Buyer wants refund by claiming "something is wrong with it even though I tested it prior to shipping

[davus-bntazm]

Hi, so recently I sold one of my CPUs, a $24 Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 and the buyer just claimed that the CPU "Doesn t work at all, no Boot up."  and I find that very strange because I made sure that it works by testing it on my motherboard before shipping it to him. I suspect that he either didn't check if the system he is installing it into is compadible with the CPU. Either that or he improperly installed it. Though the possibility of it being DOA is slim, but that could be it as well. I sold many motherboards, graphics cards, CPUs, and other computer/server hardware before and never have I had this happen to me. I don't know what to do at this point, either accept the return and be stuck paying for return shipping. Or open a case and contest this with eBay. If the CPU is truly deffective, then I would have no problem accepting the return though, but if the CPU doesn't work because the buyer didn't check for compadibility with his system prior to purchesing, or because of improper installation, then I honestly do NOT want to take the fall/blame for someone else's blunder.  

[castlemagicmemories]

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@davus-bntazm wrote:

Hi, so recently I sold one of my CPUs, a $24 Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 and the buyer just claimed that the CPU "Doesn t work at all, no Boot up."  and I find that very strange because I made sure that it works by testing it on my motherboard before shipping it to him. I suspect that he either didn't check if the system he is installing it into is compadible with the CPU. Either that or he improperly installed it. Though the possibility of it being DOA is slim, but that could be it as well. I sold many motherboards, graphics cards, CPUs, and other computer/server hardware before and never have I had this happen to me. I don't know what to do at this point, either accept the return and be stuck paying for return shipping. Or open a case and contest this with eBay. If the CPU is truly deffective, then I would have no problem accepting the return though, but if the CPU doesn't work because the buyer didn't check for compadibility with his system prior to purchesing, or because of improper installation, then I honestly do NOT want to take the fall/blame for someone else's blunder.  

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The buyer would be the one to open the SNAD or NAD case (not as described) since it is not running; not you.  Sellers pay the return shipping in this instance.

Possibly you can reach out to your buyer and help him with the installation?

However, if that doesn't work, and the buyer opens a not as described case, if you want the item back, you get eBay to send the buyer a return label, and eBay will do that and charge you for it.  Then when you get the item back and tracking confirms delivery, you will refund the buyer for the purchase price, and original shipping.  You already paid for the return shipping.

When the case is opened, you have three days to respond.  DO NOT neglect to respond, either return for refund, or just refund if you don't want the item back, as the buyer can escalate to eBay at the end of that time, eBay will find in favor of the buyer, and you will have a very serious defect for case closed without seller resolution.  These can seriously impact your selling privileges and cause you to lose them.  Ebay does not want cases escalated, they do not want to step in.  They want the seller to resolve the issue.

As you say, could be multiple reasons, improper installation, or just plain DOA.

If it doesn't work, you need to decide if you want to pay for the return, as in return for refund, or just refund without requiring a return, as it could be very expensive for you to get back a non-working part, but some sellers require a return for any refund as a matter of course.  

Your call!

[deep-garnet-red]

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@davus-bntazm wrote:

Hi, so recently I sold one of my CPUs, a $24 Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 and the buyer just claimed that the CPU "Doesn t work at all, no Boot up."  and I find that very strange because I made sure that it works by testing it on my motherboard before shipping it to him. I suspect that he either didn't check if the system he is installing it into is compadible with the CPU. Either that or he improperly installed it. Though the possibility of it being DOA is slim, but that could be it as well. I sold many motherboards, graphics cards, CPUs, and other computer/server hardware before and never have I had this happen to me. I don't know what to do at this point, either accept the return and be stuck paying for return shipping. Or open a case and contest this with eBay. If the CPU is truly deffective, then I would have no problem accepting the return though, but if the CPU doesn't work because the buyer didn't check for compadibility with his system prior to purchesing, or because of improper installation, then I honestly do NOT want to take the fall/blame for someone else's blunder.  

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Unless you have a message from the buyer in which they admit an error on their part, you will not win a SNAD dispute.  Accepting the return does not reflect badly on your record. Disputing and losing will earn you a defect.

