online transaction gone bad

[kspoa]

What is the name of your state? Indiana
State of buyer: Colorado

Item was sold via ebay, buyer pays bid price and shipping price on top of bid price.
Item was shipped via UPS, buyer received package damaged; however, did not file an insurance claim for 2 to 3 weeks after receiving the damaged package. (Insurance was taken out for more than item was worth)
Irrate and very rude buyer, sender decided to end the deal as quickly, so made an agreement with buyer verbally to send money back plus the cost of the original shipping, buyer would only have to ship the item back now.
Buyer is refusing to ship it back, has all the money. What are options concerning legal issues at this point to make the buyer conform to his aggreement concerning this item?

 

[crusheroz]

I am sorry but I have to ask why would you send him the money before you got the item back?

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

My response:

I make no indictment against E-Bay, or any of the other Internet auction sites. I'm sure they do a good, brisk and honest business.

What people like yourself don't realize, or forget, is that some people do get screwed for one reason or another, and when they do, they come here looking for help. The problem is that the cheated or screwed persons don't realize that doing business between States is hazardous to your wallet.

Usually, the price of the item makes "recourse" extremely cost prohibitive due to differing jurisdictions. How is a buyer supposed to get any "justice" through the court system when there's 15 States between the seller and buyer? Yet, people come here to ask the same damn question - - "What can I do now?" or "How can I get my money?"

The only real answer is, "Nothing, you dolt!" What good is it when you'd have to spend $3,000.00 to get $300.00 back?

There is no magic wand, or "fairy dust" to make things better. Justice costs money, and more often than not, it costs more than the dispute in question. Yet, they keep coming back here.

It's brainless and the epitome of stupidity to buy something over the Internet, and at a distance of more than 100 to 150 miles from your home and, especially across State lines.

But, you'd have to be an attorney to appreciate the legalities of that proposition, and understand the potential trouble to obtain "recourse" when the crap hits the fan.

There is no cheap answer to rectify an online auction problem due to distance, time and jurisdictional problems.

That's why the average person should NEVER buy from, or sell within, an online auction. The money saved, and the perceived "convenience", is not worth the chance of dealing with someone who might cheat you. The protections, if any, are difficult to work with, and highly misunderstood.

Buy and sell locally so you have, at least, a chance of "recourse" rather than only being able to throw your hands up in the air, losing money in the bargain.

IAAL

 

[kspoa]

My boyfriend sent the money back because the guy tried threatening him, which worked. Myself, I would have done nothing and if I was kicked off the online auction site, so what.

Now the guy said he would send the package COD but is not telling my boyfriend how much he supposedly owes, oh yeah, he also wants money for the phone calls he made long distance because of this.

What is the best way to quickly end this and get the product back, in your advice?

 

[mobopp]

That's why the average person should NEVER buy from, or sell within, an online auction. The
money saved, and the perceived "convenience", is not worth the chance of dealing with someone who might cheat you. The protections, if any, are difficult to work with, and highly misunderstood.
========================================

I dissagree with you IAAL, i have sold at least $10,000 worth of items and have made sure my customers are happy.

If you take precautions you will unlikely get ripped off.

As you know i am a dj so a lot of stuff i sell equipment records cd's will usually be bought by other dj's, so its not wise to ever try to pull something when you sell to people knowledgable about the subject and items.

Second...most important The biggest mistake made on ebay, is a newbie witha Zero or low rating sells a very expensive item, even i would NEVER EVER bid on it UNLESS.....i can pick it up in person.

Then you can see if the person who is asking the big bucks is selling the item correctly.

Third there are LOTS of flea market dealers, garge and estate sales people selling stuff some with ratings in the thousands, who sell AS-IS and they mean it!

They have no clue, they are joe and jane trailer park six pack, who think they can make extra $$$ on ebay, so its easy to scammed if you bid TOO HIGH!

Fourth....NEVER buy an expensive item, or a rare item if they person cannot take a decent picture of it. People selling $1000 items and they cant afford a $100 digital camera.....

Just common sense Iaal, it really is a pretty decent way to get rid of the excess stuff we all accumulate in our lives.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

"What is the best way to quickly end this and get the product back, in your advice?"

