Need some advice on how to handle an Ebay deal

[Tommie Milwaukee]

I sold a Mini on Ebay & the buyer claims that the wireless connection is not working properly. I suspect that the antenna came loose, possibly during shipment. He wants to get it repaired at my cost. I suggested for him to return the Mini to me & I would repair it myself. We're at a standstill since he doesn't want to ship it back to me & be without it for a week or so. It works fine with an ethernet cable, which he also claims that he'll have to spend $60 on a long one to connect to his modem in another room.

Should I refund him some dough or should I insist on him returning it to me for repair? My perfect feedback record is at stake here also.

[Black]

Kind of need to know what you promised in your listing, but I would offer to return for full refund and be done with this buyer.

[rgG]

Black wrote:
I would offer to return for full refund and be done with this buyer.

:agree:

[hal]

(longtime seller - 1000s of sales)

Your job is to delivery what you advertise - not to make him a latté...

If it doesn't work as advertised, you are required to take it back and refund his money. And that's it...

I've been through this before - in their eyes, it seems reasonable for you to spend money to get the thing up to what was advertised, but you have to make him understand what a crappy deal that is for you and WAY, WAY beyond the call of duty. Try to make it clear that he has two options - 1) keep the computer or 2) return the computer - make him understand this. That;'s the rules - you deliver a working thingie or accept a return for refund - the rules say nothing about buying the most expensive ethernet cable on the planet or anything else.

I would reply, "I'm sorry that you're having trouble with the mini and of course, I accept responsibility. Please return to the following address and I will refund your payment as soon as it arrives."

That is what you are obligated to do. You are NOT obligated to spend a bunch of money to make it work for him.

Make your replies short and not open to misinterpretation.

[Carnos Jax]

They seem to be trying to take advantage of you based.on the price they're quoting for the 60' Ethernet cable (I could be wrong but that seems very high). I'd therefore suspect they may 'bill' you high for the repair.

Depending on what the description and terms in your listing included, they may have you by the balls.

I would try suggesting reasonable alternatives (such as you're doing), but if you ultimately sense they're not going to be happy with the situation, then it's best to just acquiesce to their demands. You have more at stake in the long run, assuming you'll be using the account for high stakes selling or selling things on which bidding activity can occur fast (like highly sought after items during the holidays). Just ask yourself, over the years, have you made enough money (garnering top prices because of your feedback) to where a loss of this magnitude is acceptable?

If much of the above doesn't apply to you, and you sell items in which prospective buyers have plenty of time to evaluate the situation, then I don't think one bad feedback will hurt you.

[Carnos Jax]

Exactly what Hal said. If you can be clear enough about it and make the buyer understand as a matter of policy you will accept a return and refund, that's the best course.

But I suspect he may be trying to extort u, in which case u may be hosed (unless the extortion is explicit).

[Tommie Milwaukee]

I just offered him a full refund OR a free repair by me. Either way hell have to ship it back to me, which he claimed he'd rather not do. he really wanted to keep it & have me reimburse him some money. How would I know that he's not trying to scam me? I'm waiting for his reply.

[rgG]

See what he offers as a compromise, if it seems fair, and he will state in writing that this settles the matter, then I would think it would be fine, but I defer to people with far more eBay experience than I have.

[Buzz]

Claiming $60 for a $10 cable is a fairly clear indicator of his motives.
Hal is spot on, and CJ makes some add'l good points, but somewhere in between is where you need to, or should, flesh out the truth. If he hesitates further on sending the machine back to you, that is pretty clear evidence that the wifi probably isn't really broken; he doesn't want to send it back, because he knows you will discover his con. Since I'm sure you have photos of the bottom of the unit, if he tries to open up the machine to disconnect the antenna, you will be able to tell. If the wifi really is wonky, because the antenna got borked in transit, he should sent it back to you, at whatever time is mutually convenient. Anything less screams con.

What's the extortion angle really worth? From the sound of the situation, a good faith, well documented fall back position would be in the $25-30 range, in lieu of the shipping and realistic alternative cable cost involved. Funnel everything through Ebay so the record is clear if he continues to balk at sending the machine back for his refund. If the machine really did get borked as claimed, then he is entitled to his refund. Period. No more, no less. Since the refund may inconvenience you, a $25-30 resolution for never finding what really happened to the machine, if anything, is a kindly act in his favor on your part. IOW, you are putting the onus on him to turn down $25-30 NOT to take the cheerful refund that you are offering, making him look like the bad guy in the process.

You didn't state how long this mess has gone on, but he should have checked out everything asap and gotten back to you immediately w/ any problems, and certainly prior to taking any steps to become dependent on the machine if there were any issues whatsoever. Trying to leverage his supposed dependency at your expense again screams con. Maybe point that out to him in a nice, diplomatic way, along w/ the other suggested content.

I went through a similar issue at the beginning of the year, and it took about four months to finally resolve, the way it should have initially, but I held my ground and got paid in full. I hope your resolution is much quicker. As usual, I took a video of everything working, and being packed for shipment prior to sending it on its way, as an ounce of prevention. I will never ship electronics worth more than about $100 without doing so.

///

[Tommie Milwaukee]

Thanks to all for your responses. I'm awaiting his reply to my offer of either a refund or a repair.