I have to pay shipping for returning a broken product that was falsely advertised?

[corvus88]

I am currently in the process of returning a laptop I won in a bid. Little did I know that it was going to be the worst purchase I made in 12 years of using eBay. The seller had a near 100% rating after thousands of sales, so I trusted him. I had to pay for the shipping.

First, the laptop didn't have the processor that it was advertised; it was slower. I messaged the seller about the issue when the laptop just stopped working. It stopped working the very next day after I tested it for about an hour having received it. It wouldn't even start. The power button would light up, but there would be nothing else going on, just a black screen.

I decided to return and contacted the eBay support. I asked about the shipping fee for the return and I was told that I was supposed to pay for it since the seller advertised it as so. However, it seems incredibly unjust that I will have to spend money on shipping both ways for a defective product that was sold with false advertisement.

Is this really how it is? To be punished for something that was no fault of mine while the seller loses nothing? I've never had experience like this before, so I would like to know what others think.

Thank you

[hafoster]

Why not read the money-back guarantee yourself instead?

https://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/money-back-guarantee.html

When an item doesn't match the listing description

The cost of return shipping is the seller's responsibility. For return of items with a total cost of $750 or more, we require signature confirmation.

[hafoster]

And don't fall for this: You will not be reimbursed --

the seller still has to send loonies first --

to buy the return shipping postage with tracking.

[corvus88]

Upon a double-check it appears the original shipping fee will be covered in the refund as well. I'm assuming the label also means that there won't be a charge when I ship it back to the seller. Looks like I made an assumption based on what the eBay support told me.

Well, I hope everything goes like it's supposed to.

[couldabeenworse]

Looks like I made an assumption based on what the eBay support told me.

A common mistake.  I'd swear if you just picked random people off the street and asked for advice, you'd have the same success as with eBay reps.  In the future, the boards are the best place for advice (even though they get a bit rowdy on occassion).

[littleguineapiggy]

Absolutely false.  If you open a case because the item doesn't work, it's the wrong item etc., then the seller issues you a label, and pays for the return.  You don;t just send the item back on your own dime, because there's no way to enforce reimbursement on that either.