View Full Version : Buyer claims factory sealed item had no disc in it. Scam?
dpatel
05-28-2005, 12:58 PM
I recently sold a sealed dvd that had extras and bonus information about doom 3. The item was factory sealed and had not been tampared with in any way. Anyway, I just got an email from the buyer saying that he/she opened the packaging to find an empty case. I know that this type of thing happens every once in a while, but seeing as how this is eBay, it seems more like she is trying to scam me. I don't think there is really much I can do. He/she has 0 feedback, so it looks like I will be neg'd for this. What are my options?
Here is the email in case you are wondering.
First off, i would like to tell you that i am NOT happy with what i received..
I have received the sending.
What directly was notable me were that these have not been packed in
original packaging foil. When i opened it there was no cd/dvd in it!
I fancy the dvd-case / booklet but without dvd or cd it is not what we
agreed for me to recieve. I dont care is it was sealed in real or fake
foil but I want that cd/dvd!
I hope that you react rapidly because you understand that this is not
the way how we work and that I do not accept this. 15 dollars for
empty dvd case + booklet WITHOUT the DVD/CD is not what we agreed for
me to receive!
I do demand that you let me know how we are gonna solve this, or i
will be forced to report this to ebay and make work out of this. You
can also just send the DVD sparely by post in a simple cd-case.
My Name Is BoB
05-28-2005, 01:10 PM
That last sentence makes the whole thing sound fake.
Heyricochet
05-28-2005, 01:18 PM
I have received the sending?
What directly was notable me were that these?
What kind of bad translator is this guy using? He can't even decide what preposition to use.
I hope english is that buyer's 2nd language. Otherwise, yeeesh!
I agree with your thoughts. It's unlikely that there was no disc, but it could have happened.
You could ask them to send the case back and then refund the money, but then you are screwing yourself. Hard to say what to do. The other option would be to tell them that it was sealed and new so they have to contact the manufacturer about the packing error. I imagine they would be POed and report you to eBay.
If I were a buyer and got a CD/game I thought was tampered with and there was no disc inside I'd be pretty pissed too. (Buyer seems to suggest the packing is screwy.)
Pookymeister
05-28-2005, 01:34 PM
He's scamming you. It's too much of a writeup to be legit.
RSeth
05-28-2005, 01:37 PM
The Doom 3 Bonus that Best Buy was giving away does not contain a disk. It only holds a booklet in a DVD case.
dafoomie
05-28-2005, 01:38 PM
Depends if a negative is worth $15 to you or not... I'd take the negative.
Next time, don't allow people with 0 feedback to bid.
lionheart4life
05-28-2005, 01:38 PM
I had this exact same thing happen to me about 2 months ago, and it is a crappy situation to be in as the seller. I sold a factory sealed MGS 3. The buyer never emailed me or anything, just left me a negative feedback saying the disk was missing from an untampered package. It was weird because they had about 60 positive feedbacks, and I also had perfect feedback at the time. I neg'd them immediately, because they said that I refused to respond to them in their comment when in fact they never tried to contact me. There isn't much you can do, they will probably keep the disk. Even if there wasn't one, its not like any store is going to take a return of an empty box from you, so I don't think you can really offer them a refund. The consensus when I made a thread about this was that as long as you have a delivery confirmation or some form of proof you should be protected against having to give them a refund or anything. I was lucky in my case, the person never requested a refund or anything, so they were definitely BSing. I would just explain that you can't return the item, and they should contact the manufacturer about the problem since it would be their fault if there was no disk inside. If there was a problem with the packaging, tell them they should have paid for insurance on it.
coolsteel
05-28-2005, 01:44 PM
With zero feedback person probably doesn't know any better then to start threatening off the bat. But on the other hand its just too hard to tell if this is even legit or not, not to mention nothing stopping them from still giving you a negative claiming you tried to scam them. So damned if you do, damned if you don't.
This happened to me too. I took a negative but after a few months it seems unimportant compare to my positive feedback
Friedle
05-28-2005, 01:57 PM
Take the negative and have them contact Activison. You sould a factory sealed game. If there's no disc, that's the factory's fault, not yours unless your return policy states otherwise.
YoshiFan1
05-28-2005, 01:58 PM
That is what scares me about selling factory sealed games/DVD's on EBay. Anyone can claim there isn't a disc in the package. When I do sell an item sealed, I shake the case to hear if it sounds like a disc in there or not before sending it out.
hcamacho
05-28-2005, 02:15 PM
my friend bought rainbow six for the xbox on sears , there was no game, only a blank sony cd-r .......he went for the store for a refund, they gave him another games, sometimes the store employees may be the problem.!
SteveMcQ
05-28-2005, 02:23 PM
Depends if a negative is worth $15 to you or not... I'd take the negative.
Next time, don't allow people with 0 feedback to bid.
Just curious...how would you guys go about dealing with new people to Ebay who really are out there to buy things and not scam? I'm new to Ebay and shutting out people who have no feedback kind of limits us.
I don't worry about the buyer's feedback.
BTW, there's no way to automatically prevent 0 FB eBayers from bidding on your stuff. All you can do is cancel their bids as they come in. Seems like a pain in the ass to me, plus there is nothing to stop a 0 FB buyer from putting in a last second bid.
Just curious...how would you guys go about dealing with new people to Ebay who really are out there to buy things and not scam? I'm new to Ebay and shutting out people who have no feedback kind of limits us.
