Ebay buyer wants to return - help

blondie511

Hi all

I sold a 10 year old Samsung phone (a J5 2016) on ebay last week. The buyer has asked for a refund saying that it's defective because his words 'it's so old it won't even download Youtube'. I'm not really sure where I stand as I wrote in the description that although the phone works it's a little slow and phone might be better for parts. Also, it's 10 years old so older versions of android aren't always compatible with newer versions of apps. Where do I stand?

Exodi

Could probably still watch YouTube in a browser instead of trying to download the current app (which is impossible due to the Android version).

I digress - I would inform them politely that that the phone is not faulty as they suggest, and the functions and features are what you would expect for a phone that age.

Some might even suggest ignoring them (but I'd worry that if a case was brought, eBay might automatically side with them due to lack of response).

Very frustrating for you.

Jumblebumble

I would keep to Occams Razor

Tell the buyer they bought a working J5 2016 and they got a working J5 2016 and don't get into any other discussions

blondie511

Thanks for your replies. I'll message and explain just that!

savergrant

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6658064/ebay-buyer-wants-to-return-help

Has the buyer asked to return the item (as in the title) or for a refund (as in the text)?it sounds to me as if they are trying it on, being 'old' is different to being 'faulty'. So long as you correctly described the model and condition they would have to choose between 'not as described' and 'faulty' in opening a case and you could easily contest either if they did press for a return. Certainly do not think of giving any sort of refund and letting then keep the item. If they raise a case you have to accept the return which you can do by paying for a returns label, but once the item is returned you check it and dispute the case (if the buyer ever bothers to post it back)

blondie511

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply, I really appreciate it.

Buyer has asked to return, sorry I was unclear. They selected 'doesn't work or is defective'. I did reply and took @Exodi advice, said that they purchased a 10 year old phone which is possibly not compatible with certain apps and that the functions and features are what would be expected for a phone of that age. Buyer replied saying 'well that doesn't take an expert to work out, was thinking about the newest apps but not YouTube, but it's not a problem.' But the return request is still open.

Do I just leave it until they open a case now? I'll be out of pocket if I have to pay for a returns label, will I be able to get that back?

soolin

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81911016#Comment_81911016

If the return as SNAD case is open then you need to take the option to allow eBay to provide them with a return label (which you will be charged for). The only other option , and it has worked for me in the past where my item specifics stated exactly what I was selling and buyer stated my listing didn’t say something, is to phone eBay and see if they will close the case in your favour.

If not don’t allow the case to time out, as then buyer gets their refund and doesn’t have to return the item.

savergrant

If the return request is a 'change of mind' you should refuse it. What communication have you had from ebay? (As opposed to a message from the buyer)

As regards the age and compatibility all apps get updates, so the comment about 'newer apps' doesn't hold water. That said my OH is using a J4 and youtube works on that, maybe it was updated to the latest version that it was compatible with and it's happy with that? At work we have some old ipads which can't run the youtube app now but youtube will launch in safari just fine.

Exodi

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81911141#Comment_81911141

It's actually quite coincidental, because my non-techy mother visited last weekend and she asked me to look at her old tablet as the YouTube app 'wasn't working' - the tablet was 10 years old, so I have rather specific recent experience with this!

What was happening was opening the YouTube app gave a forced message along the lines of 'update required' linking to the app store, but going to the app store gave a message along the lines of "your device isn't compatible with this version".

I believe the current version is 21, and she was running around version 10. Presumably between them, YouTube updated their minimum spec (or OS) requirements which excluded her device.

I then enabled developer mode and third party apks and installed older versions. I installed version 15 or 16 with success, it opened and she was not prompted to update, which suggests they'd increased requirements between 16 and 21, and possibly that they set a rule that any app less than X (say 8) versions from the current will be prompted for a forced update. I could have tried 17, 18, 19, etc to find out exactly when it happened, but I could not be bothered due to how slow it was (or probably more accurately, how impatient I am after being spoiled with high speed modern devices).

Nonetheless, it's pretty irrelevant because I tested and showed her that she could also just disable the app (couldn't uninstall as it was bundled) and watch youtube.com in a browser, which worked fine.

Anyway, sorry, a bit off topic. Completely agree, the comment about 'newer apps' is a bit daft - YouTube is constantly being updated, it will always be one of the newest apps. It's not an old app by virtue of the first version being released a long time ago… Windows was realised a long time ago, but that doesn't mean I can run Windows 11 on a Commodore 64.

soolin

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81911141#Comment_81911141

Perhaps the OP could clarify, but I understand this bit in the post I referred to '

They selected 'doesn't work or is defective'.

suggests an SNAD case is already open, and of course cannot now be ignored as the time frame to deal with it is very short.

savergrant

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81911477#Comment_81911477

I didn't actually see that post, however even then the op talks about a 'return request' and 'wait until they open a case'. If it is indeed a SNAD return then the op has no option but to issue a return label (or offer al refund and let the buyer keep the item), if op means waiting for the buyer to escalate then that would be a mistake.