eBay

abbylilyd · ‎12-11-2019

Sold a watch 40 days ago. 7 days after delivery The buyer said that the watch wasn’t working I expressed my concern and I was surprised because it was working fine when I packed it everything was very cordial I agreed to pay a portion of the cost of repairing.. but didn’t specify or agree to how much. buyer said they were going to get an estimate I asked for a copy of the estimate received it two weeks later it was $280 and the work had already been done. One reason I asked for the estimate was because I have a family jeweler and I wanted Her to take a look at what they were going to do and what it was going to cost my family jeweler was not going to charge me at all I explained this to the buyer and explained that I was shocked that it would be repaired without my consent with such a hefty price tag ..and said I wasn’t comfortable paying 180( that’s how much was demanded) when I never agreed to that amount nor was given an alternate option..now the buyer who is an attorney is threatening to sue me for the cost of the watch the cost of the repair and all of the legal fees this buyer lives in another state and is claiming I will have to come to their state for court. eBay says they have no case. PayPal says the same. Thoughts?

abbylilyd · ‎12-13-2019

She said she would file in Travis county, which is in Austin. I live in Oakland County, which is in Michigan. And I’m sorry but I am you mentioned that it’s threatening unless I do something that she wants me to do well she wanted me to refund her for repairs I never authorized and when I said I’m not comfortable paying that amount that’s when she threatened to sue me

equid0x · ‎12-13-2019

@mam98031 wrote:
@monster-deals wrote:
@mam98031 wrote:
@wesk_36 wrote:
Despite the fact that you agreed to pay a portion of repairs, the amount was never negotiated or given. You asked for an estimate, they said they repaired it.
I would tell her to return for a refund and leave it at that and then don't respond anymore.
The buyer said that they altered the item on their own, (if they actually did) which negates any protections.
They sound like a bully and attempting extortion, in my opinion.
It sounds like they are abusing their position to intimidate you.

I think your mistake was being nice to them by offering some resolution other than telling them to return for a refund. Generally, bullies think nice people are entertainment and easy targets.

Truth is, they could actually try to sue, you can also refuse certified letters.
Why? They are well outside of the seller's return policy. It was the buyer that was slow to respond to the seller. Why should the seller have to extend their return policy time frame?
Why? Because they fixed it.

You know full well paypal's return window is much longer than ebay's
They have altered the item. The seller has no way of know what the buyer did to the item. The seller did NOT give them permission to spend whatever they wanted to have some work done to the watch. Now I haven't read every post on this thread, so I'm unsure if the buyer actually provided a receipt that is detailed to what was done to what item. And the buyer was suppose to get back to the seller BEFORE actually having the item repaired.

Just because someone files a claim in PP doesn't mean they will automatically win. The seller has some pretty good proof here that they can supply PP if it come to this. I have no idea how they may rule.

The seller does not have to authorize repairs or any specific dollar value.

If I sell you a car... and tell you it works. Then, you find out after purchase that the transmission has problems, and I refuse to refund your money or take it back. You can absolutely have the vehicle repaired and you can absolutely take me to court to recover your costs in doing so. A judge will agree, BTW.

abbylilyd · ‎12-13-2019

You are completely twisting the actual facts I didn’t refuse nor agree to anything... I asked her for an estimate she supplied the estimate sometime later after it had already been repaired

abbylilyd · ‎12-13-2019

I am going to post full communication. Redacting names of course. Maybe this will help clarify what was actually said ... hang tight

equid0x · ‎12-13-2019

@abbylilyd wrote:
After speaking with PayPal.. many times over this.. the answer from them is clear: the absolute ONLY way the buyer will see any money back is if they return the watch. I have already sent over all correspondence to them to get ahead of it. 4 different representatives said the same thing.. return the watch, and then I will refund her the price of the watch, I will not be responsible for repairs arbitrarily done. I was also advised not to send any money unless I am provided a itemized receipt, showing payment made, ask for it to be notarized and mailed to me. And a refund or partial refund for repairs would be my decision, I would not be obligated. There has still been no word since the 9th. But every time my eBay activity prompt goes off, my heart sinks a bit lol. “Is it a message from her??” 🤢

You would not be responsible under eBay/PayPal policy. Legally, the seller may be responsible if they misrepresented the item.

