I sold an item on eBay earlier this monday. The item was an HD-DVD player add on for the Xbox 360. I checked to see everything was working before I sent it out. The item was shipped on monday and arrived to the seller on wednesday.
I got a message on Friday early morning that the item was not working. That the power doesn't come on and the tray doesn't open when they pressed the tray button. My first thought was bull$*%#, I made sure everything was working. So I responded saying that I double checked everything before I shipped it out.
I would suspect some kind of shady/wrong doing but this buyer has great feedback 99.6 positive feedback with only 1 negative feedback. Also in his feedback he seems to have sold alot of HD-DVD's. I don't sell alot of stuff on ebay so I need some advice or help on how to handle this? I don't really want this item back since I'm moving soon and I was unloading stuff I wasn't using. Do I give him a refund if he ships it back to me? Or do I stand my ground saying it was working when I shipped it?
Thanks any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
You mentioned you are a new seller. Is your feedback number low (not percentage, overall number)?
If so sometimes buyers will prey on those with lower numbers because they are often new and don't know how to handle situations like this correctly.
My first guess would be user error on behalf of the buyer and second guess would be he is scamming you.
Do you know if the HD-DVD drive had a serial number? If so did you write it down?
Basically what it boils down to is that the eBay buyer protection policy is set up in such a way that even if you don't accept returns all the buyer has to say to eBay is that it doesn't work and they'll force you to take a return.
In this instance your best bet is to tell the buyer to return the item and you'll issue a refund once you receive it. If you have the serial number that would be helpful and you could perhaps bluff the buyer out of returning the item if his original plan was to send you a different unit from what he received. You could say something like:
"Dear Buyer,
I am sorry to hear that you are having problems with your HD-DVD Drive. I tested the unit prior to shipping it to you and it was fully functional. If you have tried to get it to work and it still won't power on that perhaps it was damaged in transit. Please return the unit to me and I will issue a full refund upon receipt. My records show that your were mailed unit (Insert S/N here). Once I confirm that I have received that unit back I will issue the refund"
Regards,
You"
If you two work a resolution outside of eBay then you can refund once you've receive the item. If he opens a claim eBay will immediately put the funds on hold.
DO NOT PANIC!
Once a dispute is open click the "Return item for refund" option.
DO NOT ESCALATE THE DISPUTE. If you escalate the dispute it is very likely the case will be found in the buyer's favor and not only will he get the refund he will be able to keep the item.
If you receive something different from what you sent out report back. Their are ways to proceed and get a refund but most involve failing a police report for mail fraud and providing eBay with the case number.
P.S. buyer's cant receive negative feedback anymore so every buyer is going to have 100% feedback unless they buy on an account they sell on too.
I had a feedback of 51 when I sold the item. The funds already came into my account so they have already been cleared. The buyer's feedback is more made up of selling items, rather than buying. So do you think I should call his bluff?
I don't see what he has to gain by trying to scam you but there are some sick people on eBay and many target lower cost items like this with the mindset that you (as the seller) aren't going to deal with the hassle of handling a return on a low value item so you'll just let them keep it for free or give them a partial refund.
If you don't have the serial number you can't really prove that you received a different item back if they send the drive back unless it is a different item entirely.
Don't rule out user error though. I sold a pair of the Sony Wireless Headsets (original model) to a buyer and he wanted to know why the bluetooth wasn't working (he was trying to pair them with his phone) when the headset didn't even have bluetooth.
Honestly though your only really available actions it to tell him to return them for a refund. He will be required to pay for return shipping and it is your decision if you want to reimburse him for that.
Just remember he can still leave feedback when all is said and done if you're worried about that
[quote name='GBAstar']I don't see what he has to gain by trying to scam you but there are some sick people on eBay and many target lower cost items like this with the mindset that you (as the seller) aren't going to deal with the hassle of handling a return on a low value item so you'll just let them keep it for free or give them a partial refund.
If you don't have the serial number you can't really prove that you received a different item back if they send the drive back unless it is a different item entirely.
Don't rule out user error though. I sold a pair of the Sony Wireless Headsets (original model) to a buyer and he wanted to know why the bluetooth wasn't working (he was trying to pair them with his phone) when the headset didn't even have bluetooth.
Honestly though your only really available actions it to tell him to return them for a refund. He will be required to pay for return shipping and it is your decision if you want to reimburse him for that.
Just remember he can still leave feedback when all is said and done if you're worried about that[/QUOTE]
I did exactly just that, thanks for your help in this unusual time of day :lol:. Good to know I can always rely on a CAG
