Bait & switch - anyone else having issues with this?

[nyccowgirl7]

Hello ebayers,
Longtime member here, store seller for the last 10 years.  I have had the same issue twice in a week and am curious about whether others are seeing a lot of this.
Bought a beauty product (face cream) from an overseas seller.  About three days later, got a message from the seller saying oh the company actually doesn't make that anymore, I can send you the new version (not the same product at all!) or give you a refund.  Naturally I requested a refund, bc I want the item I chose and paid for tyvm, and the seller suddenly stopped responding.  Took it up with ebay, got a refund.  Not happy but hey there are other sellers out there, right?
Bought the product from a different seller - also overseas, because that is where the product is made.  I did check the usernames and saw that they were in different parts of the country, so was hopeful that it was not the same business using multiple ebay accounts. 

And, same deal.  This seller told me they were just out of stock and offered a product not even made by the same company.  I tried to cancel the order but got an error message saying it was too late, even though the seller hasn't shipped anything yet.
Just wondering if others are seeing this type of bait & switch nonsense from specific parts of the world, or particular departments, etc, or if I just had a particular run of bad luck.

[simba6]

Sounds like the seller was drop shipping.  And when they tried to place the order were told by the drop shipper they no longer have it.   Don't think they did that on purpose as they get nothing from it but wasted time.  stick to US sellers might be the way to go.  

[ms.rodriguez*]

Buy from US sellers. If you see a product for alot less money and the seller is overseas, there is a very good chance that the product is counterfeit too.    If you received anything that is not what you wanted, immediately open an item not as described case.  Do NOT use your money to ship back the garbage? It will be impossible for the seller to issue a return shipping label if they are out of the USA.  Do not believe them if they say that they will reimburse you if you buy the postage and ship the item back to them.  Foreign shipping is very expensive.  Open the case,  wait the required time for the refund and then escalate the case .  Once you get your  money back, throw out the stuff in the trash and stop buying from overseas sellers.

[nyccowgirl7]

I get your point and for the average item I buy, I do stick to US sellers only, primarily because I don't like waiting for direct international shipments which typically take quite a long time.  Unfortunately, this particular product is made in Thailand, and the company doesn't have a US distributor.  In my experience the only place you can find it is actually in Thailand.  I don't think there is a counterfeit version made.

I think this is just a matter of the seller representing the fact that they have the product when they don't ie a drop ship situation as the other poster suggested.  I was just wondering if this is a regular practice other ebayers have been seeing. 

[eaglegrad16]

Don't feel bad.  Bought a 7-inch Galaxy Tablet from a Seller days ago and received a MINI TABLET days later.  You bet I was fumed on the bend with Support for a refund 👍 (listing stated no returns)  and when I clicked the original link in my email, it opened to a standard page of the Sellers other listings.  Only my invoice and Allstate could be located.  How convenient.

Bait n Switch you bet.  So much for their said 5-star 100% ratings.  Probly bought no doubt.  And we thought spammers hawking junk on Amazon was bad.  NO ONE likes feeling ripped off. 

[kh-cathy]

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.