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I sold an audio amp and the buyer first complained that the mounting bracket looks like it had been used and I had it listed as new (I bought it from a store return auction site, looked brand new) and we agreed on a 20% partial refund. He says that it doesn’t work altogether now and wants a refund. On my listings, it says that buyer pays for return shipping. Do I ask him to send it back? How do I proceed here? Thank you!
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If he opened up a case and said you were at fault, you pay the shipping. If the item is broken, eBay can force the return and a full refund no matter what your return policy is. This is how eBay protects sellers.
So what would I do? I’d accept the return. Unless you’ve tested it and can guarantee it works, it sounds like it could in fact be broken since yo said it was a store return.
Worst that happens is you get the item, test it, figure out that it works, and resell it. Selling used electronics is not a fun business IMHO.
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Thanks, Jay. I’m coming to the same conclusion. I think I’ll stick to clothes and video games until I’m more experienced.
So who’s responsible for paying return shipping then? And if it’s me, then in what situation would the buyer be responsible for paying shipping? If they just don’t like the item? If I have to pay shipping, I’ll just refund him and tell him to keep it.
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If a buyer says they just changed their mind, they pay for the shipping. But if the buyer says the seller has done something wrong (shipped wrong item, broken item, etc), the the seller pays.
You can dispute the return, but you need to make sure you are in the right. In this case, it doesn’t sound like you can guarantee that the item was working. Imagine if you were the buyer and received a broken item.
Make sure you learn the return policies to avoid any headaches: http://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/faq/returns.html
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I sell a lot of used vintage electronics and rarely have a problem. I sell probably a third of my electronics items as either untested or partially tested (powers on). There is demand for old electronics and some can sell for high dollar amounts.
Every once in a while, you will have an issue where something doesn’t work correctly. It could be damaged in transit. It might be user error. If it is a heavy item and/or I don’t have much invested in it, I just give a full refund and move on. If I suspect that the buyer is trying to scam me, then I’ll pay for return shipping and try to call their bluff. In either case, it’s a price of doing business. The profit I make on the other 95% of my electronics sales more than makes up for it.
Basically, I’m saying don’t give up on electronics just because you’ve had a return or two.
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Never assume ANYTHING when you buy liquidation pallet goods. Don’t assume anything is actually brand new. Don’t assume anything works. Don’t assume all the parts are there.
You have to open the package and verify and test everything. I’ve experimented with pallet goods and finally decided it is not worth it. My advice is to just chalk it up to a lesson learned and refund the buyer. If you really want it back just to check things out go ahead, but it is just more expense.
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My local thrift store started buying pallet lots and selling them in the store. Sometimes they get very high end stuff in so I started perusing it. I got shafted on two big ticket items.
One was a Bugaboo stroller package I paid $160 for. It was two boxes – the stroller and an add on accessory thing. Once opened, the stroller was not what was on the box – it was an old beat to crap, sun faded model. Someone returned the old one and kept the new one! I did eventually sell the accessory that was actually new for $400 on amazon so I did okay. While it was new, it had been resealed and the instructions were gone. I can’t sell that dang stroller even on facebook yardsale. Had it been new as advertised, I could have sold the stroller for $500+.
The last straw was some towel warmers I bought. I bought two at $50 each. I opened the first one and went through it. It was brand new. The second one I opened the top to see it was still in the original plastic so I didn’t go further…big mistake.
The new one sold without a hitch for $120. The one I did not check sold GSP to Canada. The customer wrote me quite upset on Christmas day. It was actually a used item that even had wear on the power switch. To top it off it didn’t work. I refunded the buyer 100%, so I ate the COGS ($50), the regular shipping ($15), and the international shipping ($65).
I’ve dodged many bullets by thoroughly examining the goods. Eventually I just said “no more”.
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