e bay advice , purchaser not happy

mark123

First let me just  say i've sold 300+ guitars on e bay and recieved 100% +++ feedback and comments on my amazing packaging.

So i sold a 40 yr old yamaha sg all original apart from a new black nut fitted , two tiny stress marks where it is fitted but  just cosmetic ..its 40 yr old so does show signs of wear and tear but its better than any others ive seen for sale.
The buyer has recieved it and is complaining about the nut and stress marks and says one of the knobs spindles has worn and is loose 
Now i always check my guitars and it wasnt 
he is now getting a quote for a white nut to be fitted and says to get 4 period correct controls would be £25 from japan ..i think he is going to try it on and get £80 to £100 knocked off ..should i say yes save all the hassle of fixing knob and relisting? or no send it back? and i will refund him ..he has good feedback too but some of his comments are weird ..I sent him the tracking number and he replied" so far so good"..as if he knew he was going to cause problems.

Seziertisch

Presumably the colour of the nut was visible in your listing? If so it's a little bit weird that he is complaining about that. Regarding the knobs spindles being worn, hard to say, though if you checked it and it wasn't, it's also not something that would happen in transit.

How much did he pay for it? I presume not a king's ransom for a 2nd hand Yamaha 

It might be easier to just refund him something to get it sorted, though you would also be entitled to take the high road and offer to take a return. Though the first option might be the easiest, it is also likely to annoy you the most as you'll feel like you've been shafted a little bit.

ten77guitar

Add up the costs and hassle of taking it back and compare to what he wants knocked off and make a decision. In my experience it’s not worth arguing with a buyer on eBay (unless they’re really taking the piss). The buyer is going to win so I just view it as an additional cost of sale. It doesn’t happen very often and I always sell on the £1 offers now anyway so the odd thing like this isn’t a major issue.

Jock68

In the advert was there an offer to send pictures of any part of the guitar a buyer wanted?   The spindle is the only issue even if you had it checked and authenticated this will not turn out well.  Take it back and hope he has not done any damage to the instrument. 

ICBM

I would tell him that he could see the nut in the listing pics, and if the pots work correctly then a slightly worn shaft is normal on a 40-year-old guitar and doesn't actually affect the operation. No negotiation unless he wants to return it at his expense for a full refund.

ten77guitar

The other thing that occurred to me - I don’t think eBay allows buyers to request partial refunds anymore (they must have got wise to people abusing it). The expectation now is that the item should be returned.

So if you did want to give a partial refund you’d have to do this through PayPal outside eBay which leaves you open to an unscrupulous buyer taking the refund and still forcing a return anyway.

Jono111

If you refuse to pay can he go down the path of item not as described and leave you liable for the shipping costs.
You are being shafted but I would offer him £25 off to cover the shafts and if he refuses get it returned.
I am not sure what happens if it gets damaged though.

King85

Call his bluff and get him to return it personally. As others have said the nut would have been visible in the listing if you had pictures. 

octatonic

Is he in Essex?

sixstringsupplies

I’d call his bluff and ask him to return it, for a swift and full refund. He's trying it on. I've often found if someone complains about a slow delivery or something isn't quite right, offering the full refund upon successful return of the item usually results in them moving on 

fretfinder

You’ve sold 300+ guitars on eBay and you’re asking us what to do?!  : Presumably you’re a registered business/dealer then?

I’d offer a full refund if he sends it back at his own expense and it arrives safely. Assuming he paid by Paypal he’s got six months in which he could ‘find a problem with it’ and want a refund and Paypal almost always sides with the buyer. May as well get the pain over with now and start again. 

I’m not sure what ‘stress marks’ fitting a new nut would cause, is it lacquer cracks or worse? I guess even if you mentioned and pictured it in your listing, it could be a matter of interpretation how bad it is - another grey area for Paypal to side with the buyer on. If you do relist it I would be ultra clear about the new nut and any damage caused in fitting it, so there can be no future misunderstandings.

