Bought double mountain buggy from ebay but item not as described

[Yael]

Hi guys,

Just looking for your advice about how you would write a note to the seller. Basically I bought a double mountain buggy from ebay, It was described as being the MOUNTAIN BUGGY URBAN ELITE DOUBLE RED GREAT CONDITION" as the title, and again in the add, but these are the following issues I have with it

1) it is the urban double model, not the elite model (which I wanted as the other had better suspension)
2) described as being in great condition, but has the following damage - the rubber on the handle has a 4x2cm chunk missing out of it and the end, so not only is there damage, but the rubber is at risk of tearing more now. It is also missing the caps that go over the top part of the wheel, so the screws are exposed.

The auction finished on a Thurs afternoon, she wanted me there that weekend (didn't mention anything in the add about it having to be collected straight away), but I couldn't come under Sunday week (so 10 days after auction), so I offered to pay immediately via paypal, which she wanted.

When I went to collect (I was 15 mins late), she had left it on the doorstep and had gone out, so I had no choice but to take the item despite the issues, because it was paid for.

I believe paypal won't issue a moneyback if you dispute a transaction you collected, as they say you should have not taken receipt of goods, but I had no choice.

I have left it 2 days, as 1 wheel was flat (she said they all had new innertubes), and it hasn't quite been keeping the air in, so I wanted to test it out to see if that also had a leak. But I want to contact her with my issues before it goes on any longer.

I did buy it for a good price, but not as good as I had thought considering it was a lower model with damage. TBH, It is an 1hr drive each way for me to return it, so it is a big hassle to bring it back even if she does agree to that, but I feel she should offer a partial refund so I can fix some of the issues (wheel caps are $2 each, new handle bar is $46.95)

When I sold something (a hiking pack), which had some damage that I had honestly not noticed when selling it (a strap with a slip had been ripped off), I instantly offered a full refund including postage for the item, or to pay to have the damage fixed, which the buyer took.

But I made the offer (he didn't ask for it, just notified me of the damage, said he was unhappy with the transaction, and how should we proceed..)

What should I write to her, to get the best possible outcome?

Thanks,
Yael

[*Ash*]

How frustrating. I would be cross.

In your letter, I would use your post as a guide! You have spelt out all the important info here already. You just need to re-order and re-phrase some of it. Definitely use your two points - 1) and 2) - that set out the problems.

And I think it is fair to state what you are hoping to achieve, ie. a partial refund, in the letter. You thought you were buying the elite model. You have been misled. That in itself should be enough, in my opinion.

Good luck. Let us know how you go.

[~Trish~]

How annoying! I too would suggest typing out the description of problems like you have in your post. Tell her politely that you are unhappy with the item and believe it was wrongly described, then ask what she can do for you (refund/partial refund, etc). If you stay calm (which I know you would ) it will help her not become defensive.

Hopefully the fear of receiving negative feedback will make her want to help you.

Good luck

[buliej]

I recently had a very similar experience with a play pen - also picked it up and when I set it up at home, saw that it had a ripped seam when it had been listed as being in excellent condition. I contacted the seller and although she thought I was being overly fussy, she did agree to take it back and gave me a refund less 7.50 to cover relisting (that was just rounding - have no idea what the exact relisting cost was). Other than her expressing that she thought I was being fussy, she was pretty nice about the whole thing and I gave her a good seller review without mentioning the product (just said that she was a very fair seller). She also offered to give me some $ to have it repaired, but I didn't want to do that. I hope your seller is as understanding.

[Yael]

What do you guys think about sending this:

Hi X,

I am writing to you because we have noticed since picking up the mountain buggy that it was not as described. The issues that we have with pram is as follows:

1) You advertised the pram as being a 'MOUNTAIN BUGGY URBAN ELITE DOUBLE' when the pram is actually a 'Mountain Buggy Urban Double'. We were particularly looking for an elite model and this is not the model that we thought we were buying.

2) You have described the model as being in great condition (you didn't list any damage) but it actually has the following things wrong with it:
• The rubber on the handle has a 4x2cm chunk missing out of it at the end, so not only is there damage, but the rubber is at risk of tearing more now.
• It is also missing the caps that go over the top part of the wheel, so the screws are exposed. There are a total of 2 caps missing.

Whilst we were particularly looking to buy the elite model, we would be willing to settle for a partial refund, to cover buying a lower model and to at least to cover the cost of repairing the pram. The costs that we have investigated for fixing these issues are as follows:

• To fix the rubber on the handle, we would need a replacement handlebar. This costs $46.95
• The wheel caps are $2 each so that brings the total cost for the caps to (insert total cost of caps)

If you would prefer for us to return the pram and you to give us a full refund this can also be arranged. We look forward to hearing from you soon and coming to some sort of arrangement.

Regards,

X

Would you write how much you would want for comp in buying a lower model (I saw one go last night for $50 less that what I paid, supposedly 2 years older, but I have no idea really if my one is an '08 model), and It had the sunshade included which mine didn't.

Would you vaguely allude to giving neg feedback or putting in a paypal dispute?

[Ginger]

that sounds like a fair letter from you Yael

if you look underneath the pram on the steel bar it should have a barcode type sticker with the production date on it.

i just sold my mb double urban elite on ebay a couple of months ago! spewing!!