[davus-bntazm]

I did reach out to him immediately after he issued the return request. I asked him what system or motherboard did he install it into and if he check for compadibility prior to purchesing.  On top of that, I asked for the system model/motherboard model so that I could check to see if it was compadible with his system/motherboard or not.  If I were to issue a return, then I think the return shipping would be expensive since the buyer uses a shipment forwarding client called Freeport Forwarding to forward his items from the United States to Canada. I just checked his profile and it says that he is located in Quebec, Canada and I'm located in California, so the return shipping fee for a $24 CPU could easliy cost at least half of what the CPU is worth or more. So I am honestly clueless of what to do, because I'm screwed either way. If I accept the return and ask for the item back, the return shipping could potenitally cost almost the same as the listed price for the CPU. If I let the buyer keep the CPU, then I lose out on my CPU, and the money that I made from selling it. I don't know, but I feel like this is part of an elaborate scheme to force me into giving him a free item through exploiting the loopholes eBay buyer protection program. If he was actually located in the United States then I wouldn't have a much problem with paying for return shipping since its only $2.67 via USPS First Class Package. 

[davus-bntazm]

I know, but since this guy is located in Quebec, Canada and if I were to issue a refund asking for the item back, then I am screwed with the shipping rate from Quebec to California. If I let him keep the item and give him back his money, then I lose out on my CPU. Which I don't know if it is truly defective and DOA, or if he didn't check for compadibility or improperly installed it. What I'm getting from this is that I'm screwed either way and there is no other option. 

[deep-garnet-red]

No, you are only responsible for the shipping cost from where you sent it to.  It would be up to the buyer to pay the rest. BUT...buyer forfeited the MBG when they had it forwarded. If you have proof of that you are in the clear. Let them file a return request. Input the forwarding info you have then call CS to get the case closed in your favor.

[honeybeez-15]

From my experience, eBay almost always sides with the buyer.  It's best to just suck it up, issue the refund, get the item back (I don't let buyers keep the item, as there a few scammers out there who want you to refund them and let them keep the item) and keep selling.  Raise your prices a little bit and you'll make it up with other sales. 

I know it hurts...been there, done that!

[castlemagicmemories]

See Deep-Garnet Red's post.

Buyer forfeits MBG protection when they have the item forwarded.

You can win this now.  Do as Deep Garnet Red says.  

[davus-bntazm]

May I ask, what is MBG? Sorry, I'm pretty new with eBay terms so I don't know much. Looking at it from a business standpoint, if I were the one that had to pay the international shipping fees from Quebec to California then it's a no brainer to let the dude keep the CPU and refund him the money since the shipping fees, customs, etc would most likely exceed the cost of the CPU.  As much as I hate it, I know its true. That I am screwed either way. It's either give the dude essentally a free CPU, or waste nearly the same amount of money of the CPU trying to get it back. Man how I hate people that exploit the system...

[castlemagicmemories]

Not to step on Deep Garnet Red's toes, and with apologies to her, I just happened to see this so answered but I notice now it is addressed to her. No ofeense intended but I had this already typed.

The MBG is the eBay Money Back Guarantee which guarantees the buyer the item they bought in the condition they bought it.  You see the MBG on a lot of ebay pages.

Ebay's rules trump a seller's rules in any case; a no returns policy does not matter.

[nowthatsjustducky]

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@deep-garnet-red wrote:

No, you are only responsible for the shipping cost from where you sent it to.  It would be up to the buyer to pay the rest. BUT...buyer forfeited the MBG when they had it forwarded. If you have proof of that you are in the clear. Let them file a return request. Input the forwarding info you have then call CS to get the case closed in your favor.

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But before you do that, ask him what type of thermal paste he used (don't ask if he used any, because he would likely say yes).  If he answers that he did not use any, or asks what thermal paste is, then you have some ammo to indicate the failure was due to his improper installation, if the item forwarded fact doesn't work.

