Seller admitted item was damaged and still sent it

I purchased an item and paid within 5 min after auction ended through paypal. The Auction clearly stated that the item was "lightly used, no chips or cracks". As soon as I opened the box upon receipt I found that there was a chip on the spout that looks like it has been glued. When I contacted the Seller to find out why she sent me didn't send me the item described in the auction she said that she had noticed there was something on the spout but "didn't have time to get out her goo gone to remove the residue". I asked to return the item for a full refund and she pays for shipping back since this wasn't what I bid on. She said no, that I had to pay for shipping back to her but she would give me a refund. Why should I have to encure cost for her misuse of the system? She states that ebay won't make her pay for the shipping return. Isn't there some way we can protect ourselves from dishonest sellers like this? I just wanted the item I bid on, and shouldn't have to pay to ship it back to her when she clearly did this on purpose!!!|||Not good service if seller knew there was an issue. I'd reimburse return shipping even if I had not known of the defect. Filing an Item Significantly Not As Described SNAD dispute will bring this poor seller to eBay's notice, but you will still have to return the item on your own dime.~ Lucy ~ Guide to eBay Board AcronymsClick on for links to Help Pages for a new eBayer|||Filing with PayPal always entails a return of the item. eBay is slower but they may pay for the return shipping if asked to by the buyer.~ Lucy ~ Guide to eBay Board AcronymsClick on for links to Help Pages for a new eBayer|||eBay is slower but they may pay for the return shipping if asked to by the buyer. That's bad advice - eBay won't pay return ship cost. They may however refund you without requiring you to return the item, IF you (possibly per their request) can document the undisclosed damage to them - and the seller doesn't wish to 'cooperate'). However, that requres the seller to also refuse to agree to any refund whatsoever, and that's not the case here. This meanwhile, is a disengenuous seller. They SHOULD pay for return shipping since this was clearly their misrepresentation - assuming they agree it was and it seems they do in this case. However, the policy is clearly spelled out to buyers BEFORE they purchase here. They will be required to pay for return shipping before being assured of any refund in almost all cases. That's the risk you share, and for sure it's NOT fair, and this seller makes us all look bad as a result. Yet, from a fair POV, it's also true that many buyers try to claim damage which might for example be for a similar item they have, and use this process as means to pull an item switch - which is why the return request should be honored in all cases (from eBay POV too). Still, if its the seller fault, they should pay for the return too. Meanwhile. you have your FB and DSR tools to let others know about the FACTUAL aspects of your transaction experience in hopes this will eventually cause this seller to reconsider how to better serve their buyers.--------------------------------- Sometimes I wonder if the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it. - - Mark Twain||||||I have read posts where eBay did pay return shipping but it was for heavy widgets. eBay refused to pay return shipping for a light widget when I personally filed a SNAD case. The seller admitted that the widget was damaged before she shipped it. She should just refund the OP in full and be done with it. There is no reason at all to force the OP to return an unsellable widget. It ticks off the OP and it is poor customer service. Seller would deserve a neg and dinged stars as well and should have dispute filed against her too since that counts against her. yes, it is punishment but this seller deserves it. Shipping a damaged widget on purpose was moronic.|||Man I hate to say this as a Seller but she really does deserve a neg. I closely inspect every item again BEFORE packing and on I think on 3 occasions (out of over 4000 transactions) I found something that I'd missed on listing. I immediately take photographs and email them to the buyer, explaining what I missed and asking how the buyer wants to proceed. Packing and shipping something you know to be "not as described" as beyond unprofessional-it's also really really stupid.|||this seller has a long history of sending defective product ... and of course in her word its never her fault .. look through her feedback. one tiem it might be an accident but with so many snad's? this seller should really be more honest with items condition|||I would file SNAD, ship back with DC when PayPal told me to, and get my refund. At that point, if seller won't refund return shipping, I'd leave a neg and 1s on the appropriate stars. You can always revise the FB if seller cooperates (as she should - her fault) with refund. I'm a buyer that's easy to get along with, but this seller takes the cake and deserves what she gets.|||File the SNAD , return as required, get refund and leave an appropriate NEG to warn others. example: item damged prior to shipment, seller admitted pre ship damage, uncooperative, buyers beware Ebay is inconsistant with return costs and often does not require the return if the buyer makes a big enough complaint regarding return shipping costs. It is a 50 -50 with Ebay these days|||The seller admitted that the widget was damaged before she shipped it. She should just refund the OP in full and be done with it. I agree. If the seller screwed it us she should make it right by whatever means. I'd refund and let you keep it if it was me. I don't advocate negging a seller unless they truly are a bad sellers. If she screwed it up and isn't willing to make it right then other buyers need to know she screwed it up and wasn't going to make it right. Honestly though very few buyers will take the time to know who they are buying from and they don't read terms of sale so it remains to be seen how many of her future buyers will even bother to check her out before bidding on her listings IMO.|||snappy - lucy - Even though we've read some cases of PP covering both the seller and buyer and paying return postage, all the policy seems to say is - "In unusual circumstances, eBay may pay return shipping." So unless there's more in the policy somewhere, I'm not sure if we should get people's hopes up in either getting return shipping re-imbursed by eBay OR refunds without returns. JIMHO. ~James~||||||Wasn't bad advice at all! Just combined with snappy's "They may however refund you without requiring you to return the item", oh I was just thinking those things would stand out in some people's minds, never mind me...~James~|||All me James ..... snappy quoted me , but without actually appearing to, and not with the underscore on may, then said I gave bad advice. But again, it's the perception that newbies may walk away with. (((James)))~ Lucy ~ Guide to eBay Board AcronymsClick on for links to Help Pages for a new eBayer