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A friend of mine (and in this case, it actually is, and not me!) sold a graphics card for £1200 (can't have been me then, didn't know you could even buy £1200 graphics cards be they new or used...) on eBay and 27 days later the buyer has filed to say it is faulty and eBay has ruled in their favour. He's having to refund both the purchase price as well as the return postage. Alarm bells rang to begin with, when the buyer gave a different PayPal address to send to, but then corrected it and alarms were reset.
Could be genuinely faulty, but only after the buyer has installed and used it. Said friend is a straight-up genuine seller who wouldn't have knowingly sold a dud.
Does he have any options other than to suck it up? He's pretty contorted with the apparent injustice of it all, understandably, and no amount of "it's only money" is going to change that in the short term. Any ideas? Thanks!
It may be too late, but for higher value items (although never that high) I try and make sure I can identify that the item returned is the one I shipped. Does he have any good photos of the card that show anything identifiable such as an etched serial number?
Stuff like this makes me nervous. I haven't sold anything ebay for years but I just auctioned off 3 grands worth of cameras and lenses. I've had the money for a week and all is well so far. I'll be gutted if someone rips me off.
After 27 days I'd be highly suspicious. My bet would be the buyer has cooked it or is trying to return a faulty one. I hope the seller has a picture with the serial number. I'd also be testing it and closely examining for damage before accepting an it back. Look for things like the heatsinks having been moved.
What do you mean buyer gave a PayPal address for refund? The buyer shouldn't be doing that, if it's a refund via the eBay system then that's automated, same if it's a refund via PayPal. Any funds go back to the account they came from and nowhere else. If your friend refunds via a separate transaction then they are opening themselves to reversal of the original transaction as well.
Is the request definitely via eBay (appears in eBay as a return request) and not a email scam attempt.
@nixie, sadly it's definitely genuinely from eBay. He's spoken to them on the phone. The original PayPal transaction was the one where the buyer initially (AFAIK) gave an address other than the one on the PayPal account, nothing to do with the refund. It was challenged (with a raised eyebrow) and ultimately sent to the address on the account for "seller protection" (hoho).
Edit: oh, and PS yes he is *highly* suspicious. Suspicious but powerless it would seem 🙁
Has he got the graphics card back yet? He should not refund until he has.
@ctk not sure it's as simple as that. I believe eBay has already debited his eBay account to the tune of the refund. As to when and how those funds actually depart his possession...
Hopefully it's between accounts and hopefully eBay don't refund as soon as the parcel arrives.
Hell of a lot of money I would be absolutely gutted.
I had a buyer complain he hadn’t received goods. Money is put on hold until seller releases it back to buyer.
I recently posted on another thread on here about this very situation and closure of both my eBay and PayPal (now effectively back in house at eBay!) accounts.
Bottom line: eBay is a scammers paradise and they ALWAYS side in the buyers favour EVEN when you can prove a fishy/wrong buyer. By this time they've probably disappeared.
It's far too easy for buyers to start the refund process.
I had even gone to the lengths of UV marking more expensive stuff with URN's.....just not worth the hassle, there are always alternatives, specialist forums etc etc.
Bank transfer, PayPal gift or cash are the best seller protection.
@ginsterdrz - yeah, I think he is basically resolved to it being a lost cause, but asking on here just in case there is anything that might not be obvious. Sorry, I didn't see your post, sounds equally galling. I've been on here since about 2003 and once upon a time I would be checking every five minutes, I'm a much more occasional visitor these days sadly...
I second the notion that eBay is now a scammer's paradise. It's not a place where I'd sell high value items now, despite the convenience and wide customer base.
It happened to me quite a few times in recent years, fortunately on low value items. The most I lost was for an item worth £50 so I didn't have too much of a problem cutting my losses and moving on but I'd be absolutely gutted if I got stung for £1,200.
Does the seller have any evidence of a working card and serial number?
What's the communication been like?
Has the buyers set-up and card fault been discussed sensibly between both parties or was the dispute without comms?
Any Comms since dispute, any pics of the card being returned?
What's the Buyers feedback like?
It is also possible the card might have had an unknown fault. Slim chance but still worth remembering.
Is the card on its way back yet?
That's a lot of sucking up to do and worth putting some effort in if he has any proof at all or can get any.
There is also the chance the card is fine and it's the buyers system that cannot run it. E.g. not compatible or inadequate PSU.
@exsee, thanks, I will pass on those ideas. I'm afraid, however, it seems like eBay has just made the decision, slam dunk, case closed. Anything else will be like shouting at a locked perimeter gate perhaps, but worth at least giving it thought.
@nixie, that's true. I guess it's taken a long time to work it out though. Maybe that's the best case scenario: get it back, and it still works for seller to use themselves. Apparently it is displaying a known possible error code for that card though. I don't know the full details on that score however.
Apparently it is displaying a known possible error code for that card though.
If that is true then seems fair enough to get money back. As long as the seller gets the same item back then no loss for anyone (if the error was already there).
What I would take from this is don't sell thing son eBay you can't afford to lose. I have sold a lot of stuff on eBay but never sold anything of a high enough value that I couldn't right it off it it all went bad (which it hasn't yet in 17 years)
@kerley, well, that's the big Q isn't it. The overwhelming suggestion is that the error wasn't there, and that (as someone has alluded to) the error has manifested itself when in the buyer's machine which may, or may not, have fried it somehow... Who knows, could be legit, we may never know. I think the lesson is learnt, however, fear not! Maybe those initial spider senses that tingled needed to be taken more notice of, but then hindsight is a wonderful thing 🙁
If it's a genuine fault and the friend is the original purchaser then they potentially could warranty it (this is assuming they get the same card back). Bit of a grey area perhaps.
For interest was it sold as an auction or buy it now? My understanding is that a BIN even for a 2nd hand item has the same returns requirements as a shop
@deft - that's interesting. And when I say "interesting" I mean... <<insert appropriate word>>
@deft on what grounds? Your not a business and the item is not new. How could distance selling apply?
How could distance selling apply?
It doesn't. The understanding was not correct.