Bad EBAY experience--beware!!!

Sold shortwave portable radio on EBAY--buyer paid via money order.

Radio was checked just prior to shipment and was OK .

About 5 days later- i receive email frm buyer--he wass irate--- etc becasue the radio allegedly arrived dead with the case broken.

I replieds stating radio checked/fine as shipped and any damage my telephone machine and hanging upmust have occurred in transit--i advised him to file claim wth usps (shipper) as unit insured for shipment.

since then- we have exchanged emails--he has been very nasty (posted negative feedback to my EABY account without trying to finally resolve the matter using very accusatory languaue)

In summary- he is demanding a refund..and..wants refund in his hands before returning radio.

Additionally- he has been calling my answering machine several times per day and hanging up (no message)...and has threatened to involve his lawyer!

The matter was referred to EBAY's 'Square Trade" medication service--they havent helped much..



Does this sound like a scam? I note the buyer has another radio for sale similar to mine...buyer claims mine was purchased "using funds from a church for a wheelchair-bound handicapped person"--if this is true--why doesnt he give his EBAY advertised radio to the handicapped individual?



Either buyer trying to get another radio for free-or radio damaged by USPS (buyer claims he took radio to USPS who "insisted" they did not damage it..no actual ckaim filed..)


Anyway- have decided to give the refund...as I want to maintain my near perfect EBAY rating (altho negative feedback has already been polaced there by this buyer..)

How would mebers have handled this?

Has anyone dealt with similar experiences selling equipment?--how have u handled it?

thanx.

I would let him do whatever he wants, if he really wants to file legal action, you can very easily just show the "nasty" emails and it is a form of harassment to call like that. Don't just take this lying down.

I would hunt him down and beat the tar out of him.

I'd keep the money and tell the guy what to do with himself. If what you're telling us is true, it won't end up in court.

unfortunately- the guy may be a maniac--the tyone of his feedback and communications with the mediator suggest that---also--hes 3000 miles away from me. maybe better part of valor is to just send the refund and be done with it?

i am now veryu dwon on selling stuff via EBAY--ur better off having buyer see the item operating before purchasing. That wayt--if they then say "defective": they have no argument.

an ebay buyer can always claim an item was dead on arrival and demands refund..they can cause trouble ( negative feedbacking, complaining to EBAY, filing fraud claims etc)--maybe better just tp refund.

he problme is--neither side can proove its case: it's each party's word...and if u want to continue using EBAY--problems.

EBAY tends to side with buyers,

video tape the item before you send in full working order then they cannot argue just send a copy of the video. also complain to ebay why they dont help. if they guy is pranking you and being provokative then surely he should be banned from ebay. im sure it says somewhere that isnt allowed in the terms and conditions.

--emotionally, I like the physical options--but-realistically: the videotaping sounds good...except--how do u document the date of the taping (buyer cld claim item damaged by buyer after tape was prepared!).

from now on- i will state in "terms-conditions" of ebay sales that no refund will be available for any reason..that should absolve any post- sale refunding responsibilities.

MAKE him send it back COD. (cash on delivery) You write the check to UPS or whomever and they send him the money. Don't get burned twice by the same guy.

do you not have a date stamp function on your camera. or tape something with the date on it that doesnt change. something on the TV that sets itself. you dont want to lose sale because of your policy. i wouldnt buy from somebody with that policy, because of the fear of it being damaged, it makes one suspicouse when you say that no refund under any circumstances.

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Originally posted by porsch1909
i wouldnt buy from somebody with that policy

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Me neither :t

Sounds like a scam to me, there are too many coincidences what with him selling a copy of the Radio he bought from you and the church fund paying for the one you sent him, and since when do church-going folk use foul and abusive language or even get riled up for that matter!

If I were American I would sort it out the American way - Send him a horses head in the post, he'll get the message, or just tell him to go ahead with his civil suit!

As for your Ebay record - Post a reply to his poor rating letting other's know what kind of person he is and how you believe he has tried to scam you out of a perfectly good Radio, along with a link to the Radio he has for sale! You may lose your perfect rating, but after having read the story (as we have here) - most folk would probably rather deal with you than him.

