Another photographer forum newbie, and remorseful Ebay buyer

onenrmlone · Post by **onenrmlone** » Thu Mar 16, 2017 6:22 am

Hi all.... some of you may have ready my handful of posts on here the last week or so, as I got my thoughts together about introducing myself and telling my story.

I discovered this forum just AFTER placing an order on Ebay, unfortunately, and while I did not receive an inflatable or anything, it does seem I got what I paid for.

I ordered what appeared to be a WM155 (although advertised as 158CM... I've learned a LOT from reading a lot of posts on here the past couple of weeks, so you don't have to tell me.. lol). I ordered from '22lovewithsand', an Ebay seller that's been mentioned on here in a couple of threads as being semi-legit.

When I got my shipment notification from FedEx, the box was listed as only being 120cm long, which immediately raised alarm bells. I contacted the seller, and after a day or so's delay, he replied saying not to worry, that they listed the package as smaller, so that they would pay less tariffs. Somewhat reassuring and somewhat shady at the same time.. lol.

The package arrived, and sure enough, the wasn't THAT small... it was 150cm in length. I got the box home, got it unpacked, washed off, assembled, did some photos, etc., and quickly realized it was still not what I ordered. I'll attach a photo to show the difference.

The doll is the same height as the box... 150cm. I've tried to find a similar doll on the legit vendor's sites to compare it to, but haven't quite spotted the exact match. Its figure IS pretty nice, but not as exaggerated as the 155 is. I shoot a lot of swimwear and fitness, and figured this model would be great for pinup style photography. In addition to being shorter, the breasts are smaller and the waist is larger... she basically looks like the 155's less developed little sister. lol

Also, I believe the 155 weighs around 60 lbs? The seller advertised the weight as 70, but in reality is closer to 80, as my aging and trouble-prone back can attest.

Anyway, I began communicating with the seller, who immediately tried to entice me to keep the item... offered me a whole 50 bucks as compensation. Seriously? Wow. I told him I would need at least half my money back to even consider it (which at this point wouldn't even be enough). I would still want to get an actual 155 Shannon, or whatever the name is, with the head shown in the photos, although having experienced the weight of a larger doll I might now be sold on the new 142 G-cup.

Back to the story. The seller replied again, stating that a $150 refund would be the maximum he could do (I paid $900, by the way), and I told him that there is no way I ever would have paid $750 for the item he sent me. So, I just initiated the formal process of a return request through Ebay. I attached the below photo, as well as photos of all of the measurements I took as evidence that they did not send the item they advertised.

My worry now is that when the seller gets the item back, they will try to claim that they do not owe me a refund, since they can no longer sell the item as new. The wig is messy, and there is some damage to the feet from where I tried to lean it up against the wall to do some photos (standing feet are now on my must-have list). I did point out some quality issues, such as a twisted forearm and finger, and the face that the hip joints are loose enough in the side-to-side direction that the doll cannot even stay upright on its knees and fell over a couple of times, so hopefully they (and Ebay) get the idea that this doll is not fit for resale. My argument will be that these would not be issues at all, had they simply sent the item they advertised in the first place, and that Ebay will not be too lenient with a shady seller. Then again, I'm sure Ebay has made a lot more $$$ from the seller than they ever will from me, so that's worrisome.

Does anyone have any experience in dealing with Ebay returns/disputes, and have any advice in this case? My fear is that the doll will get shipped back to China, where the seller will claim it is used and damaged, perhaps even worse than it actually is, and will then dispute my refund request, and I will not be in a position to argue it. I have not sent the doll back yet, I just submitted the return request before writing this post.

Thanks all! Whenever I'm financially (and emotionally, lol) prepared to make another purchase, it will be from one of the vendors on here.

hollows+fentiman · Post by **hollows+fentiman** » Thu Mar 16, 2017 6:42 am

That's not good!

My personal take on this is that if she is still a 'virgin' you could sell her here in the sales section fairly easily. At least that way you'll get a decent return. You didn't pay a great deal for her so you wouldn't perhaps lose as much as if your fears are realised and the seller doesn't give a full refund! You can factor in shipping but it's probably best to keep resale to your own country to avoid customs issues.

