Fraud?

[shugercube]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Virginia, seller is in Maryland

I purchased a dress on ebay, and when I received it, the dress was significantly smaller than it had been listed. The measurements the seller listed were about 6" larger than the actual measurements. I immediately contacted the seller, who responded with "All sales are final," and that she knew her measurements were correct. So I took the dress to a seamstress, who took the measurements, wrote a letter documenting those measurements, which I gave a copy of to the seller. She responded that there is no way those are the measurements of the dress. So I took pictures of the dress being measured, showing the measurements of the dress with the ruler right next to it. The seller refuses to believe that these are the measurements of the dress, and still refuses to refund my money because "All sales are final." She did say that in the listing, but can that hold up if she misrepresented the item? To make a long question short, what I'm trying to find out is, if I were to attempt to take this to small claims (I spent almost $300, and eBay would only give me back $175 if I went through them), would I have a case? I have the dress as evidence, and I of course have the letter from the seamstress as well as all correspondence and the original listing. If this is something that I could bring to court, would I be able to sue for the dress and court costs, or just the dress? PLEASE HELP!!!

 

[seniorjudge]

Resell the dress on eBay giving all of the information; add $25 or $30 to what you paid.

You don't say how much you paid for the dress but if it was $175 and you made the damages worse by adding on $125 for whatever, then you wouldn't get that back.

In other words, if the dress cost you $175 and you sued and got a judgment, all the judgment would be for is $175.

 

[shugercube]

Thanks, but the only problem is that there is no guarantee that the dress would sell for what I paid for it. I spent $258 plus shipping, which brought the total to $265. Ebay has a $200 "refund" limit, less a $25 processing fee. At this point I am more concerned with the principle of honesty in advertising. I feel truly taken advantage of by this seller, and I want a refund, mostly because its the right thing to do, and also because I don't have $265 to be throwing around, and I can't afford to risk not getting it back by putting it on eBay. Does the phrase "all sales final" mean that a person can misrepresent an item and get away with it?

 

[EvilWizard]

Correct me if I am wrong, but you agreed to buy a particular product as outlined in the auction and you received something different than what you paid for. By entering a bid on Ebay you are entering a contractual agreement and if there is fraud, deception or deceipt on the sellers part then that contract is null and void... I would make a report through Ebay and Paypal if you used them and go that route to get your money back. We have had similar issues on Ebay on purchasing items that were totally different than the description of them and have gotten our money back, but that really depends on if the seller wants to keep their Ebay account and feedback status... If the person defrauded you go after them through Ebay first and make sure you keep record of everything that you do and who you deal with.

One of the only reasons I buy from Ebay sellers with a lot of feedback is that if they do something outlandishly wrong they risk having to start all over again because Ebay/Paypal can and will cancel accounts if the proof is there.

 

[shugercube]

Thanks for your help. Yes, that is the way I see it too, I just wanted to make sure that the phrase "All sales final" doesn't give her a loophole. The only reason I don't want to go thru ebay is b/c that would leave me $90 in the hole, and I just can't afford that. Because this dress was the wrong size, I had to buy a different one, which of course put me further out. I think I will start by going thru eBay, if nothing else, mayber once she sees that I am serious about persuing this, maybe it will finally convince her to give me a refund. If not, I think I will end up suing her for the full amount plus court costs. I am a full-time student and single mother, and I just don't have money to throw away like that!

 

[dallas702]

Not that it gets you a dime, but have you left feedback that states something like "..lied about dress, wouldn't refund, do NOT trust seller....".

Sellers hate that kind of feedback and it costs them far more in lost sales (if they are a regular seller) than what they would have given in a refund. Often, sellers will get the clue and offer a full refund to get the feedback changed.

If the seller still refuses to refund, you should take what you can get and let it go...or sue in small claims court in the sellers jurisdiction. hardly worth the effort.

 

[janedoe23]

What type of payment method did you use to pay for the dress?

 

[shugercube]

I paid using my bank card through Paypal. I know it sounds silly over $90, but when you're in my situation, that can mean the difference between having food on the table and not. I could barely afford to buy that dress in the first place, but since I have had to buy another, just as expensive, dress to replace it, I really need all my money back. I just don't think its right that people can get away with doing this to other people. She has almost perfect feedback, but upon further investigation, the negatives she did receive were due to wrong sizes listed. I have not taken any action against her yet, as I decided since I have to wait 10 days to begin a dispute through Ebay, that I would give her that long to decide to do the right thing. I want to make sure that I do everything right on my part so that if it does end up becoming a huge issue, my case will prove that not only was she wrong, but that I made several attempts to resolve the situation peacefully.

 

[janedoe23]

Can you clarify exactly what you mean by bank card through Paypal? Did you use a balance that was already in your Paypal account balance or did they take it directly out of your bank account and sent the seller an echeck? Or was it a credit card your bank gave to you and that # on the card is listed with Paypal to pay for your purchases?

 

[shugercube]

Paypal took it directly from my bank account, I suppose through an e-check. I just started a claim with them yesterday, and am waiting to hear back from them, apparently they will either ask me for more info or make a decision based on what I told them, which is basically the same thing I wrote here. Thanks to everyone for their help!

 

[shugercube]

Follow-up

Thanks for all your suggestions and advice! I FINALLY got my money back by filing a claim through paypal. It was a lot of paperwork, but it was much easier than going to court, plus I ended up getting a full refund!

 

[dallas702]

Congrats!

It's nice to see people win a few of these.

 

[Zephyr]

Thanks for all your suggestions and advice! I FINALLY got my money back by filing a claim through paypal. It was a lot of paperwork, but it was much easier than going to court, plus I ended up getting a full refund!

and just a side note, if $90 risk losing food on the table- maybe a $300 dress is a poor use of funds

 

[ablessin]

and just a side note, if $90 risk losing food on the table- maybe a $300 dress is a poor use of funds

I thought the same thing. Kind of wonder what the dress was for.