Vendor is asking to return item to a different country???

[IAmIronFrank]

Hi there! This is my first post here. I hope some one can shed some light 

Long story short ,the issue goes something like this:

I bought an item off an eBay vendor, the guy(s) have good rating and reviews, such item turn out to be inaccurate / or different from the one in the listing I bought it from. When I contacted them, they told me that they "Decided  to ship me that one instead because it's from a better quality build" (Yes, their actual words...). I contacted them again and told them I didn't care what they thought or considered to be from a better quality, and that I wanted the actual item in the listing I bought from. Their reply to that was "Why don't we send you the real item for a lower price, you keep the one we already shipped to you, and you sell it in your local market?" Yes, their words again...

Which I politely declined, and asked them one more time for my item, I made sure to make myself clear, that their mistake wasn't my fault in the slightest. They apologized and told me they were going to ship the real item finally. I waited for a couple weeks until I decided to contact them again asking them for a tracking number or the whereabouts of my item, to which they replied they already emailed me a tracking number... Such thing never happened, the tracking number never arrived. After asking them for an explanation for the 100th time, they replied: "Please purchase a second item for a discounted price and sell the first one in your local market so you'll have a profit". Yes, I was speechless, I didn't know what to make of it. So now I've come to realize that, 1: They deliberately lied when they told me that they shipped the real item, and 2: Those folks are gonna be teasing me forever and won't take responsibility for their mistake. That's why I decided to contact Paypal directly and see the possibility for them to step in and solve this issue. 

Paypal stepped in and confronted the vendor with the case, yesterday I got their reply, and according to them the resolution of my case is for me to return the item so they can refund my money. Solution Which I wouldn't have any issue at all with, if it weren't for the fact that they want me to return the item to an address IN CHINA!!! What the actual heck??? Before you jump to the conclusion that I might have bought my item from a Chinese based vendor, let me tell you: The listing clearly states that the item location is Dayton, New Jersey, United States. So why would I need to return the item to bloody China?

This is obviously some sort of a ruse which its only purpose is to deter me from returning the item and refunding the money, due to the fact that the shipping fees for an item of such dimensions / weight, will exceed the value of the item itself, not to mention the number of days the item will be 'in transit to china'.

Now I have to reply to my claim, providing a shipping tracking number and nothing else. How come Paypal doesn't give me an option to refute this? This is insane to say the least, and utterly unacceptable. Now Imagine for a second Paypal, and/or eBay for that matter, allows this vendor to get away with this and force me to either return the item to China in which case I would lose more than double the item is worth, or keep an item I don't want because is not what I purchased? Imagine the tons of vendors shipping defective/wrong items to people, knowing they can ask the buyers to return their items to China provided they were asked for returns/refunds... Yes, the possibilities of exploiting eBay / Paypal are then, endless and mind blowing.

What do you guys think are my options here? Is there a legal recourse I can refer to?

I'm sorry for the lengthy post, I'd really appreciate your inputs.

Thank you so much in advance.

[sharpiemarker]

@IAmIronFrank 

“Before you jump to the conclusion that I might have bought my item from a Chinese based vendor, let me tell you: The listing clearly states that the item location is Dayton, New Jersey, United States. So why would I need to return the item to bloody China?”

Oh, there many Chinese sellers doing this. They have warehouses in the US and if you want to return, it goes to China. See, they are very familiar with the seller and buyer protections. You would think they just ship the right thing to avoid problems. But the fact of the matter is, they don’t have what they are advertising and if they sold what they really had, no one would buy because they’re low quality, junk goods.

PayPal ruled in your favor which is forcing seller to accept return, lose a sale and refunding upon receipt of goods. You just return the item for a refund. PayPal has return shipping reimbursement program for future returns if this one is not eligible.

If PayPal dispute is not suitable for your needs, then you may open a dispute with your card issuer instead, if that is how you paid.

Can’t buy from just anyone anymore. Research the seller/site before buying or stick to the reputable sellers/stores you know.

[IAmIronFrank]

Thank you so much for your reply.

This is outrageous! I contacted paypal one more time asking them why am I to be obliged to return the item to China? All they said was the disputes and claims team decided that I'm right and am eligible for full refund, only if I return the item in 1 more day from today. And failing to do so will automatically close the case in favor of the vendor. They didn't even mention the fact that it is absolutely ridiculous to ship the item back to CHINA! Hello? Why are they deliberately deciding to look the other way and not to look at the big picture? What am I missing here?