EBay wants me to pay return shipping based on pure confusion

[solidwaver]

I ordered a set of Toyota branded car door weather stripping from a seller based in Sri Lanka. Since the part was expensive, so I double checked the part against my saved vehicle "2000 Avalon" and eBay reported "This fits your vehicle" before purchasing it.

I received it today via DHL and tried to install one of them when I noticed it didn't fit correctly. I double checked the part numbers with what I ordered and they were indeed correct. I opened a return and was presented with reasons for returning the part. I wrongly selected "Doesn't fit', which I understood to mean the part doesn't fit my car because the wrong one was sent or it it was incorrectly described.

At the end of the return, I found it odd that eBay asked me to buy a shipping label and provided me with an address to ship the item to. I googled for why I had to pay return shipping and discovered eBay automatically determines that "Doesn't fit" is automatically deemed as Buyer's Remorse, even though "fits" is the term their part checker uses for the correct part.

I got on the phone with eBay customer service and explained my situation, but the person I spoke to said I should wait until the 20th to ask eBay to step in. I have a suspicion the case is already closed once eBay determines it is buyer's remorse and the return has been initiated.

I believe the correct part was sent, but it was intended for another type of Avalon sold in another country. I feel it is unfair to pay for return shipping due to reasonable confusion on "Doesn't fit" and eBay confirming the incorrect part would "fit" my vehicle.

Where do I go from here?

[klhmdg]

eBay doesn’t have a “fit check” it may have been in the sellers listings but it is not “eBay”

Since you opened remorse return you will need to return the item for refund.

I am not sure if you close this return if you can open a Not as Described return.

Do not wait until the 20th! If you do eBay will close in the sellers favor.

[solidwaver]

It may not be called a "fit check", but eBay does have a facility to check wether a part "fits" your vehicle. I've used it numerous times without issue until now.

How on earth does "doesn't fit" mean buyer's remorse according to eBay?  I can't understand that at all, especially when eBay uses "fit" to mean compatible.  If a part is incompatible, it doesn't mean you don't want it anymore or you made a mistake ordering the wrong part.

I tried to ask eBay to step in for help, but received an error bad page request. 

[kensgiftshop]

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@solidwaver wrote:

I tried to ask eBay to step in for help, but received an error bad page request. 

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Since you filed the wrong type of case, Ebay won't be any help.

A couple years ago, they could change the type of case for you, but they don't any more.

You can close the case you have open now and see if it'll let you file an item not as described case, don't know if it'll let you or not.

[divwido]

This is why companies so as Auto Zone are thriving.  They  will make sure you have the correct item, at a price and maybe even install something that basic.

But you wanted cheap so this is what that gets you.  Cheap, wrong and a return address in Sri Lanka.

[klhmdg]

eBay is a venue. eBay it self does not tell you if items will or should fit. eBay has no facilities to check car part "fits" or clothes or appliances...

You filed a "remorse" return. If you bought a coat and "thought" you got the right size but it didnt fit it would still be remorse.

No one not even the seller guaranteed that your research was correct and you were buying the right part.

You can try closing the case and "try" to do a another with Not as Described. 

OR you can return the item and get a refund. 

OR you can sell the item yourself.

If you close and can not do another case on eBay you do have the option to file with PayPal BUT PayPal will have you return the item also. PayPal has the buyer return at buyers expense. 

Good Luck with whatever you choose to do.

[donsdetour]

When you close or eBay closes the case on eBay try your payment method for item not as described.

[solidwaver]

Unlike other members here, your remark was unhelpful, off-topic and petty. You seem to take a sadistic delight in the smallest misfortune of others. 

For your information, AutoZone and most parts stores also sell cheap, shoddy aftermarket parts. In fact, they rarely carry any genuine parts for foreign vehicles.  I've purchased many wrong parts from them in the past that I had to either modify or return, even when they were described as a direct fit.  If I was looking for cheap, I would've purchased a universal one for $14 from AutoZone instead of spending  $109.

I needed a new, genuine Toyota factory part because the aftermarket ones are intended to seal over the existing ones, not to replace them. It just so happened I couldn't find one from a US seller. The part I did receive, however, was indeed a genuine, new part, it just wasn't for my car. 

Using your own faulty logic, why stop at the local parts store at all?  If spending more money is the solution, then you should advocate for buying from the dealerships or the local mechanic where you'll pay $400 for parts and labor. As an added benefit, you'll get an even better gloat when they go broke.

[solidwaver]

Some good news for now. Yesterday the seller responded to my message and assures me they will make it right. They asked for a photo of my vehicle's nameplate which I sent them along with a screenshot of eBay's message claiming the part fits.

Ebay is really at fault here. There's no conceivable reason why "Didn't fit" in this context should be seen as buyer's remorse. I didn't want to select "wrong item received"  because I was unsure of the meaning of wrong. It was correct according to the listing, but wrong for my car. The screen is poorly designed. 

The seller may also be at fault, but it really depends on how much control they have over the parts compatibility checker. If they tagged the part for the wrong vehicle, then it is on them. If eBay's algorithm blindly based compatibility on the year, make and model without regard for different international markets, then it is eBay's fault.

[ripsmc]

For what it's worth, I don't buy many automotive parts off of eBay but I have in the past seen the fitment charts stating a certain part will fit this, that, or the other when I know full well that it will not. I say this as a mechanic of well over 40 years and regarding U.S. sellers of parts for the U.S. market.

[liquidybooks]

yup..going thru this now..

ordered OEM part..year make and model is all correct and the part checker VERIFIED accurate..2 days later install time..part isnt correct..seller agreed to return (i chose didnt fit BUT should of chosen not accurate instead) cheap word games on ebays part..label arrived and wants ME to pay shipping..WHY should i pay shipping on something that isnt my fault one bit. if the part was VERIFIED accurate i would keep it and it be installed right now.

all this automated crap really can screw you over with word games

[dryophelia]

@liquidybooks 

This thread is a year old. People who respond may not realize this and will respond to the original poster. 

Start your own thread for best results. 

As to your situation, yes, you opened the wrong case on eBay. 
If you paid through PayPal or your credit card, you can go through them for a full refund. 
I agree, eBay wording is often less than clear. 

[kjv3n1]

I too have been a victim of Ebay's poor policies.  After having wasted 45 minutes of my life and getting my blood pressure near heart attack rage at not getting through to ebay, I have to wait even more. Oh how I wish ebay board members and workers were treated with the same insensibility that they treat others.  Once I finally found a way to get in contact with ebay, I asked the operator if she would like to be treated the same way and she said no.  I wish I could give ebay negative ratings on their customer service. Everything is automated so that you just go round and round and round because the questions they give you don't pertain to the problem provided.  AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[kjv3n1]

Can we sue Ebay for heart attack hospital bills for the stress they cause because of being lazy on their part?  They force you to go through prompt after prompt after prompt of which NONE of them are the problem you have.  They have no problem wasting YOUR time trying to get something resolved. But boy, waste their time...  I pray that Ebay gets treated the same way they treat others and get "woke" as to their lack of customer service.

[tony1963]

I once bought an AC Delco oil filter for my aunt's 1975 Chevrolet Nova.  The AC logo had a smudge.

Can I sue?

I once opened a bag of licorice and one end of one piece was a bit smashed.

Can I sue?