Ebay problem -- Sold as working but it's not working... I fixed it!!!

[Muse]

I knew there was a risk here, but I bid and won a Pioneer PD-F1007 301 disk carousel CD player.

Listing

I've had one of these since Jan. 2, 2000, it's served me well. It's full. With a 2nd, you can hook them up to work together to get 602 accessible disks using the remote.

Before bidding I sent the seller a message:

Is this in good working condition? Has it been tested? Are you the original owner? What is the cosmetic condition (does it have scratches, blemishes, etc.?)? Thank you.

He goes:

Hi,

I am the original owner of this. We used to have a ton of discs in
here and it worked great for years. Very little to no wear, would look find
on display.

I bid and win.

I then send him an email asking him to package it well so as to withstand a trip from FL to CA via USPS (the listing said Standard USPS postage, but it came Fedex today).

The box came today. It was well packed, but myself I would have written in big Sharpie script that it contained sensitive electronics. I don't know if the drivers pay any attention to that, but it can't hurt, presumably.

Unpacking the box, the unit and remote look beautiful. However, the thing isn't working. It makes a buzzing sound, and displays error code U2, which the manual says indicates there may be an impediment in the rack (I see nothing after taking off the cover), and that there's a problem with the mechanical section... that's it.

Well, the seller said in the listing that he won't accept returns. There's an Ebay guarantee, I don't know how that works, if it's any help to me. I puttered with the thing today and don't see any obvious thing wrong. I could take apart my other (take the cover off after removing 300 CDs A lot of work!), and see if things look any different in my old working one. The manual says to never move the thing without unloading all the disks. I think that's a good idea.

What do you think? What are my options?

 

[lxskllr]

Did you try smacking it? Many times violence encourages electronics(and people :^P ) to behave appropriately. Kind of an unusual choice. Disc players, especially multi disc can be finicky. A better long term solution is to rip to a media server.

 

[alcoholbob]

It doesn't matter what the seller's return policy is, you have a 30 day ebay return policy by default. All you have to do is open a case in the ebay resolution center. But you will have to pay return shipping generally.

 

[jana519]

The listing clearly was not accurate, he auctioned it as "used" condition and you bid on it expecting it to work. It's his obligation as the seller to ensure it works, or else he has to make good on his word. Explain to him politely that it doesn't work and see if he can help you fix it. If he doesn't respond or refuses to help you then you should file a dispute in Ebay resolution center. Give him the benefit of the doubt and good faith until he acts otherwise IMO.

 

[homebrew2ny]

File a not as described claim, get refund and send back.

 

[88keys]

File a not as described claim, get refund and send back.

Pretty much. You could ship a brick back to the seller and eBay will still side with the buyer.

 

[motsm]

A seller with a no returns policy only applies to buyers remorse or buyer error. If it's seller error, or an item damaged in shipping, returns are always possible and shipping will be covered by the seller.

 

[disappoint]

Hi, I am the original owner of this. We used to have a ton of discs in here and it worked great for years. Very little to no wear, would look find on display.

Used to have a ton of discs...worked great for years: both past tense, means it worked in the past but not anymore.

Would look fine on display means it's useless for anything but displaying that you have one of these machines even though it doesn't really do anything.

My guess is if you file a "not as described" claim he might fight it. He won't have a very good case considering it's described as in working condition in the listing description though.

Condition: Used: An item that has been used previously. The item may have some signs of cosmetic wear, but is fully operational and functions as intended. This item may be a floor model or store return that has been used. See the seller’s listing for full details and description of any imperfections.

It's not fair, it's very shady the way he duped you into buying a non working item when you wanted a working item, but you have to be more careful when you buy stuff to pay attention to the details of the message the seller is sending you.

Good luck though I hope you get a refund.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

EBay sides with buyers.

Sure there it's not a shipping lock? Sometimes there is a screw that locks the moving parts but the seller should have mentioned this.

And the seller was misleading in his response. He deserves what is coming to him.

 

[Ketchup]

Have you contacted the seller since receiving it? I always give the seller a chance to make it right. As others have stated, eBay will make it right since you are the buyer.

 

[Ns1]

Item not as dscribed dispute and call it a day. You'll get your money back.

