Ebay item not as described! help!

angelsbabe7679

I was wondering if anyone has had a similar problem and could give me some advice!
I recently sold a new cpu on ebay, All was well until a about a week ago when i recieved an email from paypal stating that an item not as described dispute had been started against me! I checked it out and the buyer was claiming that it didnt work, well i try to fair as poss so i recommended he send it back and i would refund, fortunately i still had the receipt for it so i was planning to return to the shop so in theory everyone was happy. I got the cpu back the other day and it is damaged, the pins have been bent and well it definately wasn't like that when i sent it! The problem this posed is that it it's not returnable in such a state. I have contacted the buyer and sent him it back explaining that it's not in the condition it was sent. The buyer now claims that pins were not bent when he recieved it but somehow they are now????? I am totally at a loss as what to do next? I dont want to refund because the buyer has rendered any chance of me getting a refund void. But how can you resolve a tit for tat situation? I have been warned that paypal disputes tend to favour the buyer and not the seller!

angelcake

Hi, this is unfortunate! how much is the item? was it brand new when you sent it? did you check whether the pins were bent etc before you sent it?

Whats the buyers feedback like

Whats the value of the item?

pinkgem

if he says they were not bent when sent and they are now then he should have to attempt claim from royal mail/courier for damage in post

although paypal may pay him out if it was sent by a trackable method and he can confirm it was delivered to you

by what postage service did he return it to you?

neilwoods

Are all the pins bent or just a cpl near the 1 corner perhaps.

Sounds more like he bought this cpu thinking it will fit his board and as a result of trying to fit it he has bent of pins.

highly doubtful that the pins would be bent in transit, especially if it was on original package, pins on a cpu are like .5m in length.

shaquis

Your advice is quite right, paypal nearly always find in the buyers favour.

Esoog

Yeah, that's a potential problem with selling cpu's.. the only (ridiculous) thing you can do if its not sealed is to photograph the item in extreme detail with the item number so you can prove it wasn't like that when you sent it .


If the product was new and boxed when you sent it, then its not your problem so to speak in theory

angelsbabe7679

The cpu was bought brand new by me, I checked all the contents before posting it's something i habitually do with ebay selling! It was securely packaged and when i recieved it back it was still securely packaged, the box wasn't damged so i could rule out damage from postage. The cpu pins have been bent in the corners, some bent right over. The buyer claimed it was installed and didnt work and then says they have no knowledge of how the pins got bent! I am so stressed by it all, if paypal refund then i have been well and truly swindled.
I was wondering if anyone had similar experience and has any advice to resolve the situation as cost effectively as possible! I am at a loss as how to sort it out!

neilwoods

never had to go through the process of claim, so no idea am afraid how that would work.

But it does sound like buyer has bought cpu in error, and tried to force the cpu into place, if cpu was to get damaged in post, would be more likely to have cracked cpu not bent pins. Plus he wasnt about to tell you he had bent the pins as you would have refused it back.

It is possible to straighten pins if your very careful. but couldnt sell it as new again, if the cpu still works that is.

Personally i would send it back to him, and refuse a refund. Or takes loads of pics of package and damage to pins, and hopefully you will have a chance to put all that forward to paypal when he starts a charge against you.

Just all depends if you want all the hassle and be out of pocket.

Blacksheep1979

Tell him that you will send the cpu back to him at his expense as it is not in the condition that it was when you sent it (say you have photographic evidence of this). If he even starts to hint at a paypal chargeback tell him you will be taking him to the small claims court where he will incurr further charges if succeeds.

digerati

angelsbabe7679,

I used to do computer tech support for large companies so I've seen most user installation nightmares before.

Several possibilities spring to mind:

1) buyer damaged your CPU when installing and is attempting to return it.

2) buyer damaged another CPU and has returned that one to you hoping you will not notice.

In either case you need to notify buyer that they did not returned the item in original condition.

If the buyer has swapped the CPU (check the serial number on your shop invoice) ,then that is clearly fraud; immediately notify PayPal. Or if the buyer has damaged the same CPU you sent, they are responsible for replacing it with an identical item.

If the item was not returned in the original shipping container, protective foam and static bag, etc. and thus damaged in transit (unlikely) that is likewise buyer's responsibility. CPUs don't suddenly get damaged pins when shipped correctly. I used to ship them to our international offices and they never, ever got damaged even when the outer packaging was completely trashed by those trained monkeys at Customs and Excise.

Contact PayPal and notify them that buyer has not returned the item in original condition. You may want to get written confirmation from the store that the item had no damaged pins when sold - useful as evidence should you need to go to Small Claims.

angelsbabe7679

I checked the cpu serial because my first thought was it had been switched but the numbers did match. I've posted the cpu back with a note explaining that i could not accept it in the current conditon and took photos of the damage prior to returning. Paypal advised me not to return the item but i thought that prob because they are too hasty to favour the buyer. He still claiming now that the cpu pins were not bent when it was put in the pc but i have plenty of pc build experience and know that you can bend the pins if you insert it the wrong, the most mind boggling aspect is the instructions are in the box so it should be pretty fool proof!
My real concern now is if he escalates the paypal dispute that paypal will refund the full the amount. So now i'm thinking should i offer a partial refund if he returns the cpu or offer a 2nd hand replacement ( cheaper option) as much as this angers me because he is clearly trying it on but it seems from what i've read sellers don't have any kind of protection. I'm a private seller and just sell my own odds and sods.