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eBay seller issue - what would you do?


mcnach
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[quote name='RalphDWilson' timestamp='1325417810' post='1482863']
I don't think you or the seller will get anywhere with Parcelfarce, I seem to remember a disclaimer in their T&Cs that say they won't accept liability for damage to guitars if not packed properly.
[/quote]

Why should they accept liability for things that aren't packaged properly?
They're there to deliver parcels, not to check that the sender hasn't been a pillock.

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Is it possible the guy was on holiday or had no access to his pc for few days hence the lack of response. ?

No excuse for not paying for the damage considering how poorly packaged it was.
It wasn't a lot for the repair and therefore don't understand why he has been so negative.

I sold a sampler few weeks ago on ebay. The guy didn't pay and didn't respond to emails. After 4 days put into dispue and lo and behold it was paid within 2 days. No comms from the guy to explain. On checking back his history from few yrs ago he had done this before. Ebay wouldn't let me leave -ve feedback against the buyer but he was able to leave feedback against me. Luckily he didn't. All this for sake of £40. ??? I don't understand some people who are simply unethical and have no moral standards.

I would fully support your reasoning especially when you sent the photos as evidence.

Good luck
Dave

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[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1325436042' post='1483111']
Why should they accept liability for things that aren't packaged properly?
They're there to deliver parcels, not to check that the sender hasn't been a pillock.
[/quote]

I agree, Parcelforce are not to blame.

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Sending it in a gigbag was a dumb idea frankly. He's lucky there wasn't more damage done to the bass. Negative feedback should be raised to warn any other buyers that this guy is not a good person to do business with - what would be his reaction be if the bass had arrived with the neck hanging off?

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i would put it down to a lesson learned and cut your losses ive had very similar things happen to me on ebay its sad to say but some people are just idiots i got sent a bass in a bin bag luckily it was blatantly obvious to the parcel blokes who obviously took care of it as it arrived in one piece but ive had people buy guitars off me then say oh i dont want it know ive bought something else!and i wasnt allowed as the seller to leave him bad feedback?

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[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1325436042' post='1483111']
[i]I don't think you or the seller will get anywhere with Parcelfarce, I seem to remember a disclaimer in their T&Cs that say they won't accept liability for damage to guitars if not packed properly.[/i]

Why should they accept liability for things that aren't packaged properly?
They're there to deliver parcels, not to check that the sender hasn't been a pillock.
[/quote]

I understand your point but those T&Cs sound a bit Catch 22 to me. They won't accept liability if the item is not packed properly but they can use any damage as evidence of improper packaging. If there's no damage then there's no liability anyway. Nice business if you can get away with it.

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Pretty sure that quite a lot of BCers put a bass in a gig bag and move it round the country in a van without breaking it, sure have low expectations of handling by parcel carriers when you are packing, but I am not so sure you should think its fine they handle stuff any less carefully that people do their own stuff.

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Just wanted to add my 2 pennyworth. Both Ebay amd Basschat sales are essentially based on trust, so when someone is untrustworthy, it really grates. But short of finding where the guy lives, going there, and demanding money, what can you do. It's happened to me a time or two, and after your initial anger has subsided a bit, the only healthy thing to do is to put it down to experience, and move on. Don't let him rob your peace of mind.

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eBay is much larger and more anonymous than Basschat though. Since this is a bassists only forum, there's a reasonable likeliness someone you're dealing with is known by other people on the forum personally (unless they don't have any real life bassist chums). This means people should be more likely to behave honorably. If this does not occur, us mods will attempt to neutrally mediate in a situation to attempt a positive outcome for both parties (and no seller fees !).

In the situation the OP has provided though, i'd cut my losses and buy the new tuner rather than drag it out over several weeks causing myself stress and bother. It's £14 not £140.

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[quote name='noelk27' timestamp='1325382413' post='1482747']
It happens here, on Basschat, also. Twice I've received basses from sellers which have arrived damaged. Both times I informed the sellers as soon as the basses were received. On both occasions, after discussions, the sellers agreed to pay for repair cost (in one case £240, and the other £35). On both occasions the works were undertaken by know luthiers/repairers, and all photographic evidence and invoices/receipts provided to the sellers. On both occasions, after that point, nothing was ever heard from those sellers again leaving me out of pocket. You'll meet dishonest people wherever you go, eBay or Basschat.
[/quote]

Who were they?

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[quote name='jakenewmanbass' timestamp='1325352260' post='1482461']
things like ebay really only work if people do it right (bit like society) so I think kick him very hard in the balls (metaphorically)
[/quote]

No. The exchange has always been civilised. I do not think the seller is a bad guy, only a little unrealistic about his responsibility.
So my attitude is firm (as I believe to be right) but always polite and never trying to cause trouble in retaliation: if I get the cost of the replacements refunded (in a reasonably timely fashion), then it's fine.

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[quote name='Dom in Somerset' timestamp='1325353161' post='1482475']
If it is Parcel Farce's fault (I blame the poor packing myself) it's up to the sender to sort it out.
Personally I'd just take the £15, walk away, and slag the guy off on an internet bass player's forum.
If you are going to pursue it stay within ebay/paypal, it's what you pay their fees for.
[/quote]


Agreed!

