eBay woes: buyer is a nutcase need advice

[thestaton]

For me I always use the term AS-IS to describe the item is not new and does not have a manufactures warranty remaining. However I would never list an item AS-IS if you knew something was wrong or did not have the facts 100% straight.

I say give the guy his money back but have him pay for shipping back. meet in the middle.

 

[quruli]

Which circles me back to the original point, that "AS-IS" is not a valid seller protection. Had you decided not to give him a refund, then he would leave negative feedback, then you would dispute the feedback and eBay would ask why, then you would say "because it was sold AS-IS" then eBay would say "that sucks for you"

I disagree, but to avoid a negative. I will go ahead and take it. I don't know if I want to relist it at this point.

I mean, I feel bad for the girl I am selling it for. But maybe she should find someone else to sell it for her.

Thanks for your help everyone. Sorry if we were going in circles. It just got me a little heated.

I knew what I was supposed to do, but I thought it was a little unfair.

 

[Littleodie914]

Maybe I'm just more cautious, but when I read the auction description I could tell easily what shape the laptop was in. I don't see why the buyer was expecting it to work. You said it wouldn't display anything on the screen, and would be a great fixer-upper laptop. Why would he expect it to be in full working condition?

 

[topgunn]

You are correct, and I realized this after the fact. However my point was that the buyer is not being honest about its condition. Which is what bothered me. And the "legal action" was way out of line.

I already told him to send it back and he would get a refund. It still feels to me that is he having buyers remorse because it wont be as easy to fix as he assumed it would be.

And he decided to lie about it instead of accepting the fact that he bought an as-is item.

Do YOU feel better judging people YOU don't know on the internet?

Do YOU feel better assuming that he does indeed have buyers remourse and is in fact not feeling scammed?

You may feel that he is being rude and dishonest but he is not the only one. You posted here to get advice and/or suggestions and you are bashing people who have posted here in response.

 

[MovieCutter]

Do you feel better judging people you don't know on the internet?

Do you feel better assuming I had no intention of giving a refund and that you are right?

Fact is, I plan on giving a refund. I just wanted to see if I could avoid all of this. I can read just fine and you only had to suggest "refund, relist" once. However, you feel the need to think I am "immature" and "stubborn" and keep driving it home.

Thanks for nothing.

You prove my point so well. You're just prolonging the inevitable and making it harder on yourself. And yes, I do feel better judging people I don't know on the internet...it's fun and gives me oodles of pleasure.

 

[topgunn]

Maybe I'm just more cautious, but when I read the auction description I could tell easily what shape the laptop was in. I don't see why the buyer was expecting it to work. You said it wouldn't display anything on the screen, and would be a great fixer-upper laptop. Why would he expect it to be in full working condition?

Becuase it states that it boots up fine.

 

[dpaanlka]

Becuase it states that it boots up fine.

...and that only the screen is bad.

 

[ImAlwaysRight]

What I have done in a similar situation is list "BROKEN" in the title. I have seen other people say "for parts."

"As is" does not equate to broken. "As Is" normally applies to warranties, that there is no warranty with the item. But just because you are not including any warranty does not mean you can sell junk.

I'd vote you refund the person's $, minus shipping, and then you relist and put "broken" in the title. Although your description is fairly good, I don't think the auction was that clear that this was a broken laptop. As stated, it should have been able to hook up to an external monitor and work, which it didn't, so you should take it back, relist it, and this is one to grow on.

 

[dejo]

Here's my advice: Never sell items on eBay for friends! Suggest they get their own eBay account and list things themselves. If they need help putting together a listing, sure, give 'em a hand. If things go wrong, give them advice. But at least any negative feedback from the sale stays away from your account.

 

[MacBoobsPro]

This sounds like a nightmare.

This is why I like to avoid selling things for friends and keep the electronics to a minimum. Also..I try make sure that it is perfectly clear in the title and description if the item is not working, or broken, etc.

Good luck.

I too am interested in a link of the auction.

Thanks.

I avoid Ebay at all costs. Its just like the Carribbean - full of pirates!

I had some one put in a bid on my car I was selling without asking anything about it. He ended up winning the auction because his bid was huge right from the off. He said I'll send you a cheque for more than the agreed price but I had to give him my bank details so he could get his extra money back. Needless to say I told him where to go!

Ive had a load of bad experiences on ebay - my advice is just leave it alone!

 

[mini.boss]

I said it booted just fine, I said that maybe I should have worded it by saying "it turns on". It is fine if you think the wording is off. It doesnt cover up the fact that he is having remorse for buying it. He has holes in his claim.

