Mobile devices, Sales

Returning A Defective IPhone On Ebay

iphone-5-ebayIf you’re looking to save money on buying an iPhone ebay might be the way to go. You can often buy iPhone devices for far less than their market retail price by using ebay, with either its auction function or its one click buy function. However, there is a risk associated with using ebay. If you buy an iPhone from a physical store, and there is something wrong with it, you simply return the phone to the store and get your money back or a new phone. With ebay it’s a little more difficult than that. We recommend that before buying anything over ebay you check the seller’s history and ask plenty of questions about the phone that you’re hoping to buy, this will minimise your risk of getting scammed or sold short. But should the unthinkable happen and you receive an iPhone that has a problem, there are a couple of things that you can do to try and get your money back…

Go Through the Seller…

Have a look at the seller’s refund policy. You can find this at the end of the listing for the product that you bought. Sign into ebay, go to "My Ebay," and click on the heading that says "Won/Purchased" and find the listing for your iPhone. Right at the bottom you should find a refund policy, make sure that you are in keeping with all the restriction on the policy (generally, sellers limit the amount of time during which you can ask for a refund). The contact the seller and ask for a refund. Explain exactly what the problem is, and why you want to return it. Note that not wanting a product is generally not reason enough to return it, it must be defective or otherwise not as advertised. The seller should then tell you instructions for where to return the product and how you will be refunded. Mail the package back to the seller and wait for your refund. Make sure that you get confirmation that the package has been sent from the post office. If your refund takes more than thirty days you may then contact ebay directly and start a dispute.

Go Through PayPal…

One of the reasons that ebay recommends you use PayPal for your online purchases is that PayPal has its own protection services for online buyers. If you were smart enough to send money through PayPal to buy your iPhone then you have another option in order to gain your money back. Go into your PayPal account and find the details for the iPhone purchase that you wish to be refunded. At the bottom of the details page there will be a tab that says "Resolution Center." Open this, and select "Item Dispute." You will be asked a series of questions, make sure that you anser them as fully as possible and with as much detail as you can. Then wait for the ebay seller to respond, which he will do either directly or through the PayPal service. He must respond in order to prevent his PayPal account being disabled. He should then contact you with details about your refund. Once you have shipped the product back to him, simply wait for PayPal to process your refund.

Phil Turner recommends selling your old iPhone. Ebay is a great way to auction off your old model, so all you have to do is search for the new stylish model available.

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