Some of you might remember that I have had rotten luck with ebay sellers. Well, I bought a cobra lamp from a seller in Belgium in early May. The guy assured me it would arrive unbroken, even though it was shipped internationally. After a couple weeks, the item had not arrived and the seller did not respond to my emails. I called ebay/paypal and they refunded the money.
I then received an email from a friend of the seller saying the seller was in the hospital. I replied not to send the lamp as my money had been refunded by paypal. A few days later I received a mass email from the seller saying he will ship all items out. I responded that I had my money refunded, please do not ship anything. This was at least a month ago.
Yesterday, I received a large box. I thought it was my gn string clock, but it was the lamp! I did not unpack it all the way, but from the narrow glimpse I saw, the shade part is cracked in two and the lamp is rusted. I do not know how much more damage there is because I did not pull it out of the box entirely. I really dont want this headache. The box is in terrible condition. I suppose I will have to contact the seller, contact the shipping co., repack the lamp, and go to the post office and return it. Paypal had said that if I received the lamp after they refunded the money, that I could keep it. But I dont feel that would be right. I dont understand this. I sent the guy two or three emails telling him not to send the item. Surely, he must know that paypal refunded the money, plus he should have read my emails. This really irritates me. What would you all do?
Keep it-not worth the cost of shipping.
Apparently the seller is verified and gets paid by PayPal anyhow,otherwise they make you send the item back.Strange system.I once had somebody raise a fuss about the shoulders of a brand new suit which I sold on Ebay being 1" wider than measured.This was about 3 years ago.The bastard got the $1200. refund and kept the damn suit!!!He works for the Chicago lottery.Nice,huh? PayPal claimed that because he paid via credit card,they were powerless.Corporate swine!Anyhow,now the rules have changed and the merchandise now must be returned prior to refund.That still pisses me off when I think about it!I may as well have thrown it out in the trash.Instead,it's now owned by a piece of trash!
It seems to me that if you got your refund
then eBay (and PayPal) are not the 'bad guys' in your specific case. It was the idiot seller.
We have all had an occasional problem, but since you got a speedy refund, at least eBay/PayPal did their job.
I have on occasion emailed the seller at the point of paying with suggested instructions on how to best ship the item, if I think I'm buying from a real novice.
Ultimately, I've had probably 85% perfect experiences with eBay.
Can the lamp be repaired?
thanks...
Sad story Tulipman. I dont blame you for being upset. What a bastard.
Barry, I'm not blaming ebay/paypal at all. They were wonderful and refunded the money immediately. I am mad at the seller. I think I will call ebay tomorrow to see what to do. I honestly dont want to find a box, pack it, pay for shipping or figure out how to return it internationally. I think the shade may be able to be replaced, as I think they still make these lamps.
On the plus side, the string clock arrived in good condition and very well packed. It is much smaller than I thought!
If you need any help, please contact us at – info@designaddict.com