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Post by katieanna on Jun 16, 2016 14:43:02 GMT
I purchased a used, but in-good condition, Brighton wallet on eBay. BIN price was about $35; bidding started at $4. The bidding was between myself and one other person and I won the auction. Between the final bid price plus shipping, I purchased the wallet for under $10. If any of you are familiar with Brighton, even a used Brighton wallet, you know that I had gotten a good deal.
For about a week, the item showed on eBay as being shipped – but there was no tracking number and no further information. I contacted the seller and asked when they expected to ship the item, but I didn’t receive a reply. When another week went by and no change, I contacted the seller again and asked when the item would be shipped.
Finally, she contacted me, apologized and said that they had thought that “one of the volunteers” had “taken care of me” but that the volunteer didn’t know to contact me concerning “the situation;” therefore, they had issued me a full refund “for my inconvenience.”
She claimed that they still had the wallet but that it had been sent for a “one-day cleaning.” When they received it back, they discovered that the wallet “smelled funny” from the chemicals used in the cleaning. Since they didn’t want to send me an item that didn’t “smell perfect,” they’d “taken care” to issue a full refund and wondered if there was anything else they could do to help me out.
I’ve never come across a situation like this before and, quite frankly, don’t know how to respond. The seller has hundreds of feedback, all positive, so I’m thinking that maybe it’s all on the up-and-up….but then I wondered, why issue a full refund before contacting me and asking me if I wanted the wallet anyway? I think I’d feel better about the situation had she done that rather than just take it on herself to issue a refund right off the bat.
I couldn’t help but get the feeling that the deal I got was “too good to be true” considering that the BIN was $35 and the winning bid wasn’t quite $5. Maybe she was able to get higher $ for it somewhere else and that's why she issued the refund.
I’m just interested in hearing what you all think about this, especially those of you who frequently buy/sell on eBay. Thanks, Peas!
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Post by melanell on Jun 16, 2016 14:48:29 GMT
It's unusual, I'll give you that. It could very well be that they didn't want to sell it to you, just as you said, but it could easily be that something really did happen to it as well. I broke a plate once as I went to package it for shipping, so I know it unfortunately happens. In this case, the thing that strikes me odd is that they would be cleaning it after it sold. It seems far more prudent to do any cleaning before hand so that the item pictured is exactly as it will be shipped out. That bit about the cleaning and the vagueness of the answer might have me leaning a bit more towards them not wanting to sell it, but unless it shows up for sale again very quickly, there's no way to really know for sure. And even that wouldn't be enough to prove it, since they could claim they had more than one, no matter how unlikely that might be. So I would just move on in your case. I'd be bummed, though, and I'm sorry you didn't get your deal.  |
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Post by Merge on Jun 16, 2016 14:49:44 GMT
I think it's probably a thrift/second hand shop run by volunteers that puts higher end stuff on eBay to try to get more for it than they could in-store. As long as you got your refund, I would think much about it.
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Post by mom on Jun 16, 2016 14:53:19 GMT
Are you still able to leave feedback? I would leave feedback saying what happened, so others can be aware. Maybe its nothing...but maybe they pull this often. Buyers cant know if no one says anything.
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trollie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,580 
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Post by trollie on Jun 16, 2016 14:59:46 GMT
Frustrating. Since she has all positive feedback it is probably on the up and up. I used to sell on ebay and occasionally when I would go to ship an item I would find an issue I had not previously noticed. I would contact the buyer and let them decide if they still wanted the item or if they'd like a refund.
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christinec68
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,128
Location: New York, NY
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Post by christinec68 on Jun 16, 2016 16:09:17 GMT
That's weird and it sounds like bs or bad ebaying. Did you notice if it was relisted?
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 14, 2024 0:29:22 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jun 16, 2016 16:16:03 GMT
That's weird and it sounds like bs or bad ebaying. Did you notice if it was relisted? I'd check to see it it was relisted. If not, I'd take her word to it. If it was, I'd contact eBay for help. |
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TankTop
Pearl Clutcher
Refupea #1,871
Posts: 4,774
Location: On the couch...
Jun 28, 2014 1:52:46 GMT
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Post by TankTop on Jun 16, 2016 16:19:10 GMT
I would be so curious that I would ask her to send it and pay her again.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 14, 2024 0:29:22 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jun 16, 2016 16:29:47 GMT
There's really no way to know. It's possible.
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Post by Fidget on Jun 16, 2016 16:43:29 GMT
I would tell her I don't mind if it "smells funny" I'd still like to have it and see what she says.
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Post by Bitchy Rich on Jun 16, 2016 16:49:43 GMT
She asked if there was anything she could do. If it were me, I would respond that I would still like to buy the wallet, even with the "funny smell" and see what she says. If she won't do that, then you have your answer - she was unhappy with the sale price. The thing is, you can't really force someone to sell you an item, even though you won the auction. Just like a lot of times you can't force the winning buyer to pay for the item, even though they won the auction.
On second thought, tell her you don't have any sense of smell, so it won't bother you a bit!
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Post by myshelly on Jun 16, 2016 17:02:06 GMT
For less than $5 I would totally call her bluff (and I think it's a bluff).
Tell her you don't want the refund, you want the item.
If she refuses leave her negative feedback. I don't think there's much else you can do.
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Post by myboysnme on Jun 16, 2016 17:37:30 GMT
It probably isn't even worth it to them to accept your winning bid so they just gave your money back. Probably someone there bought it or they will relist it in a little while.
I would notify ebay that they reneged on the sale. That's not right to do that.
