OT: eBay Question: Should I take a return on a product that a customer had out for 1 month?

[CocoGdog]

I sold this Canon Starwriter 80 Wordprocessor to a person in NY on Dec 23, 2006 - I live in CA. The customer claims to be out of the country or on vacation or something. Fast foward to today Jan 25, 2007, the customer claims that Canon Starwriter does not work or is defective. Customer wants return for a full refund. Should I be liable for a product that he/she has had for a full month? The said product was 100% working at the close and time shipped to said customer. Please help. Thank you.

 

[Mo0o]

no way

 

[orakle]

fvck no, he's had it for a month. if he was on vacation, he shouldn't have bid.

 

[animalia]

they need to explain whats wrong with it other than "it doesnt work" if they don't give a good explanation, don't refund their money.

 

[imported_Mike]

Did it work when it arrived? Does it have a manufacture's warranty? Get her the # for Canon customer support.

 

[Mrfrog840]

Originally posted by: orakle
fvck no, he's had it for a month. if he was on vacation, he shouldn't have bid.

 

[Gilligansdingy]

Originally posted by: Mrfrog840

Originally posted by: orakle
fvck no, he's had it for a month. if he was on vacation, he shouldn't have bid.

 

[HomeAppraiser]

What is your limited return and refund policy? Have they left their feedback yet? How long does an ebitch buyer have to leave feedback? I suppose they want you to pay for shipping back too? Feedback extortion FTL!

edithhelen18 had ZERO feedback! There is your problem.

 

[Shawn]

I can't believe people would pay that much for a typewriter and yet I can't sell these P3 computers I have for $50 which can do a lot more than word processing.

 

[daveymark]

if they file with paypal, you have to accept the return.

 

[AcidBath]

First instinct is to say hell no. But then you see that they have not left you FB yet. And then I also see that you have a great feedback score with zero negatives and who would want to mess that up?
I would suggest getting more info. It could just be user error and the product is working fine. At the most you could try to offer a $30 refund or something to "cover repair costs" if nothing else to keep them from flaming you with a negative feedback.
But you live and learn, I would flesh out your terms that say "There is a limited return and refund policy. (return policy)" into something a little more substantial. That omission could cost you a little money on this deal.

 

[Vegitto]

Be smart next time, don't accept bids from zero-feedback eBayers.

 

[DrPizza]

I don't know why people are so freaked out by the thought that they could have 1 negative out of 40 or 50 or more sales. That's why the feedback system is broken. Everyone's so afraid to give or receive one negative feedback that no one else ever really knows how good of a seller/buyer someone is.

Suppose you cave in to her. Then, she buys something else, has it for a month, and wants her money back. Repeat 4 or 5 times, and then the 6th person sells her something, sees that she has 100% positive feedback, and also winds up screwed. I'd think that with 0 feedback, she has a whole lot more to lose by disputing this with you, than you have. With the huge number of positives you had, no one is even going to think twice when they read any negative feedback by her, especially since you can respond with "buyer had it for a month before she broke it."

 

[DrPizza]

My best guess: buyer's remorse or something, when she realized she's an idiot for purchasing that product. So, she damaged it somehow.

 

[ElFenix]

you say there is a limited return policy but i don't see it anywhere. what is it?

 

[Sphexi]

It's funny how many stories like this there are. Somebody buys something, suddenly they're "on vacation", and weeks/months later they come back and it doesn't work. But hey, they were on vacation, they didn't have time to test it, so you have to take it back, right?

Neg. Ask them to email you pictures of their plane tickets, hotel receipts, proof that they were actually gone for a solid month. If it were me, the minute I got the package home it'd be opened and tested, if only for a minute or two, just enough to know it worked.

 

[thescreensavers]

Some one did the same thing to me. I sold my old computer and when they received it it worked then it stooped working and then he said he was goign on vacation. He came back and then wanted a refund after a month. I said the most I could give you back was $400 from $1700 because you have had this for 1 full month.Ofcorse he said no and so he stopped e-mailing me.

Since it was a month just say the most I can give you back if you send the product back is xx dollars and make it so he will refuse it and he will be stuck with it.

 

[iamme]

per your auction:

There is a limited return and refund policy. (return policy)

tell her she surpassed the limit. next time, put an actual time limit there OR put in bold letters: No returns or refunds. that way you can avoid situations like this.

 

[HomeAppraiser]

Originally posted by: DrPizza
I don't know why people are so freaked out by the thought that they could have 1 negative out of 40 or 50 or more sales.

I'd think that with 0 feedback, she has a whole lot more to lose by disputing this with you, than you have.

First, no likes to see the 100% that they worked so hard for drop to 98% or below because of some stupid n00b.

Second, she has nothing to loose by filing a dispute because he already left her positive feedback. If it goes bad for her no biggie, she can just create another account. With only one feedback she has nothing to loose!

Can someone answer my question: How long does an ebay buyer have to leave feedback? 30-60-90 days?