 

[styrafoam]

OP I think that if I were in your shoes I would: rip cd collection and put it on my phone, then buy a bluetooth receiver and plug it into the input that the carousel currently occupies.

 

[SOFTengCOMPelec]

I bought a computer related item(s) on ebay, about 6 months ago, and it was described as used/working.

It did NOT work (none of the item(s) worked). I initially contacted the seller about the fault(s), but got no response.

So after waiting for a response, I filed a complaint/dispute (incorrectly described - faulty) with ebay. After a number of days, ebay decided in my favor.
So the seller paid my return mail costs (amazingly the ebay site let me print a return sheet, which included a pre-paid postal bar code thing), so I sent it back and after a number of days, got ALL my money back.

In my case, they had sold a number of identical items, and many of us had to return them, as they were faulty. I know this, because they ended up getting poor (negative) feedback about it, after I had bought my item.

The seller you bought it from, has got at least one negative, and a poor score of about 97%, for incorrectly describing an item. That would be a red flag to me, to buy it from someone else.

Have you contacted the seller since receiving it? I always give the seller a chance to make it right. As others have stated, eBay will make it right since you are the buyer.

+1

The new way ebay works, may make it harder to contact the seller, without creating a dispute. I DON'T particularly like the way ebay handles PMs like that, now. But a good idea. Best to let them handle it first, if possible.

 

[werepossum]

Used to have a ton of discs...worked great for years: both past tense, means it worked in the past but not anymore.

Would look fine on display means it's useless for anything but displaying that you have one of these machines even though it doesn't really do anything.

My guess is if you file a "not as described" claim he might fight it. He won't have a very good case considering it's described as in working condition in the listing description though.

It's not fair, it's very shady the way he duped you into buying a non working item when you wanted a working item, but you have to be more careful when you buy stuff to pay attention to the details of the message the seller is sending you.

Good luck though I hope you get a refund.

Agree with the bolded - if you ask someone if something is in good working condition and the response is "Would look fine on display", that means "no, it is not working." OP should still be fine if it was listed as "Used", since unless specifically noted as unknown, used is generally accepted to mean working, not broken.

 

[John Connor]

It doesn't matter what the seller's return policy is, you have a 30 day ebay return policy by default. All you have to do is open a case in the ebay resolution center. But you will have to pay return shipping generally.

Actually, PayPal offers 180 days now.

 

[John Connor]

It doesn't matter what the seller's return policy is....

That's what get's me. Why does ebay even allow you to specify a return policy? If you are the seller you can get fucked no matter what!

 

[mikeford]

EBay sides with buyers.

Sure there it's not a shipping lock? Sometimes there is a screw that locks the moving parts but the seller should have mentioned this.

And the seller was misleading in his response. He deserves what is coming to him.

This, shipping lock, something like a carousel isn't going to survive shipping no matter how well packed if it was designed to have the mechanism locked during shipping.

Read the manual and google the error and model number.

 

[Murloc]

1. whoa, I didn't know there were things that managed to keep more than 6 CDs in storage. That's crazy. That thing must be huge.
2. that's a dinosaur. Rip to FLAC and build a SFF PC for the living room.

 

[Thump553]

Agree with the bolded - if you ask someone if something is in good working condition and the response is "Would look fine on display", that means "no, it is not working." OP should still be fine if it was listed as "Used", since unless specifically noted as unknown, used is generally accepted to mean working, not broken.

BS. If someone specifically asks if it is in working condition, absolutely no impartial decider is going to interpret such a non-responsive and evasive answer as an honest disclosure. And doubly so for Ebay. Earlier on Ebay was the wild west (much like craigslist now)-but that hasn't been the case since at least 2000. The buyer nearly always wins now.

Like others said, contest it directly with Ebay (and Paypal if you used them). I'd maybe give the seller a courtesy email first but wouldn't wait more than 24 hours for a refund from them.

 

[disappoint]

BS. If someone specifically asks if it is in working condition, absolutely no impartial decider is going to interpret such a non-responsive and evasive answer as an honest disclosure.

The point here, in case you and possibly many others have missed it, is that it was a hint of impending problems.

The hint might be designed by shady salesmen to rule out anyone knowledgeable enough to notice it from bidding. This way only people that are more likely to be scammed bid.

If there's one thing you can count in in life it's this: Some salesmen are shady, and will try anything to make a buck.

