I finished an auction about a month ago on ebay for a laptop, as seen here. When I received it, there was a yellow vertical line on the screen, only 64MB RAM (rather than the 128MB promised), no ethernet, no carrying case, and the battery would not hold a charge. I wrote the seller, politely asking for these issues to be settled peacefully, and he responded that I should let UPS handle the screen. Fellow AT users told me that this is a problem with a capacitor inside of the LCD, which I doubt was caused in shipping, but that issue resolved itself (I know, sounds weird, but I put it in its carrying case after taking it apart and checking the LCD's cable connection), so no problem.
The 128MB RAM promised, after thinking about it, is impossible in the first place. It has 32MB onboard and one SODIMM slot, which means that with sticks in powers of 2, 128MB is not possible. This leads me to believe that the seller was being dishonest.
The seller promised a network interface, which was not present.
Most important to me is that the seller said that the laptop's condition was "Very good" and in specs said "Battery Included ". This led me to believe that the battery would WORK, as he NEVER stated that it would not hold a charge and led the buyers on to believe that there was nothing wrong with it.
I e-mailed the seller asking about these problems and got the response that these things happen sometime and that they'd be willing to help me resolve the problems. I then stated that the ideal solution would be to either 1) give me replacements for the missing / damaged parts or 2) refund me the amount (117, I think) to buy new or used replacements for these parts (for that matter, at the lowest costs shopping around). The seller said that a second package would be shipped last Monday.
12 days later, I've still not received this package. I asked for a tracking number and the seller said that they'd like me to confirm my address, but didn't give me the number I'd mailed for. In it, the seller said that the package had contained the NIC, carrying case, and RAM, but didn't mention the battery. This is what angers me the most. I'd specifically given a list of the parts to be sent to me OR the funds for which to be sent to me: a WORKING battery, a NIC, a carrying case, and enough RAM to make the laptop AT LEAST what was promised (since 96MB sticks don't exist). The seller's response? That the battery was said to be INCLUDED, but that he never stated it actually worked. :disgust:, and that he WOULD NOT provide another or the funds for another.
Now, I only paid 480 for this laptop, and a new battery is 75 dollars on its own - that's 16% of the price I paid that I'll have to pay someone else because of this seller's lying right there. That, to me, seems unacceptable, as the laptop was listed in very good condition and said that the battery was included, never stating that there were problems with the battery.
The seller wrote me back after I replied that this was unacceptable and that I paid for a working battery, since it was never advertised as nonworking. In the message he stated "You need to cool down. You got yourself a good deal you should be happy about." I don't think that 600 dollars after getting a new battery is a good deal for a laptop when there are Celeron 1.2's out there for 900. I wouldn't care if I just got what I paid for, but this seller is insistent on not giving me just that.
What should I do about this battery issue? Can I claim fraud with ebay, given that I did receive a battery, but it doesn't work and the seller never stated it did not?
TIA,
Shawn
The 128MB RAM promised, after thinking about it, is impossible in the first place. It has 32MB onboard and one SODIMM slot, which means that with sticks in powers of 2, 128MB is not possible. This leads me to believe that the seller was being dishonest.
The seller promised a network interface, which was not present.
Most important to me is that the seller said that the laptop's condition was "Very good" and in specs said "Battery Included ". This led me to believe that the battery would WORK, as he NEVER stated that it would not hold a charge and led the buyers on to believe that there was nothing wrong with it.
I e-mailed the seller asking about these problems and got the response that these things happen sometime and that they'd be willing to help me resolve the problems. I then stated that the ideal solution would be to either 1) give me replacements for the missing / damaged parts or 2) refund me the amount (117, I think) to buy new or used replacements for these parts (for that matter, at the lowest costs shopping around). The seller said that a second package would be shipped last Monday.
12 days later, I've still not received this package. I asked for a tracking number and the seller said that they'd like me to confirm my address, but didn't give me the number I'd mailed for. In it, the seller said that the package had contained the NIC, carrying case, and RAM, but didn't mention the battery. This is what angers me the most. I'd specifically given a list of the parts to be sent to me OR the funds for which to be sent to me: a WORKING battery, a NIC, a carrying case, and enough RAM to make the laptop AT LEAST what was promised (since 96MB sticks don't exist). The seller's response? That the battery was said to be INCLUDED, but that he never stated it actually worked. :disgust:, and that he WOULD NOT provide another or the funds for another.
Now, I only paid 480 for this laptop, and a new battery is 75 dollars on its own - that's 16% of the price I paid that I'll have to pay someone else because of this seller's lying right there. That, to me, seems unacceptable, as the laptop was listed in very good condition and said that the battery was included, never stating that there were problems with the battery.
The seller wrote me back after I replied that this was unacceptable and that I paid for a working battery, since it was never advertised as nonworking. In the message he stated "You need to cool down. You got yourself a good deal you should be happy about." I don't think that 600 dollars after getting a new battery is a good deal for a laptop when there are Celeron 1.2's out there for 900. I wouldn't care if I just got what I paid for, but this seller is insistent on not giving me just that.
What should I do about this battery issue? Can I claim fraud with ebay, given that I did receive a battery, but it doesn't work and the seller never stated it did not?
TIA,
Shawn
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