The New ebay: The Official Guide to Buying, Selling, Running a Profitable Business

Chapter 9

Troubleshooting purchases

If you’ve done your research thoroughly, taken the time to read the item description carefully and reviewed your seller’s trading reputation, it’s very unlikely that anything will go wrong with your purchase. However, from time to time you may find the need to troubleshoot. Your package may not have arrived in the mail, for example, or the item may be broken or not as described by the seller. In this chapter we’ll explore all the options available to you to ensure your experience while using eBay is enjoyable and safe.

First contact the seller

Always contact your seller before taking any action such as leaving negative feedback or lodging a complaint with eBay or PayPal. The vast majority of eBay sellers will be only too happy to provide you with a satisfactory solution, whether an exchange or replacement product, or a partial or total refund. Only if the seller does not respond, or does not respond satisfactorily, should you take further action.

I changed my mind

Sometimes we might experience buyer’s remorse and decide we no longer want to proceed with a purchase. Up until the point that your seller dispatches the product, it is possible to contact them and ask to cancel the transaction. Some sellers will be happy to do so, though you should use this sparingly as it adds administration and work for the seller, and it could ...