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Misrepresented Ebay Purchase returned
YQQ
Posts: 3,458 ✭✭✭✭✭
Lets assume you come across a Canadian coin on ebay and do your best to examine the average, better than others, images posted.
The seller has a good reputation and does coins only, so he knows coins, grades and possible issues with coins.
You ponder to bid, as you really like this coin. It trends at approximately $ 700 and to get it hopefully under 400 would be a bargain.
It looks ok in your opinion and you are a honest prospective buyer / bidder. To play it on the safe side, you ask the seller for better pictures.
Seller sends you the size reduced original jpeg images, just a bit larger than they are on the listing.
Seller points out, that these are the only pix he has and also points out his liberal return policy of 14 days from the time you receive the item, buyer to pay for return shipping.
Seller seems to be honest and has excellent feedback. Ok, you go and bid and you win the auction at $ 350 plus $ 15 for shipping tracked.
You pay immediately via Paypal to be covered by PP insurance.
Buyer gives you POS feedback as fast payer and ships the coin via Express mail. You are a happy camper….. until the coin arrives and you examine the coin.
It is the coin in the pictures, but it looks different because of the way it was purposely or hastily photographed.
Some of the dings, nicks and issues, and perhaps a old cleaning / dipping are not visible on the images as Cameras can be manipulated with angles and lighting NOT to show these problems (relative easy to do).
However, It is still a very nice coin, with its previously unknown faults.
You now start to wonder WHY the seller did not declare these faults, as You would have never bid knowing about the faults.
You came to the conclusion that the seller must have known that the coin has serious issues and you ask yourself why he did not mention these.
The seller, without describing its invisible faults grossly and purposely misrepresented this coin.
You are now upset as It is not what you saw in the posted images and what you approximately expected.
You decide to contact the seller to tell him what you now know, and to let him know you will send the coin back for a full refund. You gave him your reasons.
Ok, he writes back, just send the coin back and I will refund you the purchase cost as soon as I have received it back. I will always honor my return policy.
b]Here lies the crutch!!! You paid for the coin. IT is now your property
https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipPFTWxQ1vk2gJGD9UiGTm7GGQxStVj352MI4Joq
My opinion is that there are mechanisms in place for a full refund of purchase price and if the buyer is not happy with the item that they then can utilize these mechanisms to receive a full refund of purchase price. This refund, however, should not include other expenses such as return shipping, time, effort or anything else. Each party loses some amount in a failed transaction and a very valuable lesson for the buyer is to find out how the seller reacts to an issue and what the coin in-hand looks like when compared to the coin image.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson