China sellers & free returns scam

[horse-gal]

Anybody have the experience of buying an item that says free returns guaranteed and find out it was from a China seller who offers you a 3rd of what you paid for the defective product because it will cost you far more than the product yo return it? Then they tell you if they replace it, you will loose the eBay guarantee which you really don’t have on the original purchase because of how they carefully word their return policy? 

Does this seem like a legal scam of foreign buyers? It does to me. 

[slyders_finds]

No matter what the seller says you can return for a refund. They will probably give a full refund because it will cost them more to give you a return shipping label. 

[kathiec]

If an item is not as described you don't have to accept a replacement or partial refund. EBay's Money Back Guarantee says you can return for a full refund, at the seller's expense. International sellers can't give you a return label, so eBay requires them to send you the cost of full postage for the return upfront. If the seller refuses, eBay will refund without requiring that the item be returned.

[12345jamesstamps]

I usually check ID eBay buyer before a purchase.

Coming from China...that buyer protection is for 30 days...will usually run out if the item is being replaced.

I try to stick with USA purchases...even if I have to pay more.

[zgnisaer]

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@12345jamesstamps wrote:

I usually check ID eBay buyer before a purchase.

Coming from China...that buyer protection is for 30 days...will usually run out if the item is being replaced.

I try to stick with USA purchases...even if I have to pay more. 

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I can't tell when I usually check ID eBay buyer such as 12345stamps

-- if the buyer is from China or from Sesame Street.

[kathiec]

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@zgnisaer wrote:

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@12345jamesstamps wrote:

I usually check ID eBay buyer before a purchase.

Coming from China...that buyer protection is for 30 days...will usually run out if the item is being replaced.

I try to stick with USA purchases...even if I have to pay more. 

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I can't tell when I usually check ID eBay buyer such as 12345stamps

-- if the buyer is from China or from Sesame Street.

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All you have to do is go to the member's feedback page to find out where their account is registered.

[12345jamesstamps]

Clink into number of feedbacks of a seller...you have 126 feedbacks...and it states you are from the USA and became a member in Mar-22-99.

[mudshark61369]

@horse-gal,

"Anybody have the experience of buying an item that says free returns guaranteed and find out it was from a China seller who offers you a 3rd of what you paid for the defective product because it will cost you far more than the product yo return it"?

That answer and some others you may get, is typical of chinese sellers.  What they should really say is "It will cost US far more than the product..."   If you do as kathiec suggested, get the cost of shipping the item back to China with tracking. 

  You can go to the final shipping agency's site, the one that delivered your package,  enter in the package dimensions and weight, to get a return cost estimate with tracking. Then if you have opened a dispute which will appear just above your purchase history, you can tell them the return shipping cost there.   After that if you do not receive the funds within a few days, use the Ask eBay to step in button.

"Then they tell you if they replace it, you will loose the eBay guarantee which you really don’t have on the original purchase because of how they carefully word their return policy"?

It does not matter how carefully a seller words their return policy, if they do not abide by ebay's MBG terms, you will get a refund. What the seller is trying to tell you about losing the MBG protections is:  Because the chinese govt. will not subsidize the replacement item's shipping cost, they would have to ship it by the cheapest international method without tracking, which can easily take 30+ days, in which case your dispute might be closed, for inactivity.  Usually they do not send it at all but say they did asking you to be patient.

"Does this seem like a legal scam of foreign buyers Sellers"?

There is no such thing as a Legal Scam.  What there are is attempts to make a scam Look or Sound legal.  Those who have read the terms of the MBG and its time frames and follow them can beat them 99.9% of the time. 

[mudshark61369]

@zgnisaer, @horse-gal ,

"I can't tell when I usually check ID eBay buyer such as 12345stamps

-- if the buyer is from China or from Sesame Street".

Because it can be hard to tell where a seller is located or ships from I created a list of things I look for to avoid buying from China based sellers.   There are ways to figure out if a seller is actually China based or drop ships from there. Below is a list of things I check.

On Listing pages:

• Items priced well below brand name items price.
• Items listed by many other sellers using the same photos and prices often.
• An item location address that does not give a city and state Ex: USA / United States, New Jersey / USA ...
• The use of U.S. flag symbols and several mentions of being a U.S. seller on listings.
  
• Item descriptions that have wording in them that doesn't seem like it was written by a person whose first language is English.
• A  High volume Top Rated seller with a feedback percentage below 98.6% Some times higher.
  
• Item titles giving a brand name, and photos showing a brand name label, but in the Item Specifics it says Brand: Unknown.
• Items that don't have a recognizable Brand Name.
• The use of metric and standard measurements.
• Photos with Asian models in them.

On a Feedback profile page:

• The seller's country of registry, sometimes.
• Very high volume sellers who joined after 2010.
• All or most feedback is for Private listings.
• Those that do not list all items as private, have FB for items in many unrelated categories.
• Feedback numbers that don't add up. Shooting star feedback numbers  but a low number in the last year or 12 months. Usually a 2nd ID of the seller's for use when another's FB % gets low.
  
• Neutral and Negative feedback saying items came from China. That took a long time to arrive. Missing items from multiple quantity orders. Poor Quality,  Cancelled purchases.  Poor communications. (click on the numbers of neutral and negative feedback received, to read only those comments).
• Responses to non positive feedback written by someone whose first language does not appear to be English. Often starting with "Dear".
  

It may take a little time to use the above lists, but in the long run can save time and possibly money. It becomes second nature after awhile. 

FYI, along with a dispute, if an item came from China but was supposed to come from a U.S. location. You can use the report item button on the listing page just above the item specifics box on the right. When you get to the text box write: The item location was given as being in Anytown USA, but was actually shipped from China. 

[horse-gal]

Thank you, I really appreciate the info, most helpful

[kensgiftshop]

@winston-de132 

Go to your purchase history and click return item and select, the item doesn't match the description as the reason.
The seller will have 3 days to accept the return and pay return shipping or refund without returning.
If they don't, return to the case on day 4 and ask Ebay to step in.

[soh.maryl]

If you receive a defective product, and you open an item not as described case with eBay within 30 days, the seller is required to send you a prepaid return label and to refund in full when the item is received back.  International sellers, however, are unable to offer you a return label, but are required to front you the return shipping cost in advance if they want the item returned.

There is no "scam" to it.  This is the way the eBay MBG works.  And, again, if it was a defective product and the buyer opens the NAD case, why would the buyer be expected to pay for the return shipping cost. 

[kathiec]

Thread is six months old.