Fraudulent Seller wants item back?

[shugercube]

What is the name of your state? Virginia

Hello all,
I recently made a purchase of a handbag on Ebay, and everything was fine until I received the item. I had received something totally different than what was shown and described in the listing- (same brand, same color, VERY different style, and the style I received is MUCH less valuable than the one shown in the listing). I immediately contacted the seller, who assured me that she had sent the correct item, sending me the same picture of the item she had used in the listing. I sent her a picture of the item I received, and asked her to let me either return the bag for a refund or exchange it, then got no response from her at all. I then did some research, and found that the pictures of the item she had used in her listing, as well as the description, were copied from another listing. Which is potentially against ebay rules, unless she obtained permission to use someone else's listing, and it is definitely wrong when she doesn't even have the item that is pictured and described.
Anyway, back to the facts: I continued to attempt to contact her for several days, then opened a dispute through Paypal. I continued to try to contact her through the dispute console, always in writing, because I can't have a record of a phone conversation. After a couple more days of trying to contact her through the dispute console, I escalated my dispute to a claim. I gave all the necessary information, and also explained that I believed the seller to be fraudulent due to the copied pictures that did not show the actual item she was trying to sell.
Paypal then contacted the seller, and gave her several options: She could offer me a full refund- no questions asked, agree to let me return the bag for a full refund, agree to a partial refund, or disagree with my claim. Paypal gave her 10 days to simply pick one of those options, and gave her a deadline of April 21. She did not respond at all, and the deadline passed- I should also have you know that she remained an active seller on eBay during this time, posting more listings and leaving feedback for other transactions, so she surely had access to a computer and was able to respond to the claim. Paypal then sent out an email stating that since she had not responded, the claim had been granted in my favor, and a refund had been issued to me. It also stated in my email that "no further action is required of [me] at this time." Within minutes of receiving this notification, the seller contacted me asking me to return the bag.

After that novel (sorry), my questions are:

Do I need to make authorities aware of her potentially fraudulent actions?
And,
Am I legally obligated to return it to her?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!
Thanks!What is the name of your state?

 

[JETX]

Do I need to make authorities aware of her potentially fraudulent actions?

Do you NEED to?? Of course not.
Can you?? Yes.

Am I legally obligated to return it to her?

Your purchase price was refunded, so you no longer OWN the item and have no right of possession. Ask her to pay the shipping (or send it COD) and return the item to her.

 

[racer72]

I then did some research, and found that the pictures of the item she had used in her listing, as well as the description, were copied from another listing. Which is potentially against ebay rules, unless she obtained permission to use someone else's listing, and it is definitely wrong when she doesn't even have the item that is pictured and described.

It is not against Ebay's rules to use a picture from another listing unless the picture is copyrighted or watermarked. I do both to the pictures in my listings after having some pictures of mine lifted. I also use a specific background too. You also see lots of sellers using pictures lifted right off the manufacturers websites too, some companies are cracking down on this practice.

 

[JETX]

It is not against Ebay's rules to use a picture from another listing unless the picture is copyrighted or watermarked. I do both to the pictures in my listings after having some pictures of mine lifted. I also use a specific background too. You also see lots of sellers using pictures lifted right off the manufacturers websites too, some companies are cracking down on this practice.

Yep. I have done ALL of the above.

 

[shugercube]

This was taken directly from the ebay website (emphasis added by me):

"eBay members are not allowed to use another eBay user's pictures or descriptions in their listings or About Me pages without the owner's permission.

Violations of this policy may result in a range of actions, including:

*Listing cancellation
*Loss of eBay fees
*Limits placed on account privileges
*Loss of PowerSeller status
*Account suspension

Examples

*A seller doesn't know the best way to describe an item. The seller copies a substantial amount of another member’s description and pastes it into a listing, without receiving the original writer’s permission.
*A seller uses someone else's picture and includes it in a listing, since it looks very similar to the item the seller is offering

Report a member who is using your text or images without your permission.

Note: You must own the rights to the text or images you are reporting for unauthorized use."

Owning the rights does not mean that it has to have a watermark or copyright (of course it would help prove it's yours), as long as you took the picture yourself, and came up with the words yourself. IOW, as long as you are not using a stock photo or description, you can report someone who has stolen your photo and/or wording.

 

[racer72]

This was taken directly from the ebay website (emphasis added by me):

"eBay members are not allowed to use another eBay user's pictures or descriptions in their listings or About Me pages without the owner's permission.

Violations of this policy may result in a range of actions, including:

*Listing cancellation
*Loss of eBay fees
*Limits placed on account privileges
*Loss of PowerSeller status
*Account suspension

Examples

*A seller doesn't know the best way to describe an item. The seller copies a substantial amount of another member’s description and pastes it into a listing, without receiving the original writer’s permission.
*A seller uses someone else's picture and includes it in a listing, since it looks very similar to the item the seller is offering

Report a member who is using your text or images without your permission.

Note: You must own the rights to the text or images you are reporting for unauthorized use."

Owning the rights does not mean that it has to have a watermark or copyright (of course it would help prove it's yours), as long as you took the picture yourself, and came up with the words yourself. IOW, as long as you are not using a stock photo or description, you can report someone who has stolen your photo and/or wording.

And what did Ebay do when you informed them of this? From personal experience, they will do nothing.

 

[shugercube]

Well, since it wasn't my listing that was copied, I personally can't do anything- only the person whose listing was stolen can file a report. I just wanted to point out that it IS against eBay policy to copy other people's listings. Of course, I have no way of knowing whether she obtained permission or not, but even if she did, the information she "borrowed" did not pertain to the actual bag she was selling, which was the main point I was trying to make- she blatantly posted a false/incorrect listing.