I bought a lot of ponies off ebay. I asked the seller if there were any marks on two of the ponies I was interested in before I bid, and the seller said no. The ponies arrive, and Munchy has several black marker bleeds/dye transfer to her leg, as well as some sharpie spots and highlighter marks, and Bright Eyes has a large cancer mark on the side that wasn't facing the camera. Now, I'm okay with most of this, aside from the giant cancer spot on Bright Eyes, but I'm tired of having to deal with sellers misrepresenting stuff and I really want to say something.

The seller is not, as far as I can tell, a member of the collecting community, so maybe they just didn't know what to look for, but it's also hard for me to believe that since we're not talking about tiny marks. Also, the ponies in the auction photo were rotated so that the largest marks didn't show at all.

What do you do to protect yourself from having stuff like this happen? Do you make a big deal out of it when it does happen? Should I have asked specifically for more photos?

Any idea how I should proceed? I am definitely not paying to mail the ponies back, and I'd really like to keep them. Fortunately the auction didn't go very high so it's hard to be unhappy with the ponies themselves, but I don't like feeling like I was willfully misled. I also hate making a big deal out of stuff like this, especially since they genuinely might not have known... and I feel like such a poo asking for a partial refund.

Advice? Suggestions? General emotional support? I know everyone deals with this stuff on eBay, so maybe I'm just blowing steam. ^_^;

If you are dissatisfied with your purchase, the first thing I would do is communicate this to the seller. Read through the auction and your communication with the seller carefully to make sure that you were correct in your belief about the condition of your ponies.

Then email the seller and explain that although she had told you there were no marks on any of the ponies, more than one of them did actually have marks. Handle the ponies as little as possible and take detailed photos. Look over the auction photo to see if there are any visible marks on the ponies you may have missed while you were bidding and be sure to mention that the mark on Bright Eyes is on the side that was not pictured.

Tell the seller that you would like to keep the lot of ponies but you feel that a partial refund is appropriate due to the miscommunication about their condition. Even though you feel like you were "willfully misled" I would give the seller the benefit of the doubt in your first emails with them because it really could have been an honest mistake. Also, check the auction to see if the seller put any sort of disclaimer or limit of liability in there, like items purchased as is, all items described to the best of my ability, etc.

I would see how the seller responds to that before taking it up with eBay. Hopefully she will be understanding and willing to work it out with you. If she is not you'll need to decide if you're willing to accept the ponies in their condition for the price you paid or if you want to report it to eBay or Paypal.

good luck!

Thanks for your response.

Already went through all the communication with the seller and confirmed that she said there were no marks. The problem is, I don't even know what's appropriate for a partial refund... I won the auction for around the value I'd expect given their condition ($20.50, which is honestly pretty good). I don't know what's fair to ask for in a case like this... ^_^;

I'll contact her and let her know there were marks, at any rate, and see what she says. I'd never neg or take things up with eBay without contacting first, my concern was more whether I should just give a positive* in spite of my concerns, or let her know that I didn't find them to be as she decribed them.

Thanks again.

* edited out "hold my nose and give a positive" because it seemed too hard on the seller. I don't want to assume this was done on purpose, people mix up all the time... ^_^;;

If they're not a pony seller/collector then maybe they didn't know how big of a deal marks etc should have been but when you emailed for extra information they should have at least checked them over well. I would let them know for sure. Maybe they sell a lot and might have missed something or they could have been misleading on purpose. Personally I always try to belive the best until proven otherwise.

Even if you don't want a partial refund it's still important to let sellers know when you are somewhat unhappy. If they appologize and sound genuine or offer to make it right I would leave a full positive but if you get no response or a snobbish reply I would probably leave a positive saying ponies weren't exactly as described.

Goodluck!

I dunno, maybe $5 refund? Personally, there is no excuse for there being marks that are clearly visible. Are there marks? WELL YES, THERE ARE.

They were probably lazy and didn't want to look. =(

The seller lied to you. If there were marks on the ponies, they should have told you. The least they can do is give you a partial (how big were the marks?) and the least you can do is educate them so it doesnt happen again on their part:)