eBay auction not as advertised - negotiate or return?

[kentobin]

Originally Posted by bolocop

The old bait and switch. In this case, I think you have to pay return shipping in order for the refund. So that has to factor in.

I went through something similar a few months ago. Do not pay one cent for shipping. The seller is required to pay it. Make sure all your correspondence is through the ebay messenger. ebay's customer service sent me a prepaid mailing label. They told me if I spent my own money on shipping they might be unable to get me a refund on that.

As soon as the seller was informed that ebay was looking into the transaction he became quite motivated to do the right thing and I got a full refund, including shipping.

This seller had hundreds of transactions and an excellent rating. When I had problems with the item I couldn't believe he admitted he had taken the product apart, put it back together, and then had the audacity to sell it as new with some cosmetic damage acquired during shipping.