Ebay/Paypal Issue

[The Iron Giant]

I know... another ebay/paypal problem

I sold an item almost a month ago on ebay - a used video camera. I never heard from the buyer until today. He never left feedback also. He says he wants to return it or have me give him a discount since he is having problems with it now.

How far are the paypal odds stacked against me since its been almost a month since the guy has had the camera?

I think its a joke that after a month someone can claim an item is defective.

I know the easy thing is to offer a discount, but I don't want to do that until I get some advice here - I know there are a lot of ebayers on the budget board.

Thanks.

 

[NYCDiane]

I used to do a lot of selling on ebay and I've only encountered a similar problem to this twice.... the first time, the charge got reversed a full 6 weeks after the item was received by the buyer. She claimed it was her bank that did the reversal, not her, because she had one fraudulent charge so they reversed ALL her charges (I didn't believe her but, believe it or not, she replaced the money about 2 weeks later)

The other time, a buyer contacted me a month later, claiming he wasn't sure if he received the item, blah, blah, blah.... Thankfully, I shipped it with Delivery Confirmation and told him the exact date/time the item was received by him. Never heard from him again.

In your situation, I would tell the guy the item was sold as-is (as are ALL used items) and it worked fine when you shipped it to him. Right now, he probably feels he paid too much for it and is looking to get a discount.

It would be easier to give a discount, but that would only encourage this person to do this to other sellers. Also, it would be kind of like you're admitting the video camera doesn't work right. Then what? In another month, he's going to want a full refund?? I wouldn't trust a buyer like this.

 

[mjhd]

I *think* the limit for filing a paypal dispute is 45 days - are you close to that? If so, I would stall. If not, I'd try to work something out because paypal will side with him, you'll be out all your money, and he'll send you back a defective camera. So sorry you're having this problem. It's getting to be awful over there

 

[PatriciaH]

I just had that happen. Buyer claimed the item did not work- yet it worked fine when I mailed it out. Pay Pal/Ebay always side with the buyer too. I am not going to sell anything electronic on there again.

 

[caitty13]

I just listed something electronic and was thinking of video taping it working prior to shipping, plus add insurance and confirmation. Not sure if the video tape will prove anything but I can do it next to a newspaper or something proveing the date.

 

[Dancemom03]

I *think* the limit for filing a paypal dispute is 45 days - are you close to that? If so, I would stall. If not, I'd try to work something out because paypal will side with him, you'll be out all your money, and he'll send you back a defective camera. So sorry you're having this problem. It's getting to be awful over there

IMO, this is really bad advice. Buyer will twice as irritated when he discovers you stalled to get past paypal dispute time and you'll only buy yourself a big fat negative, along with a possible credit card chargeback. CC chargebacks are worse than pp refunds b/c there's a much longer time limit and, once pp received the chargeback notice, the $$ are instantly debited from your pp account. There's often little appeal to that and no way to even ensure that you'll get your item back at all after a chargeback. To add insult to injury, PP will CHARGE YOU a $10 service fee for processing the chargeback. Definitely not the best solution.

Just curious... How much did the bidder ask for to accept a partial refund, forget the nastiness, and keep the item? If it's not a lot and you can live with it, that is often the best solution to ensure you don't receive an item that was deliberately trashed b/c bidder suffered buyer's remorse but felt trapped w/o an easy return policy.

I just listed something electronic and was thinking of video taping it working prior to shipping, plus add insurance and confirmation. Not sure if the video tape will prove anything but I can do it next to a newspaper or something proveing the date.

THat's a good idea as long as you realize that, according to your paypal agreement, the seller is responsible for DELIVERING the item to the bidder IN THE CONDITION DESCRIBED. That means working if you said working in the description - even if damaged in shipment, it is the seller's responsibility. Electronics can be damaged in transit even though the box doesn't arrive crushed. You also face the challenge of buyers who may not be familiar with how it works and have unanticipated user-related issues. My suggestion would be to use Craigslist for electroic items - and always to triple box & insure any electroics or breakables you do sell on ebay to protect yourself in the event they don't arrive safely.

 

[JB2K]

Let this serve as a reminder for you "occassional eBay sellers" to include these words in your listing:

ALL SALES FINAL

If someone really wants what you're selling, they'll still buy it.

 

[Dancemom03]

There is no such thing as "all sales final" anymore if you accept paypal - and you can't sell on ebay without accepting paypal now. I sell and it's really sad but the bottom line is, either you accept a return and get your item back or you chance losing your item, the money AND receiving a neg/pp claim which could well affect your ability to sell in the future.

With today's economy, many folks now selling on ebay never planned on it but find it a huge help. For me, it's an emergency resource I'd hate to give up over a few dollars if there was any way to avoid it...

 

[Ava]

I had something similar happen when I sold a used iPod on eBay a while back. The buyer contacted me after having the item for a couple weeks, saying it didn't work right & wanting to return it for a refund. I *knew* the thing worked just fine, so I told her she could return it to me at her expense by a trackable shipping method and I would refund her the purchase price only, not any of the shipping charges, when I received it. All of a sudden she got it to work.

If she had actually returned it to me, I still could've done a Second Chance Offer to the next highest bidder, so I probably would not have been out anything.

 

[The Iron Giant]

Thank you all for the replies... I'll probably just bite the bullet and offer a discount.

Thanks