Whose responsability is it?

Adrian_london

Hi all

I recently bought a blender on The Gumtree. I bought it brand new. I actually bought it to sell on and make a few quid.

When I sold it, I delivered it by hand and showed them how to use it. It was working fine when I showed them.

I received a phone call two days later from the person who bought it telling me that when he uses the buttons on the blender and has wet hands 'occassionally' it provides a small electric shock.

When I sold it, the blender was brand new and had never been used. When the buyer told me what had happened, I suggested that he speak to the manufacturer.

To be totally honest, I'd rather not be stuck in the middle. I bought and sold it in good faith. I have yet to see the item to test it to see if this problem actually exists (I have one and have never had this problem) The person who bought it from me tells me that it only happens occassionally, so, even if I go and look at it, it might not happen when I try it.

Where do I stand? Can I tell him to deal with the manufacturer?




Adrian

pendulum

If you buy things to sell for profit, you're close to the definition of trader, and if your a trader your responsible for the products you sell, not the manufacturer.

IF this was a genuine private sale, it would be the buyer's problem, but you sound like a trader to me, and part of trading is accepting responsibility for things that go wrong. It's not as simple as buying for X and selling for Y.

Gothicfairy

How did you sell it ?

arcon5

Why would you use an electrical appliance with wet hands :huh:

If yoyu selling in a business capacity then as said you're liable, you can advise them to go to the manufacturer but if they don't want to then there is nothing you can do about it.

Is this a oneoff purchase/sale or something you do only and again? Or are you selling items for profit on a regular basis? If the former, id be inclined to claim it a private sale and tell them where to go. 'caveat emptor'

Adrian_london

I am a totally genuine private seller. I am in no way a trader, that I can promise.

I was going to sell it on Ebay and ended up selling it on Amazon.

Again, I can only stress that I have a full time job and am employed by a company in the travel industry.

I am 'slightly' (and a do mean only slightly) offended by your comment. I do appreciate that you did put that "you sound like a trader to me". I have no idea how you got that impression from what I typed. Again, I am a private seller and in no way a trader.




Adrian

arcon5

Who's comment are you offended by? All posts so far seem to contain useful information. Your post wasn't 100% clear whether this is something you do often or you just saw a bargain, bought it then sold it as you thought you would get a good deal.


If it was a private sale, don't even entertain the buyer. 'caveat emptor', ie 'buyer beware' if you buy privately you don't have many rights.

If you sold it on Amazon though, I would be concerned if the buyer opened an A-Z Claim..

Adrian_london

This was a one off sale.

I bought this Blender myself (for home) and love it. I saw another one for sale brand new and it was very cheap (compared to the RRP).

I know how good they are so I thought I'd get another and see if I could flog it.

The blender is made by a company called Blendtec. The model is the Q Series.

Obviously, it is not sensible to use wet hands when operating any piece of electrical machinary but the reason why he might be using wet hands is that it is supposed to be a commercial blender (although I use mine at home). The buttons on it are like the ZX81 computer (I'm shoing my age). They are not switches. They are more like touch sensor buttons (I hope I'm explaining this ok).

If not, here is a youtube clip of the item. You'll understand what I mean.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75knuYS0zuY

Gothicfairy

Adrian_london wrote: »

I bought it brand new. I actually bought it to sell on and make a few quid.

Adrian

This is what makes you sound like a trader..You bought something new to sell on for profit.

I can understand why you might have wet hands when using something like this, it does make soup etc and it is easy to end up with stock on your hands when working in a kitchen but that does not mean sopping wet or anything close to that.
I don't sell on Amazon but they seem to have a rating system etc so it might be better to try and sort it out yourself if you want to carry on selling through that site.

Adrian_london

arcon5 wrote: »

Who's comment are you offended by? All posts so far seem to contain useful information. .

I was wrong to be offended (however slight). I have sent a PM to the person who made the comment that he thinks I am a trader to apologise to him.

I should have made myself clearer in my original thread that I am not a trader in the slightest. I just don't like people assuming. It is my fault for letting the person assume and for me not making myself clear.



Adrian

Adrian_london

Gothicfairy wrote: »

This is what makes you sound like a trader..You bought something new to sell on for profit.

I can understand why you might have wet hands when using something like this, it does make soup etc and it is easy to end up with stock on your hands when working in a kitchen but that does not mean sopping wet or anything close to that.
I don't sell on Amazon but they seem to have a rating system etc so it might be better to try and sort it out yourself if you want to carry on selling through that site.

I believe they are using it to make milkshakes. Either way, I agree with you that they should not be using it when they have sopping wet hands.

I must admit, as I'm not a big seller (in fact this is my first ever item) that I am not to worried about my rating as I can't see myself selling much again.

Raksha

How do you think 'Traders' become traders? They start by buying something they intend to sell for a profit. This was your intention, and you freely admit it. This makes you a trader, all be it an unlucky one to have chosen a faulty product as your first deal.