What can I do now?

[austi15]

I sold a Mitsubishi tuner on fleabay recently. Shipped via UPS, no insurance but apparently covered to $100. Sold it for $175+15 shipping. Buyer opens a case saying the box was messed up, metal handle ripped off tuner, heavy damage all around and doesn't work right. The way I packed it you're have to run it over with a truck to cause that. Plus I don't think I could have ripped that handle off if I tried, cast metal bolted onto thick sheetmetal.

I responded saying I cannot refund until tomorrow (which is true I keep money out of Paypal, personal preference. So I gotta borrow it from my dad) and requesting pictures of the box and tuner. I keep seriel #s ever since a f*&%ing POS buyer tried to send me his broken nikon lens in return for the pristine one I sold him. It's a fine line between wanting to do best for the buyer who feels screwed over by the shippers and trying to document damage/stay aware of fraud. If you saw the pack job you'd understand my skepticism.

Anyway, my question is for the guys that have been through this before: How do I make a claim on my $100? Do I need to physically have the box? Or are a bunch of pictures enough? Will post pictures here when I get them 'cause, well, I would want to see them if I was reading this thread heh

This was the last sale I made before I decided to close my ebay account after 3 years and 100 sales or so. They want a tax ID under the patriot act. I only mention that for background, not to bring up politics. It amplifies the level of PITA this particular transaction is becoming as the LAST one :/

 

[Ths364]

Get the pictures first. Get as many pics as you can- of the box, the packing, the receiver and the serial number. Don't promise him anything until you've seen them. I'd probably want the unit back to recover what else I could by selling the parts.

 

[roberttx]

Definitely no refund until the unit is returned - there are crooks out there who think nothing of telling lies to "fish for a partial" (refund). Often they change their tune when you say "return it for a full refund".

If he's opened a case you only have seven (I think) days to act before ebay will rule in his favour, so time is of the essence.

First - ask for pictures, as Ths364 says. Next, if that doesn't put him off, respond to the case by selecting "return for refund".

Then - wait and see what happens and what, if anything, he sends back.

Only after all that is done is it time to think about insurance.

Edited to add: Another thing you might do is take a look at your buyer's "Feedback left for others". Some of the dumber crooks give themselves away with multiple references like "Seller made it right", "Resolved problems" etc.

 

[ConradH]

If you get to insurance, don't mention "vintage". I think the fine print excludes vintage and collectible stuff. Actually I think it excludes just about everything, as various threads suggest actually getting paid is pretty rare.

 

[sunby]

Do not refund yet.
Request specific (damaged box, damged area, SN# etc.) photos.
It's better to have the unit returned to you.
I know it's costly but some buyers claim damge to get a partial refund or keep the unit for free.

Has the buyer opened a case?

For this reason I always insure to "protect myself" and take a photos of my packing.

 

[austi15]

The buyer opened a case. In fact, he's opened two. The first one I shipped via USPS, it came back with a damaged label. No harm done got my money back decided to ship UPS, told buyer what had happened. He started a case the next day, so I was already wary of him. When my stuff doesn't arrive I generally ask via message first, opening a case is douchey if there's no problem.

UPS said it arrived Friday. He opened yesterday. I requested pictures, when I get those I will tell him to send it back prior to refund. He already offered to send it back, on his dime of course, so I'm tempted to think he just didn't know it was faux pas and UPS genuinely screwed both of us.

 

[austi15]

Ok he responded. He's sending pictures and sending preamp back. Very understanding and reasonable. I only paid $50 for the preamp initially so if I can recoup $100 of the value out of the United Parcel Smashers I'll at least have recouped costs.

 

[austi15]

I think I'm getting ripped off, need to respond today.

Ok I got the tuner back today. The 1/8" aluminum tabs on the handle were broken, and had pried the little rail they sit in upwards. The tuning knob was loose.

Initially it appeared to be what the buyer claimed-box damage. I decided to try and fix it. I pulled the faceplate and found the tuning knob wasn't broken anywhere..The nut that pins it in place was simple unscrewed, leaving it loose. NO way it was shock damage because there's no damage, it's just loosened! No signs of shock on threads.

I think, "well that could be totally explainable, perhaps they loosened in shipping."

So I examine where the aluminum tabs slide into the front panel. The tabs are snapped at an angle, and the piece of extruded aluminum that retains them is tweaked out. The problem is, the only way the piece of tab remaining on the handle would tweak the piece of aluminum OUTWARD would be from forcing the handle OUT. If you hit a box with enough force to slam into the corner of an object, the corner is going to take a blunt hit, not rip towards the incoming force.

If it's hard to visualize, imagine looking at a piece of audio gear with front handles head on. Hold a hammer right at the center of the faceplate a few millimeters away and swing it towards one handle. That's the only way the damage could have occurred. The box was not smashed in his pictures.

I think it was buyers remorse since his third complaint (after loose knob and broken handle) was that it "did not meet his expectations"

How do I proceed? I have the evidence, but I know eBay hates it's sellers with a passion.

 

[austi15]

Ebay did not even acknowledge that I had escalated the case to them. They simply issued a refund despite documented fraud. I'm done with this. I wish I could afford a lawyer...

 

[Yamaki]

For the money it's not worth hiring a lawyer to pursue this douche. About all you can do is provide negative feedback and resolve not to do business with the so and so again.

Since eBay seems to favor the buyers, and there are a lot of scammers out there as previously mentioned, as long as you were made relatively whole, you have come out of this a LOT better than many other sellers who have been taken advantage of.

 

[Dan ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ]

It's too late...but everyone needs to be sure to document (with pics) the serial number of the item you are sending out.
Swapping a trashed item for a good one is fairly common.

 

[jsisk]

Did you file a claim with UPS to get your $100?

 

[jcamero]

This is another reason why I choose not to sell anything on that site.