eBay Issue [resolved - refunded for SNAD item]

mizelle

I bought a netbook on ebay. It was listed as having been upgraded from windows 7 starter to windows xp professional.

When I received it, I [stupidly] left positive feedback as it was well packaged and had arrived promptly.

A few hours later, I fully charged the battery, and switched it on to find a non-functioning copy of winXP. Everything did load, but the screen froze 5 seconds later. I restarted several times and got the same result. So, I tried the built-in recovery utility which can be accessed at the main screen. It came up with an error message, and didn't complete the recovery. Now it won't go past the black error screen saying that Windows 7 is not fully installed and that I should insert an installation disk.

I contacted the seller and asked if he could provide an installation disk and product key for the winXP [which he said was working when he sold it]. I haven't received a response yet, but I'm wondering where I stand on this legally.

Could anyone advise please?

theonlywayisup

First of all don't worry,you are protected.

Give the seller a chance to respond and help if they can.

You have 45 days from purchase to open a dispute on eBay or PayPal. They will allow you to send the item back as it is SNAD (significantly not as described) for a full refund. You will have to send it back tracked (special delivery or a courier only).

Don't worry about having left feedback,that's irrelevant.

Come back here if you ned more help.

mizelle

Thanks so much for your advice. I'll await their response and update this thread.


Edit: Seller has responded and said they may have to talk me through the installation over the phone.

I responded by saying that it would not be possible to install without the disk as the recovery utility error means that files are missing so the disk would be required to replace the missing files. I then said that if they don't have the installation disk, I'll have to return the item.

I'd rather not have to raise a dispute over ebay to be honest. It would be nice if we could sort this out amicably between ourselves, but I'm worried that they won't agree to me returning the item.

I'm also concerned that the copy of XP they installed on it is illegal since there was no product key provided with it. I was under the impression you had to provide a licence with any software you sell, even if it is already installed on something.

Del_Astra

Give the seller a chance to resolve, let the seller talk you through it, they may well have copied the installation files to another partition (hidden) on the disk. Plus if they call you, once they have resolved the issue, you can question the license key.

Whilst you may feel things are not adding up, give them a chance to resolve. Does your netbook have a CD-Rom drive? Just wondering, as most don't so not sure how useful disks would be to you, unless you have an external drive you could use. Also many people don't like to email product keys, what can happen is you email the product key and they use it / provide it to mates, boom, its invalid and they complain to the seller. I am not saying you would do this, just that I can understand why a seller might not want to email it to you.

I've never heard of an upgrade from Windows 7 starter to XP before either. If its XP Pro, I suspect they have a volume licence key, but you can question this when they call.

Crowqueen

I am not saying you would do this, just that I can understand why a seller might not want to email it to you.

The seller's first responsibility is to their customer to provide a working item. All other potential issues with it are overridden by their duty to make sure the customer's item is working properly.

There's no use not giving a product key if the item is then returned to you as a result.

Del_Astra

There's no use not giving a product key if the item is then returned to you as a result.

From what the OP states it might well be provided over the phone.

The situation is problem with netbook, buyer made seller aware, seller has responded saying they will need to discuss over the phone. Now over the phone the seller might turn round and say, "you need to return it to me so I can fix" all I was saying was give them a chance.

Its often far better to supply laptops / netbooks with the software on the COA, rather than "upgrades".

OP - was it a new or used netbook?

mazz1953

From the OP

I bought a netbook on ebay. It was listed as having been upgraded from windows 7 starter to windows xp professional.

First of all, how old is the net-book?
I ask because if Windows 7 Starter came with the net-book, then replacing it with Windows XP is a downgrade, not an upgrade and the seller is short-changing you!
The seller should have either sold you a laptop either with no operating system and make this clear in the listing or left the original operating system on the net-book.
If I were you, I would ask the seller why the the original operating system was downgraded!
Do not let the seller talk you through technical issues with the operating system, that they should have sorted out before the laptop was dispatched to you.
This transaction has got off to a very bad start and if I were in your shoes I would open a dispute in PayPal, citing a non-working item and ask for a refund. I have considerable experience dealing with computers and laptops and I just have a gut feeling that there could be more problems with this net-book in the near future.

macfly

considerable mazz? XP Pro is neiher a downgrade nor an upgrade. It's a different operating system. Still costs the same as win7 home premium, as it has many advantages over the newcomer.
However, it does look dodgy.
I would knock it straight back.
By the way, I can't see any problems in a seller givimg a legit product key to any customer. In fact, I would insist.

mizelle

Update: Just got a message from the seller. They're happy to accept a return, so I'm packaging it up and returning it Recorded Delivery today.

Do I get refunded for my postage? I paid £15 postage to receive it and will probably spend that on returning it. Will it be refunded to me?

Thanks again everyone for your input. I know a wee bit about computers, but as someone already said, it's not down to me to start looking for stuff on hidden partitions etc. when the netbook was sold to me as fully operational. I also understood that WinXP is older than Windows 7 but a lot of people prefer it to the starter version of 7 because of it's limitations.

I have a desktop computer at home which I've had in bits and added/removed parts from, and I've changed the partition system in the drive to allow me to use XP instead of WinME [which it came pre-installed with] but, I had a lot of extra work as well, updating drivers etc. But, the difference is, I know exactly what I've done with it, and anytime I encountered a problem, I knew where to look for a fix.

I'm concerned that there has been more than an OS change done to this netbook now and that perhaps some amateur tecky kid has been messing about with other stuff, which could possibly bring about some other problems down the line.

However, the seller has been most helpful and has agreed to take it back, so it's a result for me now, but I think a lesson has been learned.. and I think it would be best to buy new or at least manufacturer refurbished from a reputable dealer.

Crowqueen

Do I get refunded for my postage? I paid £15 postage to receive it and will probably spend that on returning it. Will it be refunded to me

You should get the entire original payment refunded to you. Your return costs may not be refunded unless you have agreed that with the seller. Return it properly insured (special delivery) and keep the proofs of delivery in case you have to launch a dispute through eBay and Paypal.

However, the seller has been most helpful and has agreed to take it back, so it's a result for me now, but I think a lesson has been learned.. and I think it would be best to buy new or at least manufacturer refurbished from a reputable dealer.

To be honest, I never buy these things through eBay any more. It can be a false economy even if the item is working, because you only have direct recourse if it is not working on receipt, not if it breaks down even two or three days later. I've never had much luck with eBay electronics - so I'd never buy anything secondhand and shop around very carefully when buying something new.

Good luck.

mizelle

I just sent it by Special Delivery which has a tracking number etc.

We didn't discuss return postage refunds, so I will probably only be refunded the original payment. It cost almost £10 to return it, so it's not a huge amount to be out of pocket. I can handle that. In the first instance I feared I'd be out of pocket for the entire thing, so this is certainly better.

I tend to agree with your stance on buying these things on ebay, and as I said, I think I've learned my lesson and been pretty lucky this time that the seller was very reasonable and happy to take the item back. Even though I was in the right, I'd have hated to go through a full dispute about it.