YAE(bay)T

[chubbyfatazn]

Situation:

I buy a broken game console from a friend for $30. It was opened when I got it. I do not know what happened to it nor if anything was done to the inside of the console.

When I get it it turns on briefly but freezes soon after. Not a very high success rate at getting it to turn on in the first place. I place it into storage for about two months when I go home for vacation and don't power it on again.

I list the item on eBay as broken. I say it is being sold as is, for parts, and is broken. I make no guarantees on any sort of functionality, but mention what I just mentioned above (about turning on and whatnot).

Buyer gets the item. Says I lied in the description, that I did something to the console because he opened it and found some damage. Demands a refund and for me to pay shipping costs back, a partial refund, or I do nothing and get bad feedback. Now, granted, I did make an error in listing the console by listing the wrong model number, but I described it enough that only one model fit the description. I probably shouldn't have mentioned the whole crap about functionality, but that was a mistake I'll learn from. Before I shipped, I emailed him and made sure he knew it was being sold as broken. He pretty much said "OK."

I'm a new seller. Paypal is holding the funds. I presume he filed a dispute. Thoughts? Help a new seller out, please.

 

[MrChad]

Don't sell trash on eBay.

 

[Ns1]

tell him to ship it back at his cost and you'll refund the purchase price + shipping

cuz that's what paypal is going to tell him to do.

 

[ElFenix]

isn't there a new drop down of 'parts/non-working' or similar? did you use that? it may control in this situation from ebay/paypal's perspective

 

[chubbyfatazn]

isn't there a new drop down of 'parts/non-working' or similar? did you use that? it may control in this situation from ebay/paypal's perspective

Option A he gave me was for me to pay shipping back and refund him everything.

When I listed it I put it under "for parts or not working." I didn't intend to get anyone's hopes up when I listed it, I just put it as I saw fit.

What happens if I don't do anything and he opens a dispute? Do I lose the funds (since Paypal's holding them) and am out the POS?

 

[deadlyapp]

Problem is that paypal almost always sides with the buyer, but him asking for all that is just ridiculous. I've listed tons of stuff on ebay as non-working or untested pulls and haven't had any problems. Just go through the paypal dispute process and argue your case and see what happens. You may be out the money but they can't force you to pay the shipping back.

 

[chubbyfatazn]

Problem is that paypal almost always sides with the buyer, but him asking for all that is just ridiculous. I've listed tons of stuff on ebay as non-working or untested pulls and haven't had any problems. Just go through the paypal dispute process and argue your case and see what happens. You may be out the money but they can't force you to pay the shipping back.

But I can't be out the money and not have get the thing back, right? Paypal won't release the money back to him without proof that he shipped it back, right (even if he ships a box of bricks back...)?

He asked for Option A which I listed above, Option B (70% refund), or Option C (I do nothing, and "my ebay days are over"). He's cussing at me, always a good sign of a egotistical bully.

 

[PieIsAwesome]

Meh, do nothing.

At worst he gets a refund and keeps a broken console. Oh well.

Dunno if paypal will refund him the initial shipping costs.

Oh wait, it seems you paid $30 for that thing. So you might be out $30. Why would you pay $30 for a broken console without having some idea if you could fix it or not? And a friend?

 

[chubbyfatazn]

Meh, do nothing.

At worst he gets a refund and keeps a broken console. Oh well.

Dunno if paypal will refund him the initial shipping costs.

Oh wait, it seems you paid $30 for that thing. So you might be out $30. Why would you pay $30 for a broken console without having some idea if you could fix it or not? And a friend?

I just took a quick look on ebay at prices and saw they could get $60+... when you're in college you'll do lots for a quick buck or two.

I can eat $30 but it's the principle of the matter that's bothering me.

 

[deadlyapp]

If he's already initiated the paypal dispute and they side with him, they'll refund him and tell him to destroy it. I had this happen with a watch I purchased. It was listed as in working condition but when it arrived it did not. The seller refused to refund me the money so I ended up having to get creative and say it was a counterfeit (which it technically was, but I had known that already). When Paypal sided with me (I had to get the watch verified by a watch dealer) they simply told me to destroy it and then refunded me all my money.

Honestly, if one feedback is gonna kill you thats the only time i'd consider a refund. I sold two server hard drives a month or two ago. I listed them as being pulled in working condition two years prior, but I had no way to test them and very clearly listed them as-is and no refunds accepted. They ended up selling for a much higher price than I had anticipated (~$150 for 2 9gb scsi drives) and one of them ended up not formatting. Since I had listed them as such, a paypal dispute wouldn't surface. My feedback is good enough (~1 negative over 5+ years) that if I had received one I wouldn't have been heavily affected.

 

[chubbyfatazn]

If he's already initiated the paypal dispute and they side with him, they'll refund him and tell him to destroy it. I had this happen with a watch I purchased. It was listed as in working condition but when it arrived it did not. The seller refused to refund me the money so I ended up having to get creative and say it was a counterfeit (which it technically was, but I had known that already). When Paypal sided with me (I had to get the watch verified by a watch dealer) they simply told me to destroy it and then refunded me all my money.

Honestly, if one feedback is gonna kill you thats the only time i'd consider a refund. I sold two server hard drives a month or two ago. I listed them as being pulled in working condition two years prior, but I had no way to test them and very clearly listed them as-is and no refunds accepted. They ended up selling for a much higher price than I had anticipated (~$150 for 2 9gb scsi drives) and one of them ended up not formatting. Since I had listed them as such, a paypal dispute wouldn't surface. My feedback is good enough (~1 negative over 5+ years) that if I had received one I wouldn't have been heavily affected.

Destroy it? For a counterfeit item, maybe, but I don't know that they'd tell him to brick an already-bricked console. I'm willing to bet the dispute will come up soon. I'm thinking he's trying to bully me into an entire refund since I'm new. He's trying to get me to cough up return shipping for him, while Paypal would make him pay it... who knows.

One neg feedback will make my score 0%, but I don't care right now since I'm not going to go back to eBay again. Fuck them and Paypal. Even though I listed it as broken and for parts/not working, would Paypal side with me? I'm going to go ahead and say no...