eugh, buyer says watch is broken, what do i do?

[tigerpug]

A few weeks ago I listed and sold my husbands watch (waterproof to 200m), which was in good working order and was listed as such. It sold for just under £100 to the buyer who asks if he can pick it up as he doesn't live far away. I agree, he picks up the watch a few days later, and a few days after that leaves me positive feedback and messages me to say he is happy with the watch, do i have any extra links for the strap. I didn't have extra links but he was happy with this answer.

All goes quiet until last night when i receive a message saying he has worn the watch in a swimming pool, it has fogged up and now stopped working. He asks what can be done??

I send a polite reply saying that it was in good working order when sold, it has never fogged up before, and to say i am a good ebayer (100% fb) but that I am not sure what to do, because i don't want him to be £100 out of pocket with a broken watch, and I don't want to be £100 out of pocket when i sold a watch that worked and that he was happy with.

What do we do to resolve this? If i have to refund the money then of course i will, and he said he would send me back the broken watch, but that means I have lost £100, on a watch which worked perfectly here (no fogging etc). How do i know he didn't accidentally damage it etc etc.

He is really pressing me for an answer this morning, so any advice would be really helpful. Thanks

badlydrawn caveat emptor does NOT apply to eBay!

it really pees me off when people post absolute nonsense on this board, based on how they think eBay should work, rather than how it does!

I would request he returned it before you made a decision. eBay is full of chancers, I no longer sell things on there.

My BIL sold a Roku stick on there a few months ago, seller messaged him to say that the stick wasn't in the box when he received it. BIL messaged back that it was definitely there when he posted it recorded delivery. Seller commented back 'ok no problem' and left positive feedback that the stick worked great.

I would request he returned it before you made a decision.

Again, not how eBay works.

Are you sure it is your watch that is faulty?
Could he have had the same model watch which was faulty, bought yours and now trying to fob you off with the broken one?

He has gone through the official ebay channels to request a return & refund. I have replied through the same channels to say that i don't want to accept a broken watch that a week ago he was happy with.

Theres the set timeframe and then ebay will intervene i think. Let's see how it ends.

Oh dear op you will be forced to refund I'm afraid.

Ah shit. Sorry to hear this. The buyer could be Hannibal lector and eBay would still wipe his arse.

Yep sorry it's almost impossible for you to get out of refunding him now.

The very best outcome at this point would be for Ebay to pay his refund, so you're not left out of pocket but that would be a very rare outcome indeed. More likely he will send the watch back and you will have to refund out of your own pocket.

You need to point out to eBay that he altered the watch. He changed the strap, and could have done it incorrectly or with too much force. If he has altered it then their money back guarantee shouldn't apply.

This is why I don't sell on eBay. It's such an unfair system. They use distance selling rules intended for online businesses that don't work on normal people selling their second hand goods. Surely is you had photographs of the condition of the watch as it was sold, and then have photos of it in a completely different condition on return, then eBay must consider this surely!
I hope they look at your case properly rather than just ordering the refund.
Also if it has to be returned then make sure it's sent recorded and not just his word that he brought it back to you in person!

ChrisjenAvasarala good point, I will explain this to them when they intervene

Thanks all

Had a similiar situation just recently the item i sold was working perfectly when i posted it, and was almost new
The buyer contacted me and said it wasnt working properly,

I always test everything i sell, i am a private seller and have 100%reputation,
Ebay stepped in as i said i wasnt happy refunding as the item worked perfectly when i posted it, i think the buyer had just changed her mind and didnt want it
It has taken the buyer over a month to return it, but ebay are refunding me, not sure if ebay have a time frame for returns
I would definitely let ebay decide,
You have proof he was happy with the watch at first so it was obviously working when he received it
Good luck

Thanks princess, that's made me feel more optimistic. Still all quiet here, waiting to eBay to step in.

I hope you have some good luck,it only took about 10 minutes at the most on the phone, [i would advise you to ring rather than email] for the lady i spoke to to decide

Just an update to let you know that i have received a full refund from ebay, for the item i sold, as it was returned to me not working,
Also though she took almost a month to return it ,so might have made a difference,
I am not sure if something has to be returned in a certain length of time to get a refund
Anyway i am very happy i got it, as i cant now use it or resell it
The person said it might have got damaged in posting as nothing to do with her, but i am sure it didnt,as it was well packaged and also in bubble wrap,