How do I contact/involve eBay in resolving a dispute with a seller?

[simplybert]

I ordered a bottle of vintage perfume.  The seller did not secure the bottle stopper in the bottle so the stopper became dislodged during shipping and the contents of the bottle spilled out and the bottle was empty.  I immediately contacted the seller to advise them of this, I sent pictures showing the empty bottle and the box the perfume was in, and asked them to either send me another bottle (they had more than one listed in the sale page) or to provide a refund since the package was not properly packaged.  The only reply I got was to submit more pictures (one of the bubble wrap and one of the exterior box) and they were going to file a claim with the shipping company (US Post Office).  Since the item was not securely packaged by the seller, I think that they should issue a refund immediately or provide another item (and properly ship it).  I have not heard anything more from the seller and don't believe that the post office is going to pay a claim since the box was not damaged in shipping - the perfume came out of its bottle due to the seller not properly securing the stopper in the bottle to ensure it wouldn't leak out during shipping.  How can I get eBay involved as I don't think I should have to wait for the sellers to argue with the post office about whether or not this will be covered by the post office.  I also believe that the post office will refuse their claim since they did not properly package the perfume.  The search results I've found online don't apply to this particular situation nor are they very clear.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

Follow the instructions to file an Ebay Money Back Guarantee claim

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy...

[eburtonlab · Accepted solution]

If an item received is "not as described", the buyer has thirty days to file a "not as described" return with eBay:

https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/returns-items-not-received-refunds-buyers/return-item-refund?id=404...

The seller with then have three business days to either refund directly or else provide a prepaid return label or pay for tracked return shipping and refund upon return. If the seller does not cooperate, the buyer will have up to twenty-one business days to ask eBay to step in and force a refund.

If the damage occurred due to the shipping service's actions, the seller can pursue an insurance claim with the shipper after refunding the buyer.

[kensgiftshop]

You don't need to contact Ebay, just use the MBG.

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.

[pickapaper]

Too bad you couldn't send the seller a "smell-o-vision".  That package had to smell pretty strong!