I bought a DVD on half.com a while back. It was listed as the first volume with the collector's box (ie the box you can fit the rest of the series in). I paid more for it just so I could get that box, because I find it easier to keep track of DVDs when they're all in one place.
Anyway, fastforward to the receipt of said DVD. I open the package, and it's a regular DVD with a limited edition slip cover. Definately not something you can fit 7 more DVDs in.
Just to be sure I didn't screw up and order the wrong thing (in which case it would totally be my fault and I would buy another one and try to sell the first), I double checked the UPC in the listing versus the one on the DVD I recieved. They were different. The difference was only in the last three numbers, but it was a difference all the same. So, I figure that it's not my fault, and contact the seller.
My email to the selller:
"Hi,
I received my DVD today, and, well, it's the wrong one. You had this
Vol. 1 DVD listed under the UPC 013023182394, when the one you shipped me
had the UPC 013023182493.
The difference is that the one you shipped me has a limited edition slip
cover, but not the Collector's box, which is a box that you can put the
entire series in. I only reason I bought this was because I wanted the box
to hold the rest of the DVDs.
I really don't wanted this item and would like to ship it back to you for
a full refund. Please let me know how this will work.
Thanks. "
Her email back:
"Send it back to me with delivery confirmation and when I receive it, I will send you back the purchase price less shipping and fees."
At this point I'm thinking, "What?! I have to pay for your mistake? Ummmmm . . ."
I don't understand. I mean, it wasn't like I changed my mind or anything. So, I look up some info. on Half.com, and apparently, the seller has to initiate the refund process. So, I email her back.
My email:
"Hi,
I'm not entirely sure how the return process works, but it looks like you
might have to authorize the return somehow in your half.com account before I
ship it back.
http://pages.half.ebay.com/help/buyer/b ... tml#toc-01
That way, half.com will refund me the money I spend shipping it back. I'm not
entirely sure how this all works, but I hardly see why I should have to eat
any cost here. It's not as if I have suddenly decided I don't want the product-
-you simply listed it under the wrong UPC, so it technically was not the
product I ordered.
Please authorize the refund. I'm sorry to be such a pill, but it honestly is
not the right UPC or the right DVD. "
Her email back:
"I have been burned by this situation before, someone telling me an excuse as to why they don't want whatever it is that they bought. I refund the money and then I never see the item returned. I am not saying that this is what you are doing, but I am wary to repeat the same mistakes.
I will send you half of the refund in advance and the rest when I receive the dvd. That way we share the risk. I am sorry to be difficult also, but I have been having a lot of problems lately with people from half.com and ebay.
Let me know if this is acceptable and I will start the refund process."
At this point I'm a little miffed. I suppose that it's understandable that she does not want to refund me the shipping, but I think she should eat the cost herself since she was the one who made the mistake. It miffed me even more that she wants to deduct the fees from my payment when half.com clearly states that the fees will not be taken from the seller's account. As it stands, it looks like she wants me to pay for shipping both ways myself--as in, $4-5 for nothing. I'm sorry, but the whole situation is her fault. Am I being unreasonable here?
Then, of course, there's the issue of her asking that I ship back the dvd before I get the entire refund (or, what she is willing to give). That just doesn't ring true to me. I'm sure half.com will not cover my butt should she not refund everything, whereas it should cover hers if I never mailed it back after receiving the money. Basically, she's asking for the money and the DVD at once, which I consider just as unreasonable as a buyer who asks a seller to send the item before the buyer pays.
It just makes me . . .
Any advice?