It is no skin off my back if he wants to return it. I am not losing money. However, when he has been nothing buy rude throughout I am a little less inclined to believe what he is saying.

Sorry, but its getting pretty obvious that your letting personal emotion overtake your responsibility in this. Yes, the guy is being a pain and yes, his complaints aren't even the "right" complaints to get a refund. But the bottom line is that, innocent or not, the ad was innaccurate so putting up a stink about the situation really is pointless.

Ebay is full of suckers that overpay for junk but that doesnt mean that its okay to make mistakes. I feel bad for both sides.

 

[Shadow]

Just give him a refund, relistm, be more specific thats all there is to it.

 

[VoodooDaddy]

Something no one seems to have considered on the OPs behalf:

The buyer was swapping parts in and out. Who's to say the thing still has all the original hardware???

The laptop did power on when it was sold, now the buyer is saying it does nothing. So did the buyer do something to it to make it not even power on now?

I guess at this point this ordeal had been resolved but still, everyone is giving **** to the OP here when the buyer clearly is at fault also. If I buy a car that says "as-is" and a week later the tranny goes out, can I return it to the car dealer and expect a full refund?

 

[Keebler]

i reviewed the auction link.

imho, you're both at fault, but you are more than he is. you should have truly listed the issues. i understand it's for a friend and you maybe posted it really quickly, but you should have known what was/wasn't wrong with it.

and the verbage on the auction would have made me really wary about the laptop. i would have asked a ton of questions before buying it.

he might not be right for being rude, but he's 100% right to ask for his money back. and i'd give him the money back minus the shipping too. that is courteous and should avoid him giving you negative feedback.

just be honest to him..tell him that you made a mistake by not knowing the full issues and not having the proper verbage in the auction. from his one message, he doesn't sound like a nutcase and might be alright with everything.

everything that happens in life is a lesson, it's what you learn from that it counts.

good luck;

 

[xPismo]

...Ebay is full of suckers... but that doesnt mean that its okay to make mistakes. I feel bad for both sides.

Yes, but both sides did make large mistakes. I'm an ebay-er, so here is my view:

1. Paypal and eBay are the same company, they will _always_ side with the buyer unless reams of information prove otherwise. Never get to the point where they intervene. Never.

2. The page you list is your only legal framework, I know thats a scary idea, but you _need_ to lay out everything *everything* on that page. What it is *explicitly*, what your payment rules are, what your shipping rules are, and what your return rules are. Use bold lettering.

3. List things honestly. I know you think you did, I won't be debating it with you, but "as-is" and "LCD inverter" does not equal fried. If its a brick, list it as such. You will still get plenty of bids.

4. Never use shorthand, eBay code, or other assumed acronyms. NIB maybe, but then say 'New In Box' in the text of your auction. As-Is is a non-starter, any used item is warranty free unless stated.

-

You left yourself open by not stating these things in your auction page. The speculation on your part leaves you at fault. Hopefully this adds a bit of info to this circular thread.

 

[mini.boss]

imho, you're both at fault, but you are more than he is. you should have truly listed the issues. i understand it's for a friend and you maybe posted it really quickly, but you should have known what was/wasn't wrong with it.

Just curious, but why are people saying the buyer is at fault also? The seller claimed the computer does "boot" even though that is unverified. When the buyer got it then it didnt "turn on" or "boot". And the sellers return policy is that the unit is "money back guarantee" and "guaranteed non-DOA".

As for the buyer. It has to be assumed that he is tech savvy in some way since his last few purchases were some toshiba keyboard keys, a broken ibook, a few cellphones and a dell battery. So it is possible that despite his attitude, he was duped into this purchase due to misleading info and it isnt a case of buyers remorse.

 

[crazycat]

I hate bad buyer/seller on ebay, they think its the internet and everyting should work in one sec.

 

[dpaanlka]

I avoid Ebay at all costs. Its just like the Carribbean - full of pirates!

Well, it's pretty easy to keep yourself secure once you know what you're doing. Ebay isn't that scary, and often has unbeatable deals.

 

[xPismo]

Well, it's pretty easy to keep yourself secure once you know what you're doing. Ebay isn't that scary, and often has unbeatable deals.

i havn't seen a good deal on eBay in years sadly. I'm not sure why, but it seems like the more users on eBay, the higher the prices go...

but now I'm sounding like the old guy talking about how good things were back in the day. Oh well, its still a great way to dump your junk at high prices.

