivery.    If you are returning an item to a country that does not have 1st class delivery confirmation you MUST use Priority Mail. 

File the claim here https://www.paypal.com/disputes/

If you did not pay using PayPal then contact your bank or credit card to see what protections you have for an item that is significantly not as described.  

[dng_tng_3upexpkvp]

Yes I did select doesn't fit, though I believe this is a wildly vague term and category. On clothes or shoes sure, but on car parts? Not so much

He listed it as a certain model year for audis: B9 S5 indicating it to be a 2018-2019 S5 which fits my car 2018-2019 S4

Upon receiving (since its a known knock off of a higher end brand) the dimpling of the heat shield led me to believe it was correct. Until i brought it to a mechanic which informed me it doesnt fit and most likely for another car. Note that the S5 and S4 shares the same aftermarket parts and they are interchangeable between the two. 

So when I sent it to another shop (photos) who does deals with audi but are out state. They advised the image I sent them the downpipe was for a different car the C8 A7 which is a 2019 + Audi A7.

The downpipe looked similar to the stock image in the listing however the car listed is wrong, and I believe the seller knew this. He purchased the C8 A7 downpipe in an attempt to skirt the 800+ dollar cost of the real one, being that its for an A7 the cost wouldve been cheaper since hardly anyone mods it. If you see parts for a s4/s5 there will be a higher "Tax" on it due to the s4/s5 badge. So I believe he speculated that since A7 , S5 and S4 all share the same engine and that S5 / S4 shares the same parts why not the A7 since it shares the same parts.

What he did not forsee is that the y section of the exhaust is different as the a7 is a completely different platform body wise. So he decided to sale via EBAY to some stupid guy (me) under the guise that it was a B9 S5 downpipe.

Knockoffs are known in the community. So it wouldnt be weird to see someone with a knock off part. But I mean I knew it was a knock off, but had Ive known it was for the C8 A7 I wouldnt have purchased it. Even at first glance it looked similar too, it wasnt until the OEM unit was removed and placed side by side you can see it wasnt.

Then came the wild speculations of why I wanted to return it, from me selling my car to me having buyers remorse. i mean yea, let me tell you Im going to pay a shop 180 dollars to remove my OE unit and then attempt to add the new one then only to tell me it didn't fit. Sure like I have 180 to **bleep** away. 

Like I said if the listing was correct sure I am in the wrong however he lied. I bought tires listed as came off my 2019 Audi S5 200 miles only. I purchased those right away since I knew it would fit. And guess what they did sine the seller was honest. The downpipe seller however was not honest and clearly does not care

[dng_tng_3upexpkvp]

FYI none of the solutions you post would work.

1st one I since I listed as does not fit, eBay is going to stand by the seller. 

Ebay makes it so hard they  have all this Money back guarantee but to even qualify is really crap since you have to go through so many hoops.

I pointed out to to ebay customer service and they sent me to appeals. So its like a giant revolving circle. Where nothing gets done. 

The seller clearly lied on the listing, lied about the part, and then sold it to me. Even though I took 20 days is irrelevant and I am not an expert. So At first glance it did appear to look like the photo. But 20 days later after no from the mechanic and closer inspection of the unit you can see that the item does not fit and clearly was for a different car. Seller knew this and gave 0 f's (pardon my french). Came up with a bunch of wild stories and then declined me. Ebay declined me as well saying because I selected did not fit. well it didn't, because it was for a different car. 

[dng_tng_3upexpkvp]

The paypal return reimbursement will what return an item for 30 bucks? The item in question was 400. LOL

This has to be fake right? Nothing is helpful. 

Ebay: We will refund you to make it right. 

Please initiate a return. Describes the problem. 

The problem described is flagged as buyers remorse . Yea if the item was a belt or tshirt, it was a car part listed as a specific model year what I got was completely different.

Ebay: Ok contact support

Sir you selected DOES NOT FIT. We stand by the Seller. 

Me: even if they lied and deceptively listed as one car but sent part for another? Knowing they looked similar to the untrained eye and wont be visible only when put next to the OE item? 

Ebay: Yup the seller is right your wrong.

Me: provides facts, seller listed for specific model year, which matches my car. Part he sent was for another year and model of the same manu. 

Ebay: You're still in the wrong Good bye.. Click here to appeal

Goes to appeals page. Please collect all data and any and all images if possible for submission. Click next.

On the next screen, please describe in 10000 words or lest about the issue we will get back to you in a text box. No upload images and a disclaimer about no HTML so i guess no url linking of images of my "evidence" great!

When youre done you can post on our forums for our mentors to get back to you. Cool lets do that.

Posts. 

Random mentor replys

Literally all the stuff you just did above they repost

1. Does not fit = Buyers remorse .. Seller wins

2. Contact support or have them chat with you directly via the side link. Cool did that guess, what they referred me to 1 and said due to the selection No dice. = Seller wins.

3. Go paypal route, return reimbursement, for up to 30 dollars in shipping. So let me get this straight PAYPAL will send me a shipping label for 30 bucks to blindly send back the item to the seller? And then for me to trust him in refunding me.. Hard pass = Seller still wins in this scenario.

Escalate to Ebay twitter or facebook. 

Like literally A GIANT CIRCLE Where nothing gets done. Whoever programmed the site is a genius. Let me know who that is is since nothing can get done. Its a rabbit hole.

Ebay guarantee if it is not as described money back; welp that was a lie, I pointed out that the seller lied on the listing, and then sold me a different part.  Now refuses to refund, and since i selected does not fit on dispute I am screwed out the refund. 

This is hilarious and the #1 reason why I stayed off ebay for so long. Still a scammers paradise. they just hide it better now

[dng_tng_3upexpkvp]

Oh and my favorite please report the listing so we can review the listing and then possibly reprimand the seller.

This is a private seller not a store. LOL they do not have a gazillion downpipes for sale. He knew he got the wrong one and then resold it as certain model to another person (me) knowing it would not fit. 

What was he going to do, initiate a return with Alibaba or Aliexpress or whatever he got it from?

Again eBay wins again. Hopeless help and useless

[comics-scifi-collectibles]

@dng_tng_3upexpkvp. The paypal $30 is for return shipping.  It might not cover the full cost of the return shipping but it would help.    Then once you return the item as not as described with tracking that shows delivery back to the seller paypal will make the seller refund you  the cost of the item.  

I know that you are frustrated but I just offered the best advice I could to try and help you.