Question about eBay/PayPal/faulty items

[Steph Cowley]

I recently got something off eBay but when it arrived it was both faulty and not as described in the listing.
I asked the seller for a full refund including postage however they refused so I've gone through PayPal claims.
The seller still refused (in fact just didn't contact me) so I've asked Paypal to investigate. Their reply:
I will probably (but not defiantly) get a refund for the item and postage TO me, once I've returned the item to the seller using a service that provides online tracking......that I have to pay for and not get a refund for.
Now, I thought if you received a faulty item from anywhere, that you got a full refund including any and all postage costs. Am I wrong in thinking that? Is it really the buyer who ends up losing money when a seller cons them?
I'd appreciate a quick answer as I've only got a few days to send the item back and give the tracking info to Paypal, however if I should be getting a full refund then I'll take things further.

Might seem petty but the item is from Thailand and it's going to cost almost as much as I paid for it to send it back.

[Dave]

I'd have thought that as you bought it through Paypal, then Paypal's regulation's apply.

[JP]

The only problem i've ever had is when a seller doesn't send the item. I did the whole paypal investigation and got about half of the money back. I was a little miffed but also kinda glad that i still got something back, as i thought it was a lost cause.

[Steph Cowley]

I'm still trying to get all my money back.
The paypal dispute was a waste of time but the seller has now been threatened with an eBay investigation (as he is selling fake goods but not saying they are fake) and he has actually contacted me now....funny that
I was always under the impression that with PayPal Buyer Protection you could get back 100% of what you had spent on the item, including all postage costs.....that you actually don't is a disgrace, and it certainly isn't what I would call "Buyer protection"...seems like they just try anything to stop it being themselves who have to pay you back what you spent.