Did I buy a counterfeit Patagonia Nano Puff?

"The seller and I are in communication but they aren't being very friendly about this. They're mad at me already because I gave them a "neutral" rating both because I got an item that wasn't what I ordered and because they were cheap and put it in an envelope to ship it instead of a box and the envelope arrived with 5 rips and a hole in it, one rip was so large that it's how I took the jacket out. They also took 7 days to ship it. I thought a neutral rating was generous, considering."

Sounds like a flaky vendor to me. Seven days to ship is inexcusable. A neutral rating is tame for selling the wrong item PLUS late shipping.

The envelope/box thing is a tougher call. The top retailers (REI, Eddie Bauer, etc etc) all use poly bags, but they can absorb the risk— and have the leverage to get back at the shipping company. I got a down sweater from Eddie Bauer in a poly bag with holes in it, but the garment survived. Dumb luck on their part!

The tough part is how much weight is saved. A box will often take things over the 2 pound limit. eBay vendors can get slammed if they overcharge for shipping and the competition of the marketplace favors lower shipping prices, ergo the use of light bags. Some mail processing centers are really rough on packages. Ultimately, common sense needs to prevail and the item needs to be protected.

I once sold an item that was trashed in the mail. I gave the buyer a complete refund after seeing a photo. She told of also getting a package of stickers that was ripped open and empty, and when she went to the post office to complain, a worker rolled by with a cart FESTOONED WITH HER MISSING STICKERS! I guess she got a little hot and they threw her out.

All you need to do is open a claim with eBay. If the vendor has been abusive, threatening, or refusing to respond due to the feedback, forward that info to eBay. Once your item shows as delivered to the vendor, eBay/PayPal will automatically refund the payment, including the shipping you paid.

I've only had to do this dance a couple times in 14 years on eBay. I got a Mountain Hardwear fleece that was so totally counterfeit I could see it without opening the clear plastic bag. Smelled like burnt oil too.

"About the packaging…hopefully the price you paid reflects the cost of shipping."

It didn't. She charged me $10.50 in shipping and then stuffed it into a bubblepack envelope and shipped it for $2.95 Parcel Post. I don't care that she shipped it Parcel Post (although Priority Mail would be classier and would have allowed for tracking) but at PP prices she could have boxed it.

I've read all the other glowing feedback reports on her and can only surmise that I caught her on a bad day (week?). She's in Baltimore and has good ratings and I am the only person to ever give her a less than positive rating.

"She charged me $10.50 in shipping and then stuffed it into a bubblepack envelope and shipped it for $2.95 Parcel Post. "

Sellers arent allowed to do that per ebay and you can ding them on shipping overcharges in the feedback system on top of the reg fb.

ebay is a virtually 100% money back garantee for buyers nowadays even when buyer is in the wrong.If you dont want or really need the micro file a SNAD (significantly not as described) claim thru paypal.

"It didn't. She charged me $10.50 in shipping and then stuffed it into a bubblepack envelope and shipped it for $2.95 Parcel Post. I don't care that she shipped it Parcel Post (although Priority Mail would be classier and would have allowed for tracking) but at PP prices she could have boxed it."

That is bad and I would be livid. Actually, you paid for a certain type of shipping which had to be specified in the auction as the seller input the auction listing. Priority Mail is 3 days and Parcel Post is much slower, so I think that is fraud, plain and simple. The seller must meet the shipping services stated in the auction, or you have a bait-and-switch. Even if the auction has free shipping, the seller has to meet the level of service specified. I once had a seller who want me to pay more after the auction was concluded and I reminded him that the shipping is part of the deal that he committed to. No way!

You can do tracking with First Class and Parcel Post too. eBay sellers have shipping options online that you can't get on the USPS web site. Tracking is free.

Added:

One way to read between the lines with an eBay seller is to check their feedback page and look at the upper right corner where it says "Revised Feedback." That refers to sellers who got in trouble with a buyer and basically serviced, begged, or bought their way out of a negative feedback. The number there should be zero or very small.

See the red X on the right side.