Seller used fake photos, I requested a refund, now they privately messaged me.

[sunshineghoul]

Seller used stolen photos for a listing, I clearly noticed when I opened the package. I immediately asked for a refund, providing proof the item did not match what was advertised at all. Seller offered me an $8 refund on a $76ish product because they "only made $2" off of it. 

I said no, I want a full refund, reiterated that the listing photos were fake, the item I received is not what is shown in the listing.

Seller accepted my return after that message, and then sent me a private message along the lines of this: 
post office doesn't have a separate label for sale 

tell me your paypal account number and the postage you need
I'll pay for return shipping
I'll give you a refund when I receive the package.

Should I report the message, contact an agent? I'm unsure of what to do here. I thought sellers were only supposed to issue refunds through ebay.

[albertabrightalberta]

Is the seller in China? The partial refund offer and inability to send labels is their m.o.

If the seller doesn't accept the return, go back to the claim and ask ebay to step in.

[sunshineghoul]

Yes - they are from China. They accepted the return, then privately messaged me telling me I need to go buy my own label and they will paypal the postage amount to me.

[kensgiftshop]

The seller isn't trying to refund.

They want your Pay Pal email so they can send you the money to pay for return shipping.

International sellers can't provide a shipping label, they send you the funds to cover the return shipping.

[sunshineghoul]

I just don't understand why they needed to privately message me that, instead of using the return status messaging. 

[mudshark61369]

@sunshineghoul,

From what you have written it seems you have not filed a formal Item Not As Described dispute through ebay. You have only been messaging the seller, you need to stop doing that.   Go to your purchase history click on the More actions button, Select Return this item, Select does not match description or photos, On the next page in the text box write, the item is not what was pictured in the listing photos, and that the seller first offered an $8 partial refund.  When you refused they asked for your PayPal info so they "reimburse" you for the return shipping cost. Add a photo of what you received. then file the dispute.

Your dispute will show up on your My ebay summary page, and the seller will have 3 days to reply by sending a return shipping label, if they reply to the dispute saying they cannot purchase a label, you ask ebay to step in and they will provide one for them.  If the seller dos not respond within 3 days, on day 4 you ask ebay to step in and they will refund you from the seller's account.

What the seller has been doing is trying to scam you. They can point to the shipping payment  saying it was a refund, if you give them your PayPal info.   They are also trying to stall you from opening a formal dispute through ebay.  You have 30 days from the day you received he item to do that, and it will probably take longer than that for the item to be returned to China, as well as costing quite a lot of money.  They would also avoid getting a defect on heir account, and  being able to receive a negative feedback or get one removed.  Using stalling tactics and asking  you to go outside of ebay to settle a dispute is a common practice of chinese sellers, as @albertabrightalberta wrote. which is why many avoid buying from them. 

If the seller you are having issues with is the last one you received feedback from, you should have checked their feedback profile page before buying from them. On that page you can click on the numbers of neutral and negative feedback they have received to read only those comments. Their current feedback percentage is poor for a high volume ebay seller.

As soon as you file the dispute, I suggest leaving negative feedback for the transaction and the seller's actions.  Do not call the seller names, or mention having to file a dispute or asking ebay to step in, or the feedback could be removed.

[kh-stanley1]

Hi everyone,

This thread has been closed at the request of the OP.

Thank you for understanding.