Bought faulty item on eBay - seller's return policy is a bit harsh

steveeeee

I bought a stick of RAM for my PC on eBay recently (item 270146510394) which arrived a little while ago. When I finally got the chance to shut my machine down and install it, the memory isn't recognised. I tried various combinations alongside my existing RAM sticks, even with the new one on its own in each of the slots and my machine didn't pick it up at all.

I'll come right out and say it up front - I only glanced at the compatibility information and returns policy when I was buying it. My motherboard's chipset (Intel 845PE) isn't mentioned on their "known to work with" list, though it definitely supports PC2700 and PC2100 non-ECC DDR RAM up to 1GB per slot.

When I went back to look at returning it, I found that their returns policy is this:

The following conditions apply for refund:
1. The item must be Returned within 30 days of the date you received it.
2. Returned items must be in the original condition, not worn or altered and should be returned with all original documents.
3. E-Bay listing and selling charges, & postage and handling incurred will be deducted.
4. In Case of defect - an RMA # will be issued and replacement will be sent as soon we can verify that a defective part was received back.
5. Buyer is responsible for return shipping costs & insurance and we will make a replacement or credit depends on our inventory. Returned units found to be in working order will be returned at buyer expense. Shipping, Handling, Insurance charges are not refundable. If buyer decides to take a refund for incompatible items - a GBP 6.00 fee will be taken on top of the refund amount for Admin charges.

I don't have another PC I can test this in (all the machines at work take DDR-2 which is a different shape), and I suspect that they would fail to find a fault if I returned it. So I'd have to post it back to the USA, AND pay a £6 admin charge on a purchase price of just under £19, AND risk having to pay additional postage for them to send it back again if no fault is found??

Paypal/eBay FAQs seem to indicate that I have to abide by this seller's returns policy. Should I just take the hit and buy some real RAM from somewhere else, or is this worth pursuing?

jan03

i would of run a mile after checking his feedback!!

frivolous_fay

Hm... the P&P deduction is fair enough... you can't really expect the seller to foot the bill every time someone buys in error.

The £6 clause says to me that he's sick and tired of people misordering, and it's a deterrent to doing so.

I'd be thinking about relisting it myself.

I haven't looked at his feedback or record.

steviebabes

I would just put it back on ebay, could be a bargain for someone with a compatible motherboard. You might even get more than you paid for it.

jayok

I would forget about it. I certainly would have been concerned with the feedback.

Hintza

If it's a compatability issue it is really not sellers fault and you should relist and sell it yourself.

If it's not working then that is his problem.

steveeeee

Thanks for all your replies. I've emailed him asking to confirm compatibility with my motherboard. Depending on how or if he replies, I might think about taking it further. Probably not, though.

He does appear to have quite a bad rep, though his percentage of neg vs pos feedback isn't terrible. Most of the time in the past month the negs relate to items not received, and some neutrals relating to slow shipping. However, his eBay business has spawned a few... negative websites - See http://doesfastmemorymancheats.blogspot.com/ as a starting point.

As always, hindsight is a wonderful thing! My colleague at work just received 2 1GB sticks from him this morning (he actually ordered before me and told me about fastmemoryman's prices in the first place). I'll be interested to see how he gets on.

And yes, I will probably stick it back on eBay myself.

Thanks again!

kevinyork

Sale of Goods Act will obviously not apply to the States. Motto....spend a few quid more and buy from a reputable UK seller, pay via Payal funded with a UK Credit Card. Not that I think there should be any issue with the seller here as he hasnt really mis-sold the memory.

steveeeee

As I thought, my colleague's RAM doesn't work in his computer either (an iMac G5). Oh well, that's a lesson learned for both of us.

rockin_plumber

I ordered some RAM from this guy in January and it was fine

I think the real problem is people ordering the wrong item most of the time...
I might be wrong though

alant1000

if i were you i'd just stick it back on ebay and sell it again - no point in making a total loss :money: