Return of a counterfeit product

[yekach_44]

Hey everyone,

unfortunately, I got a counterfeit Apple product from a seller. I've requested a return due to that reason and also added screenshots how they messed with serial numbers and that it doesn't work even properly as the fake product. 

After a couple of discussions, a seller finally approved the return but warned me that it will take a lot of time and problems from my side.

So first of all seller decided not to send a return label.

After I've opened a case with ebay they've confirmed that is counterfeit product and just shared with me some strange USA address of the seller:

Online Seller#vibilione1
C/O 18501 Arenth Ave
City of Industry CA 91748-1301

without return label as well.  And also asking due date of the 9th of August. DHL even premium doesn't guarantee such fast delivery in the USA. And it will cost a lot.

But according to what is written in ebay policy if it's a counterfeit product then costs should be covered by a seller.

Are there any ideas or experiences on what to do in that case? If I pay return by myself will I be able to get the refund for paying for the return? 

Thank you in advance!

[miriam@ebay · Accepted solution]

Hi @yekach_44 and thanks for letting us know what has happened. @symbolias has kindly flagged your issue to us and I would like to encourage you to contact our dedicated customer service teams to support you with your opened return request before you take action and ship back the item. You can connect with them either via the contact options provided at the end of the dedicated Help Page (Rückgabe eines Artikels gegen eine Rückerstattung) or if you prefer to message us you can do this via our Social channels (e.g. Facebook, Twitter or Instagram). The team supports in English and German.

Generally our sellers are required to provide a return address that matches the item location stated in the listing. This is the only way for buyers to consider the higher shipping costs in the event of a return when making a purchase decision. We consider it a policy violation if sellers ask buyers to return to a different address abroad and our teams will take care of your request, so feel free to get in touch. I wish you all the best for the next steps to take and hope that future eBay transactions will run smoother again for you! 🙂

Kind regards,
Miriam

[yekach_44 · Accepted solution]

Thank you Miriam for the reply and a hope :). I reached out to customer service team and they couldn't help me :(. They haven't found any seller's address in Germany, only return to USA. So they couldn't provide me a return label to USA. So they told me I have only the option to send it by myself to that address. They also couldn't reimburse the shipping costs as well :(. It's clear that the seller has the address in Germany, but he doesn't want to provide. Is it possible that eBay could influence the seller to provide the return address in German?

[miriam@ebay · Accepted solution]

Hi @yekach_44 - I'm sorry to see that our CS team couldn't help. I'm currently investigating this further and will be back in touch tomorrow. Thanks Miriam

[yekach_44 · Accepted solution]

Dear Miriam, I've just got finally German address from the seller. I will reach out one more time to eBay Customer Support for a return label for German address. Thank you for support and willingness to help!

[yekach_44 · Accepted solution]

I was happy too fast... The address he has provided doesn't exist...

[miriam@ebay · Accepted solution]

Hi @yekach_44 and apologies for my late reply. We've reviewed your case over the weekend and as the DE return address that was provided by the seller is invalid, we decided that you will get a full refund without having to return the item back to the US. Hope this helps and future transactions will run smoother again for you! Miriam