Another Craigslist Nightmare!

[bkinyoun57]

Oregon

Sold a vintage pair of 40 year old Bose 901 speakers on Craigslist. In my opinion they were in excellent condition and I listed them as such. I had them hooked up and listened to them often and they sounded fine...in fact great to me. Buyer and his wife went over them with a fine tooth comb. He asked about the foam surrounds and I told him I could not verify the condition of them because I had never had reason to check. Its a real pain to pull the covers off 901's and had never seen the need because they sounded fine to me. At their direction I played several genre of music...vinyl and tape...and multiple tracks of each. The system is set up in my music room where there is also a drum kit. At one point he was playing the speakers at high volume and we all heard a buzz. I looked and diagnosed it as the snare drum which was less than 2 feet from the speaker being vibrated by the sound. I released the tension on the snare and the sound went away. He resumed his inspection which again involved me playing different records and multiple tracks all at his direction. I gave him free reign to adjust the volume and other metrics at his pleasure. After 45 minutes of this he made an offer that was less than asking but I accepted. He loaded them up and drove off. 24 hours later he sends me an email saying the speakers are defective and the sound is distorted. He wants a total refund or says he is going to take legal action and I will be held liable for court, attorney and a host of other fees. Says I listed them is "excellent" and that he was mislead. Very frustrating..... HELP!!

 

[Shadowbunny]

Oregon

Sold a vintage pair of 40 year old Bose 901 speakers on Craigslist. In my opinion they were in excellent condition and I listed them as such. I had them hooked up and listened to them often and they sounded fine...in fact great to me. Buyer and his wife went over them with a fine tooth comb. He asked about the foam surrounds and I told him I could verify the condition of them because I had never had reason to check. Its a real pain to pull the covers off 901's and had never seen the need because they sounded fine to me. At their direction I played several genre of music...vinyl and tape...and multiple tracks of each. The system is set up in my music room where there is also a drum kit. At one point he was playing the speakers at high volume and we all heard a buzz. I looked and diagnosed it as the snare drum which was less than 2 feet from the speaker being vibrated by the sound. I released the tension on the snare and the sound went away. He resumed his inspection which again involved me playing different records and multiple tracks all at his direction. I gave him free reign to adjust the volume and other metrics at his pleasure. After 45 minutes of this he made an offer that was less than asking but I accepted. He loaded them up and drove off. 24 hours later he sends me an email saying the speakers are defective and the sound is distorted. He wants a total refund or says he is going to take legal action and I will be held liable for court, attorney and a host of other fees. Says I listed them is "excellent" and that he was mislead. Very frustrating..... HELP!!

Ignore him. Anyone can say they'll sue, following through is entirely different.

 

[xylene]

How much was your ask and how much did he pay?

I would ignore him - unless we are talking about some really really large amount of money in which case i would maintain a careful holding pattern.

These are Bose speakers. Now if you had put stickers on some Realistic speakers and sold them as Bose, that would be fraud and misrepresentation.

Condition claims that were agreed to and ascertained by testing are not fraud.

 

[adjusterjack]

And he isn't likely to win.

Probably has an inferior stereo system and is suffering from buyer's remorse.

 

[bkinyoun57]

How much was your ask and how much did he pay?

I would ignore him - unless we are talking about some really really large amount of money in which case i would maintain a careful holding pattern.

These are Bose speakers. Now if you had put stickers on some Realistic speakers and sold them as Bose, that would be fraud and misrepresentation.

Condition claims that were agreed to and ascertained by testing are not fraud.

Asking price was $400. He offered $300 and I countered at $375 as my low. They were cosmetically very nice and to me they sounded fine. He must have thought so too because he paid the price....packed them up and drove off.

 

[bkinyoun57]

And he isn't likely to win.

Probably has an inferior stereo system and is suffering from buyer's remorse.

That's another of my concerns plus how do I know that he didn't drop them? Or take them apart to check the foam surrounds that he expressed concern about? He may even have them hooked up wrong? Again...we stood there and listened to them for a good 40 minutes before he purchased. I played them through a vintage Pioneer SX-880 receiver, Pioneer PL-55X turntable and a TEAC 4010 GSL reel to reel tape deck

 

[xylene]

A condition claim 'excellent' is subjective, and is not refutable as fraud.

The amount involved is small. You are fine.

If on the odd chance he does sue you, just don't ignore that.

You don't need to have any further contact. Don't even acknowledge him or admit anything. Don't agree to a refund or partial refund.

ALSO - you are right, he has used the speakers and he could have damaged them in any number of ways.

 

[coolmaltese]

FYI: On 40 year old Bose speakers, the foam edging has probably deteriorated and that will cause distortion or rattling. It is possible that when they were moved and transported, the foam completely separated or fell apart causing a more pronounced distortion when the buyer got the speakers home. Having redone the foam edging on many Bose speakers over the years, this is a common occurrence. It is also a relatively inexpensive and easy repair as several companies make foam edge kits for many speaker brands.