PayPal is right, though, do not make any payments until you have a receipt in your hand for that amount.

In fact, once the buyer mentioned "suing" or "making service," I would have stopped communications completely. If the buyer wants to sue, wait for someone to show up and make service to you. You're well outside of both eBay and PayPal policies at that point.

equid0x · ‎12-13-2019

@abbylilyd wrote:
Not one time did I verbally agree to pay for repairs.. ever. And as stated.. the watch was working when I shipped it. When she told me it wasn’t working I expressed dismay and confusion, she said she got an estimate, stated the amount to which I replied “ wow, that’s a lot. What are your thoughts?” She replied she wanted me to pay two thirds of the amount. My response was send me the estimate. Not one time did I agree to ANYTHING all I said was “ I would like to work something out”

You just did in post #1:

"The buyer said that the watch wasn’t working I expressed my concern and I was surprised because it was working fine when I packed it everything was very cordial I agreed to pay a portion of the cost of repairing.. but didn’t specify or agree to how much."

You better believe that if the buyer catches wind of this statement, they will absolutely use it against you in court.

equid0x · ‎12-13-2019

@abbylilyd wrote:
She said she would file in Travis county, which is in Austin. I live in Oakland County, which is in Michigan. And I’m sorry but I am you mentioned that it’s threatening unless I do something that she wants me to do well she wanted me to refund her for repairs I never authorized and when I said I’m not comfortable paying that amount that’s when she threatened to sue me

Understand something...

She CAN sue you in Austin(or anywhere for that matter) but in order for a court order to have full effect she will need to sue you in your own jurisdiction.

If she managed to get a JUDGEMENT in Austin, you're screwed, regardless.

equid0x · ‎12-13-2019

You admitted in your original comment that you agreed to pay for repair.

Your comments here can be held against you in court. I have no skin in this game, but you need to know that.

abbylilyd · ‎12-13-2019

I already explained that when I originally said HERE and HERE only that I would pay for part of repairs, had it been done properly and with respect to my wishes and communicated properly and an amount agreed upon I probably would have sent her something because I felt bad so in my MIND I’m thinking I would pay for part of it but I never verbally said it! I didn’t do anything wrong here that item was working when I sent it I never agreed to any amount with her never agreed to pay anything with her it was like I said already thinking in my head that I would reimburse for something if we could come to an agreement but she didn’t even allow me to see the estimate before she had it repaired.

equid0x · ‎12-13-2019

@abbylilyd wrote:
She said she would file in Travis county, which is in Austin. I live in Oakland County, which is in Michigan. And I’m sorry but I am you mentioned that it’s threatening unless I do something that she wants me to do well she wanted me to refund her for repairs I never authorized and when I said I’m not comfortable paying that amount that’s when she threatened to sue me

If you represented that the item was functional when you sold it, then she is not compelling you to do anything other than what you already agreed to at the time of sale. This will not qualify as "threatening" or "forcing you to do what she wants you to do" since what she wants is what you were already supposed to have "done" to begin with.

Whether you authorized repairs or were comfortable with the amount of the repair is completely irrelevant at this point.

The cleanest way out of this at this point is to offer her a full refund including forward and return shipping. I would not refund her the repair cost. If I were to entertain such an idea it would only be if a) I could get a local estimate for a similar value, and b) the refund would be issued on receipt of the returned watch in repaired condition.

vintagecraze50 · ‎12-13-2019

If you only agreed to look at the estimate keep those verbal statements on record. Very important here is that you said you were willing to look at the estimate first BEFORE authorizing any compensation. This assumed lawyer should know that. If they really are a lawyer. Up thread I read that your found out they are a lawyer??? Are you sure????

equid0x · ‎12-13-2019

@abbylilyd wrote:
I already explained that when I originally said HERE and HERE only that I would pay for part of repairs, had it been done properly and with respect to my wishes and communicated properly and an amount agreed upon I probably would have sent her something because I felt bad so in my MIND I’m thinking I would pay for part of it but I never verbally said it! I didn’t do anything wrong here that item was working when I sent it I never agreed to any amount with her never agreed to pay anything with her it was like I said already thinking in my head that I would reimburse for something if we could come to an agreement but she didn’t even allow me to see the estimate before she had it repaired.

