Wrong item received, and the seller wants me to sent to correct buyer directly

[ka1pas]

This my very first to this place. I ordered a camera lens (A) on 4-Dec, but another lens (B) arrived my home, I opened a Return request with "Wrong Item Received"  and then I got the message from seller that he wants me to send to the lens (B) buyer and then he would offer me refund of my lens A . 

I checked the seller's selling record, lens B was sold on 6-Dec and it is way a lot cheaper than mine.  Is that ok to follow the seller's instruction, to ship lens B to a 3rd person?? I live oversea and I honestly can't confilm lens B's correct buyer location, right ? Am I going to cover this shipping cost ??? 

Am I fall into a scam??  Somehow I feel like being trapped at a place if the seller insists on his method . How should I discuss with ebay staff ???? 

[comics-scifi-collectibles · Accepted solution]

@ka1pas   

@ka1pas   No this is not right.  

4 business days after filing the return request if the seller has not issued a  full refund or sent the funds to pay return shipping to their country then ask eBay to step in and help

: https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/returns-refunds/ask-ebay-to-step-in?id=4701

The seller will not be able to provide a return label since you are located in another country.   

The seller then has the choice of sending you the money to pay return shipping to your PayPal account OR refunding you without a return of the item.   Do NOT pay return shipping yourself and expect to be refunded for it after the item is returned even if an agent says to do this as eBay can not force a refund from the seller for more than the original sale price.

 99% of the time a seller in another country will refund without a return of the item.

Be sure to use a shipping method that has tracking proof of delivery if you do have to return the item.

If you do have to buy a return label with the funds the seller provided then you must enter the tracking number into the return request so you will have proof of the return.  

Adding tracking to your return
Adding tracking details to your return helps protect against delays or issues in the refund process. If you use an eBay returns label, tracking details are automatically uploaded.

Here's how to add the tracking information to your return if you're using your own return shipping label:

Go to the return request in Purchase History.
Select the shipping carrier from the dropdown list. If you select Other, enter the carrier name.
Enter the tracking number.
Select Mark as sent.

You can contact customer service to report this sellers abuse of the return system.

Contact customer service by sending a PRIVATE message on social media. Customer service verifies your identity before responding.

https://twitter.com/askebay

https://www.facebook.com/ebay

[ka1pas]

The seller contacted me again , he told me it is post office's fault that mixed up the labels and he has handled this scenario in the same way before. He also mentioned once the lens B buyer has received the lens on my hand , the seller would refund .

Now I am really unsure with my item, or whether my address would leak to lens B's buyer without my consent . 

Is there any way to ask ebay step in asap ? I felt very comfortable and dangerous if I keep conversation with this seller? 

[comics-scifi-collectibles]

@ka1pas  You do not need to continue to speak to the seller.  It sounds like the seller is just not a good one.

 You just need to follow the steps that I laid out.

  You can contact customer service using social media as I provided. You can't request callback since you are any other country.

However they will not be able to require the seller to provide the return shipping payment or refund sooner than 4 business days from the date you opened the refund request.

[ka1pas]

I am not sure if this scenario is gonna to happen , but I just want to ask, if this could happen: 

What if , the seller agreed to provide return label, but I noticed the address is different from the parcel's original sender's address ?

Should I still send it out according to the return label with a new address (possibly the lens B buyer's address ?) ? 

[comics-scifi-collectibles]

@ka1pas @That can't happen with this seller since you are in a different country. The seller cannot provide a return label since they are in a different country. 

They have to send the money to your PayPal account for you to buy a return label. 

As long as you return the item to the Return address provided in the return case with tracking that shows delivery then you are covered.  

 On the slim chance that the seller does provide the return shipping $$ to your PayPal account be sure to manually upload the tracking in the case.

[ka1pas]

Bad news, I believe . 

The seller offered me a return label, but that is not the original sender address (France) but a USA address. 

 I strongly believe I am in a scam ! 

[comics-scifi-collectibles]

@ka1pas 

Is the US address shipping label one that you can use from  your country?

 Sellers are allowed to have different return addresses than the address they shipped from. The seller may be using that loophole to try and send the item to a different person.

However once the tracking shows delivery to that

address then  the seller has 2 days to

refundi you in full.  If they don't then you ask eBay to step in.

 Just make sure that it's a shipping label that can be used from your country and has tracking that shows delivery in the US.

I recommend reaching out to customer service if the shipping label is not valid and let them know the seller is not providing valid return shipping as  required

[ka1pas]

I believe I digged up the nasty  loophole or the grey area of ebay.

The wrong lens is from Europe, but the seller wants me to return to US. 

The return address from system is located in Delware . I visited DHL service center in person and found it cannot be used since it is missing the contact number . 

*Then I further googled, and there are are some discussion about scam address. *

The seller also provided a Chicago address in message and wish me to send to there.  It looks real but there I found no relation to the Europe address. I can recall in earlier message he mentioned he wished to send the wrong lens to the true buyer by me .  I wonder whether they are related . 

Is there any chance to ask ebay to step in now ? After I noticed scam discussion about the Delware I am very frightened.  I afraid the seller  would use my info to send the wrong lens to another victims as well.  

[comics-scifi-collectibles]

@ka1pas  Go to the reply I made that you accepted as best answer. Select the contact ebay on Facebook message to talk to ebay about this.

 Do not send an ithen to an address given to you in messages.

 Tell ebay that  the seller is not providing a valid return address or a refund as required. Also remind ebay that the seller has to pay return shipping to your PayPal account to buy a return label since you are in different countries.

[ka1pas]

Agree.  I have contacted ebay's social media account but looks like there is no replay in the last 12 hour. Previously the ebay support from local suggested me to escalate the case on 18-Dec. 

Then I decided to reach the sender from Europe.   Believe it or not ,  just after I send out the email that the seller refunded me quickly. This last message is free for me to handle the wrong "pens"(that seller used)  and he would like a positive feedback .

I don't know if my case would still reachable by ebay , but I think I just moved to a strange place I am not familiar with. Do I still need to ship to a place ? or else ? 

[comics-scifi-collectibles]

@ka1pas  Just escalate the case on the 18th.That's the only other advice I have other than waiting for customer service to contact you again there's nothing else I can do I'm sorry.

[ka1pas]

But after refund , the case looks like close ? Could I still escalate it ?

[comics-scifi-collectibles]

@ka1pas  If you receive the full refund then the case is closed.   The seller receives a defect that hurts their account and they do not get their seller fees back or their item because they were not a good seller.

  Then you are not obligated to send the incorrect item back you just keep it and do what you wish with it.

 Next after checking seller feedback pages carefully you can purchase the item again for me different seller.

[ka1pas]

Good to know .  Thanks for your support and helping me all along . 🙂 

After all of these events , I would consider to report to ebay about my case for this scenario : seller sending wrong items & asking buyers to help for resending the parcels.  It is more likely to case legal issues if the content inside  is suspicious,  and this action would leaks buyer's privacy .