Anybody know how much Amazon covers buyers?

[bobrocks95]

So I bought a plasma on Amazon, it got here yesterday, and it's a piece of crap. Huge crack in the top left corner with a PCB exposed, awful burn-in in multiple spots, and the worst thing, 63,000 hours on it (Panasonic rates this model as lasting up to 60,000 hours lol). The item was listed as "Very Good" with no major blemishes or scratches and a good picture.

I'm obviously returning or getting a refund (in which case I will donate it to a friend) on this wet turd of a television, but does anyone have experience buying things that were incorrectly described through Amazon? I think that their A-Z Guarantee means the seller has to pay return shipping or refund me in full, but I'm not entirely positive.

I'll give them a call tomorrow, but I was curious to see if anyone on here has had similar things happen. The only communication I'm getting from the seller is literally "What do I do I paid so much to ship this to you," so they don't appear to have much knowledge on the topic haha.

[Xan]

A-Z guarantee means that Amazon should refund you if the seller refuses to do so.

[evil_ash_xero]

Amazon is quite good at getting your money back. Hit them up.

[Pasky]

This is why I hate amazon's user marketplace. Everyone marks their items as 'Very good' 'Near mint' with no way to contact the seller about actual condition. It's a huge crap shoot.

[drauch]

^That is very true, and thank Crom sellers can finally add pictures.

But as the others said, it's very easy to return to Amazon. Literally returned something today because it wasn't as described. I've probably had to do it 6 or more times in the past couple of years and have never been charged a penny. Doesn't get much easier. Ebay, on the other hand...

[bobrocks95]

Well I've certainly learned my lesson. If a seller doesn't provide a crap-load of pictures and answer any asinine question I may have, it's not worth the risk. Well, effort anyway, given Amazon's seemingly great guarantees.

And thanks for the advice guys. Looks like I'll have to escalate this to an Amazon claim, the seller sounds like he's going to try and refuse my refund. I said the item was misrepresented and he replied with "Thats a matter of opionion [sic]."

[CkRtech]

Out of curiosity, do you have the Amazon URL (however it works) for the item's "listing?"

[bobrocks95]

Out of curiosity, do you have the Amazon URL (however it works) for the item's "listing?"

Once you've purchased it, it's removed as a listing, but in my order history it lists a full copy of the description, so I've got it all for reference. If what you were getting at is that you wanted to read it I can post it here, it's a pretty funny read.

[CkRtech]

it's a pretty funny read.

Yeah!

[bobrocks95]

"Condition: Used - Very Good - fast n free shipp. item works great. no technical issues. some minor scratches on and around the housing buy not on the screen itself. no major scratches no major blemishes in the housing paint. if you have any questions please ask!!"

As a note, he didn't really answer my questions (which were mainly for pictures), he just said he had a "great return policy" and that he was "confident in his listing". It reflects poorly on me for deciding to buy it anyway, but after 6 months with 10+ Google Alerts to check every day, I got a bit antsy

[CkRtech]

Sounds like you should have a slam dunk with Amazon. Best of luck. Keep us informed.

[blizzz]

Amazon will give you your money back. They are very consumer friendly in that regard.

[Lord of Pirates]

This is why I hate amazon's user marketplace. Everyone marks their items as 'Very good' 'Near mint' with no way to contact the seller about actual condition. It's a huge crap shoot.

You can contact a seller from their seller page, it's on the right side near the bottom of the page under 'Further Information'.

[Pasky]

I could not figure it out when I was looking to buy Alien Soldier. Wanted to ask the seller if it included the box but couldn't see any way to contact them. Thanks for that.

[bobrocks95]

As an update for anyone interested, after much back and forth I got the seller to agree to give me a full refund with return shipping paid. Here's the catch though- he refuses to give me a prepaid label, and is trying to make me front the $150 cost of shipping it back. Amazon covers me if he doesn't pay, but it sounds extremely sketchy to me.

It all screams "Immediately file an Amazon claim", at least if I want my money back before the new year.

EDIT: And so I did This guy's a regular asshole.

[Endymion]

Amazon instructs sellers to take returns. End stop. No matter who you are, no matter what you sell, if a buyer is not satisfied, Amazon wants the seller to accept a return and refund.

The thing is, there are gotchas here. This is from Amazon's seller page, so Amazon is speaking to the seller here:

If you described and listed the item accurately, but the buyer simply no longer wants it, you have the option to refund the item price but not refund the shipping costs. Please see the Amazon Product Return Policies.

In cases where you are not responsible for the return, the return shipping costs should be borne by the buyer. Upon receipt, please issue a refund to the buyer. Learn how to issue a refund.

From Amazon's Product Return Policies, speaking to the customer:

When you order from a third party seller, your return will be sent back to the seller instead of Amazon.com. While most sellers offer a returns policy equivalent to Amazon.com's, some seller returns policies may vary. You can view each seller's return policy in the Online Returns Center. Shipping and handling charges for returning items shipped by a seller are borne by the buyer. If the order is valued at $100 or more, insure the shipment for the value of the merchandise and ship your return with a signature shipping service. Items valued at over $75 must be returned to the seller with a trackable shipping service. For items below $75, we suggest USPS delivery confirmation service. If a package doesn't arrive and you don't use a trackable method to return or if you refuse the shipment as a method of return, we may not be able to cover you under the A-to-Z Guarantee.

Here's a little more of Amazon speaking to the seller, specifically about Electronics:

Electronics: Electronics products can be returned if postmarked within 30 days of the delivery of the original shipment to the buyer.

- If the item is shipped as New or Used and is defective or damaged upon receipt, the buyer must report the defect/damage to you within 14 days of receipt and make return arrangements.
- If the item becomes defective more than 30 days after shipment and is under warranty, please assist the buyer in pursuing a warranty claim with the manufacturer.

Amazon frequently caves in to some of the wildest claims that customers make when they file Amazon A-to-Z claims, but they do not need to side with the customer when they do not return an item they request a refund on. The Amazon A-to-Z claim is the last stop for customer service, getting Amazon involved as a company between the customer and the seller. They want to do this because it keeps you from filing a claim with your financial institution, and if that institution is your credit card company they usually have no problem yanking the payment and crediting you. And they obviously don't need to give a crap about Amazon's policy of returning the item before refunding. I hope it goes better for you, but I don't think Amazon will look favourably on the refund request sans return. So your biggest wedge against him is to drive home that the item is not as it was described. Upload photos of every damage, scratch, crack, etc. Compare and contrast the damage you see with the description in his listing.