OK, so I bought a VCR on ebay. It wasn't going to get used alot, just for a couple things I have that aren't on DVD yet. The seller described it as being in "great working condition." He had a 97% + feedback rating, with over 700 entries.
Well, when I got it, it wasn't in any working condition. powered up, but wouldn't take a tape, and after trying different settings and attempting to load a tape ~20 times, the tape came out a little chewed. I took it in to a service place (figuring it got a little bumped in shipping and just needed a little alignment), and I get told that:
The unit has alignment issues, which someone tried to fix. Poorly. Whoever worked on it did more harm than good, and damaged several parts of the loading mechanism. But that's really insignificant considering the corosion due to water damage that most of the unit has. I was told that there was "no way" the damage occoured during shipping, and that the unit could not have been in working condition any time in recent history. It also couldn't be reliably repaired "for any reasonable sum of money"
contact with the seller has been erratic. initially he said he was surprised, that he tested the unit before selling, it was working, and that there was absolutely no way it ever got any water damage (though he seems to be confusing corosion due to water damage with a short circuit due to water). He has said that unit was in storage for a while before he sold it. He is a very lazy (or stupid) reader/typist - many of his sentences are semi-incoherrent and he often mis-interprets something I say, and considers that evidence of how I am wrong. Through the course of our correspondence he has admitted (inadvertantly) that he knew the unit had problems. He has offered to refund my money only after I return the unit to him in the condition he claims he sent it in. Obviously I have high doubts about his character and the likelyhood of a refund even if I should send it back (given that he blatantly lied in the item description). When I mentioned this and asked for a refund first, he said "As you doubt me, I doubt you. Sorry, you want the refund, the machine first,."
It appears my options are:
1.) send it back, be out another $15 shipping, and pray he doesn't pull some kind of crap like "it didn't have water damage when I sent it, now it does. No refund." If he does send the refund, it would include the initial shipping and insurence costs - a total of $132.50
2) file a fraud complaint with ebay, try and recover the auction price (102.50) minus their $25 processing fee, and resell the VCR (disclosing all problems of course, and assuming ebay doesn't take the item when you file a claim - I didn't see any info on that)
Obviously, none of these is ideal - I'm going to be out $25 for getting it looked at no matter what. The full refund is preferable, but more risky.
any suggestions?
Well, when I got it, it wasn't in any working condition. powered up, but wouldn't take a tape, and after trying different settings and attempting to load a tape ~20 times, the tape came out a little chewed. I took it in to a service place (figuring it got a little bumped in shipping and just needed a little alignment), and I get told that:
The unit has alignment issues, which someone tried to fix. Poorly. Whoever worked on it did more harm than good, and damaged several parts of the loading mechanism. But that's really insignificant considering the corosion due to water damage that most of the unit has. I was told that there was "no way" the damage occoured during shipping, and that the unit could not have been in working condition any time in recent history. It also couldn't be reliably repaired "for any reasonable sum of money"
contact with the seller has been erratic. initially he said he was surprised, that he tested the unit before selling, it was working, and that there was absolutely no way it ever got any water damage (though he seems to be confusing corosion due to water damage with a short circuit due to water). He has said that unit was in storage for a while before he sold it. He is a very lazy (or stupid) reader/typist - many of his sentences are semi-incoherrent and he often mis-interprets something I say, and considers that evidence of how I am wrong. Through the course of our correspondence he has admitted (inadvertantly) that he knew the unit had problems. He has offered to refund my money only after I return the unit to him in the condition he claims he sent it in. Obviously I have high doubts about his character and the likelyhood of a refund even if I should send it back (given that he blatantly lied in the item description). When I mentioned this and asked for a refund first, he said "As you doubt me, I doubt you. Sorry, you want the refund, the machine first,."
It appears my options are:
1.) send it back, be out another $15 shipping, and pray he doesn't pull some kind of crap like "it didn't have water damage when I sent it, now it does. No refund." If he does send the refund, it would include the initial shipping and insurence costs - a total of $132.50
2) file a fraud complaint with ebay, try and recover the auction price (102.50) minus their $25 processing fee, and resell the VCR (disclosing all problems of course, and assuming ebay doesn't take the item when you file a claim - I didn't see any info on that)
Obviously, none of these is ideal - I'm going to be out $25 for getting it looked at no matter what. The full refund is preferable, but more risky.
any suggestions?
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