Parts or accessories missing is one of the six return reasons, and it is a seller-fault one. So this comes back for 7 days whatever the store's returns policy says — No returns does not cover it.
What counts
Anything the listing said was included and is not in the parcel: a box, papers, a certificate, a charger, a dust bag, a spare button, one earring of a pair, a lens cap, a piece of a set.
The grey area, and how it is decided
What the listing said. That is the test.
- "Includes original box and papers" and no papers arrived → missing part, clear case.
- The photographs showed a box and none arrived → also strong. Photographs are part of the description.
- The listing said nothing about a box and you assumed one → weaker. For second-hand goods, a box is not implied.
For a set, "complete" is whatever the listing described as the set. A set of six described as six, with five delivered, is missing a part regardless of anything else.
What to do
1. Check the packaging properly. Small things hide in paper fill, tape and the folds of bubble wrap. Shake the box out before you message anybody — a surprising share of these are found in the packaging.
2. Photograph everything as it arrived, including the empty packaging. That is your evidence that it was not in there, and it cannot be created afterwards.
3. Message the seller. Most of these are a genuine packing slip — the charger left on the bench. A seller who simply posts the missing piece has fixed it in a day.
4. Raise it if you cannot agree. Parts or accessories missing, with the listing text and your photographs. The seller has 48 hours to answer before you can ask Metzee to step in. How to return something
The outcome to ask for
Think about what you actually want before you ask, because it changes the speed:
- Send the missing piece — fastest, and usually what a seller offers. Best where the item is useless without it.
- A partial refund, keeping the item — right where the missing piece is minor or replaceable. No postage either way. Can I get a partial refund?
- A full return — right where the item is worthless incomplete.
Naming one, with a figure if it is a partial, ends most of these in a single exchange.
Who pays postage
The seller, on a seller-fault return. You should not be out of pocket to put right something that was not sent complete. Who pays to send something back?
For sellers reading this
Photograph what is included, laid out together, as one of your six photos. It is the single most effective way to prevent this, because it makes "what was included" a matter of record rather than memory. How to photograph an item
More: how returns work, I was sent the wrong item, how buyer protection works.