Hello r/Entrepreneur. I am in a tight situation.
Here's the backstory:
An Alibaba supplier sent me a sample that I approved and proceeded with the order. The problem is, the sample did not turn out to be the actual product. What happened was they sent the sample in a different size than I requested without my knowledge. I relied on the sample to get the product inspected and approved since the product works only in a specific size for my business.
When my delivery arrived, the first thing I had to check was whether the product would work as the sample did, and it did not. I notified the supplier immediately and gave all sorts of video and photo evidence. The supplier apologized and agreed that the product is not the same as the sample and offered me to have the correct parts shipped to me. However, they requested that I bear the costs for the part and shipping, claiming they are at loss on the part. I immediately replied saying that I did not want to bear the costs for the part but am willing to pay for it to ship. The supplier then replies back saying that the part is guaranteed to work according to my order specifications. In other words, the supplier refused to bear costs. The product works but does not work for my business. This was all based off of a wrong sample; if I had received the right sized sample, I would have rejected the product and asked the supplier to modify the order.
What say do I have in this now? The order was under Alibaba Trade Assurance. I can surely ship it back for a refund, but would rather have the correct part shipped to me, disassemble, swap the parts out, and reassemble without having to pay for the parts(why would I pay for someone else's mistake?). I would be incurring costs if I were to refund in shipping. On the flip side, I would be incurring costs if I were to have the parts shipped to me. In the end, I am losing out either way. I just do not want to pay for someone else's mistake. I understand they have a bottom line, but it shouldn't cost me a dime for their mistake.
I have not disputed anything on Alibaba before, so I am wondering how I can resolve this correctly in my favor. I have done nothing wrong, but the supplier is trying to manipulate the situation in an almost bait-and-switch like scenario. What advice can you share to dispute with the seller directly?
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