Complaint Review: eBay.com

I bid on a the following 2010 Toyota Prius III on eBay:

Toyota : Prius HYBRID III
Item Id:190793015641
End time:Feb-06-13 17:42:06 PST
Seller: foxycars (150)

After winning the bid and paying for the car, shipping and other costs (e.g. Paperwork, temporary tags etc.) a total of $16,037.50, the car arrived in a few days looking all nice.

A few days after getting the car I did some research on Edmunds.com to find out that the car delivered was actually a Prius II and not Prius III as advertised.

I immediately contacted the seller:

"The car that was advertised was a 2010 Toyota Prius III, the the car that I've received is a 2010 Toyota Prius II. According to Edmunds.com, there is almost a $1,000 difference between the prices of Prius II and Prius III. How would you like to resolve this?"

Who replied:

"When I put the vin, it automatically decodes the vin which means: it automatically puts the year, make, model and sub model. I put my descriptions and my pictures on the listing but I don't put the year, the make, the model or the sub model. The 2010 Toyota Prius III on top of the listing came from the vin number, and I didn't change any of them. Please let me know if you have anymore questions.

- foxycars"

So I contacted eBay with a complaint:

"The car that was advertised was a 2010 Toyota Prius III, the the car that I've received is a 2010 Toyota Prius II. According to Edmunds.com, there is almost a $1,000 difference between the prices of Prius II and Prius III.

I called the local Toyota dealer and they said it is not possible to tell the sub-model from the VIN.

I sent the seller this question and he says the following: "When I put the vin, it automatically decodes the vin which means: it automatically puts the year, make, model and sub model. I put my descriptions and my pictures on the listing but I don't put the year, the make, the model or the sub model. The 2010 Toyota Prius III on top of the listing came from the vin number, and I didn't change any of them. Please let me know if you have anymore questions."

TO me that seems like an eBay problem.

I have spent over $900 to get the car here and I like the car, however I would like the price difference between a Prius III and Prius II refunded."

And received a generic reply from Katie at eBay:

"Thank you for writing to us about the 2010 Toyota Prius. I understand your concern regarding your purchase. You did the right thing by contacting us. I would like to provide you with your best options in this situation. My name is Katie and I will be happy to assist you. Please be aware that package options are not covered under the Vehicle Purchase Protection (VPP) program, Because you received a vehicle with the same make and model, you wont be able to request a reimbursement through our VPP program.

Although your purchase isn't eligible for reimbursement, you still have several options:
--Work with your trading partner-- Many times, buyers and sellers can resolve situations through honest communication.
To request your seller's contact information:1. Click the "Advanced" link next to the "Search" button on most eBay pages.
2. Click "Find contact information" on the left side of the page.3. Enter the seller's user ID and the item number.
4. Click the "Search" button. You may be asked to sign in. We'll email you the seller's contact information, including their phone number. The seller will also receive your contact information. --Report the situation to the police--
If you feel that the seller has broken any laws, you may want to report  this seller to the police, both in your area and in the seller's area. To find an officer who can help you, go to:http://www.usacops.com Let the officer know that we can help with the investigation. Here's more information on how eBay works with authorities:http: //pages.ebay.com/securitycenter/LawEnforcementCenter.html
--File a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)--
You may also want to file a complaint with the IC3. It's a partnership  among the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), National White Collar  Crime Center (NW3C), and Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). They review complaints and send information to the appropriate local, state, or  federal agency. To file a complaint, please visit:http://www.ic3.gov
As a valued member of our eBay community, I wanted to provide you with all of the options that are available to you. Again, you can work with your trading partner, report the situation the police or file a complaint  with IC3.

Sincerely, Katie
eBay Customer Service"

Which basically tells me that eBay takes no responsibility for listing on their website even if it is their system, which made the error. Now I am out about $1,000 because of eBay system error.