eBay Buyer Problems

[oldhatthrift]

Recently I sold a digital camera for my uncle and I thought all was good. The buyer paid immidiately and he shipped it immidiately. It arrived in a few days. This is of course where things turn bad.

The buyer emails me and tells me that there is no charger and and that there is a disk drive error. He tells me he had other cameras where this happened, and also that he brought this to a tech guy who said it happens from extensive use. He immediately accuses me of ripping him off, and having a fraudulent business since it came from my uncle. Then he files a complaint with Paypal.

All this happens while I am at class one day. I get home, see the mess, and respond and tell him I will look into things and get back to him. I tell him where the charger is in the case, and that the camera shipped fully functional, but my uncle said that that problem could happen if the onboard battery went dead. And then things get ugly.

The buyer tells me that there is no such thing as an onboard battery and that the charger isn't there. He then says he is a retired judge who is still active with the Magistrates society, and the he will pursue this to the end, and that fraud statutes cross state lines.

I reply that since a report was filed with Paypal, I must yield to their investigation and decision, and will act accordingly. I also see that he purchased the same camera recently before he purchased mine. Despite his accusations toward me, I haven't accused him of anything.

I apologize for the long thread, but I could really use some advice, and you all have never failed me in the past. The buyer has respectable feedback, but so does my uncle as far as I am concerned.

Also, given his attitude, I am hesitant to continue talking with the buyer, but I am also afraid of being sued for fraud of some sort. Is there a case here for him?

Thanks for listening,
lou

 

[oldhatthrift]

ANOTHER UPDATE:

I received this (I apologize for the length):
If this were the only Mavica "Floppy" Camera , I'd ever owned, you could probably Pull the wool over my eyes, however as I told you, I have owned several Mavicas, all of which, unfortunnetly,went belly up for the exact same reason your uncles Camera did. Not shipment, not mishandling,merely overuse of the Floppy drive. These Cameras have a flaw. They are not ones designed for extensive use, rather they have a "shelf life " so to speak. Despite that, every Mavica Camera I owned, came with the exact same accessories, which incuded a cradle type Battery charger and a leather case embossed with the word SONY. Thus when you listed this Camera as ,"all original accessories included", what came....made it a gross misrepresentation, Tho ,they may be closs, it would be like Stating a Cadillac came with all original equipment but trying to sell it with Chevy hubcaps. That would also be a gross misreprsentation. Additionally, "fully functional" was the grossest of the misrepresentation. In your resonse you speak of fairness? Fairness would merely mean.....He paid for a working camera...and he deserves, at the minimum, a working Camera. Fairness would be ....I accepted $180 of his money, and I didn't give him anything workable worth $180. Fairness, would be,....I misrepresented something on Ebay, sight inseen, and if I want to be considered as a fair and reputable dealer and not receive negative and damaging feedback, I'd make good this transaction, and be more diligent in the future, to not let this happen again, Thats the 'Fairness" you mentioned. Even a small merchant in a town has the common sense when confronted with such a problem, takes back the merchandise, refunds the price, and doesn't wait for the manufacturer to make a decision that would grossly affect his reputation nor preclude any future sales or shed a bad light on his reputation or business. After all, $180 sale of unasable merchandise, could eventually balloon to $1800 or more of grief, negatives, negative inuendos, irrepairabe repurcussions, possible litigation and costs well beyond the original$180. When analyzed properly, it isn't worth it! Many successful entrepnuers realize this, and conduct themselves based on "fairness",but they keep in mind ,there are definitly alot to be said for the practice "of cutting their losses" You don't need Ebay or PayPal to conclude an investigation to act in "fairness" or "common sense". Act fairly and return my $180, and I'll act fairly, return your unfortunatelty,unusable Camera and all its supposed original accessories to you or your uncle, or Ebay for proof in some sort of investigation andI,ll in turn, call off any wolves ,so to speak, and return your reputation, that you seemeto feel is a declaration of your fairness and reputable business practices. I'm a retired Judge, who has litigated thousands of cases based on Commercial and Business Law, and have an endless amount of time to devote on positive and negative actions, including letting the world and all who will listen, know of unscrupulous dealers on ebay.I would prefer not to include you among this group.Return my monies now to allow me to purchase a workable Camera and I'll have no valid reason to. Do if you get my drift? Hoping to hear from you on the matter shortly. Don't continue to hide behind investigations , which, in a moment, can be called off and ended. Nor smokescreens!

 

[oldhatthrift]

I am sorry for the posts, but I am new to this. I wanted to inform you of the states involved: I am in New Jersey. The item was shipped from California, and sent to New York.

 

[DrewfromCA]

Without getting too much into all the gory details and what he is willing to pursue, he sounds like a pain in the ass.

Return his $180, and have him send your uncle his camera back. This would be much much easier than the alternative.

 

[stephenk]

have the camera sent to you, not to your uncle. did you ask your uncle what he actually sent to the buyer?