Good luck, Hollows.

onenrmlone · Post by **onenrmlone** » Thu Mar 16, 2017 7:04 am

hollows+fentiman wrote:That's not good!

My personal take on this is that if she is still a 'virgin' you could sell her here in the sales section fairly easily. At least that way you'll get a decent return. You didn't pay a great deal for her so you wouldn't perhaps lose as much as if your fears are realised and the seller doesn't give a full refund! You can factor in shipping but it's probably best to keep resale to your own country to avoid customs issues.

Good luck, Hollows.

Thanks Hollows.... yeah, I'm not sure what the going rate is for an off-brand doll. I'm hoping Ebay will see things my way if the seller tried anything. It is pretty darn obvious that what they sent me wasn't what they advertised. Then again, Ebay hasn't stopped these sellers from continuing to do business either, but who knows.

Aberdare · Post by **Aberdare** » Thu Mar 16, 2017 7:25 am

Greetings and welcome to TDF. Still a fine looking lass, but as mentioned elsewhere here on the forum... Beware buying from any vendor that is not endorsed by TDF. "Some Products May not be Exactly as Advertised."

This is unfortunately, the state of things with E-Bay Sellers and a lot of other uncertified vendors out there. As Hollows mentioned, it should be easy enough to put her up for adoption, here in the Sales Section.

Cheers, Mate

onenrmlone · Post by **onenrmlone** » Thu Mar 16, 2017 7:54 am

Aberdare wrote:Greetings and welcome to TDF. Still a fine looking lass, but as mentioned elsewhere here on the forum... Beware buying from any vendor that is not endorsed by TDF. "Some Products May not be Exactly as Advertised."

This is unfortunately, the state of things with E-Bay Sellers and a lot of other uncertified vendors out there. As Hollows mentioned, it should be easy enough to put her up for adoption, here in the Sales Section.

Cheers, Mate

Thanks Mate... yep, certainly not bad looking, and I did manage to get a few nice photos, but just not exactly what I was looking for, and too awkward and unwieldy to do that much with. We will see what becomes of the EBay return process, and then I'll see what will happen from there.

TTNLBTPD · Post by **TTNLBTPD** » Thu Mar 16, 2017 8:47 am

Honestly, I'm not seeing that much difference. The face looks to be the same. Its hard to tell with body given the skin tone difference. Are you sure you didn't just get wrapped up in a glamor photo? Very few dolls look like the professional photos taken by the manufacturer / vendor. If you got a good deal I'd keep her. Get a better wig and some makeup and you will have what's in the other picture.

Post by **LoneRanger** » Thu Mar 16, 2017 10:57 am

I think you should keep the doll myself. If you return her then you will more then likely be out money and the doll. For 750 she looks pretty nice. As far as weight, that is a real pain, you could always not put her head till you have were you want, not that much but something.

Lesson learned - you didn't get super skunked, practice a few photo sessions and sell her here.

One more thing, been there, done that.

Cwjessee · Post by **Cwjessee** » Thu Mar 16, 2017 11:01 am

Who is the vendor on eBay?

Fantastic Plastic · Post by **Fantastic Plastic** » Thu Mar 16, 2017 11:17 am

Cwjessee wrote:Who is the vendor on eBay?

22lovewithsand was the seller on eBay the OP mentioned.
This is not a WM, it's a Racyme.
I'm with some of the others in that you really don't have much to be remorseful over, she's a pretty decent doll.
Also price the cost to ship her to china and I'd bet you won't entertain that thought of doing that anymore.

Adventurer · Post by **Adventurer** » Thu Mar 16, 2017 12:19 pm

I think if you put some makeup on her she'd look great. 750 is a great price for a doll like that, assuming the TPE formula is of sufficient quality.

Unknown2 · Post by **Unknown2** » Thu Mar 16, 2017 2:00 pm

That's a shame you didn't get what you ordered, but as you say, lesson learned.

I will say to you that you do in fact have the correct head. A difference in lighting, make-up, eye colour, skin tone and hair style will make it seem different. As for the body, I personally think it looks more natural...but that's down to preference and it's not what you wanted so I get that.

