Speakers sold buyer says they are damaged. Help please.

[lollilou]

Hi I sold a fairly expensive pair of speakers. The buyer has got back and (rather rudely) has said one has some distortion due to a damaged internal part. They were in perfect working condition before I boxed them up and sent them via courier. The buyer offered to send them back for a full refund but I am concerned that as he has taken them apart they will be returned damaged and unusable. I have offered £40 pounds as goodwill gesture but he is not happy and is threatening to open a case. I am not a regular seller could you tell me the consequences if Ebay found in his favour? Will they? Thanks.

I'm sorry, I think the only thing you can do is accept the return and offer a full refund.

I am in the same position though with a much smaller and cheaper item, a school uniform skirt. My buyer says it is frayed and has a worn patch. As far as I am concerned, the skirt was fine when I sent it. My daughter only wore it on a handful of occasions and it was a good M&S skirt, not some cheap bit of clothing.

But I think I am right in saying, if the buyer complains, you have to accept the return and offer a full refund. It's soul destroying but the rules are weighted in favour of the buyer.

I would be tempted to say that you'll refund when they've been returned and you've checked the security markings you've put on them...
The buyer's already said they've opened at least one (and you should let eBay know this in the case of a dispute), but you might end up having to refund.

You cannot refuse a return. Could they have got damaged in transit? If so claim from your courier. You did insure them fully?

Whilst you cannot refuse a refund I would certainly wait until the item was returned to you and fully inspected and photographed before you refunded,there are so many buyers out there using parts from purchases they have made then looking for refunds & returns on the item they have bought.Make sure the item is tracked & fully insured if it is sent back to you.

Thanks for your replies. The buyer has sent a message saying he wants me to refund for the damaged tweeter now so I'm going to contact the company that made the speakers and cost one then offer him that price as a refund. I still have a sense he is not being truthful though.

no chance - you don't refund a penny until they have been returned in the condition in which they were sent and you have checked your security marks fully. Do not be blackmailed into partial refunds or any other deals. That way madness lies.

This is the problem with speakers, there are so many things that can be wrong internally but a novice may not be able to tell as the sound would still be audible.
I'm not sure what you should do, but I think he could be telling the truth.
However, you sold them in good faith not knowing if there was anything wrong and he agreed to buy them.
He may be aware of the issues with speakers, but having taken them to bits he could have damaged something himself if he didn't know what he was doing.
Ask him for a second opinion and his credentials for identifying the problem before you accept his word.

Oh I thought that would be a good resolution. So the best way out of this sorry mess is get him to send them back and refund once I've checked them over? The part which is damaged is inside and you need to take the back off to get to it which I didn't do as there was no problem before I sold them. So I'm worried he could deliberately damage them and return leaving me with an expensive useless item.

but what if they aren't damaged and he is lying just to get a refund due to buyer's remorse? Ask on any of the eBay community boards and all will say no to a partial refund.

The speakers actually belong to my husband he is a an audiophile(has the ears of a bat) and knows 100% that they were perfect.

I asked earlier if you could claim from your courier for the damage once they have been returned?

Sorry currentnameinuse being new to selling I let the buyer arrange the courier which I have since found out is a no no .

oh no - then you have no leg to stand on at all. Unless you suggest he claims from the courier for the damage. Not likely to be co-operative I would say.