I am registered on American eBay. I bought a phone for cheap in late August from a German seller. The seller has a 100% feedback and the item description said that the item was fully functional, implying that it had no problem. The phone was originally shipped to my German address, but I wanted to give the phone to someone outside of Germany. When the box was opened for the first time and the phone was turned on, the display was changing colors to violet. Apparently, the display has a hardware fault.
I wrote to the seller in German, who insisted that this behavior was normal and the phone was fully functional. I opened a SNAD case on eBay and indicated that the return from my current location to Germany would cost me about 31 Euros, but the seller did not accept return. I escalated the claim to eBay. American eBay representative told me that if the seller did not accept a return in five days, eBay would refund me. Apparently, the seller did not want to accept return and I think she complained to German eBay, because I received a letter from German eBay rep to provide a written proof of the defective phone in German. It is impossible to get such expert document written in German in my country, so I again contacted American eBay rep and provided video footage clearly showing the defective screen in action. American eBay again put the case on hold for additional five days. On the last day of this period, the seller told me that she would accept return only from Germany.
Three days ago, eBay told me that my return was accepted and that the seller had sent me a return label. I did not receive any shipping label because the seller sent it to a German address. When I contacted the seller and wrote to her to send 33.90 EUR/36.95 USD to my Paypal address to cover my shipping fees, she responded that she was told by German eBay that she only had to pay for the shipping in Germany and it was my risk that I sent the phone abroad. I again complained to American eBay that the seller did not want to pay for the shipping. American eBay tells me that the seller had sent me a shipping label and I have to return the phone. I am frustrated because I did not receive any shipping label and this shipping label is good only in Germany. The seller is cheating because she knew from the beginning of our messaging that the phone was no longer in Germany.
eBay does not want to understand that I can't use the German return label. If I pay for the return myself, I will lose money. I asked for help on eBay community, but the folks there were not sympathetic and put the blame on me instead of dishonest seller because I can't send the phone from the original shipping address. If I file a claim with Paypal, will Paypal force the seller to compensate for the return shipping? Because if Paypal makes me pay for the shipping, I will still lose money.
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