[Madelaine]

Well, it's true that you get what you pay for. I bought a Grohe Alira off eBay and it arrived today. It was described as " This item does not come in it's original box, but is in PERFECT condition!" It was poorly wrapped (in that kind of rough tissue paper and nothing else) and not only did they not include the installation instructions, but there's a scratch in the finish in a couple of places "below the turn-y part", if that makes any sense. When I was taking pictures, I noticed a bit of "waxy stuff" on the threaded brass stem. I'm wondering if I got a pre-installed faucet. Does anyone know what are definite signs that a faucet has been used??

Thanks,

-Maddy

[DulcineaK]

regardless of used or not, if the ad said "perfect" then it should be. yours sounds less than. have you contacted the seller? i too bought my faucets (kitchen, bath, shower, powder) from various ebay sellers and i've been extremely satisfied with the quality; so i don't necessarily agree with the old addage. Contact the seller and hopefully they'll make right

Good luck,
~Dulci

[Tigratrus]

Maddy,

If you don't get anywhere with that you might try the manufacturer. We bought our Brizo Floriano faucet off EBAY and had a problem with the part that was supposed to keep the two parts of the faucet together (it comes with the base of the faucet and the arch of the faucet separated and you put them together). It kept working it's way loose.

We contacted Brizo (upmarket Delta brand) and they shipped out a replacement and paid for the original to be shipped back to them. They had no interest in where we had purchased the faucet. Many companies will go quite a bit out of their way to keep you from returning a product to the vendor. Just something to keep in mind.

James

[chabuchie]

Your seller should definitely offer a replacement or refund. Have you already left feedback? I think some sellers are more likely to help you if they haven't already received feedback.

[Madelaine]

Thanks for the input, everyone. I've emailed the seller to see what we can work out, since I'm a little miffed at the whole thing. If anyone's curious, pictures are here. I paid via Paypal, so even if the seller decides to be hostile about it, that may be another avenue. I really like the faucet, and am thinking I could probably "live with it" provided A) all the parts are actually there, B) I can get installation instructions, and C) perhaps the seller is willing to give me a very minor refund because I probably wouldn't have bought it if I had known it was scratched.

I'll update as the drama progresses.

-Maddy

[GardenOfDarwin]

Um, yeah. I'd say you have a case for misrepresented goods. Play nice at first, but if that doesn't work, I'd definitely pursue the avenues available to you through PayPal. Did you pay on a credit card through PayPal?

Susan

[Madelaine]

Though I'd post a quick update. This is *still* ongoing. Seller quickly apologized and promised me a FedEx number to return it, for repair/replacement, and then fell off the face of the earth. Multiple unanswered emails later, I opened a formal Paypal complaint. That at least gor me a FedEx #. I couldn't get an address & phone # out of her, so I had to send it back to the address that it came from, which was a PMB. At that point I found out that the FedEx # she had given me was "unable to pay for shipments due to problems with the account." Of course. She finally deigned to reply to my offer that I would ship it myself, if she would reimburse me the cost of ground shipping along with the amount I paid for the faucet & shipping. So now it's at the FedEx store, and will go out tomorrow, and I get to spend a week fretting that she'll still refuse to refund me. *sigh*

In happier news, I did go and buy a Hansgrohe faucet off eBay. It arrived really quickly and is in perfect condition, so that cheered me up a bit.

I guess my lesson learned is to not buy things off eBay from sellers who have listed no similar items (the faucet girl sells mostly luau-themed party favors and Nascar stuff) and <50 feedback. I'm just hoping the lesson won't cost me $200.

-Maddy