Buyer receives damaged painting from China

[WilmaSchmilmer]

Hi.

I bought a painting from China on Etsy. It's a painting which is made with thick layers of acrylic paint applied with a knife. It's heavily textured but when it arrives at mine the painting is no longer textured as the paint still seems to be wet below the surface and it arrives squashed and damaged. The reason for this is that the seller sent his paintings rolled up.

It arrived like this a couple of months ago and after agreeing to a replacement free of charge, it's happened again with the replacement. Now I just want my money back. I still have both damaged paintings and I notified the seller within 30 min of the painting arriving that it was damaged. But although he admitted responsibility for the first painting, he's now refusing to cooperate and won't give me a refund. He says, I have to return both paintings, at my cost, even though I received them damaged and they're worthless. How do I not lose money here? Surely the seller is responsible for transit and I have the photos to prove that the painting arrived damaged. Why do I have to pay the cost of the return to China? Why does Paypal not step in?

[sharpiemarker]

@WilmaSchmilmer 

You're not entitled to return shipping costs in disputes because PayPal cannot refund more than what you paid to the seller. The seller can, although not obligated to, offer to send you the return cost money as a separate transaction but they can turn right around and dispute you back if they received the item "damaged" too. It could go on forever. However, you can take PayPal up on their Return Shipping Refund program, up to $30 USD.

[WilmaSchmilmer]

Thank you for the advice.

I don't know how much the return cost will be from England to China but I would think it's going to be a lot. Surely more than 30 USD.

Etsy don't want to help because I paid via Paypal and now Paypal won't help. I received a damaged item twice! The seller might be a scammer. I really don't understand how I can be responsible for returns. After I return: What if it "doesn't arrive"? What if "the parcel was empty"? If the seller doesn't want to cooperate I could lose more money by returning it and not get a refund. There doesn't seem to be any protection for me the buyer.

[sharpiemarker]

@WilmaSchmilmer 

Actually if you're in the UK, it is 15 gbp:
https://www.paypal.com/uk/webapps/mpp/refunded-returns

Return it tracked so you can have proof of delivery. I don't know what to tell you. It's how PayPal resolves matters of Significantly Not As Described, return for a refund.

Or you can forego the PayPal dispute altogether and go for a credit card chargeback for Not As Described. The seller will not be protected and will be charged an extra chargeback fee for PayPal to handle the case on behalf of the seller.

[WilmaSchmilmer]

Thank you again for the response.

The Paypal dispute doesn't seem hugely satisfactory. I feel like the return options leave me vulnerable for further financial loses and complications. The problem is of course that "Significantly Not As Described" doesn't really describe my situation. 

The item wasn't paid via a credit card, but a debit card through Paypal. I don't know if the same rules apply to debit cards as they do for credit cards. I may need to query this with my bank.