What would YOU do in this situation? (An Ebay Scenario)

Would you have been willing to pay what you did for a camera with that many shots? If so then you still got a good deal. If you are going to think about it every time you use the camera than file the claim and return it and look for another one. Just be aware that filing a claim is not always quick and easy. I bought a battery for my 1Dii that was listed as holding an excellent charge and I couldn't get 200 shots out of it. So I filed a claim and it took over three months to get it resolved. I hope mine was the rarity but be aware.

Just a few thoughts:

1) eBay and PayPal don't understand "shutter actuations" and their significance. The fact that you have a working camera in good condition might (I repeat, might) cause them to rule in favor of the seller. They're much more used to dealing with situations where the item is broken or doesn't show up at all.

2) Do you also sell on this account? I hope you don't, because the seller might buy something from you just to retaliate.

I've gotten a myriad of responses thus far and it seems the jury is split.

Some say that I would have a very good chance of winning this claim. Others seem to think that I would lose.

The seller has failed to respond back to me...


To be quite honest, what I would appreciate the most out of this situation is a partial refund. I don't want to ship the thing back. It isn't worth the hassle. I just want a little money back.

Hmm...

Here's a question:: What happens if I LOSE A CLAIM? Is there any penalty?

Some seem to think that misrepresenting the shutter count isn't enough for eBay/PayPal. It has been in the two cases I know of where the shutter count was misrepresented.

As far as penaly there is none if they don't find in your favor.

As far as a partial refund eBay/PayPal do not allow for it. Personally I won't do partial refunds because most of the time it is the buyer negotiating after the fact.

I've got 4 options here as far as I'm concerned:

1. File a claim.

2. Simply keep the item and give him neutral, or even negative, feedback. (I don't sell on Ebay, so the risk of retaliation is slim to none.)

3. Message him again and cross my fingers.

4. Attempt to sell the XSi on these forums and take a little bit of a financial hit. (The advantage here is that I get reimbursed much faster than I would by filling a claim. The camera DOES WORK properly, so this shouldn't be an issue.)


...*shakes head*

Ultimately, I really wish he would have just been honest with me.

SimplyShane wrote in post #12406506
Rather, it's the fact that I was lied to that really gets me upset.

Welcome to the real world.

It's one o the reasons, amongst many, many others that I do not use eBay.

SimplyShane wrote in post #12410659
I've got 4 options here as far as I'm concerned:

1. File a claim.

2. Simply keep the item and give him neutral, or even negative, feedback. (I don't sell on Ebay, so the risk of retaliation is slim to none.)

3. Message him again and cross my fingers.

4. Attempt to sell the XSi on these forums and take a little bit of a financial hit. (The advantage here is that I get reimbursed much faster than I would by filling a claim. The camera DOES WORK properly, so this shouldn't be an issue.)


...*shakes head*

Ultimately, I really wish he would have just been honest with me.

While the shutter count was misrepresented and I understand being ticked off about it, why not just keep it and use it as you originally intended to do? Even the Rebels have been known to go over 100k and less than 10k means it should go for quite some time. Personally if it were me I'd use it and hit the guy with a negative/neutral. Your experience is one of the reasons I don't buy used bodies or expensive lenses on eBay. I've had much better luck buying here and on FM.

SimplyShane wrote in post #12406506
I recently purchased a used Rebel XSi off Ebay.
It was advertised to have anywhere between 3000-4500 actuations.

After receiving the camera today, I plugged the body into EOSinfo and confirmed a grand total of 9681 actuations, which is far higher than even the maximum estimation.
Furthermore, upon inspection of the XSi, I noticed a small portion of the rubberized grip had worn away and the tripod mount had evidence of light use.
The item was proclaimed to be in "mint" condition...

Light evidence of use on the tri-pod mount is being unnecessarily nit-picky. That big a difference in actuation and the rubber grip being partly worn away do not qualify as mint, so you still have legit claims, IMO.

I did a claim before when the seller sells me a fake. It takes a while and there's paperwork involved. You need to pay for the shipment back to the seller and fax the proof to PayPal. They don't accept email attachments even though their website says they do!

You should win the case under item not as described. There is no partial claim under the PayPal process. The good thing is if you raise a dispute, the seller would have to response or he will be ruled at fault by default.

If I were in your situation I would do this:

- send him another email
- if no response I would print to pdf all the emails I sent to him
- take a screenshot of his listing page, print to pdf
- then put it into 1 pdf document w/ a cover letter explaining the timeline of what steps you took to try to contact and fix the issues
- then file my claim w/ both paypal, ebay and attach the above pdf to each claim & send to the seller as well

cyberon wrote in post #12410991
I did a claim before when the seller sells me a fake. It takes a while and there's paperwork involved. You need to pay for the shipment back to the seller and fax the proof to PayPal. They don't accept email attachments even though their website says they do!

You should win the case under item not as described. There is no partial claim under the PayPal process. The good thing is if you raise a dispute, the seller would have to response or he will be ruled at fault by default.

Yeah. The more I think about it, the more I realize that going through the hassle of filling a claim might not be worth it.

*Sigh* My lesson has been learned.

However, I WILL leave him negative feedback. I don't think neutral is strong enough here for a straight-up lie.

The seller can only leave positive feedback for you or none at all. So that's not a concern. If the seller doesn't respond to your emails then I'd definitely leave negative feedback or file a claim. If you file a claim you need to determine if the cost of shipping the camera back (including insurance and confirmed delivery) are worth it. If you feel you got a good deal on the camera to start with then I'd probably not file a claim but just leave negative feedback. Mint condition should mean that it has little to no evidence of ever being used. A seller who mis-represents the condition of items he sells and then fails to respond to emails is deserving of neutral or negative feedback.

itsmejson wrote in post #12411185
If I were in your situation I would do this:

- send him another email
- if no response I would print to pdf all the emails I sent to him
- take a screenshot of his listing page, print to pdf
- then put it into 1 pdf document w/ a cover letter explaining the timeline of what steps you took to try to contact and fix the issues
- then file my claim w/ both paypal, ebay and attach the above pdf to each claim & send to the seller as well

That process wouldn't take very long, but it would probably be at LEAST a month before I got reimbursed...

That's the part I really don't like.

You should only start a dispute if he goes for a long period without a response or responds negatively. Personally I'd just keep it unless you paid a huge amount compared to other used XSi sold on ebay.

SimplyShane wrote in post #12411252
That process wouldn't take very long, but it would probably be at LEAST a month before I got reimbursed...

That's the part I really don't like.

yeah totally understandable. keep us posted w/ some updates
if you decide to file a claim or if the seller contacts you back.
- is there a way for you to start the paypal claim, once that happens i'm
sure you'll get his attention. if it does then work with him to send you back a partial reimbursement?

i sold a laptop on ebay a long time ago and then i had the buyer file a dispute against me saying that the battery wasn't working (which it was). I ended up buying him a new battery so I could get my paypal acct off the suspended list :/