I've read a lot of eBay stories on Head-Fi so I know a lot of members have been, unfortunately, ripped off by a seller or two. Somehow, over the course of about 1000 purchases I avoided all of the bad sellers out there, but I think my luck has finally run out.
Here's the story:
I recently read though the Pen-Fi thread here and decided to get into pen collecting. Anyway, I purchase a Montblanc Solitaire ballpoint for $130 + $15 shipping with BIN. I pay immediately. No contact from seller for a few days. Eventually, I email him and ask about shipment, he ships next day (4 days after auction end) and I get the pen yesterday. It's an obvious fake and I call the seller on it.
I check his other ended auctions and he sold 3 other pens just like the one I purchased (same pictures and all) for BIN prices of $120, $140 and $180. My guess is that the others were fakes as well.
What makes the situation even more sketchy is that, with all of his other previous sales, he listed them as normal eBay auctions but the pens were all listed as private so the buyers ID would not be disclosed.
The pictures in the auction weren't the best, but it's also obvious that he shipped a different pen than he had pictured (the pictures appeared to be a legit Solitaire, what I got was not)
After calling him on the situation, he told me "oh yeah, another buyer claimed his was fake too and is sending it back to me."
He wants me to send the pen back prior to the refund and refuses to refund the $15.00 shipping cost (keep in mind that he sent USPS First Class in a clasp envelope).
His recent message to Paypal (in the dispute dialog) states that I shouldn't be entitled to a refund anyway since his 7 day return policy lapsed (it took him 4 days to ship - 3 to get to me). Apparently he expected me to return the pen while it was in transit to me.
Anyway, my main question is how do I proceed?
I don't want to ship the pen back, hoping for a refund since he seems like a major scammer. I don't want to spend the time repackaging the pen, going to the post office, and dropping another $5.00 to get it to him just for him to keep the item, relist it and claim that he never got it back from me (or I shipped another pen to him, etc). I told him that I'd gladly ship the pen back if given the refund prior to shipment since he has already provided fake merchandise. I have every intention of doing just that, but he finds it unacceptable.
What is the best way to go about this situation? He has already shown that he cannot be trusted, so I cannot simply ship the pen back, hoping for him to be honest, but Paypal probably won't side with me if I don't. He seems illogical and I really don't want him to be able to screw me twice.
It's not so much about the money, but the principle and I'd really like to see this scumbag removed from eBay.
Thanks for your help and I appreciate any advice from the all knowledgeable member base!
(NOTE: I'll be at class from about 5:00-10:00, but I'll be anxious to read suggestions upon my return).
Thanks in advance -- Jussei
Here's the story:
I recently read though the Pen-Fi thread here and decided to get into pen collecting. Anyway, I purchase a Montblanc Solitaire ballpoint for $130 + $15 shipping with BIN. I pay immediately. No contact from seller for a few days. Eventually, I email him and ask about shipment, he ships next day (4 days after auction end) and I get the pen yesterday. It's an obvious fake and I call the seller on it.
I check his other ended auctions and he sold 3 other pens just like the one I purchased (same pictures and all) for BIN prices of $120, $140 and $180. My guess is that the others were fakes as well.
What makes the situation even more sketchy is that, with all of his other previous sales, he listed them as normal eBay auctions but the pens were all listed as private so the buyers ID would not be disclosed.
The pictures in the auction weren't the best, but it's also obvious that he shipped a different pen than he had pictured (the pictures appeared to be a legit Solitaire, what I got was not)
After calling him on the situation, he told me "oh yeah, another buyer claimed his was fake too and is sending it back to me."
He wants me to send the pen back prior to the refund and refuses to refund the $15.00 shipping cost (keep in mind that he sent USPS First Class in a clasp envelope).
His recent message to Paypal (in the dispute dialog) states that I shouldn't be entitled to a refund anyway since his 7 day return policy lapsed (it took him 4 days to ship - 3 to get to me). Apparently he expected me to return the pen while it was in transit to me.
Anyway, my main question is how do I proceed?
I don't want to ship the pen back, hoping for a refund since he seems like a major scammer. I don't want to spend the time repackaging the pen, going to the post office, and dropping another $5.00 to get it to him just for him to keep the item, relist it and claim that he never got it back from me (or I shipped another pen to him, etc). I told him that I'd gladly ship the pen back if given the refund prior to shipment since he has already provided fake merchandise. I have every intention of doing just that, but he finds it unacceptable.
What is the best way to go about this situation? He has already shown that he cannot be trusted, so I cannot simply ship the pen back, hoping for him to be honest, but Paypal probably won't side with me if I don't. He seems illogical and I really don't want him to be able to screw me twice.
It's not so much about the money, but the principle and I'd really like to see this scumbag removed from eBay.
Thanks for your help and I appreciate any advice from the all knowledgeable member base!
(NOTE: I'll be at class from about 5:00-10:00, but I'll be anxious to read suggestions upon my return).
Thanks in advance -- Jussei
