I sold an item recently on ebay that I didn't know how to thoroughly use or test (It's not a game system, it was a moderately expensive machine used for craft projects and I had no clue how to work it or even whether it came with all the parts it was supposed to come with). Because of this, in the item description I described it as being in "as is" condition and mentioned I could make no representations about whether the machine worked or not and that it did not come with various parts, including the AC adapter. A person bought it at a high price, owned it for 28 days, and is now demanding a full refund saying she took it to a repair shop and they informed her that the machine is significantly broken, not close to usable condition, and would take $400 to fix. Naturally she is upset and wants a full refund as she spent a large amount on my item in the first place. (I suspect she just has buyers remorse, I'd typically be a nice guy and take the item back and resell it, but in this case the machine is very large and heavy and I would be out $200 for shipping between the free shipping I offered initially, and the return refund shipping ebay would make me pay). Unlike for certain ebay categories, the category that this item fit into only let me select between "new" or "used" for an item condition, and did not have the option to select "for parts/not working." That's why i wanted to be very upfront in the description, so that bidders would temper their bids and would not be upset if they received a broken or unusable item and I could avoid a situation with an unhappy buyer demanding a return. Since ebay is so buyer friendly do you think I'm boned on this one despite the listing description?
Well, even if your description said so and they read it, they may have legitimately thought they could fix it and couldn't. Unfortunately, they can take advantage of eBay's rules and you will have to take it back and have to pay shipping (both ways). I don't even think you can win as a seller, even if you sold it as broken/as-is. They can probably still file 'not as described' and you will lose anyway. It's always a risk- you will get killed on a heavy item by a buyer like this... I've had it happen. It sucks to have to pay for this, especially if it's more than you paid for the item to start with. Sorry. I learned from it. It is gambling.
In every instance I've seen eBay sides with the buyer in situations like these. Its ridiculous and unfortunate but its a risk you take when selling on eBay.
You clearly stated you couldn't test the item. Buyer took the risk. Description is part of the sale, along with photos. The whole "category" scenario isn't arguable, as you didn't have the option to select. Seems like the buyer is wanting special treatment for a impulse buy.
If the shop she took it to opened the item at all, which i imagine they had to to inspect it, then at that point its not your problem. You nor ebay have any way to tell that the shop did not damage it and are now trying to incur the cost to repair on you.
I agree. I would argue this point. You have no way of knowing if the item was damaged by the shop or not. I'm sure we all have been on eBay and saw something, but it was listed as "as-is" and knew of the risks if purchased. This buyer is trying to take advantage of the system. I would fight it. What the point in listing something as "as-is" if someone can just request a refund if it can't be fixed for $10?
I completely agree with everyone chiming in saying that people should know the risks based on the description and - but I'm also well aware that ebay is so pro buyer that the buyer is probably going to be able to force a return. A simple google search has also pretty much confirmed that through others' recorded experiences. As a matter of fact, when a buyer starts the return process, there is no mechanism for the seller to decline the return or involve an ebay moderator from the outset - rather the options are "give full refund to buyer" "provide shipping label for buyer to send item back and then refund" "offer partial refund to buyer" and "message buyer". You can report the buyer for abusing the return process, but this is not connected to the refund process and the seller receives no follow-up or acknowledgement. If you do not respond for several days, the return goes into a new return process that I think gets moderated by ebay, but my research reflects that ebay tends to simply force a 100% refund and the buyer gets to keep the item in those scenarios. This all feels quite unfair and I haven't had to personally deal with a situation like this through over 100 sales, - but based on others' stories I always felt this scenario could occur and it would be part of the risk/cost of doing business on ebay, so not entirely unexpected. I've decided to fold on this one so I can at least get the item back. Going through the trouble of reselling it on craigslist ought to be financially better than just letting the buyer keep it and get a 100% refund.
Ebay is a lost cause when it comes to stuff like this. After the buyer takes their money back, call paypal and deal with them directly. I have had better luck getting $$$$ back from them. I suspect a very similar situation will happen in a few months with all of the AMD GPUs being sold at 2-3x msrp. Buy GPU, mine for 5 months, return to seller for a full refund....
I'm trying to process the refund but can't do it due to a comedy of errors. When going through ebay I get an error message saying the refund couldn't be processed, the error message says to refund through paypal, but the transaction in paypal shows that the funds are locked, and there is no refund option for that locked transaction. I called ebay and they recommended I just send money to the buyer as if the refund was a standard send money to friends kind of transaction, but I'm loathe to do that because I don't see how that will be linked to the refund in ebay's system, unlock the frozen funds in my paypal for my usage, and credit me for ebay's sizeable fee in this transaction. Umm, anyone with more ebay experience than I ever successfully deal with this issue?
This probably doesn't help you much (Since your trying to process the refund already), but In my humble opinion I don't think you did anything wrong. Based on principle alone, I'd fight hard not to give out a refund since you clearly listed in your item 'as-is'. You can't buy the contents of a storage locker, find out it has garbage, and then have buyers remorse because you feel you overpaid for it. As a buyer you have every right to say "Sorry, more than I want to risk. Let the other bidder have it.". So they should suck it up and accept that they made a poor gamble. I've never seen anyone in a Casino get away with "I want my money back." as an excuse for a poor gamble, so I don't see why you should be the one to pay for $200 shipping and other stuff for her mistake.
Never ever do that, the last time I did the buyer claimed it anyway, basically leaving me to pay double refund. I had the hardest time getting it back. I so not sell as is on ebay, it comes with risks. I prefer to add those to local Craig list sort of sites. Second hand sites with no PayPal involved. As is = as is. I bought a lot of as is and sometimes I get total shit, which is my gamble and never complained. I have a wall of shame nowadays in my gaming room with consoles on the wall that were total messes inside. At least they make amazing decoration!
Ive won cases like this before, ebay gave the user a refund and let me keep the money. Only way to allow ebay to step in is to wait out the time limit and it will escalate. In your communication with the buyer, just make the position it was sold as spares and actually described. When ebay look at it, it should be in your favour. Your only issue may well be that it was listed as used, not as faulty. Also, it depends where you are etc. In the UK, as a business seller and selling as buy it now, you are subject to returns for ANY reason. Not sure on rules elsewhere.
Thanks for the advice, all. FYI, once I had enough money in my paypal account from other pending sales, the problem I had issuing a refund went away. I figured it would just charge anything I didn't have to my CC as paypal does for purchases, but for some reason it did not do that for refunds. I felt that things were a little grey for this particular refunded listing and ebay would not side with me. Despite saying "as is" in the condition, I had the unit listed as "used" (because "for parts" wasn't an available choice for this category) and I showed a picture of the device turned on displaying a typical menu on a startup screen, which seems to indicate the item would work fine (which was the intention anyway because for all I knew at the outset, the item did work fine).
I would fight this tooth and nail with Ebay if it were me. You listed it strictly AS-IS. That implies that it may be broken beyond repair. That's the risk with an AS-IS item. And the buyer should accept that. They took a risk and it didn't pan out. You made your bed, now you have to lie in it.