[frankligeorg-8]

Hi. I'm Frank.  It sounds like your buyer scammed you.  Ebay makes it super easy for sellers to be scammed. In fact, Ebay and Paypal scam new sellers all the time and get away with it.   For example, I signed up to sell on Ebay to get rid of some stuff and help clean out my house before I move into an assisted living facility. Two of my items sold. The buyers paid right away with Pay Pal. But, when I went to send the funds to my bank to go buy boxes, tape, bubble wrap, and pay for shipping,  Paypal and Ebay place a 21 day hold on the funds, !!! But, they expected me to ship the stuff without being paid for it !!!  I could not afford to pay to ship it without the money from the sale and I was worried that if I did send it , I would lose the items and not get paid for them. So, I emailed the buyers and told them that I did not have the money to ship the items and shipping would wait until I got the funds from Paypal.  The buyers did not want to wait and asked me to call Paypal and explain and ask for them to release enough money to ship the items.  I called but Paypal would not release enough to ship the stuff. So, I refunded the buyers and Paypal stole over three dollars from me for fees to refund them the money.    With 21 day holds, it is so easy for a buyer to scam a seller.  The seller sends the item hoping they will get paid.  But, all the buyer has to do is lie and tell Paypal the item doesn't work, is broken, is a different color  and Paypal and Ebay refund the buyer.  From what I understand, sometimes they ask the buyer to send back the item, but even if they send back something totally different to the seller, nothing is done.  It's amazing there are any seller's left on here, really.... It's is far safer to sell on one's own website, I think ...I just wish I knew how to set one up.

[davus-bntazm]

Wow, I'm sorry for your loss. It sounds kind of the same like mines, the buyer's money is still being held by PayPal right now and there is nothing I can do about it. Though I hope that grant is right about how the buyer voided their MBG by using a forwarding service. Because I honestly am very suspicious about how something I tested to work prior to shipping to just flat out not work when it is delievered. I sold many CPUs much more expensive than this one before and never had a problem with them. I even sold multiple motherboards, which are even more fraigile than the CPU before and never ran into any problems with buyers as well. So thing just beats the heck out of me right now. 

[berserkerplanet]

But before you do that, ask him what type of thermal paste he used (don't ask if he used any, because he would likely say yes).  If he answers that he did not use any, or asks what thermal paste is, then you have some ammo to indicate the failure was due to his improper installation, if the item forwarded fact doesn't work.

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Yes, if buyer is a total noob that might be a valid question.

You don't have to use thermal paste (or even a heatsink) to briefly boot it up to BIOS to check DOAness. Heat is the only enemy here.

Just went through this testing out a Q9550 to replace my old Q9300 along with a mobo replacement. Tested both CPUs with old mobo and 4 replacement mobos with no paste. No problem (finger tested for cpu hotnesses)

However, those cpus do run like Lucifer's forge, heat up pretty quick, and anything more than a quick test requires good paste application, a good heatsink, and some luck. Cores on Q9550 are running at 142F pretty much at idle as I type this, and jump to 170+ if I run 100% cpu usage on all 4 cores for more than a few minutes.  The 9800GTX video card/heater, 2 optical drives, and 2 hard drives don't help the temps in the case either in spite of multiple new (noisy) case fans. Starting to think about water cooling solutions...

Thinking out loud to OP:

CPU could actually be DOA, but probably unlikely.

CPU could be flaky with buyer's mobo, but you tried that by asking what mobo.

Buyer could be trying to fix for a failed system, thought it was the CPU, and was wrong - failed mobo?, failed power supply? (always check PS first - cause of major instabilities/failures when dying)

I defer to the other here on how the return will play out. This re-shipping issue seems to be coming up a lot lately though.

[takikawa4]

Here's where it says items shipped to another address after original delivery isn't covered:

Not covered

• Buyer remorse or any reason other than not receiving an item or receiving an item that isn’t as described in the listing (see the seller’s return policy for return options).

• Items damaged during pick-up or shipping or not delivered when the buyer arranges pick-up or shipping of the item (for instance, the buyer arranges freight).

• Duplicate claims through other resolution methods.

• Items shipped to another address after original delivery.