Contact the seller first....if not resolved, then contact eBay.

Amazon is very tough on their sellers. Sellers rely on their good ratings will certainly want to get a good rating from you and will refund.

Contact seller 1st, indeed. But don't be surprised if they drag their heels in any response. Do not let the return window close. Most likely, the seller is from China. Good luck!

On Ebay, a mere notification to Ebay that the item is not as described does not count against the seller at all. The disagreement must be formally escalated into a case first. So you can let Ebay know the item was not as described, and they in turn notify the seller. That bypasses the practices of some Ebay sellers to try to give a runaround, drag their heels, etc. because there is a time limit after which one can escalate. To me this approach gives a seller a little more incentive to work something out.

Thanks everyone, I was going to start the return process through ebay, but was wondering who should pay the return postage- me or them? The item is nowhere near what we expected, and we did try it on multiple devices to make sure it wasn't just a problem with DD's computer. I think I will put it in as defective or doesn't work and see where that leads.

pudgeder, I am fearing that the seller is not from within the US, though they state they are in the US. I've read about that being a problem with no domestic address for returns. It sounds like Ebay requires the return go to the place listed in the original listing, so if they aren't US, not sure how that would be handled... I usually try to be so careful with ebay purchases that might end up coming from Amazon, but this one looked like a sure thing as far as quality.

Thanks again, I'll let you all know how it goes.

Info on ebay returns.

Also, read the fine print of the business and see if they have a restocking fee. A seller is allowed to charge up to 20% for restocking and that on top of return shipping fees sometimes negates a return.

Thanks annztoo.

I just initiated the request and it looks like the seller is in Israel. I'll be interested to see if they provide a US address for returns when they respond and if they don't, then what...? It also looks like I'll be paying the return postage, but at least it should only be like $4 if they can provide a US address.

We may be stuck with it, another lesson learned. I do probably have the option of returning it directly to Amazon with the included gift receipt. It would end up costing a bit more, but then not a total loss. Ugh.

Quasifish, try giving Amazon a call. I’ve been pleasantly surprised with some of the ways they have reconciled my issues. You have nothing to loose by trying.

Update: So far things have gone surprising well. I started a return via ebay. The seller replied very quickly and offered a very small refund if I would keep the item, or offered a return. I asked for the return, and she quickly supplied a prepaid return label to Amazon. Everything is documented on ebay, including that the refund should be in full, and the tracking number. Again, I'm surprised at how smoothly this has gone, but won't be comfortable until the full refund is back in the account.

I had wanted to order directly from Amazon, but given that I am not a prime member, they were showing that it would be 2 weeks before the item arrived. We usually wait at least that long for Amazon orders, so I try to avoid them for the most part. This seller could provide it much sooner for not much more, and I didn't think it would need to be returned, so took a chance that it might end up being an Amazon drop ship... Guess it's another lesson of things to look out for.

Thanks again to all :^)

I’m really glad you’re having a good outcome. I didn’t even think about the prime aspect of Amazon. I’m thinking seriously about not renewing our Prime membership this year and was wondering how long it took packages to get receivied. I very rarely shop there anymore and hate to waste the money on it.

lukkiirish- Amazon, Walmart, Target, and other online retailers all mostly seem to offer free shipping if over a certain $ amount, and we've found that we can usually meet that threshold but at retailers other than Amazon, we don't have the long delay for shipment. It seems like we are able to get everything we are looking for from places like WM or TG, and the very few things we can't, we tend to turn to ebay... We don't do the online movies or shows, or free books, so a prime membership would be wasted on us.

I am glad the return is working out for you. I've given up on Amazon for the most part, too many fake reviews and counterfeit/knockoff products. Ebay is still okay, hubby buys electronic components from there all the time and also occasionally sells stuff. As long as he is careful whom he orders from, he hasn't had a problem.

I'm surprised to hear of problems with Amazon, I wonder what's up with that? I've had nothing but excellent experiences with them, never more so than how it's been in the past year or so. We often buy things from Amazon that we COULD get locally but it's so much easier to buy something at whatever hour of the day you think of it and be done with it. The easiest way to get something off a list is to not put it on one.

I don't know if it matters but I do avoid Marketplace sellers when I can, except those whose products are fulfilled by Amazon.

I've had outstanding results with Amazon Customer Service. When I contacted them to warn them that two spray cleaner bottles had leaked due to not being screwed on tight enough, I was just giving them a head's up. They insisted on a total refund of my purchase, including shipping, and sent me replacements at no cost! Same when 6 jars of jelly arrived that had not been properly packed and one had broken - broken glass and jelly all over everything. They credited me for the entire shipment. I told them to please not replace - the remains 5 jars of seedless red raspberry jam would last me for a couple of years!

I have also had good luck with Amazon customer service in the past. My big issue with them is that non-prime members don't get very quick service as far as orders going out.

This order was from an ebay seller who used Amazon to supply the item, so this wasn't an Amazon issue, it was a roundabout ebay issue involving an international seller. I suspect if the seller had been problematic about the return, I could probably have contacted Amazon and gotten a gift return/store credit for what they sold it for- which was a couple of dollars less than I paid to get it more quickly through ebay.

Warning:

https://www.techwalls.com/amazon-ban-return-too-many-items/