eBay Best Practices: Communicate with the Seller Regarding Any Problems

You've just received an item in the mail from a seller on eBay.  You open up the package only to discover that something is wrong with the item.  Perhaps it was not as described or it was partially damaged in transit due to poor packing protection.  What do you do?

It's always a good idea to politely contact the seller and notify them of the problem.  Most sells will respond and offer you the ability to return the item for a refund.  Sometimes if they're feeling super generous they may refund you part of the sale price or let you keep the item.  Other times, they may even reimburse you for return shipping costs although those are normally borne by the buyer.

In any event, politely communicating with the seller is never a bad idea.  If they don't respond to messages to help resolve your problem then you should feel no remorse for leaving them neutral or negative feedback.  (As of the date of this blog post, eBay sellers can only leave buyers positive feedback so you should have no fear of receiving a retaliatory negative feedback.)  Your last resort to an unresponsive or uncooperative seller is to open up an eBay claim.  As long as you have messages and pictures to prove your story, you should be able to convince eBay to rule any disputes in your favor so you can get a refund.