[edit] Can't you also post a poor rating under his name with the whole story? [/edit]

I agree that the "No Refunds" clause will only hurt you more than anyone else.

:t

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Originally posted by Strawbs
If I were American I would sort it out the American way - Send him a horses head in the post

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The british way is to send the whole horse minus head ;)

Bit expensive on the postage tho :D

The problem with leaving feedback about this JERK is that you only get 80 characters or something like that.

Something like:

Beware! Extremely abusive,won't aproach UPS for insurance claim. LIAR & SCAMMER!!!

Also, approach the fraud section of ebay.

DO NOT give this creep the money. If he wants it he should aproach UPS, especially if the item was insured anyway, thats what insurance is for.

Contact your phone providor and/or police and get them to keep a record of the prank calls and tell this guy that you have done so. He will be very unlikely to persist.
Alternatley you might want to make some calls to HIM, say at 2am, 3am and 4am, I'm sure he will appreciate it.

Most ebay transactions are carried out with no hassle at all, I've completed 8 myself in the past 2 weeks, all of them smooth.
But just sometimes you get a total jerk trying to rip legitimate ebayers off. You might be able to get him kicked off.

I sold a brother plain paper fax to a guy the other side of the country. He claimed it was broken when he received it and wanted me to give him a refund. Even though he didn't ask for it, I had sent the unit via express/insured post. However he kept on trying to get me to give him his 'refund' directly and the type of damage to the printer would change :) 1st it was a crack in the casing, then a faulty power supply....
I have no idea what happened, I just kept saying go to the post office and report that you received it damaged.

I think we need to slow down here .......

Who paid for the insured carriage ? (that would be you eshort)

The goods need returning to sender in order to make a claim (that also would be you eshort)

Only then do we go down the road of making a claim & or refund.

Till those two steps have been completed theres not a lot anyone can do to rectify this situation :t

Actually the shipper needs to file a claim with UPS. If the item is damaged and you notify UPS of a problem they will inspect the item and issue any insurance payment to you. I once sent an ukulele via UPS and it was broken on arrival. UPS shipped it back to me, payed me generously to repair it and shipped it back again to the customer at no charge. The guy you are dealing with is most likely just an ignorant buffon who's whole life is a problem. You bought insurance so that there would not be a problem. Contact UPS concerning the matter and tell the customer that it's an insurance matter and you do not offer refunds on insured damaged merchandise. You might also inform him that your lawyer has been informed about damages to your reputation and is conducting an investigation pending a civil lawsuit against him, but you are willing to drop the suit if he contacts E-Bay and amends the negative feedback.

Quote:

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Originally posted by eshort
--emotionally, I like the physical options--but-realistically: the videotaping sounds good...except--how do u document the date of the taping (buyer cld claim item damaged by buyer after tape was prepared!).

from now on- i will state in "terms-conditions" of ebay sales that no refund will be available for any reason..that should absolve any post- sale refunding responsibilities.

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your getting scammed, I have been selling on eBay for 4 years and your situation smells dirty, let me do what he wants, and see how far he takes it. He will run out of steam, if you keep getting nasty emails save them. Ask him what church or association he is involved ask for phone numbers so you can call and explain what they can do to get the money back.
IT’S A SCAM or someone trying to Pull a fast one on you.

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Originally posted by ukulele
You might also inform him that your lawyer has been informed about damages to your reputation and is conducting an investigation pending a civil lawsuit against him, but you are willing to drop the suit if he contacts E-Bay and amends the negative feedback.

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thats what I would do.

My aunt fanny :rolleyes:

What about her? Does she use eBay too?

here's the status as of 9/30...

i offered refund if buyer splits cost of sq trade mediation-and- r files USPS damage claim.

buyer has refused these terms.

Wrote mediator that i now feel issue is a scam--and asked mediator to obtain name/address/name of Pastor etc of "church" involved--also stated i have been far more offering than warranted under these conditions..

we'lll see what happens!

