Sorry for the long read, but hoping this may either help some of you or maybe somebody out there that can help me. I purchased an expensive electronic camera lens from a seller. I was worried about getting a bad copy of the lens, and the seller assured me the lens was mint, and if the lens didn't match the description, i had 30 days to return it. He also had a good seller rating, so I figured I had nothing to lose. Well, the lens had some problems. After triple checking and triple testing, came to the conclusion that the lens was defective, and I asked for a return/refund. The seller agreed and sent me the shipping label. I shipped the lens on 5/26, and he received it. He messaged me through ebay to let me know he received the lens, concurred that the lens did in fact have issues, and subsequently refunded only HALF my money, and told me to get the rest through ebay's money back guarantee. I shipped the lens back to him in 100% identical condition that he shipped it to me in. Sometimes working, sometimes not. This seller operates a used camera equipment business where he buys used gear, and sells on ebay for a profit. I think he bought a lens that was defective from the original owner, but didn't notice the issues the lens had in his original test of the equipment (it isn't always apparent). Or maybe he noticed it later, and to recoup his money, he tried to pass it off to somebody else. He has in essence stolen $1500 some-odd dollars from me. So here is where paypal comes in. I file an obvious dispute. And over a course of discussion and emails from paypal asking for information, I supplied everything they asked for. They asked for 1) a copy of the shipping label i used I supplied the exact pdf shipping label the seller provided for me to use 2) the tracking number I supplied them with the tracking number, as well as a literal picture of the receipt from the mail-plus store containing the tracking number, and date/time 3) a copy of my bank statement I supplied them with a direct export of the last couple months of my bank statement. I then ALSO gave them a copy of the ebay message where ebay's automated system confirming the seller received the lens. I then ALSO gave them a copy of the message from the seller himself, telling me he received the lens, that it didn't work properly, he was only refunding half my money, and that I was on my own to try and get the rest back from ebay. After two weeks of battling, the case was denied because (and i quote) "This decision was made because the dispute was submitted with insufficient information/documentation to support the claim and we were unable to obtain the required information/documentation after requesting it from you." On top of that, every single thing I provided I confirmed WITH paypal chat support, that was I had submitted was exactly what was asked for. Is there anybody out there that can make ANY sense of what happened? My last resort is naming the seller and paypal in a fraud claim at my bank and with law enforcement. I am in shock that his is how this is ending up.
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