eBay Issue

Peerzy · 12 Apr 2016 at 16:57

Blah blah blah - another boring eBay issue thread.

I purchased a watch on eBay from a shop seller with decent (but not perfect) feedback on 26th December 2015. Watch came and looked fine (it was around £250 - £80 cheaper than elsewhere but it's not sold in the UK by the manufacturer so I expected prices to vary).

The quality of the watch is not up to scratch and over the past 3 months despite careful wear the strap has become damaged and started to fall apart. The watch also loses 3-4 minutes each week (which shouldn't happen on a brand new watch).

Unfortunately the eBay resolution centre will only let me open a case against a seller within 3 months and I'm just over that time limit. Paypal offers me nothing as far as I can see and the seller has stopped returning my messages which I queried the quality and wanting a refund.

Where do I stand and what can be done?

I cannot find anywhere within eBay or Paypal to contact them without having to select the item from a list of transactions and the watch no longer appears as it's outside the standard 90 days.

Peerzy · 12 Apr 2016 at 17:07

Mujja said:
Does it have a manufacturer's warranty, global as it's not sold in the UK.

I doubt you are going to get anything out of eBay or the seller now. Replace the strap and get it checked by a repair centre for the time it's losing.

I've not considered the manufacturers warranty angle yet.

I just expected to be able to claim through eBay / PayPal without issue - I'm constantly hearing of stories about how selling on eBay is a nightmare as buyers get money back like 6-12 months after buying something leaving the seller in a worse off position.

The watch could well be fake, I've not had it fully checked yet.

Peerzy · 12 Apr 2016 at 17:15

Clum said:
They're pretty clear on the time limits for a claim, not not sure why you'd expect an exception to be made?

If it turns out to be fake (which it probably will) then maybe you have a better angle to approach from.

I'm aware I'm past the deadline - I'm looking for alternative options or ways to contact them.

Peerzy · 12 Apr 2016 at 17:21

beh said:
What watch is it? Is it an auto/quartz?

Depends how much you're talking about but it's not uncommon for people to sell gift cards that don't exist as a cheaper alternative to getting a payday loan. An obvious tell is often the shipping date being a ~couple weeks.

This is the watch (and seller)

Peerzy · 12 Apr 2016 at 20:44

Socaddict said:
Paypal resolution centre - should have up to six months to claim through it.

Thanks, I wasn't aware PayPal covered me for 180 days. I'll open a dispute through that (it's not working at the moment - page cannot be displayed) and hopefully that'll force the seller to respond to my emails.

I've had £40 watches where the strap hasn't looked this bad about 2-3 years of daily use.

Peerzy · 12 Apr 2016 at 21:19

Rotty said:
can you post a pic of the strap?

It's very hard to photograph but see below.

The pin no longer stays in the hole I require (it just slips out due to the leather tearing) so I can't actually wear the watch. The latch also constantly just unclips.

Peerzy · 12 Apr 2016 at 21:31

Diagro said:
Straps cost a pittance.
Get it serviced.

Why should I need to service and replace the strap on a brand new watch?

Peerzy · 12 Apr 2016 at 22:00

[TW]Fox;29384491 said:
It's not a brand new watch is it, you've said yourself you've had it since last year. Straps vary enormously in quality.

Getting a new strap seems like the most pragmatic option here.

The strap has worn at a far greater rate than it should, which to me highlights the fact it's not of an acceptable level of quality. A watch strap should not become useless after 3 months.

I've now opened a PayPal dispute.

Peerzy · 12 Apr 2016 at 22:09

The actual watch looks real, it shows no signs of being fake and genuinely looks of decent quality. It could be fake but I'm not sure either way.

I'll check for the Seiko warranty card (it'll be with the box in the loft).

I'll push PayPal as part of the dispute saying the strap quality is not acceptable and I believe it could be fake.

When I first contacted the seller via eBay about the poor quality they didn't defend themselves, they just asked for my PayPal address so they could check their records - they've now completely stopped replying to all messages.

No matter how bad the Seiko watch straps are suppose to be there is no way I'd expect it to be this bad. I've had a Superdry £40 watch with a similar strap which I used for a few years and that was still in better condition than this strap after 3 months.