Faulty goods from Trade Me ruin boy's birthday

A Tauranga woman is issuing a "buyer beware" warning to Trade Me users after her son's birthday was ruined due to faulty goods.
Heather Clare bought two Bakugan toys from a seller on the website as a present for her son Sam.
Although he turns nine today, Sam had his party at the weekend and was given the gift then.
But when he opened his present, Miss Clare soon realised the toys were not what they claimed to be.
"The photo that the seller had on her listing was the same thing as what's in The Warehouse but what I've been sent is a cheap imitation knock-off. Bits are broken.
"I got them in the mail and didn't realise, so I wrapped them up. He was trying put them together and they were not working.
"He's pretty gutted - he went off to bed crying.
"I just had to say to him I'm really sorry, I will do my best to sort it out."
Miss Clare had spent $66 on the toys - they were $28 each and postage was $10.
Miss Clare, a fulltime student and single mum with three children at home, emailed the seller who agreed to refund her money if she returned the item. But the seller wouldn't pay for postage - and an extra $10 is hard to find at this time of year for Miss Clare.
"Once I've sent them back, there is no guarantee she is going to refund me.
"Obviously I don't trust her now, she has sent me false stuff in the first place. If I return the product, am I really going to get my refund at all?"
Miss Clare says she should have checked the seller's feedback more thoroughly before buying the toys. Since her bad experience, several more disgruntled buyers have posted negative feedback, including another Tauranga woman.
Miss Clare says it's unlikely she'll get her money back but wants to warn others to beware.
"Maybe they might think twice before placing bids and getting something that is not at all what they thought they were bidding on.
"It was a great price and cheaper than in the shops - in hindsight, I should have known better.
"I'm not that brilliant at that sort of stuff and there's probably a lot of other people that aren't as well."
Miss Clare emailed Trade Me, who she said sent her a standard response
"They said to please contact the seller, let us know if there's anything else we can do."
Trade Me spokesman Paul Ford said Trade Me recommended buyers who bought goods significantly different to the item described in the listing to contact the seller.
"In our experience, 99.99 per cent of problems around this sort of thing are resolved when the buyer and the seller have a chat.
"We're keen to hear if there has been a bad experience and we would encourage full and frank feedback be left if the seller is behaving unfairly."
Mr Ford also encouraged buyers to ask questions to avoid any doubt and request "decent photos".
If communicating with the seller does not solve the problem, Trade Me recommends filing a dispute with the Disputes Tribunal.
This costs at least $30 - which means it's of no help in situations such as Miss Clare's.
Trade Me's code of conduct requires that goods are "fully and accurately" described.
NetSafe executive director Martin Cocker said an inaccurate description of goods was a common problem with online trades.
"People use the same tricks in terms of selling online that they use in retail generally."
He encouraged buyers to ask specific questions about all details, including the manufacturer of the item.
"Trade Me has a very simple question and answer system. It's very easy to ask questions and if people are not answering your questions, walk away.
"People who sell must remember that all the rules of commerce apply on the web as much as anywhere else.
"You can't deliberately mislead people on Trade Me anymore than you can anywhere else.
"If you are going to sell on Trade Me, you'd be wise to understand the laws of trading."
Mr Cocker said Trade Me had a rigorous safety system and it was in buyers' best interests not to take trades outside the site.
"Moving a trade outside is a standard strategy for fraudsters.
"If you stay within the Trade Me system, you will be a lot safer.
"Trade Me are good at responding to complaints - the key thing is to engage them if you are not happy with a trade."
However Mr Cocker said it was "a reasonable step" if the seller agreed to refund money because good were listed inaccurately.
A spokesman for Consumer emphasised the importance of reading feedback on Trade Me before making a purchase.
"It's no good reading the feedback after you've bought something."
She encouraged anyone with an issue to contact Trade Me.