got ripped off... EBAY says SELLER IS NOT responsible!

[webqueene]

Basically:

bought an item, it was defective

started a return in like 10 days from purchase; worked with seller who agreed to replace it

after he didn't send a replacement, waited the mandatory time I had to, then opened a case

Then after ANOTHER mandatory EBAY waiting period, I ask EBAY TO STEP IN

EBAY decides its too late to do a return, I'm stuck with a defective item and its even too late for FEEDBACK

I shoulda been suspicious when he requested to take our transaction to EMAIL..

So, apparently, sellers have now figured out how to rip of buyers by using the delays to their advantage.

Oh and now EBAY isn't answering their phones.

The biggest mystery is how customer-centered competitors haven't taken all this auction business?

[myboardid]

If you used Paypal to pay for it, file an item Not As Described claim with them.  You will have to pay for the return cost, with tracking, in order to get a refund.

OR, if you paid with a credit card, file a claim with them. 

[mudshark61369]

@webqueene,

Yes the seller did scam you, but they were able to because you did not read the terms of eBay's Money Back Guarantee (MBG), so you would know the time frames for taking actions.

  "I shoulda been suspicious when he requested to take our transaction to EMAIL."

When there is a problem of any sort with a transaction ALL communications should be conducted through eBay messages.  Because you did not do that, the seller was able to stall you with phony reasons why the replacement item hadn't arrived yet, until the time frame for asking ebay to step in had passed.

  "So, apparently, sellers have now figured out how to rip of buyers by using the delays to their advantage",

Yes scammers know how to get around any retail site's policies.  However, they can only get away with that IF the buyer doesn't know what the policies are.

  "Oh and now EBAY isn't answering their phones".

eBay's call center is located in the Philippines, and if it is staffed, it probably has a reduced number of reps available to handle the volume of calls coming in.  Since you let the time frame pass for taking action, they would not be able to help you anyway.

You probably have one option left, and that is to file a not as described dispute through PayPal who give you 180 days from the date of purchase to file disputes.  Unfortunately, they require you to pay to return the item, with tracking at your own cost.  Depending on where the item was coming from, it may cost more to return it than what you originally paid.

  "The biggest mystery is how customer-centered competitors haven't taken all this auction business?"

Ebay's buyer protection is very buyer centered, and the MBG works well when its time frames are followed.

   As far as "Auctions" go, no other site's auctions work as well as ebay's.  Not only do you have to pay to bid, but they use time extended auctions adding 5 minutes after each bid, so it can it take hours for an auction to actually end.

  As for direct retail sites even the big "A" has their fair share of problems with sellers scamming people.