 

[clayj]

Auction link

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160019276214&sspagename=ADME:B:AAQ:US:1

I wish, I wish you had said:

"The laptop's display does NOT work. I think that the machine boots up correctly, but I cannot verify this as the display does not work."

But you didn't, so I'm afraid I have to side with the buyer on this one. "As is" means nothing more than "I ain't giving any warranty on this", but you have to make sure that major issues are thoroughly and completely documented, not obliquely as you did.

 

[MS bulldog]

well you are getting negative fb at this point anyways.

you got the cash via money order NOT paypal, so he can't get it back.

personally, i think your description and the sale itself was valid. he took a chance buying a somewhat broken product with the hope to fix er up cheap. plan didn't work out, so now he/she is going to piss and moan and threaten to call the law or something stupid like that.

i'd take the neg AND the money. just ignore any further attempts by the buyer to contact you.

 

[mark!]

Dude, I know it sucks, I've been there before.

You said it was booting, and it isn't. That's all there is to it. Give him a refund.

I think he understands your opinion that he should give him a refund. Obviously, the buyer was expecting a working laptop with a bad LCD. I would not give him a refund, because it isn't stated in the auction that there is a refund, and he didn't follow directions in the first place anyway of that auction. I would just say I would give him a refund if he hadn't taken it apart 'cause it can't be guaranteed that it really wasn't working when he got it, and he prolly just broke it in attempt to fix something..or something. I'd just report them to ebay & be careful so the buyer doesn't rip you off. Maybe he took out the harddrive and stuff that worked to put in his broken laptop and is sending you the old stuff in the laptop to get free parts. Tell him to keep it and you are sorry for his purchase, and there are no refunds as the item is sold AS-IS which does mean somethign.

 

[clayj]

I think he understands your opinion that he should give him a refund. Obviously, the buyer was expecting a working laptop with a bad LCD. I would not give him a refund, because it isn't stated in the auction that there is a refund, and he didn't follow directions in the first place anyway of that auction. I would just say I would give him a refund if he hadn't taken it apart 'cause it can't be guaranteed that it really wasn't working when he got it, and he prolly just broke it in attempt to fix something..or something. I'd just report them to ebay & be careful so the buyer doesn't rip you off. Maybe he took out the harddrive and stuff that worked to put in his broken laptop and is sending you the old stuff in the laptop to get free parts. Tell him to keep it and you are sorry for his purchase, and there are no refunds as the item is sold AS-IS which does mean somethign.

If it's true that the buyer has cracked the laptop open, THEN I'd say he's not due a refund. (Sorry I missed that part before.)

After thinking about this more, I agree that you're gonna get dinged on the feedback regardless of what you do...

 

[clayj]

OK, here's what I would do... write him something like the following:

Dear hitachi7530,

I'm sorry you have had trouble with the laptop you purchased from me on eBay. I realize that I could have been more clear about the operational capacity of this item, but the auction listing clearly states "It was working fine up until about a week ago. It would no longer display anything on the screen. It does boot fine though. I suspect it is the LCD power inverter or the Display. However I don't know what exactly is wrong. Thus this laptop is sold as-is."

If that wasn't enough of a red flag for you that something was wrong with the machine, you've told me now that you've opened up the machine and replaced some of its parts: For example, the hard drive. I have no way of knowing whether you've removed any other parts and/or replaced them with non-working versions, nor whether you may have damaged the machine yourself in any way while working on it.

For that reason, and because I was fairly clear in my auction listing that the machine's display did not work and that I did not know what exactly is wrong with the machine, I must respectfully decline your request for a full refund.

Sincerely,
Kevin

Something like that, I think, would work. You're still gonna get dinged on the feedback, but I would not give any refund on the machine unless I was ABSOLUTELY able to confirm that it came back in exactly the same condition it was in when I sent it out.

Next time, though, I suggest you be less circumspect in how you word things. I noticed, looking through your feedback, that something like this has happened with you before.

 

[mini.boss]

I would not give him a refund, because it isn't stated in the auction that there is a refund, and he didn't follow directions in the first place anyway of that auction.

Yes it does. You need to read the "Sellers Return Policy" that the OP wrote himself.

"Seller's return policy:
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Return Policy Details: All items are guaranteed non-DOA. If you have problems please contact me and we will discuss options. I highly recommend shipping insurance in case your package is damaged."

Its funny how everyone assumes the OP is the one getting scammed despite the fact that he's made a deceptive sale in the past while the buyer has a history of buying tech items including notebooks advertised as non-working. Plus, you always have to question a story involving "a friend of mine" in it.