@abbylilyd do yourself a favor and take good advice when you get it.

Back-pedaling now isn't going to get you anywhere because all she needs to do now is take your comment #1 to the judge and they're going to grant it. It makes you look guilty as hell.

I'm not trying to attack you and I'm not trying to make a fool of you here... I'm trying to help you. My best advice at this point is if you want to discuss with me further, that you take this conversation private. Although, I don't know that I will have much else to offer. I'm simply trying to point out to you what a judge is going to see when/if this ever makes it to court.

abbylilyd · ‎12-13-2019

Here’s the convo leading up to the estimate B is buyer. S is me

B:Hi I love the watch but I can’t get it to work? I wound it clockwise with the crown in the 0 position - is there a trick to it? Thanks!

S:Oh no! Is there movement on the battery when wound? Underneath..

B:No unfortunately

S:I haven’t heard from you ... (hoping that’s a good sign 😀) have you replaced the battery!

B:Hi I took it to my jeweler it’s running but the arms are broken so they don’t move. I’m waiting on their estimate to fix it.

S:I don’t get it... it was working fine... then I stored it prior to listing. The only thing I can think of is one of my kids was playing in my office. So disappointing! Please let me know as soon as you find out what it will cost. I am SO sorry

B:It’s going to be 260 to fix 😞 I want to keep it but it’s going to be an insanely expensive watch by the end of this. Is there any way you can refund any of what I paid??

S:260? Wow....wow...i am shocked. I want to work with you...what are you thinking?

Could you refund 160?Then I’d only be paying $600 for it instead of $760.

S:Hey there I just saw this message I'm sorry I missed it yesterday! Is there any way you can provide me with a copy of the estimate and or outline of work that needs to be done? This in no way means that i do not believe what your telling me is true..not at all. I also have a watch guy here and he is curious about the work..not the price, he doesn't think the figure is out of bounds, if its a mechanical..i thought it was battery ( shows how much i know) but also just for piece of mind, i would like to see estimate if it isn't to much trouble for you?

B:No problem I gave it to my jeweler (Kruger’s diamond jewelers in Austin) and their watch guy is repairing it. I just emailed them to have them send me a copy of the estimate.

I received handwritten estimate many days later . To which I responded... I was uncomfortable with the amount she requested because I could have had it repaired myself for much less. Then it got.. testy

abbylilyd · ‎12-13-2019

I also want to be clear about something I feel awful about this whole situation I really do I completely understand her frustration I was willing to work with her but I wanted to have an opportunity to have a second opinion or get my own estimate or agree to an amount before I just send her some money ! it seemed like a lot so when she sent me the estimate and the work had already been done, I was crushed.. in the estimate the repairs listed and itemized simply said clean oil adjust $260. That’s it. Well I want all of my buyers to be happy I still have to protect myself and once she introduced suing and became combative with me I had to go this route I never said I would pay I never said I wouldn’t this whole situation is just very upsetting

vintagecraze50 · ‎12-13-2019

Yes, you did not work out the agreement before they went ahead and fixed the watch. Yes, you did say you would pay a PORTION of the repair correct? But this goofy attorney should have gotten back to you to negotiate the bill BEFORE the repair. This is so completely unprofessional of this person regardless if they are an attorney. I would have never gone to fix an item, if it was broke in the first place, unless I had an agreement first with someone on HOW MUCH THEY WERE GOING TO COMPENSATE. This is pure entitlement form this person or a grave misunderstanding.