was sold a product that is illegal in the USA. Can I get my money back?

Temp20230529eh
New Community Member

I am the owner of a very small just beginning business trying to resell smartphones.

I ordered a sample from a Chinese manufacturer that I found on the alibaba website and was quite satisfied with the product.

However the information on the customs form was incorrect and said $30 instead of the actual $140.

 

I the contacted the seller to ask why I had received no proper invoice, receipt or certificate for warranty.

The seller told me that they would rely on my honesty when repairs were needed and they did not need any proof that the product was actually bought from them. (very fishy)

 

I then told them that I would require proper invoices and customs forms for my future orders because I do not want to get busted for tax evasion.

 

The seller then asked me if customs would not detain the products if they were correctly labeled because they are Chinese copies. 

 

I was completely shocked. I did not know that these phones infringed upon US copyright (Apple and HTC). I am no expert on international laws but just a person with a starting business trying to do things legally)

 

The sellers reaction to my requests makes it obvious that they knew their product isn't legal in the USA.

I don't trust them to give me my money back if I send them the product back since they have already proven that they don't care about doing legal business.

 

So my question is can I get my money back via papal now or am I **bleep**ed. I honestly didn't know the product was Illegal to import to the USA.

 

What should I do? 140  dollars is a lot of money to me.

If anyone here can give me some advice than please do.

I obviously can't take legal action in China because I don't have the money for lawyers and China doesn't care about US copyright and patent laws.

Please help!

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