Counterfeit item

[shannonneal]

I purchased a $1200 Yamaha saxophone in February. When we got it, it didn’t work. I took it to a music store and they advised it was a fake. I submitted an dispute with the seller who I went back and forth with. He never said it wasn’t a fake, he just apologized and offered me $50 back. So I escalated to eBay on 5/20. eBay never replied after a month of waiting so I then opened disputes with PayPal and my credit card company. They have closed those disputes and did not help. Then eBay denied the dispute because I’d opened a dispute with PayPal.  Do I have any recourse??  I’m fighting a never-ending battle and it was a lot of money!

[rocklen60c7]

Sorry, but sounds like you will lose in the end.  That is a lot of money to lose to criminals, so common now on eBay.

I would report the item to customs and maybe they can trace its origin and seller.  

Good luck.

[7606dennis]

If you bought the item in February, when did you open the return request (dispute)?  Why did you go back and forth with the seller and not ask eBay to step in earlier than May?    It sounds like you missed the deadlines to file the disputes which is probably the reason you lost the disputes.

By the way, it is doubtful that the word of people working in a music store would hold much legal weight unless they were recognized experts on that specific brand.  However, if the item didn't work when you received it, you would have probably won a dispute and gotten your money back if you had simply filed a return request for the NAD reason that the item didn't work, rather than messing around claiming it to be counterfeit.  

I recommend that you review the buyer protections available through eBay's MBG, PayPal and your credit card company before making any more purchases on eBay.  Pay particular attention to the time limitations for filing disputes.

[femmefan1946]

so I then opened disputes with PayPal and my credit card company. They have closed those disputes and did not help.

You have 30 days from delivery to open a Not As Described dispute with eBay.

The seller would be instructed to send you Return Shipping, and when tracking showed it was back with him, you are refunded.

If the seller does not refund you willingly, eBay will. The seller then gets a Defect on his selling account and eBay goes after him for payment.  In addition, Defects lead to higher fees, restrictions on the number and value of his listings , or even a closed account.

You have 180 days from payment to open a Paypal dispute.  The system is much the same, except that PP insists that the buyer pay for return shipping, which offsets the longer dispute period.

If you backed your PP payment with a credit card, you can also open a chargeback with the card.

BUT

You have to Dispute in that order. EBay will not entertain a dispute if there has already been a PP dispute. PP will not entertain a dispute if there has already been a chargeback.

It sounds as if you opened the chargeback and the PP dispute at the same time. And while the eBay dispute was still open.

Which looks like (although it was definitely not your intention) an attempt at double-dipping.

The three operations are independent, but they do have mutual contracts, the card with PP, PP with eBay, and possible double-dipping will throw up a red flag and kill your dispute dead.