Yet eBay is 100% on the side of the buyer. You can get a refund even if your purchase is beyond the sellers refund terms. So if you got a chipped nipple on your tube and choose to keep it, why would you complain? I'm just asking... I have found eBay to be quite reliable for tube purchases, and the sellers to be mostly truthful. Why would they lie about tube tests... you can just put in a claim with eBay and return it at the sellers expense, always, regardless of their policy.
Not complaining about that one particular tube. I deemed that as a realistic and logical risk, that it can be broken along its way half the globe (Ukraine to Asia) and 1,5 month shipping time.
I'm also aware of ebay's protection. I think it was either keep the stuff and get partial refund, or return the stuff and get full refund. Both aren't in my favor tho. The postal condition of my country make things a lot harder to send something anywhere in the world. I learned this when RMA-ing my hifiman to China.
For example, I have to go to the main post office for oversea shipping, branch post offices won't do. There, I gotta wait for the inspection office to inspect the thing I'm sending, got interviewed face to face a bit (what is it, where I'm sending it to, purpose of sending, etc), then wait some more for the actual sending. It takes half a day of office hours just to send a package, excluding the transport time, so it's 1 day absence from work. Not fancy on the cost as well. For example, regular shipment from my country to China (both in Asia) for a 1 kg package (minimum weight) was around $20-$30. I couldn't imagine how much it will cost for a package to Ukraine. So let's say I opted for a full refund. I imagine even if the seller will cover the postal cost, he will do it after he receive the package back. It's 1.5 month shipping there, so I'll get my postal money back 1.5 month later. Then if I opted for a replacement, it's another 1.5 month shipping time. So for a $10 tube, it's too much hassle and cost to try to get a refund.
I know it's just the way it is. I blame the public post office and its policies. The condition makes it a major headache to deal with oversea warranties and RMAs. I should have been clearer on my previous post, it's not the ebay that's at fault.
I'm not saying ebay is a bad way for everybody. Just for me and everyone else in my country. For me, buying from ebay (and other oversea online sites, amazon, aliexpress, etc) is always a gamble. If the stuff is good, I win. If the stuff is bad, it's too much hassles and costs to try to get a refund, depending on the stuff, might not be worth it.
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