[~Trish~]

I think what you have written sounds perfect. I wouldn't mention anything about neg feedback/paypal yet. It is best not too make her too defensive to begin with. If she thinks you sound reasonable and aren't "threatening" her with feedback, etc. she will probably be more willing to help you calmly. I would wait and see what she comes back with before telling her how much compensation you want for the lesser model. I think it's best to see how she responds before going into any more detail.

Good luck

[*Ash*]

I totally agree with everything that Trish has said.
Good luck. I hope she is reasonable about it.
I'm not sure what I would ask for in regards to 'compensation' for a lesser model.
Would you be happy for her to pay you the repair costs only? Or do you definitely want a partial refund as well? Are you able to get an idea of what the non-Elite models are being sold for on eBay? Can you then come up with a figure based on what you actually paid? Is there a big difference?

[Yael]

Gosh the seller is a b***h!

This is her reply:


Hi X,
Im, going to contact ebay myself as I did mention damage eg the marks I also stated that it was a used pram not to mention all the photos that show any marks and damage.
If you note in my description I mentioned about taking as accurate pictures as I could, if you refer back to those pictures there are no caps at the front so it may pay to check photos out a little better.
As for it not being an elite, that was a typo error on my behalf but in saying that I put enough photos in the ad for you to see exactly what the pram was. You took almost 2 weeks to pick the pram up obviously due to the fact that you had plans over the first weekend (not my problem)and were just too lazy to pick it up through the week.
Maybe I should research storage fees and invoice you as we are not storage king.
My ads also say no refunds.
In short I think I provided enough info for you to have made a decision on the purchase, I'll get back to you after I contact ebay.
As for the damage on the handle bars, the reason it wasnt mentioned is because I wasnt aware of it so I'm not willing to take any blame for that, for all I know it couldve happened while in your hands.
You sent these emails three and a half days after you picked it up anything could have happened within that time.

Ok I have called ebay and the representative looked at the listing as well as the emails that you sent and he doesn't think I did anything wrong, he agreed that the photos showed adequately any issues with the pram and my description was fine, he also pointed out that in my description I referred to the pram an urban double not the elite.
He has advised me to not pay for anything and too advise you to follow the correct route and to contact ebay and dispute it with them, they will open up a dispute from an independant stand point and make a decision. I think this is the best plan of action for you.
Thanks

[Yael]

I have sold heaps of stuff on ebay, as despite having a very clear "please pick up within 7 days of auction finishing" (she had no t&c on her auction), I still have people come the 2nd weekend after an auction finishes, which I think is ok, unless I had said very clearly "you must pick up by X date, otherwise don't bid"

To say I'm lazy, or I should pay storage, what a cow!

[Ginger]

omg i can't believe how rude she is! i can't get over the storage king comment!
what are you going to do?

[Yael]

I put in a paypal dispute.

This is what I said:

I have tried to amicably resolve this dispute with seller, but they were rather rude in their response. The seller advertised this as the "elite" model, both in the title and in the first line of the text. It is the standard model, which is a cheaper version. The seller claims this was a typo (not my fault they didn't read their ad before submitting), and It was referred to twice, so I assumed they knew what they were selling. There is damage to the handlebar (big chunk of rubber missing - will attach photo if requested), despite being advertised as "great" condition in add. I withdraw my request for the caps to cover the wheel screws as this was shown in photo. Would have tried to resolve this on the spot with seller but she left it on the doorstep and was not home when I came to collect, so had no choice but to take goods. I left 3 days before contacting as the pram had a flat tyre, and seemed to be slowly deflating, so I wanted to check that this was not an additional issue before contacting seller. I am willing to return item to seller for full refund, or partial refund of mutually agreeable value.

[Ginger]

i would be trying for a full refund if i were you....and leaving her neg feedback

[~Trish~]

Yikes, how rude! It's amazing how rude people can be when they get defensive. I can't believe she feels she can justify calling it an Elite model because of a "typo" .

I hope eBay/PayPal can help you out!

[Meercat]

I very much doubt that eBay agreed listing it as "elite" was a typo.

Have you lodged it with eBay as well?


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[Yael]

And the fact she wrong "elite" twice.

It won't let me lodge through ebay, because I paid with paypal. This was her response to the case:

the only refund I will give is the $46.95 for handlebars, still not convinced that it hasn't happened after it left my premises. all the tyres are brand new!!

I will need time to reseach for myself the cost of the h/bars though.

She has closed the case, so I will need to escalate it to a claim. If I go for a full refund, it means that somebody has to drive for 1.5-2hrs to take it back, and face the nasty person. But if I go for just the handlebar price, then I could have gone for a better condition (no fading on canvas) normal model. This is the item number: 290565609032

How long would you leave her to make contact again?

[~Trish~]

There was NO typo, like you said she put "Elite" in the title and in the description. She also quoted the RRP of the Elite! The RRP of the non-Elite is $994, so she's obviously based her entire listing on the Elite model. Shame on her! She should just admit her fault!!

There was no mention of missing parts or damage to the handle bar. Looking at the photos you can't pick up those problems...

[Amaunet]

In their return policy it says you have a legal right to a refund if goods don't match description! It's a different model so not as described!