I would agree that you should sell her here and get a decent fast return, maybe even keep the head and order a body only 155cm from a trusted vendor on TDF. Take as much of a refund from the eBay seller to help you out. Even if it is only $150.00.

Also see if any user has a next to new 155cm you could trade, or even ask a local vendor if you can do a trade in.

I know these are all work arounds, but it may be your best options than sending her back at more cost and time to start from fresh.

My two pennies.

Unknown2

haremlover · Post by **haremlover** » Thu Mar 16, 2017 2:48 pm

Hi!

Sorry to hear of your trauma.

Have you actually sent her back?

You're on a hiding to nothing on that in my opinion.

Make vehement complaint to Paypal.

Shipping back to China isn't worth it.

It's rare for vendors to ask for dolls to be sent back - it's expensive. So this particular vendor probably knows the ropes so that they'll not be the ones losing out.

I deal with inverters for solar power and a vendor in Taiwan gets returns sent to me to check out rather than getting them shipped back to China. Many reputable dealers from that part of the world have friends in regions to help in such ways. That a dealer doesn't have friends says a lot.

Best wishes

Harem

JackieTreehorn · Post by **JackieTreehorn** » Thu Mar 16, 2017 4:45 pm

I would seriously reconsider sending her back. There's a very real chance that you will have end up with no doll nor money, or else pay to have her shipped to China and back (and possibly damaged along the way).

I would recommend keeping her or selling her. If you keep her at least if there were any harsh lessons to learn or mistakes to be made she would kind of be the "practice doll." You will have learned a lot with her and then maybe you can prevent damaging the doll of your dreams down the road. And she's not bad looking; maybe get a little make up on her and she'd be a stunner.

If you sold her, now I don't know the market exactly, but if you got $500 for her plus $150 from the seller you'd get most of your money back. Not a complete disaster.

"Yeah, but it's the principle of it"

Yeah, I totally understand that, but in this case that principle could cost you a lot. To be honest I don't think you're in a position where you have a lot of recourse. You send her back, and even if the guy doesn't lie by your own admission she's got some minor feet damage, so if he counters that he received her damaged I don't think you've got a leg to stand on. Not trying to be a dick here, but I think it's the unfortunate truth.

If you still want to go that route though I've never had any experience with ebay disputes. I have been involved in a number of credit card disputes- not as a consumer but as a merchant. Twice we got fucked pretty good (and learned lessons to prevent abuse like that in the future), but every other time we won. That being said, we were never doing anything shady, it was the people filing the dispute trying to get one over on us. The fact that we got beat a couple times though shows that some crooked fucker who knows the rules very well can win disputes like that. It's infuriating, believe me, but there's nothing you can do about it. Read the terms over very carefully (VERY carefully- pretend you're a lawyer) and try to reason out if there's any way you can lose. For example, lets say you can prove that they sent you the wrong doll. Ok, fine, but does the original item still have to be returned in salable condition? If so (and I think that sounds pretty feasible, but who knows) you're probably fucked. That's just one example of how it might go wrong.

It's your call, but methinks you're better off keeping her or selling her and that returning her will produce the least desirable outcome. I know this is probably poor consolation, but at least that was a pretty good price on a doll that size. And she's pretty hot too. I think it could have been way worse. Chalk it up on as a life lesson and make the best of it.

Good luck!

samara78 · Post by **samara78** » Thu Mar 16, 2017 5:22 pm

You can get 500 or 600 dollars for her. You can tell she isn't the doll you wanted. Full size dolls are unwieldy, and heavy for the most part. A 140 cm doll would be better.

Save up and buy the doll you really like. Plenty of research can be done. Feel free to look around.
I personally like silicone dolls in the 140-150 cm range.

They make great photo models and can serve you well.

samara78 · Post by **samara78** » Thu Mar 16, 2017 5:26 pm

You do not need to send the doll back file with ebay and paypal. Show them the proof you have collected. They will issue the refund. Do not deal with the ebay guy directly. Go only through paypal or ebay. They will give you a refund. You will get to keep the doll as well. File a claim immediately! Do not wait.