A Bronx man had no trouble selling collectible movie figures on eBay, and he didn't take issue when the items were returned -- but when he got charged twice for the same refund, he decided to contact the Better Get Baquero consumer investigative team.
Barry Feirstein and his son Jared both collect and sell collectible figures, and last November, he sold a set of seven Star Wars figures for $89.95. He shipped them to the buyer, wrapping each one in bubble wrap and then placing them in a box filled with styrofoam pellets.
"They were mint when they went out," said Feirstein.
But the buyer complained the items were damaged in transit, and shipped them back for a refund.
"I didn't have enough money in my PayPal account at the time, so eBay took it out of my Visa, my secondary payment method," said Fierstein.
He didn't mind that, but seven months later, in July, Fierstein got a note from PayPal telling him his account was debited to repay eBay.
Fierstein asked eBay why the $89.95 refund was being processed twice.
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"I've gotten nowhere with eBay, and no matter how many emails I send -- and I can show you communications -- no matter how many voice messages I leave, it gets nowhere," he said.
When BGB reached out to eBay on Fierstein's behalf, eBay acknowledged that a mistake was made on their end. They apologized to Fierstein and issued a refund of $89.95 -- and an additional credit for the same amount as a courtesy. eBay says instances like that are rare, and they always strive to do the right thing for their customers.
As for the eBay money back guarantee, it usually doesn't cover items damaged during shipment. You can purchase insurance for the shipping, and in this case, the seller hadn't bought insurance but was willing to offer the refund. He just wasn't willing to be charged twice for the same refund.
Reach Better Get Baquero at 1-866-NEWS-4 or long onto nbcnewyork.com/gethelp.
