eBay policy on electronic component parts?

whoaru99

whoaru99

Epic Member
Since this isn't a question of value I didn't put it in Dollars and Sense...

Can I sell a NOS-NIB electronic component but sell it as no return/no refund if installed?

This I ask because I would have no way to verify if it was installed improperly/damaged during installation if the buyer said it didn't work. Of course, I'm assuming that it works now since it is both NOS and NIB and not something that you can just simply connect to a meter or power supply to test.

Essentially, can I say this part is NOS and NIB but due to the somewhat sensitive nature of the part there is no return and no refund after installation, and have that stick?
 
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If the buyer opens a paypal dispute he or she will most likely win. I recently purchased a motherboard from a vendor who stated no returns. Well the board ran hot and would shut off. I took it out re-installed it and then it would not post up. I sent both the laptop and the mobo back to the vendor they were able to make it post (power on self test). After I received it back my laptop the mobo died after three days. I asked for a refund and got no response. I opened up a claim and got the refund yesterday.
I do not sell on ebay but if you are selling gear it better work. I am honest and have a 381 perfect feedback score since 2004. This was the first time I opened a claim. And this is after I left positive feedback on the laptop motherboard.
I know Ebay makes it difficult for sellers but in my case the board really did not work.
If you are going sell items you should not have problems if they work. In general, Ebay is always going to side with the customer. I mean that is what is making the whole thing work anyway. Paypal and BillmeLater are going to be serious competitors to Visa and Mastercard.
 
It doesn't really matter if you specify "No returns".
As icenine said buyer can open a dispute and most likely win.
You just have to keep this possibility in mind.
 
You're in a difficult situation if you're selling something and saying it's good but it can't be tested, so the only way it can be tested is if it's installed, and if it's installed and doesn't work, you don't want to take it back.

If you say something works and it doesn't, the buyer is going to get a refund.

The only way around this is to sell the item as "NOS/NIB", However, I have no way to test, so the item is "Untested; Not guaranteed to work". That way, if the buyer installs it and it doesn't work, then he can't file a SNAD dispute.




Also, unfortunately, since this is precisely about buying and selling on eBay, it must go in D&S, or else in one of the appropriate Subscriber Forums. Moved to D&S.
 
squirrelnest said:
Seems like the buyer always has the upper hand in disputes...
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If you read the policies and follow them, that is dead wrong.

If, however, you proceed based on how you wish the world would work, instead of how it really is, you'll get burned every time.
 
Any item can be listed: "as is, no return or refund." But ebay allows any buyer to open a claim under "significantly not as described" -- a gray area at best, and the buyer usually prevails.
Unless you open and test the item yourself, you have no way of verifying whether it works properly. Understandably, you don't want to nullify its NIB status.
This is the same paradox as sealed LPs. We assume the vinyl is pristine, but cannot prove it without unsealing it -- thus decreasing its value. (Once unsealed, the best we can say is "unplayed.")
You could list your item as NIB with the caveat: "Presumed to be in proper working condition, but cannot verify and will not open to test. As such, it is being sold as is -- no returns or refunds."
You could also offer the winning bidder the option of having you open and test the item prior to shipping. But this, too, is problematic. It would only prove to you that the item was working when shipped. The buyer must take your word for it, and you cannot ensure it will still be working when delivered.
Additionally, if the actual test of whether an NIB item is working properly is for the buyer to install it, and it fails, how would you prove the buyer installed it wrong or somehow misused it? Again, ebay will side with the buyer in a dispute.
Sorry to say, as an ebay seller you have no protection against unscrupulous or inexperienced buyers. Your safest bet might be to sell this piece face-to-face which, of course, has its own separate set of issues.
 
anytune said:
Any item can be listed: "as is, no return or refund." But ebay allows any buyer to open a claim under "significantly not as described" -- a gray area at best, and the buyer usually prevails.
Unless you open and test the item yourself, you have no way of verifying whether it works properly. Understandably, you don't want to nullify its NIB status.
This is the same paradox as sealed LPs. We assume the vinyl is pristine, but cannot prove it without unsealing it -- thus decreasing its value. (Once unsealed, the best we can say is "unplayed.")
You could list your item as NIB with the caveat: "Presumed to be in proper working condition, but cannot verify and will not open to test. As such, it is being sold as is -- no returns or refunds."
You could also offer the winning bidder the option of having you open and test the item prior to shipping. But this, too, is problematic. It would only prove to you that the item was working when shipped. The buyer must take your word for it, and you cannot ensure it will still be working when delivered.
Additionally, if the actual test of whether an NIB item is working properly is for the buyer to install it, and it fails, how would you prove the buyer installed it wrong or somehow misused it? Again, ebay will side with the buyer in a dispute.
Sorry to say, as an ebay seller you have no protection against unscrupulous or inexperienced buyers. Your safest bet might be to sell this piece face-to-face which, of course, has its own separate set of issues.
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Or you could simply sell it as "As-Is, untested, not guaranteed to work".
 
Fisherdude said:
If you read the policies and follow them, that is dead wrong.

If, however, you proceed based on how you wish the world would work, instead of how it really is, you'll get burned every time.
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This is excellent advice for life in general. A lot of people would be much happier if they realized that it is so.
 
JonL said:
This is excellent advice for life in general. A lot of people would be much happier if they realized that it is so.
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I shake my head in utter bewilderment at the millions of people who go through their lives wondering why everything is so hard. :no:
 
squirrelnest said:
The item is not worth listing to sell....
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Not sure to what you reference, but I'm pretty sure it is worth it to sell. However, given the potential for hassles with something like this, the date of sale might just be whenever my estate sale is and I don't much care anymore of such worldly things. Hopefully that's still quite some time from now. :yes:
 
New Old Stock is a contradiction in its self that ebay frouns upon.


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"No returns" mean

They don't have to send it back, if you give them a refund or forced to refund.

I have absolutely no idea on what to recommend, e_bay don't make the buyers jump through any hoops at all.

don't put the words "as is" in the listing.

I would post, "any soldering or mounting marks I cannot refund"
 
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qsaudio said:
"No returns" mean

They don't have to send it back, if you give them a refund or forced to refund.
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That's not my experience. If eBay grants the buyer a refund, then the item must be returned even if the listing states no returns.

The only exception I've seen to that rule is for counterfeit items, which eBay/Paypal can order the buyer to destroy.
 
well I been reading a lot on their discussion boards, and the things that happen , hell I don't know.

They tell them to return it, if a case is opened. then sit and wait for negative feedback after that.
 
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