[PLUG-TALK] eBay contacts, returns to China

[Bill Barry]

On Sat, May 8, 2021 at 5:14 PM Keith Lofstrom <keithl at kl-ic.com> wrote:
>
> Is there a back channel way to contact a Real Human at eBay?
>
> I've purchased a few dozen items from Chinese eBay sellers
> over the years, but two recent experiences suggest I should
> avoid Chinese sellers and pay more for domestic vendors ...
> if I can tell the difference.
>
> ----
>
> 1) I attempted to purchase a food chemical from a Chinese
> source.  That arrived weeks later via Uzbekistan (!) in a
> package inkjet-labelled with ~100 chinese characters.  Wet
> characters, smeared out by moisture in transit.  No way to
> translate that.  Without an analytical lab, I can't tell
> if that sealed bag contains what I ordered, or toxic waste.
> So now I have a toxic waste disposal problem.
>
> ----
>
> Two weeks later, I ordered some quarter-inch "TRS Stereo"
> plugs from what appeared to be a domestic vendor.  "TRS"
> means "tip-ring-sleeve", three contacts with two insulating
> bands, grounded sleeve with two signal wires.
>
> What I got was "tip-sleeve" plugs from China; two contacts
> with one insulating band.  I tried to return them; the
> seller won't provide a label or postage, just a Chinese
> address, incompatible with the US post office.
>
> I presume this is intentional, part of the same fraud, but
> I haven't found a way to contact an eBay human and ask for
> a proper paid return and refund ... the eBay video game
> will only emit the chinese address.
>
> Any suggestions for contacting real humans at eBay, besides
> asking a San Jose friend to pound on their front door?
>
> I'll probably just write this off to fraud loss, buy less
> stuff from eBay, and more from Amazon and US retailers.
> Honest small merchants lose again.  Google "Gresham's Law".
>
> Keith
>
> --
> Keith Lofstrom          keithl at keithl.com


Have you started a return following the instructions here?
https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/returns-refunds/return-item-refund?id=4041&st=7&po=2&uci=0&ri=0

This has worked well for me the couple of times that the items I
received were not as advertised. It does take a bit of persistence
though as some merchants will try to get around the ebay return
policy. You just keep insisting and they will give in reasonably
quickly and follow the requirements.  They are counting on it not
being worth your time because it is worth their time.

Bill