What are the SELLER'S rights?

[jwillas]

Arizona. I sold my 42" LCD TV tonight. I put it on Craigslist and it was gone in an hour. The guy who bought it made a point of saying he wanted to see it operate while receiving a signal so I ran coax to the garage where we met. He saw it, played with the remote and judged it satisfactory and paid me. A couple hours later he calls saying it doesn't work and wants his money back. What are my rights and responsibilities. I've NEVER had an issue with that TV before and it was obviously his negligence that broke it. If it IS broke.

 

[JETX]

What are my rights and responsibilities. I've NEVER had an issue with that TV before and it was obviously his negligence that broke it. If it IS broke.

Your 'rights' are just as any other seller. Unless you made some specific reference as to quality, features, operations, etc., the sale is 'as is'.

caveat emptor
Latin for "let the buyer beware." The basic premise that the buyer buys at his/her own risk and therefore should examine and test a product himself/herself for obvious defects and imperfections. Caveat emptor still applies even if the purchase is "as is" or when a defect is obvious upon reasonable inspection before purchase. Since implied warranties (assumed quality of goods) and consumer protections have come upon the legal landscape, the seller is held to a higher standard of disclosure than "buyer beware" and has responsibility for defects which could not be noted by casual inspection (particularly since modern devices cannot be tested except by use and many products are pre-packaged).

 

[jwillas]

I guess I kinda knew that and was shopping more for an assurance rather than an answer. Thanks much, JETX. Whether I knew it or not, your reply put me at ease.

 

[swalsh411]

This is a well-known CL scam. Either that or he doesn't know how to hook it up property.

Remember the days when all you had to figure out was the "TV/VCR" button on the remote?

 

[racer72]

This reeks of a scam showing up on Craigslist. Some buys or gets for free an non working TV, finds the exact same TV for sale and buys it, then later claims the TV he bought does not work. Someone was almost taken on such a scam but caught the TV switch before the return of the money. The scamee called a local TV station and they made it one of the top stories on the 5 o:clock news.

 

[The_Saint]

A note for sellers out there. When you do a transaction like this, always write on the bill of sale that the buyer has tested the tv at your location and is taking it "as is" with no warranties expressed or implied. I'd also include the serial number on the recept to cover every base.

This smells like a scam. They probably had the same tv which was broken and are pulling a switch-a-roo.