Buyer says item is DOA

mad_rich

Hi folks

Your advice please.

I sold an Airport Express wireless access point nearly 3 weeks ago. It sold for £41 + £4 postage. I posted it 2nd class recorded.

The buyer has just emailed to say he has only just got round to opening it, and it doesn't switch on (i.e. no lights at all). He wants to send it back for a refund.

I know it was working when I sent it, and it was well packaged in the original packaging so it seems unlikely it would have been damaged in the post.

I'm going to ask him to run a couple of simple diagnostic tests, but assuming that doesn't fix things, what are my options?

Do I have to let him send it back? Do I have to refund him? If so, do I have to refund him for the original postage? And his cost of sending it back?

What if get it back and I find it is working? Do I keep hold of it until he's paid another £4 to have it sent back to him?

If it is working, I don't mind refunding him as long as I'm not out of pocket (ebay fees, Paypal fees, postage costs) so I can relist it, but obviously I'd rather not if I don't have to.

And if it's not working, do I have a claim against Royal Mail?

Thanks

Crowqueen

Yes, you do have to let him send it back if they say it's faulty.

Jolting around in the post could cause problems for an electronic item - loosened components and so on - it's why I don't tend to buy items like this online any more (or if I do I reserve it from PC World and go and pick it up in town).

A buyer has 45 days to inspect an item, which is just over six weeks. Not everyone has time to immediately open something and set it up, particularly something that needs to be configured and so on.

If you get it back, and it's fine, you can always resell it, so refund the buyer. If you get it back and it's faulty, then you need to refund the buyer and try to claim from RM.

mad_rich

Thanks.

How does it work if I refund him? Do I get my eBay and Paypal charges refunded as well, or do I have to absorb them? In that case, my only out of pocket cost would be the actual cost of original postage. (But also the hassle, and the possibility that it might not sell for the same price next time round.)

What can I do through eBay if I receive it back and it's working? Is it just my word against his? Or can I somehow prove to eBay that it's working, and it's up to the buyer to pay for postage if he wants it back?

I guess if it's not working, it would be hard to prove to RM that it was their fault. (Of course it may actually not be their fault, even though I'm confident it was working and well-packed.)

Crowqueen

Allison_Haskins wrote: »

There's a good chance the buyer will send back their broken unit and keep yours!

There's also a good chance they won't, and the OP can't refuse a return, particularly if the buyer were to open a dispute.

Crowqueen

mad_rich wrote: »

Thanks.

How does it work if I refund him? Do I get my eBay and Paypal charges refunded as well, or do I have to absorb them? In that case, my only out of pocket cost would be the actual cost of original postage. (But also the hassle, and the possibility that it might not sell for the same price next time round.)

You will get all but 20p refunded of your Paypal fees. Yes, you may even get a non-working item back, but you have a responsibility to refund in this case if the buyer claims it is faulty, so you have no real choice here. It might not fetch a good price, but then the buyer should not have to keep an item they bought as working but is not working on arrival. The hassle etc. is none of their concern - they will have to go to the hassle of returning what they hoped might be a working item to you so you're equal in this respect.

If you keep them happy then you can mutually cancel the eBay transaction, but if you don't co-operate with them they may not agree to it - so it's in your interests to work with them rather than against them.

mad_rich wrote: »

What can I do through eBay if I receive it back and it's working? Is it just my word against his? Or can I somehow prove to eBay that it's working, and it's up to the buyer to pay for postage if he wants it back?

You can't really not refund, and they are unlikely to want it back if they think it is faulty. You can still resell it.

mad_rich wrote: »

I guess if it's not working, it would be hard to prove to RM that it was their fault. (Of course it may actually not be their fault, even though I'm confident it was working and well-packed.)

It's not their fault at all. You are always responsible for getting an item to the buyer in working condition. Damage in the post is your responsibility to chase up, because you paid RM out of the money they gave you, so their contract is with you and you need to deal with them.

I'm sorry - but put yourself in the buyer's shoes. If you received a faulty item that the seller swore was working when it left them, how would you feel about what you've written here?

mad_rich

Crowqueen wrote: »

I'm sorry - but put yourself in the buyer's shoes. If you received a faulty item that the seller swore was working when it left them, how would you feel about what you've written here?

I would feel fine.

I think I've been quite fair here in not accusing the buyer of anything. I'm just hoping to find out how what my rights and responsibilities are (and how things work in the real world) before contacting him and digging myself into a hole thanks to the complicated eBay policies.

If the item was genuinely DOA, the buyer has nothing to worry about and will be promptly refunded. But it's only fair of me to check he's not trying to pull a fast one (or indeed just not using it correctly).

Crowqueen

mad_rich wrote: »

I would feel fine.

I think I've been quite fair here in not accusing the buyer of anything. I'm just hoping to find out how what my rights and responsibilities are (and how things work in the real world) before contacting him and digging myself into a hole thanks to the complicated eBay policies.

If the item was genuinely DOA, the buyer has nothing to worry about and will be promptly refunded. But it's only fair of me to check he's not trying to pull a fast one (or indeed just not using it correctly).

I'm sorry, it just doesn't work like that.

You need to get the item back and refund, then you can resell if the item is still in working order after all. The buyer doesn't want it.

There's no hows and whys about it, you're responsible for buyer's satisfaction with what they purchase, end of story.

If they take it to dispute you will probably lose and you will also lose your eBay fees - and you will have to accept a return. You might also get a justified negative feedback, and probably some low DSRs, which will have an impact on your account and your ability to sell. You would not feel fine if you spent money on something and it arrived not working - I promise you - there are plenty of threads on here from buyers who receive faulty items, and when it happens to you you would through a fit to be lumbered with something that was the seller's responsibility to get to you in one piece.

So you either do it voluntarily or do it when forced. Stop messing around.

porto_bello

Allison_Haskins wrote: »

There's a good chance the buyer will send back their broken unit and keep yours!

And there's a chance that it worked fine for 3 weeks, then got dropped on a hard floor - ending its life! ... But it's just speculation.

The problem is that you have to go along with eBay's requirements, which is to fully refund the full original purchase price, including the original shipping costs.

You can request the mutual transaction cancellation, to get your 10% selling fee reimbursed, but I suspect the buyer will only agree to that they get their return postage fees reimbursed (which depending on the size of the packaging and weight, may make you worse off than writing off the 10%).

Either way, the buyer must send the item back to you via a trackable method. If they don't and it goes missing, the buyer cannot hold you to a refund and eBay will not support the buyer's claim without tracking evidence.

Del_Astra

Allison_Haskins wrote: »

There's a good chance the buyer will send back their broken unit and keep yours!

Correct, they may well do that, however the OP will note that the serial number is different and when you mention this, they normally run a mile as they realise you are onto them.

I've had this previously with a digital camera, fortunately the fault wasn't expensive to repair, and I then sold it one fully working.

mad_rich

Crowqueen wrote: »

So you either do it voluntarily or do it when forced. Stop messing around.

I'm not messing around :huh:

I just wanted to find out the processes, which I have now. Thank you.

The buyer has a response within 16 hours.

I think in the future I will do more buying on eBay and less selling!

mad_rich

Del_Astra wrote: »

Correct, they may well do that, however the OP will note that the serial number is different and when you mention this, they normally run a mile as they realise you are onto them.

Foolishly, I didn't note the serial number. I thought I had, but I didn't.

That said, I'm generally an optimist, so let's hope the buyer isn't trying to pull a switcheroo.