Jordan Wells frequently shops on eBay and has purchased all kinds of merchandise off the site.
“I buy shoes sometimes from the official Adidas, eBay store, random knick-knacks, some things for my fish tank,” the Manchester resident told NBC Connecticut.
So, in 2016, when Wells needed a new phone, he compared prices, read seller reviews, and ended up buying what he thought was a new iPhone 7 plus from a seller on eBay. It cost him $549.99.
“Yeah, I’ve never had issues with eBay before,” said Wells. “So, I decided to take my chances and go with that.”
Several months later, Wells said the touchscreen button on the iPhone started to malfunction. Then, he discovered another problem.
“I could hear something dislodged in the phone when I would move it around. I would shake my phone and I could hear something rattling around inside,” Wells said.
Wells explained that he couldn’t get the phone to work properly so he took it to the Apple store where the technician cleaned the charging port. He said it still didn’t work. That’s when the Apple tech told Wells that his phone wasn’t actually brand new.
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“He said, I think this is a third-party casing on the back,” said Wells.
Wells said when the tech opened the phone, he found other third-party parts, like the screen and missing screws.
Wells tried to dispute the iPhone purchase with eBay/Paypal, but he said they told him it was outside of eBay’s 30 day required return policy and 180 days to get a refund with Paypal. His credit card company also denied his refund request. He decided to contact the seller about the phone repair and or a refund. The seller couldn’t help, either, according to Jordan.
Wells called NBC Connecticut Responds, and after we contacted eBay, their spokesperson Ryan Moore told us in a statement:
“eBay is committed to providing a trusted marketplace for our 175 million shoppers. Our customers can buy and sell with confidence, knowing that eBay has the people, policies and processes in place to protect them, including our Money Back Guarantee. After careful review of this case, we have reimbursed Mr. Wells for the full value of the item. Although occurrences like Mr. Wells faced are rare, we always strive to do the right thing for our customers.”
With that $549.99 refund, Wells ended up buying a new iPhone.
“Any problems, call NBC Responds, they’ll get the job done,” said Wells.
eBay said it has extensive risk models and a peer feedback system that deter malicious activity on their marketplace – and they take the appropriate action, including suspension, for those who violate their policies. However, in this case, they did not see a trend of malicious activity.
