ebay q

[Swafe]

sold something on ebay - its new and it worked perfectly - it was sealed and had been recieved from a manufacturer a week before

it was a pcmcia card - so its not likely to have got broken on install so afaik, it works perfectly, and theres no reason why it shudnt


so i sold it, still sealed as new, but now my customer gets it, and cant get it to work ( i assume its his dodgy lappy), but he doesnt listen, and claims he wants a refund




personally i dont think i should give it him, i know it works, its 95% more likely he hasnt installed it properly, or his laptop pcmcia slots are dead or uninstalled than it not working

so should i ? he hasnt feedbacked me, so i could get a negative for it, but would whos side would ebay on ? shud i refund him ? what should i say?

ta

[Howard]

No. You sold it as working.

[TeePee]

Send him a simple honest e-mail, explaining all of this, that it's new, sealed from the manufacturer, etc. Offer to refund him the cost of the item but not his postage costs on the assumption that the item isn't faulty, he just can't make it work (and mention you'll refund him after he sends it back to you!). Also explain that if he believes the item itself is faulty, it is covered by the manufacturers warranty, and he can take it up with them. In your e-mail provide him with contact details for their wrranty department. Take your time, and write a long, polite e-mail which has all this relevant information, show that you are trying, and you are not beyond a compromise. Finish by explaining that since he has opened the box he has reduced the sale value should you have to relist a fully working product, but you are prepared to accept this, but not his postage costs. Honesty and good manners are the order of the day.

While in the circumstances this might not seem fair, it might avoid you being negged.

[MAS]

I'd probably just say fair enough, send it back to me, if it doesnt work then I'll refund you, but I need to test the item to ensure it's the card that's at fault. Obviously he would be responsible for the return postage.

Did you actually try it to see if it did work before you sent it?

[GBDarkAngel]

Thing is m8. You dont know if it was working as it was sealed. You could have bought it off someone who deals in batch disgarded goods. ie.they test 3 out of a hundred and if one fails, the batch of one hundered is disgarded then sold on at 17p in the pound to traders.

[Howard]

This is the problem. It could be a dodgy card from the beginning.

Can you test it any way? I'd do as suggested, and get him to send it back to you for you to test it, and if it works, send it back to him. If it doesn't, refund him. He can't argue that.

[Spud1]

I've had the same problem before

Was a GFX card tho. In my auction I had put a note saying that if the item was faulty then the buyer can return it to me and I will test it. If found to be faultly he gets a full refund [excluding P&P] or if found to be working he can either have it back [and pay return P&P] or get a refund of 75% - the 25% is to cover my 'restocking fee' which basically means my ebay listing and final value fees

so i would just do what TeePee and MAS have suggested, seems like the best course of action

[Swafe]

This is the problem. It could be a dodgy card from the beginning.

Can you test it any way? I'd do as suggested, and get him to send it back to you for you to test it, and if it works, send it back to him. If it doesn't, refund him. He can't argue that.

it could be a dodgy card, i know that, but the chances are it worked perfectly, if i bought it from a shop like that id expect it to work


if it doesnt work ? i sent it recorded i think, could i take it up with them for damaging goods? or shud i just send it back

[Swafe]

Thing is m8. You dont know if it was working as it was sealed. You could have bought it off someone who deals in batch disgarded goods. ie.they test 3 out of a hundred and if one fails, the batch of one hundered is disgarded then sold on at 17p in the pound to traders.

agreed, could be broken but a low %age would be, you wouldnt expect a new say geforce 6800 you bought brand new not to work....ok it happens bit rarely

I'd probably just say fair enough, send it back to me, if it doesnt work then I'll refund you, but I need to test the item to ensure it's the card that's at fault. Obviously he would be responsible for the return postage.

Did you actually try it to see if it did work before you sent it?

didnt try to see if it worked, as it was sealed, and as said didnt want to devalue it as a used product then

[ToMmEh]

if it is faulty and unopened wouldnt he still have the guarantee on it?

its not your fault if an unsealed product doesnt work, it the manufacturers.

just tell him to rma it

[Daymonkey]

if its broken couldent you just take it back to the shop you bought it from saying that its faulty then get a replacment and send that to him.

[Swafe]

i bought it off the net, it was a 'buy one get one free', so i got 2, then i reaslied i didnt need them and already had one

anyway, to cut a long story short, there both together on the reciept too, one has been sold (good feedback recieved, working fine) but the other one isnt

so firstly, as i only have 1, duno if i can get an RMA

secondly, i doubt its broke, hes prolly an00b

[MAS]

If the items are separate, there's no reason why the shop shouldnt RMA a faulty one. If they're doing buy one, get one free, the free one still has a warranty. I really don't think they'll be interested in where the other item is; if it's faulty and you have a receipt, they should RMA it.

You can try and claim off Royal Mail but from what I've heard this isn't easy, and they may ask to see the packaging/item. A PCMCIA card is the kind of thing that wouldnt be easy to damage in transit, but you could always hope that the person handling your claim is ignorant of this fact.

Btw, I'm with Spud on the restocking fee.