=====================================


My response:

Oh, brother.

Apparently you're not reading, or you're having trouble understanding what I've written.

There is no "best" way. Any "way" you try, whether best, worst, better, or whatever "way" you try, is going to be EXPENSIVE because you decided to deal with someone across State lines.

If you can arrange something with the buyer, then wonderful. That's your only hope. Anything else you try, well, you may as well have a "boatload" of money.

Now, looking back at all this, was it really worth it?

IAAL

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

"Just common sense Iaal, it really is a pretty decent way to get rid of the excess stuff we all accumlatate in our lives."

======================================

My response:

Yes, it's "common sense" - - to have a garage sale!

Obviously, you don't understand the "jurisdictional" problems either, or you wouldn't be espousing the E-Bay method.

Let me put it to you another way - - perhaps you'll understand this example - -

When you ride a motorcycle, it's not IF you'll fall at some point, it's "when". Sure, you can wear leathers and a helmet (the so-called "protections" you talk about) but there's going to be a time, no matter what you do, when you're going to be seriously injured.

Same thing holds true for "across State line" selling and buying. You can buy all the protections you want, but at some point, those protections aren't going to be enough and you're going to be "burned."

IAAL

 

[HomeGuru]

How do we restrict further postings concerning ebay? I am getting sick of reading the same old stories. Same story, different sucker.

 

[kspoa]

I understand what everyone's argument is here. I know the laws concerning any transaction of services; however, I was not aware of the "big" picture between state lines. I agree that some items on ebay should not be sold and you should be fully aware of all actions both negative and positive. Does purchasing the item out weigh the risk of losing money in the deal and that is a personal decision.

My thoughts in this matter, my boyfriend should have never sold his Jeep doors on ebay. He would have gotten the same price around home here and with none of this bs going on.

I do buy items on ebay and other auction sites, but I do watch who I am purchasing from, their fine print and so forth. Good point, I don't buy anything unless it is a high quality picture of the item no matter what price.

I have advised him to arrange pickup of the item with UPS, pay for the shipping himself and have ready the local law inforcement in case the guy does not hand of the package. That is basically all we can do at this point and hope to chalk it up as a life learned lesson. We all have our share, just hope others read and learn from this prior to making any major sells or purchases from auctions.

Thanks a bunch from everyone's opinion! Personally, I would have never gave the guy his money back, I think it was his own stupidity not reporting the damaged item to UPS within 24 to 48 hours of receipt. I would have left it up to him to deal with his own risk.

 

[mobopp]

Same thing holds true for "across State line" selling and buying. You can buy all the protections you want, but at some point, those protections aren't going to be enough and you're going to be "burned."
=======================

I FULLY agree......I have bought 2 items that were not quite as advertised, over paid a little but not really burnt.

Wildest stories, I had someone buy Classic Klispch La Scalla Industrial speakers from Utah, he flew to Virginia, as the head of the Utah boy scout troops,(thier annual jambore) then rented a van to drive to NY, and pick up the speakers, and other ebay purchases he made in the NY NJ area, and drove all the eay back to Utah.

Not to mention i had 3 people fly in from japan and hong kong to buy my classic 70's disco records...

They fly in 2 or 3 times a year,(they buy hundreds of records for their stores), then take them back on the flight home, its cheaper then sending them by the uspo.

 

[Angiet410]

Transaction gone bad

As an experienced Ebay seller, I can tell you this..When I have had a buyer not happy with my merchandise, I always make sure they ship the item back to me BEFORE issueing any refunds.
Look at it this way, a department store would never refund the money without the merchandise in hand. You should treat an ebay transaction the same way.
If the item was damaged in shipping and not your fault, it is the responsibility of the seller the file a claim for the property with the shipping service. Since the damage wasn't you fault, the buyer would just have to wait to get reimbursed. I've yet to have someone to have a problem with it. Sadly, it sounds like you've come upon one of the few a$$holes on ebay.
I guess none of this helps your problem now. You might try to go to Ebay Safe Harbour to report what happened, also contact ebay regarding this member. Don't worry about one neg. feedback, even the best seller gets them occasionally from people like this, it won't hurt you, just be sure to put your response below it explaining the problem. Good luck!