Item I sold is 'faulty' what happens now?

[PavlovtheCat]

I sold an expensive item on ebay this week, an surround sound amp.

Send the item 24hour parcel force. Buyer saying it is faulty, not working, but it was absolutely working when we sent it, we had used it ourselves and it worked fine for us.

DH said the fault he is describing is an electronic fault, so would not have been caused by being damaged in the post. He said it is damage caused by basically 'being blown'.

What is the normal process now? We have explained it was working fine when we sent it, and asked him how he wishes to proceed, but do we have to refund him? ie, what if he blew it his end trying it out?

bump

ask him to return it so that you can have it checked to determine the cause of the fault. Tell him once you receive the report for the cause a refund will be issued should the fault be yours.

ok, thanks, have asked him to return.

How long does he have to raise a concern with ebay? I have asked him how he wishes to proceed, and suggested he return if he wants me to take a look/get it tested and he has not responded to any of the emails I have sent since the first one saying he was not happy, which was on friday.

Obviously he has time to raise it as a dispute if he wishes to, but wondered how long that period is? 28 days?

Money is still in paypal so if he wishes to, I think I would prefer this goes through the dispute process rather than me just being kind, as I am positive this was working when we sent it. Although I know I am taking a risk of negative feedback.

Any suggestions, should I just get him to return it at his cost and refund and be done with it?

he was trying to pull a fast one. Telling him you will get it checked is making him think twice. You will probably hear no more from him. Just leave it for now until he contacts you

Do people really do that? You make it sound common!

yes, tis common - that's why I suggested the reply containing the bit about you getting it checked. Always best to call their bluff (in a nice and professional way) say you will look at the serial number even if you don't have one as this can prevent them sending a different item back..... or anything along these lines. If they are genuine they will return the original item and follow procedure. If they intended sending a different broken item back, or if they have tampered with it etc they will go quiet. If they reply saying their is no serial number you can reply by saying you always security mark your items and keep a record

six DH just said he was thinking along the same lines as you, not so much about the security, but letting him know, if he contacts again, that we will get a full damage report, as he might be trying a fast one.

Thanks for the security suggestion, i will do that as well.

I have been thinking, about the time the buyer emailed us first to say the amp was not working. It was 1:30am on saturday morning. I wonder if he and some mates set it up and either a) set it up wrong and now he realises or b) he blew it himself cos he was drunk? or something like that.

If it were me, and I had spent that much money on an amp that was allegedly faulty, i would be sitting on my emails waiting for a response from the seller, but maybe he is busy.

Its bothering me. I have 100% track record for buying and selling.

He is pulling a fast one. You are absolutely right in that if it were you you'd be clamouring for your money back. If he's not, ignore it.