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Post by katieanna on Jun 16, 2016 18:36:13 GMT
Thank you all for your input.
I didn't notice a re-listing of the item but then, she could have sold it elsewhere. At this point, I'm really curious so I told her that I still wanted the wallet since I won the auction and asked her what I need to do. I'll let you know what happens.
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Post by Prenticekid on Jun 16, 2016 18:41:03 GMT
I would probably let it go and consider myself lucky I don't have to associate with the seller anymore. However, a part of me would want to tell her that I want it anyway, then report her if she didn't come up with it. No one sends something out for cleaning like that. Well, maybe high end clothing, like wedding gowns. They also don't wait to tell you what occurred. I don't buy her story at all. FWIW, I had a seller pull back an item that got broken before she could ship it. She contact me right away, didn't blame it on anyone and sounded geniunely apologetic.
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Post by anniefb on Jun 16, 2016 18:56:41 GMT
Are you still able to leave feedback? I would leave feedback saying what happened, so others can be aware. Maybe its nothing...but maybe they pull this often. Buyers cant know if no one says anything. Yeah that's what I'd do too. Sounds like an excuse to me. SaveSave |
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Peamac
Pearl Clutcher
Refupea # 418
Posts: 4,218
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Post by Peamac on Jun 16, 2016 19:10:57 GMT
I didn't notice a re-listing of the item but then, she could have sold it elsewhere. My guess is that she's reselling it to the other bidder (at a higher price), or she'll relist it in a few weeks, hoping you'll forget about it. Or she'll sell it in the store for better a price. |
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Jun 16, 2016 20:09:25 GMT
I'm in the camp of she didn't want to sell it at such a low price and made up an excuse to cancel the sale. The vast disparity between her starting bid and her BIN price is very telling. A seller should never set a starting bid any lower than they are willing to take.
If there had truly been a problem, a decent seller would have notified you right away and given you the option of cancelling the transaction. Last year I sold some fabric and when packing it to sell noticed a very faint flaw. I took photos of the area, sent them to the buyer and gave her the option of cancelling the sale or taking it at a reduced price. She opted to cancel which was fine with me.
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Post by melanell on Jun 16, 2016 23:29:44 GMT
I would tell her I don't mind if it "smells funny" I'd still like to have it and see what she says. If it really does now have an odor, there is no way, as a seller, that I would send it to someone. Because if it truly stinks, all the buyer has to do is complain to ebay about it, and I'd be out the shipping fee, PLUS I'd have a ding against me. Save |
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aja
Shy Member
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Post by aja on Jun 17, 2016 14:42:53 GMT
Did you check to see if she reimbursed you the money? You didn't mention it and since you have 30 days or so to dispute it, I would check it out. Seems like you would have noticed the money having been returned because I wouldn't trust the seller at this point. You can put an amount that the bidding has to reach before selling it so if they didn't want it to sell for only $5, they could have entered the amount prior to the auction. When you click on the auction, does it say the item was sold or bidding ended? I know when I've checked previous items before, it says bidding ended sold for $X.
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Post by Bitchy Rich on Jun 17, 2016 18:37:43 GMT
Did you check to see if she reimbursed you the money? You didn't mention it and since you have 30 days or so to dispute it, I would check it out. Seems like you would have noticed the money having been returned because I wouldn't trust the seller at this point. You can put an amount that the bidding has to reach before selling it so if they didn't want it to sell for only $5, they could have entered the amount prior to the auction. When you click on the auction, does it say the item was sold or bidding ended? I know when I've checked previous items before, it says bidding ended sold for $X. She said she got a full refund. You're talking about a reserve and you have to pay a fee for those on ebay. If the reserve isn't met, there is no sale, so the OP wouldn't have won the auction and couldn't have paid like she did. |
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Post by katieanna on Jun 20, 2016 12:50:36 GMT
UPDATE: No reply to my request of last week. Sent 2nd request just now (I'm not holding my breath).
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Post by katieanna on Jun 20, 2016 13:17:37 GMT
Hey, check this out. I just got a response to my second message from the seller. She said:
Good morning. We are sending the wallet to you free because we did not mean to inconvenience you. You do not need to do anything further. We hope this makes you happy. You have been very patient with us, and we appreciate you. We aired the wallet in the fresh sunshine on Sunday, and it seems to have responded well. Hopefully, this should make a nice Brighton accessory for use.
The label for shipping is ready, and we anticipate that it will be shipped today. We'll send you an email when it is en route. Have a great day ahead.
Now that's what I call service!
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 14, 2024 0:29:22 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jun 20, 2016 13:20:59 GMT
Well that was a very nice response.  |
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Post by katieanna on Jun 20, 2016 13:23:29 GMT
Well that was a very nice response.  I hear ya! |
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Post by malibou on Jun 20, 2016 13:46:35 GMT
What a wonderful ending to this transaction.
J
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christinec68
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,128
Location: New York, NY
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Post by christinec68 on Jun 20, 2016 14:03:02 GMT
That's awesome!! Enjoy your new wallet!
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Post by auntkelly on Jun 20, 2016 14:15:02 GMT
In the end, the seller did the right thing, but my guess is that if you hadn't pursued the matter, they would have resold the wallet for more money to someone else either on eBay or in their store.
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Post by katieanna on Jun 20, 2016 14:39:22 GMT
The same thought occurred to me, auntkelly.
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Post by gmcwife1 on Jun 20, 2016 15:55:21 GMT
Very nice final resolution  |
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I hear ya!
