Advice on Pottery Barn rug purchase

[fourteeners*]

Hello, I purchased a Pottery rug on recently from a (supposedly) US seller.  They had good feedback.  They shipped it the next day (no tracking).  I was looking at my items purchased and noticed the words "Pottery Barn" are gone from the item link - probably because they had a number of rugs available and went in and edited the listing for the remaining rugs.  So, they removed the "Pottery Barn" from all of their rugs listed and put it in white (hidden font) at the bottom of their listings.  I checked their listings again today and now all of their rug listings are ended.

I also went through their feedback pretty carefully and can see they are actually shipping from India.  My estimated delivery date for the rug is in about a week. 

*Note on my order history and the Paypal transaction it lists the "Pottery Barn rug" title.  

So my question is (if you made it this far in my rambling novel) - Is there anything I should do at this point to protect myself?  I guess my worries are that

a) they will not ship it at all or

b) they will ship the wrong rug--would I have to return it to India?  (tracking and cost are both a huge issue.)

Thank you in adavance for any advice and hand-holding! 

[castlemagicmemories]

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@fourteeners* wrote:

Hello, I purchased a Pottery rug on recently from a (supposedly) US seller.  They had good feedback.  They shipped it the next day (no tracking).  I was looking at my items purchased and noticed the words "Pottery Barn" are gone from the item link - probably because they had a number of rugs available and went in and edited the listing for the remaining rugs.  So, they removed the "Pottery Barn" from all of their rugs listed and put it in white (hidden font) at the bottom of their listings.  I checked their listings again today and now all of their rug listings are ended.

I also went through their feedback pretty carefully and can see they are actually shipping from India.  My estimated delivery date for the rug is in about a week. 

*Note on my order history and the Paypal transaction it lists the "Pottery Barn rug" title.  

So my question is (if you made it this far in my rambling novel) - Is there anything I should do at this point to protect myself?  I guess my worries are that

a) they will not ship it at all or

b) they will ship the wrong rug--would I have to return it to India?  (tracking and cost are both a huge issue.)

Thank you in adavance for any advice and hand-holding! 

---

@fourteeners*

I understand your concern. Check the estimated delivery timeframe on your purchased listing.  You state, about a week.  You can open an item not received claim after the last date of the estimated timeframe.

If they ship the wrong rug, that is not as described.  You can open a not as described case and the seller is responsible for paying for shipping for the return.  They can ask eBay to send you a label.

It will just take a little time for this to be sorted out.  Try not to worry in the meantime, ok?

One more thing, and I know you realize this now from your post.  It is easy to neglect when you want to buy something, but try to check out the seller's feedback comments and also their location on their profile pages.  That can be helpful in determining if you want to purchase.

[fourteeners*]

Thank you!  You are correct -- I just need to be patient and work it out. 

And YES note to self - don't try to buy a rug quickly when waiting to get on a plane at the airport. 🙂

Thanks again.

[lintbrush*]

eBay purchases are covered by the Money Back Guarantee.

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/money-back-guarantee.html

You can file an Item Not Received right after the last estimated delivery date and have 30 days to do so.

You have 30 days from receipt of the item to file a Not As Described.

Sellers are responsible for return shipping on Not As Described claims.  It can be a battle with international purchases, but the seller is supposed to provide it (label or funds) to you before you return the item.  Don't fall for the 'we'll reimburse you after you buy it' line.  That's not how it works.

When you look at the listing again, it should show say something along the lines of 'the seller has revised the listing - to see what you purchased click here'

If the listing was pulled by eBay, you might be able to act sooner.  I might call eBay on this one because of the 'white text' and the item location conflict.

I'm pretty sure India Post has tracking - and if they used another worldwide shipper, they have tracking too.  

[castlemagicmemories]

@fourteeners*

Don't feel too badly about this; it is easy to want to just purchase!  Even when at the airport!  You had some time and were using it to accomplish something!

Just take a bit more time before you pull the trigger on the purchase.  Do your due diligence as a buyer and check out the listing description, pictures, seller location, timeframe for delivery, seller feedback, processing time...in sort, all the info you can.  That will help you head off potential issues and help you have a successful, smooth transaction.

eBay does have options so you are protected, the MBG and item not received cases.

[*eponymous*]

@fourteeners*  The seller is really sneaky.  S/he listed with "Pottery Barn" in the title for enough time for eBay to index it into search - then he edited the title to "PB".  He also has "Pottery Barn" in the description where he explains that the rug "may" come from India.

You can see the title and description of the rug you purchased - just click the link on the listing page up hear the top of the page.

When you file the "item is not as described" case with eBay (within 30 days of the date you receive the rug), call eBay right away and ask the rep to look at the listing - and the revisions to the listing - as well as the seller's representation that the item location "My Store, United States".  Ask the rep to close the case in your favor and issue a refund from the seller's funds.  They might not do it, but they should!

The seller is required to pay return shipping 1) because he misrepresented the item location and 2) because the rug is not a Pottery Barn brand rug.  Sellers like him give other eBay sellers a black eye!

All of that seller's listing were/are deceptive, and he needs to be taught a lesson.  After the case is closed in your favor and you get your refund, please leave a neg for the seller, something along the lines of "not pottery barn rug, item came from India".

Of course, if you do not get the rug, file a case with eBay or PayPal for "item not received" to get a refund.

[castlemagicmemories]

You may also want to call eBay Trust and Safety on this issue. Just call eBay Customer Service and ask to speak to Trust and Safety. We are not allowed to list their number here, but you can find it through the eBay contact us pages, or just google it. They will transfer you after taking some preliminary info. When you get Trust and Safety, explain that the location is misrepresented, as being in the US, but the item is coming from India, and that the listing started with Pottery Barn in the title but then that was edited out. They may be able to help you further or have more info.

[ymeagainlord]

Also report the listings because the "white type" is considered search & browse manipulation