...if you're a SELLER EBay is the most unfriendly. If you are a buyer however, the odds are stacked in your favor.
Agreed
I got screwed on fleabay twice.. Once as a Buyer, once as a Seller
Bought an Injection Pump for my Diesel from a guy in London (the same rare diesel in my truck is still in use over there to this day). Almost a month went by and still no injection pump (when i had bought parts in London from a different seller and they showed up in about a week). So i sent him a courteous message asking about my pump and a tracking number. His response was he'd check the tracking number and get back to me (didn't give me the tracking number, that was the first red flag right there)
Being that this was my first time encountering a bad deal on ebay, i didn't know there was a time limit on filing a claim. The guy responded and told me it would be there in a few days (still no tracking number for me to check for myself). A few days past that date, i emailed him again asking for the tracking number directly (my only question in the message) He got back to me saying "it turns out parcel force doesn't offer a tracking number"
rotest: Immediate big red flag right there (hmmm...where'd the tracking number go that you had a few days before?) After speaking with some members on another forum i frequent, they informed me about the time limit on the Ebay Claim and instructed me to file a claim (sure enough, i was only maybe 2 days from the time limit, the guy was trying to run out the "clock" on my ability to file)
I filed the claim, and got my money back. Lost a few dollars though, because the currency exchange rates had changed between the time i bought the pump and the time i was issued the refund. I think that was in 2009... it's going on 2012 and that pump never showed up :tongue10:
In the end, i got on Car-Part and found only ONE Injection Pump in the entire US, at a junkyard in Alaska. Quickly bought it, and with shipping it was $50 less than i paid for the pump from london and it showed up at my door the same week.
Shoe on the other foot. I sold a Radio for a 70's Renault on fleabay, it was missing the knobs and such, but tested out great (even picked up radio stations without hooking an antenna up). It sold for something like $5 plus shipping, was listed AS-IS and i made note of everything that was missing in the Description.
2 weeks go by (after the buyer received the radio, i always check the tracking to make sure a buyer receives his stuff) and the Buyer messages me that the is missing parts (no *censored*, i mentioned it was missing knobs and a bezel/surround in the description... that's what i was thinking, but didn't say it in my response) He requested a refund, and being the calm and rarely spoken person that I am, i sent back half of his money ($2.50). Minutes later he sent me a message demanding all of it back, including shipping!
I contacted ebay, and their response was, "If the item is not satisfactory to the buyer, regardless of the description and being listed AS-IS, you are required to issue the refund" (WTF?!) I sent him the full refund (including the shipping price) and stopped selling/buying on ebay entirely! A few months later i have a message from this Buyer. So i open it and he has the balls to "thank me" for the free radio! :mumum:
