ebay problem.. (not another one?)

[mrCide]

So, I sold a laptop on ebay.. decent laptop.. link..

i had linux on it and i formatted/installed 98se on it before i packed/shipped it. guy tells me he received it and half of the screen is screwed up.

okay.. i insured it for $200.. basically i tell him to find out how to file a claim and i'll help him out and do whatever he needs to do.. this was the 27th.. tonight.. he sends me an email saying, "I took the laptop to a computer repair person, he said shipping did not do the damage. Please advise." Now, this makes me mad. He'd rather bitch about it instead of just believing me and filing a claim.

How the hell do I deal with this guy? How do I respond?.. anyone here ever have to file a claim in this situation before? any help is appreciated..

 

[fr]

I think you, being the sender, will have to fill out the forms first.

 

[d33pt]

tell him that you did not sell him a nonworking laptop and that you will need to file the claim (but you need to refund his money while the claim is being filed because you are the one that will receive the money).

 

[bonk102]

as far as i knw, you'll have to pay him while the claim is in process, but as long as what you say is true, insurance will cover it anyway

 

[KennyTheGreat]

one major reason why i don't do big stuff on ebay

 

[heartsurgeon]

get the machine back from him pronto - then

refund his money in total - then

file the claim with the shipping company

who knows for sure if the machine is even broken? this bidder may be jerking your chain.

word to the wise - after being burned on a few transactions, i have started to monitor my auctions near the closing time, and i "cancel" bids from individuals with lousy feedback records (easy to check out) or very low feedback numbers (such as your winning bidder).

cancelling bids is easy, no trauma to anyone, and assures you that whoever wins your auction has lots of positive feedback (and presumably will be less likely to screw around with you.) cancelling low feedback (or bidders with significant negative feedback) has made the eb@y experience pleasant again!

did you notice that this bidder has recently purchase two other dell laptops within a week of your sale? another laptop was purchase on the same day! something doesn't seem quite right here....

 

[mrCide]

thanks for the advice guys..

has anyone here filed a claim before? If so, can you tell me how to go about it? and how long it takes?

 

[rutchtkim]

I did. I shipped a 15 inch monitor to a great trader on this forums. However it arrived broken, luckily his father was a post master, so it got taken care of. Goto your local post office and ask for the forms, they will also want the broken item too. Refund check will take about a month. Thats how long it took me

 

[pac1085]

I had to do it once when I shipped something to somone on these forums and it got lost in the mail. If I remember correctly I went to the post office, got the forms. I had to mail the buyer some forms to fill out too, which he sent back then I handed in the claim. It took a month or two but the money finally got back to me. You can have them send you the money or send the buyer the money but I'd have em send it to you.

BTW - This was with USPS in Q4 2000.