 

[BUTCH1]

Did you try smacking it? Many times violence encourages electronics(and people :^P ) to behave appropriately. Kind of an unusual choice. Disc players, especially multi disc can be finicky. A better long term solution is to rip to a media server.

Yea, I had a 5-disc player that was finicky and this 300 disc player had to survive a trip via USPS across the country, it's possible something got jarred out of alignment or it was not in working order to begin with and seller was hoping for a sucker to come along.

 

[Muse]

This, shipping lock, something like a carousel isn't going to survive shipping no matter how well packed if it was designed to have the mechanism locked during shipping.

Read the manual and google the error and model number.

The seller has said nothing about a shipping lock. He just packed it well, didn't write anything on the carton such as "Please handle gently -- delicate mechanical equipment." I would have done that.

I Googled the error code and model number and came up with nothing. There was a page with a different error code, U1 instead of U2, but the information was evidently irrelevant.

Now I do have a working one of these, the one I bought on Jan. 2, 2000. I could take all 300 disks out of it, take the cover off and see if I can see a difference in the machines. I have been intending to rearrange the order of the disks in the machine, anyway, an excuse to unload the machine (taking 300 CDs out of one of these and storing them and resorting them is something of a project!)

I might be better off taking people's advice and ripping my CDs to some format. I've always ripped to either WAV or MP3, but someone suggested FLAC? Well, I think I could use some info on this, just how to rip, what programs to use. I think I should obviously rip (somehow), tracks separately so that I can play particular tracks.

My smartphone (Nokia 520) is Windows Phone OS. My NAS has an app called DS Audio (Synology Diskstation), that allows my phone to access audio wirelessly.

I've never used a bluetooth device. Obviously, I can/could. Yeah, I get CDs all the time, if I can work out a system where I can play tracks from my computers or wirelessly with my smartphone and laptops, also into my mini-stereo in the kitchen, that might be super.

Thanks for all the comments and encouragement!

Here's the exchange I started with the seller since I discovered the problem:

- - - -
Me: This thing was working when you sent it to me? Did you test it to see if it
was working before you made the listing? It's not working right now. The
error code (U2) says there may be something in the rack impeding it and
that there is something wrong in the mechanical section. I can't see
anything that appears wrong when I take the cover off. Thanks for your
reply.
- - - -
Seller: I just took all my discs out of it a a couple weeks before the
auction, it has worked well for years.
I have never seen this error code.
Does the error code show up as soon as the player is turned on? Or is it
when you try to turn the disc ring?

I am sorry the changer did not
arrive working, and packaged it as well as possible.
-JMRJMR1
- - - -
Me: The 1st thing that happens when I turn it on is it starts buzzing pretty
loud, so you know something's wrong. The error code (U2) doesn't show up
immediately, only after pressing buttons to try to get it to open and
accept disks. Once it tries those things and fails, the code eventually
shows up.

You packed it well. Myself, I would have written with a wide
Sharpie, "Please handle gently -- delicate mechanical equipment." However,
that's no guarantee that some Fedex person wouldn't throw the box, never
bothering to notice.

When I turn it on it makes a pretty loud buzzing
noise. After pressing buttons, it eventually will open the door, but the
carousel refuses to turn no matter what you do. Spinning the jog dial,
pressing the single loader button, nothing makes the carousel turn. You
can't load disks, much less play them. The buzzing stops sometimes. I
looked inside (took cover off) but don't see anything obviously wrong. I
have another that I've had since Jan. 2, 2000, it works, it's full (I
wanted another so I can work them in a master/slave arrangement to get 602 disks. My manual explains how to do that.) I can unload my original one and take the cover off and see if I can see a difference between the two
machines, it may give a hint what's wrong, but I'm not optimistic. But I
think that's worth a try.

 

[Gardener]

File the claim, quit agonizing about it.

Don't disassemble the device unless you plan to keep it, it is foolish, and makes you look like a scammer to the seller, and to Ebay.

 

[Ketchup]

A google search for pioneer u2 code gives a lot of hits (just ignore the hits about the remote). Most mention a frayed cable or a dropped /damaged laser as something to look at.

 

[tortillasoup]

This is anandtech, doesn't anybody have any interest in trying to fix the unit on here? Maybe a gear got off sync with another gear or something.