eBay item not as described.

 

A note about my buying experience with the tiny M2 radio. I shopped for this radio on eBay and ordered from two different sources at the same time. One of them sent me something very different than what I’d ordered.

The “NKTECH” source shipped quickly and the shipment from China arrived at the early date in the eBay shipping estimate. They were responsive and shipped promptly. I’d recommend them.

The other source that I ordered from was “Sweetsale07.” Right after I ordered they sent a note:

Dear Valued Customer.

Have a nice day!

Thanks for your purchasing from our store.We have arranged a small gift to you for your support of our store .The gift and the item you bought have been sent out using 2 packages,so you may receive them at the different time.

We have informed you that if you receive one parcel missing the item what you ordered, please don’t worry, that’s the gift we sent to you, and your item ordered is approaching to you.

Hope the item/items could reach at you on time and satisfy you.

If you face any challeges, just feel free to contact us via ‘eBay Message’. We will do whatever necessary to satisfy you.

Yours faithfully,
Customer service representative

When the tracked item arrived, it wasn’t the ordered item. Instead it was a piece of thin plastic wrap with Chinese instructions that looked like it was meant to be heat-shrinked as a protective sleeve for a TV remote. I asked for the tracking number for the real item…

Dear buyer,

Thank you for your understanding,hope you can receive your item very soon.

And it would be much appreciated if you could leave us the 5-Star Detailed Seller Ratings for this transaction. Please don’t leave us 1, 2, 3 or 4-star Detailed Seller Ratings because they are equal to negative feedback. Thanks so much.

Any questions,please feel free to contact us.

Yours katherine

Regards

I asked the seller again for the tracking number for the actual item and was told:

Dear friend,sorry we offer a tracking number for the item above $50,so we sent your item out via regular mail and do not have a tracking number, hope you can understand us, many thanks!

Should you have any queries, please feel free to contact us.

Once again, thank you for giving us the opportunity to share with you our products. We strongly believe that quality, blended with excellent service, is the foundation for successful business.

Yours faithfully,Katherine

Since a month or so had gone by, I opened a refund request and went a few rounds. Eventually I received my refund and the radio never did arrive, so it must never have been sent or it would have eventually shown up.

Thanks for your email and it’s our pleasure to serve for you. Dear friends, if you need us full refund, we may need you to return the item. But as you known, according to the policy, we would not responsible for the freight. So I’m afraid that if you return it, the freight would be higher than the item, which is really not a good way to save money. So we suggest that you accept partial refund or you pay partial then we resend you a new item. What about your idea? Please don’t leave us Neutral feedback (same to Negative feedback), since we are trying our best to help you. Thanks in advance. Hope you could give us a chance! Should you have any queries, please feel free to contact us.

I stood by my “Item not as described” claim and eventually got the refund. I wasted a lot of time and the radio never showed up.

The “Gift” must be a decoy to enter a trackable package into the Ebay system without shipping the actual item. I’m not sure what the motivation is behind this. It may be to buy time to ship that actual item, but in my case the item wasn’t in the system up to three or four weeks after the order.

I’ve since placed another order for a “Felida” version from another Chinese seller called “Simitter01“.  They sent the same email with the “gift” offer. I asked right away if the tracked item is the purchased item. They said it is.  The tracked package arrived and is the same TV remote control cover as “Sweetsale07” sent. I was direct when I asked them if the tracked item was the actual purchased item and they replied that it is the item ordered. I’m pretty unhappy with both “Sweetsale07” and “Simitter01.” I recommend avoiding both of those sellers.

Just something to look out for.  If the item they tracked is not what you ordered, open a refund request right away and don’t let them run the clock out on that deadline.