Well this ain't like pulling teeth is it ......................... :(

Mediation ? :eek:

Yawn )-|

Here is the best way to cover your own bum. Before you send the product out, video tape it in working condition then take the video tape and mail it to yourself. When you get it, don’t open it. If you ever go to court, you have sealed proof of the item in question working with a date stamped on the envelope. The judge will see the date on the envelope, open it up and see that it was working right before you sent it out. Upon seeing this, the case will be thrown out of court. An added bonus would be for the judge to see him selling the same item.

Edit: Thanks Johnny :D

"The best way to cover your own bum."

BUM BUM BUM!!!

Actually, I only had a problem once with Ebay. I sold a guy a used cell phone that was given to me by the origional owner. The guy who bought it claimed it could not be activated because there was still money owed by the first owner to the jerks at AT&T. So I asked the origional owner if this was true. He said, yes it's true I owed $400 on the bill. So, I told the guy to send it back. He refused and said he didn't trust me. I told him I can't give a refund on something unless he returned it. He kept bugging me until I finally sent him a refund and told him to keep the phone. He was right, after all and mailing it back would have been just more money wasted. After several hundred transactions on Ebay, I figured 99.5% success is not bad. He never did give me negative feedback. However, had he claimed the phone was broken in shipment, and given me negative feedback while refusing to returning it, I would have told him to suck rocks (a cure for thirst in the desert, not what you might be thinking).

best way to cover your bum - don't certify it as working. You never know what may happen to it downstream.

The less a fraudulent bidder can placard on you, the worse he or she will look.

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Originally posted by causticVapor
best way to cover your bum - don't certify it as working. You never know what may happen to it downstream.

The less a fraudulent bidder can placard on you, the worse he or she will look.

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Honesty is the best policy. I go for top dollar on ebay by using honesty, carefull descriptions and great pictures and I get top dollar consistantly. I stipulate no refunds unless not as advertised.

as of 10/7: case in mediation with "Square Trade"--buyer refusing to return radio without a full refund-in his hands-first!

I have offered a partial refund IF he brings radio tp USPS for damage investigation (and sends proof of so doing)) and removes negative fedback frm EBAY. Also offered to refund full price IF USPS finds fully in my favor.

More than reasonable on my part!

Told mediator if buyer refuses this- the case is closed.

Good for you. That guy would just try it again if you gave in. :)

This wld be great one for Judge Judy--I sent a perfect radio and probably will end up having to refund most of the money to a party claiming radio defectrive/broken on receipt.

the issue is---how can each party prove their case? I can say the radio was perfect at shipment-but how wld i so document that in court?

keep tuned :)

Get real ........ Your not in court.

Keep the money & forget about it )-|

that is why i always look at the feedback rating first , and then if it good, and then if get a bad product, then i leave a bad feed back i get my moeny back

Quote:

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Originally posted by eshort
This wld be great one for Judge Judy--I sent a perfect radio and probably will end up having to refund most of the money to a party claiming radio defectrive/broken on receipt.

the issue is---how can each party prove their case? I can say the radio was perfect at shipment-but how wld i so document that in court?

keep tuned :)

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If the guy doesn't send it back there is no case. No company anywhere is required to offer a refund without the product returned first no matter the situation unless it was their policy to do so. If the radio is returned you should check the serial # before offering a refund. When I photograph anything for ebay auction I make sure and take a picture of any lablel, markings or flaws too.

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Originally posted by j.m@talk
Get real ........ Your not in court.

Keep the money & forget about it )-|

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gosh, you sound so british...:rolleyes:



:D

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Originally posted by mireland
gosh, you sound so british...:rolleyes:



:D

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what sensible (joke)

yeah--it is for real :)

im holding firm on demanding return of radio before any refund is issued.

i pointed out that terms of sale included "sold as is-no refunds"--and--as a courtesy to buyer, I insured the shipment.

I think the guy broake the radio and is scamming for a refund!

stay tuned.......