I wouldn't be so categorical about this. It's very common in my experience, especially with eBay bulk sellers, that they don't inspect or have the knowledge to examine the items they sell properly. Compromising a settlement is perfectly acceptable to me.
I once bought a winder which had its auto shutoff circuit bad, leading to draining batteries. It's something you wouldn't figure out by quick examination. I asked the seller to either take it back or refund 50%. He chose latter, because he realized that if he relisted it, he would have to state the defect and may get even less. That was the option I was hoping for also, since I did like the winder. In the end though, after a few sets drained batteries, I figure I were not able to remember to turn it off all the time even though I tried, so I sold it as a defective winder. I think it's generally a wrong approach to presume the other party is a con because it smells like it. Rather, you consider what's best for yourself, whether to take it back and risk finding the indicated problem or to give a refund. Whether the other party is a con or not is really irrelevent, because you are the one making the decision, not him, and you do so on your own behalf. Tonghang. On Wed, 30 Jul 2003, Mark Roberts wrote: > Anton Browne wrote: > > > > I recently sold a lens on eBay, when the buyer received it he said > >there was a tiny bit of fungus on the front element which could only > >be seen at the right angle and that if he sold the lens he wouldn't > >get what he paid for it (a strange thing to say in my opinion). I > >checked had the lens thoroughly when I first bought it and before > >listing it on eBay and didn't notice anything at all... it is > >possible I missed it of course. I immediately offered a full refund > >including postage costs for the return of the lens. I got a reply > >saying that he'd taken the lens to a camera shop and they said it > >wasn't fungus but a slight parting of the elements and that it > >wouldn't affect pictures. The buyer then said if he sold it he would > >still get less that the bid price, clearly indicating that he wanted > >me to give him a rebate of �20 or so. > > This, unfortunately, is becoming more common on eBay: Pay more than you > really want to for something, then discover "problems" with it and > complain to the seller, demanding a partial refund. These people count > on the fact that many sellers will give a partial refund rather than > risk negative feedback. It's an effective way of winning an auction and > then paying less than you bid. > > I've had this happen in the past with items I *knew* were in perfect > condition. I offer a full refund or nothing at all. In every case the > complainer was never heard from again. > > Wait until the very end on the 90-day window before giving feedback. > Just to be safe. > > -- > Mark Roberts > Photography and writing > www.robertstech.com > >
