Ebay Advice

[sanaxe1]

Hello, so just got off the phone with my mate and he has abit of a ebay problem.

He ordered a 4 piece furniture set which consists of wardrobe , chest of draws and 2 bed side tables. He started to build them and then realized that there was a box mixing which was the chest of draws. He contacted the seller and they stated that the courier must have lost the box as there should have been 5 pieces of the consignment. However my friend contacted the courier and the courier provided a copy of the delivery slip which states 4 pieces on the paperwork. He then contacts the seller again and the seller says sorry about the inconvenience we will get it delivered to you in 2 days time. Happy with this my friend continues to build all of the furniture and then throws the boxes away ( They are huge ) as in 2 days time the remaining items are to be delivered. Anyway skip to 2 days time and the seller messages saying unfortunately the items have now been discontinued and they can only offer the following. A £50 refund for the lost chest of draws which is a lot less than they are worth given the total set cost or he can return the items as long as they have not been assembled.


I personally think this was done on purpose. They were aware that he had started to assemble them and they also told him that the missing piece was on its way. I have since checked the sellers other items and while the 4 piece is out of stock they have 3 of the 3 piece in stock which has the exact same chest of draws. So this is another lie they have told as regardless of it being a 3 piece or 4 piece they would have had to take the chest of draws from another set. I think they had no intention of doing this as it would cost them the sale of another set.

So what do you guys think? Yes he has thrown the boxes away and assembled them but do you think he has the right to return them for a full refund given the situation? Ideally my friend would prefer to receive the draws as he is happy with what he has but without them the set is incomplete and any amount of refund wouldn't help as he wouldn't have a matching set which was the whole point in the first place.

 

[MissChief]

I'd say no, if they're flat pack and not faulty by building them he's accepted their condition and use so has completed and fulfilled the terms of his contract. TBH I'd take the £50. He might find a matching set elsewhere. Can the seller advise where they got the set from or the manufacturer? They may be able to tell him of alternative sellers where he might get the chest of drawers.

 

[Gray2233]

Tell him to take it up with ebay/paypal.

If he provides them with all the information chances are they'll side with him and offer a better resolution than the £50 offered by the seller.

 

[sanaxe1]

I'd say no, if they're flat pack and not faulty by building them he's accepted their condition and use so has completed and fulfilled the terms of his contract. TBH I'd take the £50. He might find a matching set elsewhere. Can the seller advise where they got the set from or the manufacturer? They may be able to tell him of alternative sellers where he might get the chest of drawers.

Looking online at the cost of the 4 piece and the 3 piece i would say that the value of the draws is more £150. Which i think makes the £50 unfair and while you might be right that by building them he has fulfilled the terms of the original contract wouldn't the seller then saying he would send the missing item constitute a new contract which he has now failed to fulfill?

I've told him to contact ebay/paypal regardless but im just thinking what the best angle is to approach it.

 

[Steeps]

EBay and PayPal will side with you as the seller has not completed the whole order. You have evidence it wasn't supplied and the seller has tried to cover it up

 

[Theophany]

Unless eBay's default policy of siding with the buyer has changed recently, I'd let them handle it. Full order was not delivered and compensation offered is inadequate. Seems pretty slam dunk to me.

 

[cyber69]

If you don’t agree to a part refund then your only option is to raise a case with ebay and the seller will have no option but to request you to repack it all for collection. They will have to arrange for a courier or send you return details and. once they receive it all back and check it then you will get a refund.

Your problem is that you have assembled it without checking off all the boxes and then threw away all the packaging so unless you can repack it all then you will have to accept the part refund offer.

 

[CircleFaust]

you would need to open a case with ebay and fight for more than the £50 offered

 

[Haggisman]

Buy the 3 piece set.
Claim the drawers didn't turn up.
Assemble drawers to complete 4 piece set.
Return 2 other pieces for full refund.
Job jobbed.

 

[jpaul]

contract was for all 4 items, friend, then gave them opportunity to fix the problem,
so sounds like, irrespective of him building 3, which he did in good faith, that 4th would arrive,
they need to provide reasonable reparation, or take the lot back, so, he disssassembles it.

just need to present clear screen captures showing value/refund needed for the draws, and that draws were/are available in 3 pack
- present clear/overwhelming evidence to paypal arbitrators, that's what i do.

 

[Dirk Diggler]

Order the 3 piece set with the chest of drawers. Request a return straight away. Send everything but the drawers back. Raise a PayPal dispute when they make a fuss, providing proof of postage, Paypal will refund you.

Never use eBay again. Job done.

p.s. Yes, it's drawers not draws.

 

[sanaxe1]

So my friend opened a claim with eBay. Asked for them to send the missing set of drawers ( thanks Dirk ). They refused and eBay gave my mate a full refund and the bonus is he can keep the furniture he received.

 

[fobose]

Good for your mate. Sellers like that need to learn the hard way.

 

[Gray2233]

So my friend opened a claim with eBay. Asked for them to send the missing set of drawers ( thanks Dirk ). They refused and eBay gave my mate a full refund and the bonus is he can keep the furniture he received.

Good.

I've tons of issues with ebay as a seller, but when you do it right as a buyer they're amazing.

 

[Theophany]

So my friend opened a claim with eBay. Asked for them to send the missing set of drawers ( thanks Dirk ). They refused and eBay gave my mate a full refund and the bonus is he can keep the furniture he received.

Result!

 

[Semple]

Seems a bit daft really, the seller must have surely realised they weren't going to have gotten away with not fulfilling the order correctly.

"Not assembling" the furniture would have been irrelevant, being flatpack you would just disassemble and stick it back in the packaging. The mistake was throwing the boxes away until everything was all good.

Good result either way.

 

[413x]

Gees.
That's brutal on the seller. OK, this one is probably fair. But let's say the seller did offer a fair 150 refund.

You could just go 'nope' and ebay refund the lot?
Let's now say that's a 2k speaker set with a stand missing? You could get 2k set for free?

That's one of the worst 'side with the buyer' I've ever seen

 

[cyber69]

I can only think you got your refund and the ‘free’ furniture because the seller did not want the hassle of arranging a courier to collect it all so wrote off the cost.

 

[sanaxe1]

Gees.
That's brutal on the seller. OK, this one is probably fair. But let's say the seller did offer a fair 150 refund.

You could just go 'nope' and ebay refund the lot?
Let's now say that's a 2k speaker set with a stand missing? You could get 2k set for free?

That's one of the worst 'side with the buyer' I've ever seen

I think it will be down to the way the seller handled the situation.

To use your example of the speakers we would need the speakers and stand to be sent in separate boxes. The sellers would then need to claim the courier has lost the item. But you would then provide proof that they were never sent. Then the seller would say, No worries i will send out a replacement item and then 3 days later they then turn around and say infact I will give you a refund at around 1/3 of the value of the missing item as we no longer have the item in stock. Only for you to then find that the item is in stock.

If you were Ebay and you saw this you would be worried about the impression this seller gives to the buyer on the entire ebay platform. So they need to "punish" the seller. I'm sure if they had attempted to handle it better they wouldn't of been penalized as much and they would have just been forced to pay return postage and give a full refund.

 

[413x]

I can only think you got your refund and the ‘free’ furniture because the seller did not want the hassle of arranging a courier to collect it all so wrote off the cost.

You'd hope so!