It is a tough choice between limiting buyers or risk being sacm. A lot of people would avoid international buyer and people with negative feedback. Some also limited on how they want to deal with paypal. Limiting certian people will reduce the sale price, but makes the transition less risky.
That email from the buyer is confusing. So... there WASN'T a cd/dvd in the case? I don't understand. Maybe if they'd stated that fact 3 or 4 more times it would be clear.
manofpeace20
05-28-2005, 02:33 PM
Have them contact the manufacturerer (sp?)
bickle
05-28-2005, 02:33 PM
I recently sold a sealed dvd that had extras and bonus information about doom 3.
What was the DVD? As Rseth noted, the BestBuy bonus was a booklet in a DVD case labeled "Weapons of Doom". Was this what was sold? If it was advertised as a DVD, you should refund the buyer's money. It is nothing but a flimsy booklet.
SteveMcQ
05-28-2005, 02:45 PM
It is a tough choice between limiting buyers or risk being sacm. A lot of people would avoid international buyer and people with negative feedback. Some also limited on how they want to deal with paypal. Limiting certian people will reduce the sale price, but makes the transition less risky.
I understand your risks as a seller, I'm just hoping this shutting out new Ebayers doesn't go too far or else I'm screwed.
dpatel
05-28-2005, 04:09 PM
Well, I just got a negative for it. He didn't really give me a chance to resolve the issue. Is there any way to get it removed? He also said he reported me to eBay but I don't know who eBay usually favors in this type of situation.
YoshiFan1
05-28-2005, 04:33 PM
Did they put any curse words or obscene language in the feedback comment? EBay will remove it if they did (that's how I got my 2nd negative feedback removed).
Elriciii
05-28-2005, 04:35 PM
What was the DVD? As Rseth noted, the BestBuy bonus was a booklet in a DVD case labeled "Weapons of Doom". Was this what was sold? If it was advertised as a DVD, you should refund the buyer's money. It is nothing but a flimsy booklet.
you never answered the question? if it was a best buy dvd case then u scammed them and deserve the negative.
drone8888
05-28-2005, 04:49 PM
STOP RIGHT THERE!!!
THERE IS NO DISC IN THE CASE!!!!!
I just got to Japan a month ago. I made sure I picked up my preordered Doom3 at BestBuy before I left,... which was the day before my plane left.
I didn't open the bonus DVD until I got here,............. and I was PISSED!!!!!
There is no way for me to get another, as it's been so long, and how could I prove it.
So,..... Where the HELL is the disc????
Who's fault is this,.... Best Buy's.
I'd contact their corporate HQ about it. I'm going to do that on Tuesday. Although selling promotional items may be against their policies, leaving both you and the buyer without any grounds.
Good luck.
BTW,............ if any of you have the disc, or know how to get it,... please let me know.
Thanks.
:)
dpatel
05-28-2005, 04:51 PM
What was the DVD? As Rseth noted, the BestBuy bonus was a booklet in a DVD case labeled "Weapons of Doom". Was this what was sold? If it was advertised as a DVD, you should refund the buyer's money. It is nothing but a flimsy booklet.
Damn. That might be the one I sold. I wasn't aware of that. My friend gave it to me to sell and I assumed it was a DVD. I don't think he even knew it was only a booklet. That does make sense though.
I guess I will have to refund the money to the guy. The thing is, he already left a negative. Is there any way of getting that removed if he agrees to the refund.
dpatel
05-28-2005, 04:56 PM
STOP RIGHT THERE!!!
THERE IS NO DISC IN THE CASE!!!!!
I just got to Japan a month ago. I made sure I picked up my preordered Doom3 at BestBuy before I left,... which was the day before my plane left.
I didn't open the bonus DVD until I got here,............. and I was PISSED!!!!!
There is no way for me to get another, as it's been so long, and how could I prove it.
So,..... Where the HELL is the disc????
Who's fault is this,.... Best Buy's.
I'd contact their corporate HQ about it. I'm going to do that on Tuesday. Although selling promotional items may be against their policies, leaving both you and the buyer without any grounds.
Good luck.
BTW,............ if any of you have the disc, or know how to get it,... please let me know.
Thanks.
:)
now that I think of it, I don't it actually stated it was a DVD anywhere. I just assumed that it was since it came in a DVD case and contained interviews, guide, and other stuff.
Darius Rucker
05-28-2005, 05:49 PM
Damn. That might be the one I sold. I wasn't aware of that. My friend gave it to me to sell and I assumed it was a DVD. I don't think he even knew it was only a booklet. That does make sense though.
I guess I will have to refund the money to the guy. The thing is, he already left a negative. Is there any way of getting that removed if he agrees to the refund.
I believe you have the option to "mutually withdraw" negative feedback.
zionoverfire
05-28-2005, 05:55 PM
I guess I will have to refund the money to the guy. The thing is, he already left a negative. Is there any way of getting that removed if he agrees to the refund.
Yes, you both can agree to do a feedback withdrawl. Although after ebay fees and shipping costs you are going to loose a couple bucks when you refund his money.
dpatel
05-28-2005, 06:11 PM
Yes, you both can agree to do a feedback withdrawl. Although after ebay fees and shipping costs you are going to loose a couple bucks when you refund his money.
unfortunately I will. I actually just sold about 10 items and have a few more so I have got some extra money. I didn't want to seem like I am scamming the guy though. It was an honest mistake by me, and he deserves his money back because I clearly stated it was a DVD numerous times when it was only a guide.