It's a problem between the seller and ParcelForce, in my view too. That's why I want my side fixed, and then they can argue among themselves if they wish. To be perfectly honest, I have no sympathy towards ParcelForce... but in this case... the seller was quite clueless to post a bass like that. So I blame the seller mostly. On the other hand, shouldn't ParcelForce say "can't post it like that, or you won't be covered in case of damage" when he posted it? ParcelForce is happy to take the money... I found out seller even paid an extra £10 to get the bass fully insured... when PF's terms & conditions make it clear he will not be able to claim successfully. :rolleyes:

and yes, it's been pursued through eBay, of course.

Edited by mcnach
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[quote name='leftyhook' timestamp='1325418615' post='1482873']
I once had some trouble with a seller. Ebay were pants. Almost automated responses. Long story but, to be honest, but it went on for about 6 bloody weeks.

I think you may end up disliking the bass because of bad feelings. Personally I would write the situation off because the more it drags on, the worse you will feel....

....If it's more about principle to you, **** it. Turn the other cheek and move on man.
[/quote]
I'm inclined to agree.

I always collect, meself.

I hate E-Bay, by the way.

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[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1325383156' post='1482752']
Honestly, in my opinion, you shoulda decided what you wanted to do, and emailed him asking him for the money, and kept asking for it, then open the dispute as you have.
I personally wouldn't have then changed my mind and offered to go halfs, and then recinded on that offer. The fella may only check his emails once a week, got the email about the pickups, and sent the money straight away then found the others... I would be annoyed and offers being changed.
Apart from that, go through ebay complaints was right thing to do.
[/quote]


It's not like I kept changing my mind...

I told him there was a problem and he received that message, he replied and asked for pictures, which I sent. When you are at that stage, you don't just "check your email once a week" until it is solved. Or if you have to be away, you let the other person know that until a certain date you will not be able to do anything.
He claims he emailed me... but I never received anything. Funnily enough, he is able to email me no problem the minute I talk about opening a dispute if I don't hear from him in another 2 days... I find that a bit suspicious ;)

I made the offer purely in the interests of sorting it out quickly.
He chose silence. I changed my mind, and chose not to giving him a "freebie", but ask for the straight replacement.
Even after I said that, he still went several days without communication. During this time I first sent him the estimate, giving him the URL where to order from. Then I told him I would order myself. Then I told him I already had placed an order and sent him the info. He still did not reply. He only even asked for my paypal address AFTER I had told him the replacements had arrived.
This process took a bit more than a week, there was a lot of time in between to communicate.

Had he agreed to my initial offer, I'd have stuck with it, even when I realised that it was not convenient for me to spend more money and wait to receive the Hipshot D-Tuner at this point in time. I will not back out of an agreement. But if I make an offer and you don't respond, I am not necessarily keep that offer open forever. Isn't that logical?

His communication, or rather, the timing of his communications, gave me the impression he was trying to ignore the issue, and only got in touch when I was going to ask for a third party (eBay) to intervene and decide what the outcome should be.

Bit cheeky.

I don't know, if I were in his position I'd feel terrible. If the buyer then makes me an offer that ensures I get positive feedback, and costs me 50% of the repair... I'd accept the offer in a flash!
He did not.

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[quote name='leftyhook' timestamp='1325418615' post='1482873']
I once had some trouble with a seller. Ebay were pants. Almost automated responses. Long story but, to be honest, but it went on for about 6 bloody weeks.

I think you may end up disliking the bass because of bad feelings. Personally I would write the situation off because the more it drags on, the worse you will feel.

I recently bought a Squire P/J bass in 'perfect working order," just a few minor blemishe"'. True, except the fact that the truss rod is to it's max and needs repairing.
I paid £90 for the bass.Will cost me about £40 to repair. But I can't be arsed with the hassle/dispute etc. I put it down to experience.

I know the majority will disagree, but I just want happy bass playing vibes.

If it's more about principle to you, **** it. Turn the other cheek and move on man.

Good luck
[/quote]


That's the reason I was tempted to drop it. It's a small amount of money... I'm enjoying the bass after I fixed it... £14 more or less really does not mean anything. Not even a set of strings!
But I felt the guy was disrespectful in his attitude. And all I had to do was write a small form to complain on eBay.

I haven't been involved in these things before. Only once I bought (or so I thought) a Squier Jazz of someone here in the forum, paid with Paypal. Aftr a week went on with no communication I checked his profile, noticed something odd (was a relatively newbie, and the poeple who had checked his profile in the past few days all had something in the "wanted" subforum)... There was a thread about it, to cut the story short... he tried to scam people by taking money for items he never owned. I tracked down the pictures he sent me to a real ad from another person in Ireland... Three other members came out who had sent him money.
That took a while to sort out... but the paypal process was not much of a hassle. It was frustrating because when you open the dispute they take 10 days before they are going to do anything, just giving you time to talk among yourselves... But it did not take much work. I did exchange a lot of emails with him, because one member of the forum paid as "gift" and he could not make a claim, so he was bound to lose his money. But we persuaded the scammer to refund that one person, and he was the first one to get any money back. Then the rest of us got the money in due course through Paypal, simply by waiting.
It seemed pretty straight forward, even if not terribly fast.

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Why did you sign for the bass and agree to accept it if it was damaged?

I have to agree with the 'chalk it up to experience' boys and girls. I've had to turn away a few items that were delivered damaged and once paid £40 (thankfully not any more) to a guy on another forum and never did receive my graphics card.

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And while I was busy checking Basschat, the seller has been in touch saying he will agree to the refund if I don't leave him negative feedback.
I said ok.
Next thing I got a message from eBay's resolution centre with the offer of a partial refund of £14.

Looking good.

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