Has anyone had to use Ebay Buyer Protection for damaged vinyls?

[MansionAddict]

I'm so mad right now! Last week I finally won an auction for the both the Urban 6 Life Cycle regular and variant vinyls that I have wanted since the day U6 came out. Well, I just recieved the package in the mail and seller shipped the package with absolute no packing material in the box. It was just the box, 2 vinyls, and 2 cards - no bubble, no paper, no packing material of any kind - nothing! I knew it wasn't going to be pretty as soon as I picked up the package out of the mailbox. The vinyls bounced around and rubbed together all the way from California to Ohio causing rubs, smudges, and even chipping.

I just emailed the seller, descibed what happened, and told him that I would like a full refund. My question is this, if that doesn't happen, has anyone her had to use Ebay Buyer Protection? I'm just wondeing what my chances are of getting a full refund and how long it will take?

You can see the results of poor shipping practices in the pics below:

[magic61983]

That really stinks. Did you contact the seller? If they give you any trouble create a PayPal Claim if you used PayPal. You can also call eBay and tell them what happened and they may give you a full refund on the spot.

[disneyobsessed808]

I would definitely contact the seller first. But if that doesn't work you can file the claim that the item was not as described. I haven't had to do this before but my friend has had this happen to him as a seller. eBay almost always sides with the seller though they will require you to send the purchases back.

[MansionAddict]

I contacted the seller, but I am still waiting to hear back. The item desciption was listed as new/undamaged. I'll post as soon as I hear what he has to say and go from there.

[Toad_Passenger]

eBay & PayPal require you contact the seller first. That part you've already done. If they are not willing to give you the refund, then you can file a claim for "significantly not as described." Lately eBay has been siding with the buyers. They will force the refund through, so long as you return the items via a trackable/confirmable method (i.e. USPS with Delivery Confirmation). As soon as you show eBay and/or PayPal the item was returned, you'll get your money.

[LotsoVinyls]

I cannot stand when people don't package things correctly! If the seller doesn't give you a refund I'm fairly certain eBay will side with you and issue you a refund.

P.S. I packaged the bride variant nicely

[MickeyMaxwell]

Dang that sucks. That's one of my favorite vinyls as well. Contact the seller first, try to remedy the situation amongst yourselves first before contacting EBay.
Hopefully, you'll get your money back.
Just curious, how bad are the smudges? Do u think it's easily removable with a magic eraser?

[MansionAddict]

Just curious, how bad are the smudges? Do u think it's easily removable with a magic eraser?

The magic eraser took the smudges off the feet, but there is nothing I can do about where the paint is missing on the noses. Still no word from the seller, but it's only been 6 hours since i emailed him.

[iVinyl]

Sorry to hear about this. Packaging is so important. Hope everything turns out okay. Keep us posted.

[MansionAddict]

Well, I just filed the claim with ebay. I waited 24 hours after I sent him the message requesting a refund to contact me and he has not. He even listed more items last night so I know he was on ebay and should have seen my message to him there or in his email. Ebay says that I if I don't hear back from the seller by 6/22 it will escalate to their customer support.

My question is this, when during this process should I leave the negative feedback? I want other potential buyers to know what happened, but I don't want hinder the process of getting my refund.

[magic61983]

I would wait for 3 days. If the Seller doesn't respond to your e-mail within 3 days then post the Negative feedback. It's a shame a tough to find variant like this was pretty much destroyed. I feel your pain.

[Passholder12]

You will win if the seller does not do something for you. I have lost a case in which i sold a Vinyl and packaged it correctly with bubble wrap but the post office smashed the box (which i have no control over) and eBay still sided with the buyer. The buyer told eBay the item was not as described in the description (no duh) and thats all that was needed. The experience was so frustrating for me... you should have no problem winning this case (if it turns into one).

[MansionAddict]

Well the seller finally got back to me Thursday. He said he had his girlfriend ship the package for him and she didn't know what she was doing. What a moron! Who would ship anything in the mail without wrapping it first or use any kind of filler in the box. He offered a partial refund, or I could send the vinyls back and he would give me a full refund. I thought to myself why on earth would I want a partial refund for damaged vyinyls. Every time I look at them I would see the damage and it would just make me mad. I mailed them out Friday morning and they arrived in California at 1:18pm yesterday. No word yet from the seller and no refund. I will give hime till tomorrow then I guess I will escalate the claim. I'm just worried becasue now he has his vinyls back and I am still out my money. I have not left him any feedback yet. If and when he refunds the money, I'm not sure I should leave negative feedback becuase of his attempt to makethings right. I might just leave neutral and explain what happened.

[MsDisneyFan]

I mailed them out Friday morning and they arrived in California at 1:18pm yesterday. No word yet from the seller and no refund. I will give hime till tomorrow then I guess I will escalate the claim.

I would send a message asking if he received the vinyls and then give the seller a day to respond. If you still haven't heard anything back then I would escalate the claim. As long as you have proof that you shipped them back you should be good

[iVinyl]

If you sent the package back with a DC number, no worries. And, as far as feedback goes, I wouldn't leave any. After all, he is giving a full refund. Now he has 2 damaged Vinyls. Hopefully, this won't happen again.

[MsDisneyFan]

I would definitely leave feedback, even if neutral, because as the seller it was his responsibility to ensure that the items were packaged correctly- regardless of whether he shipped them or not.

[Carol]

Couple of thoughts:

- email the seller today, saying you see they were delivered on Friday and ask where your full refund is

- if you don't get your refund in the next couple of days contact Ebay again. Just quoting the DC number (showing he has accepted the returns) will get your refund

- definitely leave neutral feedback. Personally I think the story about the girlfriend sending them is c**p - he just didnt want to admit responsibility for getting caught out with damaged goods due to his poor packaging! He will definitely do this to someone else - that is what feedback is for - to warn people about slack sellers. Just make it factual neutral feedback.