eBay

katieslovedthreads · ‎09-18-2023

Hi there,

I just got a refund request from a buyer who bought my Canon 5D mark ii. Today is the 31st day since it was delivered and they claim there are dead pixels. I asked him why he waited so long to notify me about this and he said cause it’s the first time he used the camera with a new flash he just received. This seems super sketchy to me and I want to decline the request but I’ve read on other posts that he may still refute it with his credit card company or PayPal and get a refund and get to keep the camera. If I accept thre refund how am I going to know he didn’t damage the sensor or is sending back another 5D that is damaged? Any insight??

clemowbooks · ‎09-18-2023

You can tell him to return it on his own dime, since the MBG is no longer in force.

Paypal requires the buyer to pay return shipping on Not As Described claims.

You can demand the return before refunding, buyer pays for shipping label, even if you have a No Returns policy.

If he is a slightly sketchey scammer he will go away because you are too much work.

If he is sending something else back, you might get some help from eBay or Paypal.

Help and Contact is at the bottom of this page.

Avoid the phones! The social media reps work for eBay, are well trained, and you get a written transcript.

Card chargebacks vary with the card company.

katieslovedthreads · ‎09-18-2023

The plot thickens and is sounding even more sketchy…

from the buyer…

“

Yes, it’s interesting. I just travelled to USA Aug 24 to sept 11 to pick up the camera and go back to my origin country, Costa Rica. For me it’s not easy return the item because of the distance but as you can see in the picture, it has several dead pixels. I bought the camera to continue with my classes of photography and today was my first day of classes and I could set up camera and the new flash. As soon as I took the first picture the professor and I realized that appears like 3 pixels dead. I took 3 mores and it’s the same”

chowpit36iw · ‎09-18-2023

Sounds like the buyer is fishing for a discount. I'm not an expert in all things eBay returns but, it seems eBay would back you up since you have offered the buyer to open a return.

Additionally, I would suggest using only eBay managed payments. One of the bigger issues in using PayPal is unscrupulous buyers would double-dip refunds leaving the seller to prove a refund was already issued through eBay.

a_c_green · ‎09-18-2023

@katieslovedthreads wrote:
Yes, it’s interesting. I just travelled to USA Aug 24 to sept 11 to pick up the camera and go back to my origin country, Costa Rica. For me it’s not easy return the item because of the distance

That would be his problem, not yours. If replying, you can talk about possibly returning for refund, but don't get into the weeds over exactly where he's located or what he would need to do to get it returned to you from there. (More likely he had it reshipped via a freight forwarder.)

@katieslovedthreads wrote:
but as you can see in the picture, it has several dead pixels. I bought the camera to continue with my classes of photography and today was my first day of classes and I could set up camera and the new flash. As soon as I took the first picture the professor and I realized that appears like 3 pixels dead. I took 3 mores and it’s the same”

...at which point he and the professor both begin shrieking with grief over the problem. Ummm, no. 😁

I understand from this that he sent you a sample photo as evidence...? I don't know if the image metadata survived its travel through eBay, but it might be interesting to right-click on the image properties and see if it was taken with your brand and model of camera. (I don't know if yours writes its serial number as part of the metadata, but unless eBay has removed it or the user had it turned off, I would at least expect to find the correct make and model embedded.)

I'm having a hard time believing his story, but if he really wants to return the camera, he can probably find the leverage (such as via a chargeback on his credit card) to do so. I think he's hoping for a partial refund negotiation, but I would stick to your guns:

"Dear so-and-so,

I'm sorry that you are not satisfied with your Canon EOS #3721703386. You may return it for a full refund."

There is a little bit of bluffing here, in that if he does switch cameras, you'll be in for an uphill fight to prevent having to refund anyway, but this does at least let him know in a polite way that you know the serial number of what you sold him, and will obviously be checking for it when you receive the return. Good luck and please keep us updated.

gamersbaystore · ‎09-18-2023

3 dead pixels? That by the way are so small they aren't even distinguishable by the human eye. This is a 21 mega pixel camera, you cannot see a single pixel on this device with the human eye, its literally impossible. One mega pixel is literally 1 million pixels! The camera puts 4K to shame, and your buyer wants us to believe they can see a dead pixel, not buying it.

Were they using a microscope to find those supposedly dead pixels, your buyer's argument is laughable.

Tell them to go pound sand. If they open a chargeback without returning your product, then they're committing mail fraud. I would threaten to report them for it should they try and escalate this.

Your buyer stated they have no intent on returning anything and are demanding a refund, which is fraud!

The U.S. Postal service says you have an obligation to pay for anything you purchase through the mail. Buyers are within their rights to open charge backs, but if they're doing it for nefarious reasons then they're violating the law.

katieslovedthreads · ‎09-18-2023

Y’all are so helpful thank you! I’m attaching the pictures he sent with his request to show you the “three dead pixels” he’s referring to. I can’t check metadata on the pics (that’s a great idea thanks!) because he sent me a phone pic of his computer screen lol.

gamersbaystore · ‎09-18-2023

Definitely not dead pixels as your buyer claimed. Rather the circular anomaly they presented is part of the image they took a screen shot of.

Again, there is no way humanly possible to see pixels of that size with the human eye.

a_c_green · ‎09-18-2023

@katieslovedthreads wrote:
Y’all are so helpful thank you! I’m attaching the pictures he sent with his request to show you the “three dead pixels” he’s referring to. I can’t check metadata on the pics (that’s a great idea thanks!) because he sent me a phone pic of his computer screen lol.

I don't know what subtle flaws we're supposed to see in all those greasy fingerprint smears and reflections in a photo of a photo on a monitor. At minimum I would want to receive the sample image itself. (This reminds me of the time that a business customer of ours complained that the software code for an on-screen button was not triggering the proper process behind the scenes when you clicked on it. As proof of this, he sent us a photo of the button. 🙄)

I don't think I would get into a protracted discussion over what constitutes a pixel, etc., but instead just respond once more to say that he can return Canon EOS #3721703386 for a full refund. If you already sent that message, send it one more time, but beyond that I would not respond, unless or until he actually opens a dispute. I would not raise the possibility of a partial refund, and would not address that if he goes fishing for one himself.

tobaccocardyahoo · ‎09-18-2023

When I sold used hardware on Ebay years ago. I always included the serial number in the product description. Never had a return. Never had an NAD complaint. Is that evidence of a causal effect - probably not but it could not hurt to make it clear you are aware of the possibility of a switcheroo.

ae-auto-parts-llc · ‎09-18-2023

if its past 30 days and your return policy is 30 days decline the return there is obsoletely nothing he can do even if he does a chargeback you provide proof and eBay has you covered no worries whatsoever you are not forced to do anything .