Tarnished hardware
AITA? Needing advice.
I purchased a bag from Minion and paid upgraded hardware. When the bad arrived the hardware was already tarnished, Minion said to rub it with an eraser, which I did. But the tarnishing never stopped getting worse. This is a $1400 purchase with upgraded gold hardware. So Minion said send it back. Local EMS said no duties would be payable as it would be shipped as a repair not an import, (there is a specific code for this). It was declared as a repair and I paid for insurance on $1200 as I had not a lot of confidence about the safety of a bag shipped to and back from China.
Minion has then said he has to pay $700 in duties to collect the bag. I asked for paperwork to show EMS and sort it out but he said no due to ‘privacy issue’ (I already have his correct name and shipping address so that seemed strange, plus it’s not hard to blur out anything genuinely private if required).
Then he said taxes are $300. Now negotiating that it’s $300 and I should pay half.
I already paid $1400, upgraded hardware, shipping, and $200 to send it back. Plus it’s possible even if I pay again I may still receive a faulty bag or have it snagged by customs on the way back in.
I’m not prepared to pay more when I’ve paid so much and I’m not at fault. Minion is supposed to be highest tier and the bag is unusable. What would you do?