Merchant shipped from US but wants return to China

[VTX1800Girl]

I ordered 3 rolls of vertical stripe window tint.  I made sure this was shipping from the US because I've been burned by the return to China costs before.  I received plain window tint (no horizontal stripe) and it was shipped in an envelope. It was totally crushed/unusable so started a claim and included pictures.  Of course they offered me a 25% refund first, then a 50% refund.  I refused.  I either want all my money back or the correct product. I have no problem shipping the crap they sent back to the return address on the package (Inglewood, CA) but they are requiring it get sent back to China so I will actually spend more than the product cost to return it. I even bookmarked the site and it's no longer there. This is a total scam that these chinese companies pull and it's frustrating because they get away with it.  I searched the website high and low to make sure it was not a chinese scam and it appeared completely legit.  So frustrating. 

[kernowlass · Accepted solution]

@VTX1800Girl 

Chinese Web Sites or on Social Media ads easy to spot (once you know the below signs) so buyer beware.

1. No return address on the returns policy. The site will look as if its in your country (where they despatch goods from) but they will ask for returns to go back to China (returns depot) at a shipping cost often more than the item is worth.
2. No contact telephone number. if you click on contact the most you will get is webmail or an email address.
3. Rarely company address information.
4. Great pictures of items at bargain prices that turn out to be tat.
5. Fake reviews.
6. Google and you can often see previous company names as they change them once enough claims roll in and Paypal stop them using their services and start over.
7. Send fake tracking numbers to win item non receipt of item claims.

In the event of a dispute you choose your seller and not Paypal so you need to bear in mind possible return trackable costs before you go ahead and buy from that seller / country.

Paypal state this >>
IMPORTANT: You may be required to return the item to the seller or other party we specify as part of the settlement of your claim. PayPal Buyer Protection does not entitle you to reimbursement for the return shipping costs that you may incur.

Although they will compensate you for some of the cost if you have activated this at some point before you made that transaction.
https://www.paypal.com/us/smarthelp/article/FAQ3544

You also have the option to do a chargeback via your card issuer instead of a Paypal dispute if you funded your Paypal payment via a credit card.

[VTX1800Girl]

Learned my lesson. **bleep** China and their scams of intentionally sending the WRONG ITEM and then offering 1/4 of your money back.  It's annoying that paypal won't do anything about it and is super condescending when you try to address the issue.  I found a relatively cheap way to return but I needed to have the seller's tax ID for customs and there is no way to get it.  Live and learn.  Sorry small business peeps. As much as I hate supporting big retailers like Amazon and Walmart, I will only buy from them now. 

[mbae1778]

This happened to me also and I totally share the sentiment. Thank you for sharing.