[pudge27t]

OMG! Reminds me of my encounter!!

[uwash97]

I don't agree with most of this. Contact the seller first with your photos and return the item. Don't just open a case. That reflects badly on the seller, especially if you haven't made an effort to let him know what happened. It's also not the seller's obligation to walk up to the buyer and just hand it to him. He/she has zero control of the Postal service.

The OP asked: "If I go the route with the seller and they do not authorize a return/refund, what do I do?"

Ans: Open a case. But that being said, eBay now says that you initiate contact with the seller BY opening a case:

"If you have an issue with an item you bought, contact the seller by opening a case in the eBay Resolution Center. If the seller doesn't make things right, we're here to help. Your purchase price and original shipping may be covered by eBay Money Back Guarantee."

http://ocsnext.ebay.com/ocs/sr?st=1&quer...o%20I%20do?

Just saying that for you guys and gals that get offended by people opening cases without contacting you first (and I get that, believe me), you need to get over it because that's the official eBay position nowadays. It used to be that they encouraged contacting the seller to work it out BEFORE opening a case. Now they say contact the seller BY opening a case. You're going to see it more often moving forward. And in fact, if you select "contact seller" and then select "item I received is not as described" or "I have not received my yet" it AUTOMATICALLY opens a case whether you want to or not. You have to select "other" if you want to just send a message, and I'll wager most people don't know that. I found out the hard way, since I only wanted to message the seller to ask for a refund on a badly damaged card. Case was automatically opened and I felt real bad - until I realized that was how eBay wants it to happen now. Anyway the case was worked out amicably and I got my money back after returning the card. No big deal.

And it IS the seller's responsibility to deliver the item through whatever means they choose. Most people hire an agent to accomplish this, such as USPS (and FedEx, UPS, etc). But using an agent does not absolve the seller of that responsibility. And if the agent damages the goods, the seller has to make it right with the buyer and then attempt to get restitution from the agent. But I'm guessing that you agree with that part since you would have simply returned the package unopened, requested a refund, and advised the seller to pursue his claim with the PO...

Anyway, OP, it sucks that such a nice card was mangled by the PO. I have every confidence that you'll get your money back. Hopefully the seller does it with little conflict.