eBay rights advice

[Professor Frink]

Just need some advice from any sellers or buyers who use eBay more than me.

I bid and won some new Van shoes (item 190645011014 - I'm sorry but the shoes have a swear word on them so if you are offended please don't look). In the title they say 'Size 10 BRAND NEW', on the item specifics it says - Shoe Size: 10 and in the description it says Size 10.

I received the item and they are US size 10s. eBay size chart says they are 9.5 where as Vans say they are 9 from their chart.

I e-mail the seller and he asked for a picture which I provided. Then he sent the following response:
Dear xxxx,

Hi there thank you for the pictures.

I listed them as size 10 vans, and the picture you have sent me shows that they are size 10 vans. They are American branded shoes so they are going to be American sizes. There is no error in my listing, you have purchased size 10 vans, and received size 10 vans.

If you do not want them I am happy for you to post them back to me and I will refund the cost of the vans upon receiving them. This will be a good will gesture as I do not normally accept returns unless something is faulty.

My address is:

Name
Address
Address

Many Thanks
- xxx



Now I paid quite a bit for the shoes (probably more than I should but wanted something different to wear) and £4.99 for the postage. I would have happily kept them and worn them if they fitted me. Should I accept his offer and lose £4.99 postage to me and probably about the same going back? Should I dispute this through eBay complaints process? I don't want to be about £10 out of pocket and have nothing to show for it for something I don't think I was at fault for.

What do people think?

[blueball]

Send them back and take the hit, I think he is being pretty fair. my 2p.

[TheAnimus]

Is he an ebay business or just an individual?

[jim]

I don't think they've done anything wrong. Not listed as a business seller (although they certainly look like one), so I'd take the hit.

[Professor Frink]

Not the responses I was expected but I asked for opinions and got them. Looks like the general consensus is take the hit so that is what I will do.

[Professor Frink]

On side note I used the eBay chat help thing this morning and it was rubbish. They couldn't give me a straight answer in the 10 minutes I was on there.

[blueball]

Not the responses I was expected but I asked for opinions and got them. Looks like the general consensus is take the hit so that is what I will do.

I think part of the problem is the old "Caveat Emptor", it could be viewed that you should have confirmed whether it was US or UK or European size prior to buying.

Having said that, I don't honestly think I would have thought to ask that question myself.

[Agent]

I listed them as size 10 vans, and the picture you have sent me shows that they are size 10 vans. They are American branded shoes so they are going to be American sizes. There is no error in my listing, you have purchased size 10 vans, and received size 10 vans.

The picture does show that its a US size 10, but the reason of being "American branded shoes so they are going to be American sizes" seems unusual considering they have UK shops (one in the Bullring in brum) which I'm fairly sure will be using UK sizes.

Either way, for the sake of a fiver it's probably worth just returning them.

[Professor Frink]

I think part of the problem is the old "Caveat Emptor", it could be viewed that you should have confirmed whether it was US or UK or European size prior to buying.

Having said that, I don't honestly think I would have thought to ask that question myself.

I do love a bit of Latin.

I have bought shoes from eBay before but never thought of asking.

[jim]

I would certainly be surprised, wouldn't have occurred to me. But I don't get the impression the seller has attempted to intentionally mislead - everything on the listing is factually correct.

[Professor Frink]

I would certainly be surprised, wouldn't have occurred to me. But I don't get the impression the seller has attempted to intentionally mislead - everything on the listing is factually correct.

Thinking about it why would they ask for a picture if they knew/ was certain they were US size 10s.

Eye is in the detail and I should have got my magnifying glass out on the pictures posted.

[redddraggon]

Seems fair to me, you bought size 10 Vans and got size 10 Vans. He's given you an opportunity to return them, so I'd take him up on it, and take the hit.

I guess you've not bought many pairs of Vans before? Over the years I've bought 10s of pairs, and all the boxes have been strongly labelled with the US size (with the UK/Eur sizes small), so that I now actively look for "Size 10" Vans even though I'm a UK 9.

[Sputnik]

Personally I think the seller is responsible for not making it clear that they are are listing a US size.

Due to the fact they are selling on Ebay UK you would assume them to be quoting a UK size.

Granted in one of the pictures if you look closely you can just see they are US size 10 but, I'd probably have just assumed the ones in the listing was a UK size 10.

[finlay666]

I'd put it down to a misunderstanding and a slightly vague listing (though the only indication on the shoe is a US size 10, someone that didn't know there was a difference might think they are the same)

I'd take the hit and put it down to experience, unlikely to get much luck and offering to accept them is IMO a decent gesture post sale though avoiding this entirely would have been preferred obviously

[Saracen]

Personally I think the seller is responsible for not making it clear that they are are listing a US size.

Due to the fact they are selling on Ebay UK you would assume them to be quoting a UK size.

Granted in one of the pictures if you look closely you can just see they are US size 10 but, I'd probably have just assumed the ones in the listing was a UK size 10.

If it's a business seller, maybe, but not a private individual.

If it was private, blueball nailed it with "caveat emptor". The barrister that taught one of my law courses years ago used to sum that us as "if buying a horse, walk round and check there's a leg on each corner. Don't assume there is. Because if there isn't, you won't have ....erm.... a leg to stand on".

Essentially, in a private sale (with a little better protection for cars, but not much) about all a private seller for is that their description is broadly correct, and doesn't misrepresent the product. Beyond that, it's for the buyer to think of and ask the questions.

We might expect people to be a little more reasonable than that, but it doesn't mean they will be or that there's a lot you can do about it either way. And even if it's a business seller, given that they've offered a refund for the goods, is it worth pursuing any other legal route for a fiver?

However, it being eBay and them having their own standards in dispute resolution, what they may do is beyond me. Regular ebayers might know better than me but I've no real idea.

[Sputnik]

If it was private, blueball nailed it with "caveat emptor". The barrister that taught one of my law courses years ago used to sum that us as "if buying a horse, walk round and check there's a leg on each corner. Don't assume there is. Because if there isn't, you won't have ....erm.... a leg to stand on".

While all that is true, The buyer gave a description of them being size 10. When buying something on ebay UK it is acceptable for the buyer to make the assumption that the size is going to be a UK size unless otherwise stated.

And even if it's a business seller, given that they've offered a refund for the goods, is it worth pursuing any other legal route for a fiver?

Personally, I would not bother. I'd probably leave neutral feedback for them though as it was unnecessary hassle to return them and lose money too.

I had a similar experience when I bought something from a seller on ebay and the item was wrongly handed when it arrived. Being that I didn't like their attitude when I communicated with them I simply took out a paypal dispute with them which encouraged them to refund me.