Good luck. 

leerocker

I'm going through a similar thing on Ebay with a well known chap who has form of abusing ebays returns. Claiming not as described because there is a ding which was mentioned on the listing and clear to see in the pictures.  First off he wanted 450 off the guitar which was sold for 750 and quite frankly laughable to be honest

He  also has it up for sale on another ebay account for 1299 with my exact description which hes copied and pasted from my listing which I have told ebay about and various other shitty messages I've had

 I'm completely sticking to my guns on this one and I will be amazed if Ebay side with this buyer. Although I have had someone return a pedal because there was dust on it I kid you not!


Based on what you said and if you clearly showed the nut and all of the flaws on the guitar there should be no reason for him to have a case for returning its 40 years old for God's sake! 

MikeS

leerocker said:

 I will be amazed if Ebay side with this buyer.

Prepare to be amazed then, as they pretty much always do... regardless.

leerocker

MikeS said:j

leerocker said:

 I will be amazed if Ebay side with this buyer.

Prepare to be amazed then, as they pretty much always do... regardless.

Not so sure on that one. They have already removed his negative feedback and I have spoken to their customer service. They cant close it until they escalate and then review the description of said item which they already agreed that I was accurate and mentioned all flaws 

ten77guitar

leerocker said:

I'm going through a similar thing on Ebay with a well known chap who has form of abusing ebays returns. Claiming not as described because there is a ding which was mentioned on the listing and clear to see in the pictures.  First off he wanted 450 off the guitar which was sold for 750 and quite frankly laughable to be honest

He  also has it up for sale on another ebay account for 1299 with my exact description which hes copied and pasted from my listing which I have told ebay about and various other shitty messages I've had

 

That unbelievable. What’s his eBay Id so I can block him? (Can you please pm it to me if you don’t want to do publicly).

Balrog68

For your own peace of mind I would get him to return it, even if you have to pay for the return. You cannot rely on ebay to rule fairly,and it is the only way it can be resolved with the least amount of financial loss or damage to your sellers reputation. 

leerocker

ten77guitar said:

leerocker said:

I'm going through a similar thing on Ebay with a well known chap who has form of abusing ebays returns. Claiming not as described because there is a ding which was mentioned on the listing and clear to see in the pictures.  First off he wanted 450 off the guitar which was sold for 750 and quite frankly laughable to be honest

He  also has it up for sale on another ebay account for 1299 with my exact description which hes copied and pasted from my listing which I have told ebay about and various other shitty messages I've had

 

That unbelievable. What’s his eBay Id so I can block him? (Can you please pm it to me if you don’t want to do publicly).

Hes been suspended on ebay before a well known bedroom dealer that has been mentioned on here many times unfortunately Ebay dont seem to care hes been kicked off and had several accounts and a serial negative feedback leaver when he doesn't get his own way ie wanting money off or demanding that items be shipped when its collection  only

rossi

call his bluff and get it sent back .you only pay shipping and get the guitar back .Its happened to me but not on guitars .Does mention working on it .If he has then its  straightforward non event .

Seziertisch

I have a number of former colleagues who are working/have worked for PayPal in their claims department. Some are more capable/switched on than others. Having worked with them, there are a couple I would dread to encounter as a customer.

Also, none are guitarists, meaning they would have no context for assessing lacquer damage resulting from the installation of a new nut. 

From what I understand, working there, it is incentivised to get claims closed as quickly as possible, rather than say as fairly or justly as possible.

roberty

I would get it back personally. Just get it over with as quickly as possible. Life is too short to waste time negotiating with twats

imalrightjack

roberty said:

I would get it back personally. Just get it over with as quickly as possible. Life is too short to waste time negotiating with twats

I've challenged Ebay purchases where the descriptions were just inaccurate and asked for returns/partial refunds.  But that's because some people list stuff as 'mint' or 'good as new' and they're clearly not on receipt.  They're mistake.

So, if I sell, I do my best to be fully clear of any possible issues.  Still, I now won't sell by post as it's too much hassle. I have, though, as suggested simply told people to return stuff if they're unhappy.  No hassle, no arguments, just send the thing back.  Usually, people just accept it.