Do I do a small claims court on eBay or the buyer? Returned item was altered (attempted self repair)

[ethanssales]

Let me explain the story.

I have sold a CPU on ebay with a custom IHS installed. During shipping, the liquid metal leaked out and causes the CPU not to work as it will have a short. This is an easy fix and I would be able to fix it once I get the item back. I apologized to the buyer and told him to return it, I gave him a return label as the item was technically damaged during shipping.

I received his return back, however upon inspecting the item I noticed he has attempted to self-repair it. He did not mention this at all to me on the messages. What he has done is taken off  the CPU lid, removed the adhesive glue, scraped off the liquid metal and applied thermal paste on the CPU die and then re-glued the lid back on. I questioned him on this on eBay messages however he denied it all, however I obviously have proof as I still have the item and have pictures.

eBay's return policy states on the first line

"If a buyer returns an item, it should be returned in the same condition in which it was received, and it should include all items that were in the original package."

So I told the buyer I am unable to refund him as he has not returned it in the same condition. He opened a dispute, eBay sided with him straight away without asking me for ANY proof whatsoever. I was not even asked to give a defense at all. I have appealed this multiple times however eBay just repeat to me that it's the risk of loss of a seller, similar to high street theft (yes that's what they told me) , and that if an item is altered they don't have any way of checking that and they only go off the tracking which indicates "delivered" (obviously it would say that). I tried to explain to everyone, managers, return reps, reps on live chat that him altering the product violates the return policy and he therefore should not be given any money back guarantee however they just repeat that they don't have any way to check the conditions of an item.

eBay are now trying to take fees from me and started sending emails regarding debt collectors but I am not  going to pay a penny knowing that eBay wrongfully refunded the buyer.

I am willing to take this further to small claims court to get the money back which I originally sold the item for and to also remove those fees which eBay are asking for. My only issue is that I don't know whether I take the buyer, or eBay to small claims court? I understand the contract is between me and the seller however eBay forcefully took the money from me in order to refund the buyer. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

[powell-memorabilia]

I’d think that you are wasting your money and time with a small claims action, but your only case would be against the buyer.  

[dhbookds]

You are in the UK........this board is primarily US sellers........and there may be differences in rules/laws......suggest you post on the UK board......

But will say........the outcome would probably have been the same here......  Ebay has no way of knowing how the item was delivered or the condition it was in when sent (pictures can be doctored)....

[vintagecraze50]

If the item was damaged in shipping then you have to take responsibility for that from the get go regardless of what the buyer did after that. 

[ethanssales]

i did take responsibility as i accepted his return however he didnt follow the return policy.

"If a buyer returns an item, it should be returned in the same condition in which it was received, and it should include all items that were in the original package."

did he return it in the same condition in which it was received?

no

[lonebuck-books]

---

@ethanssales wrote:

i did take responsibility as i accepted his return however he didnt follow the return policy.

"If a buyer returns an item, it should be returned in the same condition in which it was received, and it should include all items that were in the original package."

did he return it in the same condition in which it was received?

no

---

Your return policy is overridden by eBay's money back guarantee policy.  You are wasting your time with this.  They item arrived damaged to the buyer which is a not as described claim.  At that point, eBay will almost always take the side of the buyer over the seller as they don't have any way to know who is telling the truth.  If you are dead set on suing anyone, your only option is to sue the buyer and there is a 99% chance of you losing because it will be a he said/she said argument to the judge and because it arrived damaged you will be found at fault.

The bottom line is refund the buyer (which you did) and move on.  Part of selling online is the fact that from time to time you are going to take a loss on an item.  This is one of those items.  The old saying goes, don't sell anything on eBay that you can't afford to lose.

[1tuna]

this is a simple case of return abuse and thats all it is

the buyer is getting over on you as most ebayers here will agree with

 there is little to do except to move on and go forward

things happen on ebay that you cant control and this is a good example of that

buyers are going to win in a return and thats just the way it is

I wish I had something good to say but this is a no win situation

@ethanssales 

[fab_finds4u]

I tried to explain to everyone,,,,,,,STOP.    Let me explain to you, while eBay says to return an item in original condition that means for remorse returns. If they don't then under some conditions you would be able to deduct up to 50% of the refund. For not as described returns you must refund in full. eBay doesn't  care if the contents are missing from the return package or if the wrong  or altered item is returned. When  tracking shows delivered you need to refund in full. 

You can deduct the loss when figuring your taxes.

Retail theft happens. It's part of the the cost of doing business online or in person.

[vr6scirocco88]

selling on ebay sucks. ebay will always favor the buyer.

[stuff4divas]

@ethanssales  we here in the US don't know what the UK laws are, so cannot give a correct answer

did u post on the UK boards? it would be more appropriate to do so

[6al_4v]

Sue Ebay or the Buyer.... hmmmmm

Well, sue them all and come back here and let us know how it went.

But I see you being sued in the near future and your credit rating trashed by not paying your debts as well.

[p1repair]

The difficulty here is that eBay has no way to know in these situations who is at fault and they have no way to look into it. It will be buyer's word against seller. Unfortunately eBay doesn't have much choice here even. They have to set up a general policy of siding with buyers or sellers when there is a problem and they aren't going to pick sellers.  Report the buyer as abusing returns... one can hope that if a single buyer keeps abusing returns that ebay would eventually do something about it but I have my doubts.   

[tobaccocardyahoo · Accepted solution]

It is always hard for sellers who are not selling brand new items which are not in original packaging.

Used item sellers are subject to more problems in many cases than new.

Customized products are subject to more problems, especially if they fail.

Legal process is likely to fail due to the inability to prove that it was not the original modification which failed rather than a further modification.

No one wants to lose their money, but wasting your time with a court action you are likely to lose is not an improvement in the situation.

[ahpro84]

I believe pursuing a small claims action may not be a prudent use of your money and time. Your only viable case would likely be against the buyer, considering the circumstances.

[luckythewinner]

I received his return back, however upon inspecting the item I noticed he has attempted to self-repair it. He did not mention this at all to me on the messages. What he has done is taken off the CPU lid, removed the adhesive glue, scraped off the liquid metal and applied thermal paste on the CPU die and then re-glued the lid back on. I questioned him on this on eBay messages however he denied it all, however I obviously have proof as I still have the item and have pictures.

You have evidence, but evidence is not "proof".

The buyer denied making the attempted repair. What if the buyer argued that you were the one who attempted the fix after you got it back?

Generally speaking, on eBay any buyer can steal (or damage, or return) any item by filing a fraudulent dispute.