Another reason I hate ebay...

[CRed]

Awhile back I made a rant about getting my first negative via retaliatory feedback,well this takes the cake.Last week I sold a custom Athearn Genesis CN SD70I on ebay,well this week the guy messages me saying that arrived damaged,this is four days after it was delivered mind you.He says the rear coupler broke off,that the rear ditch lights were bent and that a tube in front was broken(I don't know what he means by that,maybe the MU cable?) and wants me to send him a $17 "damage" refund.It was sent in it's original box and secure packaging so I don't see how it was damaged so badly.I said no and even though I have my doubts about how the damage was incurred I offered him a full refund with him having to pay shipping to me so I could either file for the insurance or repair the train,but apparently this is a waste of time for him and he says he would get nothing in return.WTH?!Nothing in return!He'd be getting his money back for petes sake!Yet I'm supposed to send him a $17 "damage" refund.Anyways,I told him that my offer was fair and that if he did not agree we could take it to ebay and see what they think.I am seriously considering suspending my ebay account because of the past few weeks like I have before after being threatened with bad feedback.Sorry for the rant,but I just had to get it off my chest.

Chris

 

[MasonJar]

If he paid for shipping insurance, have him make the claim.

Andrew

 

[CRed]

If he paid for shipping insurance, have him make the claim.

Andrew

I'm not sure how it works because I've never had to deal with this before,but I thought the sender had to make the claim.Either way,I doubt I would get it anyways as I don't think it was damaged in shipping.I would want it back to repair it and either keep it or resell it.

Chris

 

[MasonJar]

I thought it was the receiver that paid for the insurance, and therefore makes the claim and receives the benefit? That seems to be the way it works with Canada Post.

Andrew

 

[CRed]

I have to go to the PO tomorrow so I'll ask.If that's the case then he can either file for the insurance or send it back to me for a refund.

Chris

 

[trainnut65]

Yea i think the guys are right. It is up to him to file the ins clam If the Shipper will not make it good then i would not worry about it. But i do understand the bad feed back he can still leave you for that is not right.

 

[CNWman]

He should send you pictures of the 'damaged engine'. I'm also wondering why $17 for 'damage'. Heck, if I got the engine in that condition, I wouldn't mind much. I'd simply replace the coupler, straighten the ditch light, and I really don't care about a broken M.U. cable.

 

[CRed]

He should send you pictures of the 'damaged engine'. I'm also wondering why $17 for 'damage'. Heck, if I got the engine in that condition, I wouldn't mind much. I'd simply replace the coupler, straighten the ditch light, and I really don't care about a broken M.U. cable.

My thinking is this.The damage isn't so bad that a little glue and a few minutes wouldn't fix it and he knows this.He also knows he got a great deal on it,I Paid $100 for the engine and traded a $75 engine for the work on it so along with the shipping I've got about $200 into it and I've seen BB Athearns with a few added details go for almost as much as mine did.I've offered to send him a full refund plus shipping so he has no other recourse but to either keep it and quit trying to extort money from me or send it back.I know he wants to keep the engine because it's so unique and was easily worth more then he bought it for,but he's not getting a "damage" refund from me and I told him so.If he wants to go to ebay and complain he can go for it because I have nothing to fear from that.

Chris

 

[CRed]

Here's the auction if you want to take a look at it.....

Custom Athearn Genesis Canadian National CN SD70I - (eBay item 320191569389 end time Dec-10-07 14:42:05 PST)

Josh(jbakko) did the work on it and did a bang up job on it I think.

Chris

 

[N Gauger]

That STINKS!!!!!! I've done this a few times... The buyer claims it was damaged and wants a partial refund.. it usually amounts to the shipping charges... Would you believe that some buyers do this to scare you (with negative feedback) to get a discount on a winning bid??? go figure... Then they can say they paid $98.00 for it instead if $115.00

The "Easy way" is Just count the shipping paid towards his $17.00 refund.. it'll bother you less if you know you paid for shipping and took a small loss on the auction..

=============================
The "best way": Hopefully you shipped it insured. if you did - Show him this pdf form for claiming and let him know what HE will go through to get his money http://www.usps.com/forms/_pdf/ps1000.pdf

Be sure to MAKE COPIES of the post office receipt and the black & white insurance slip - before sending him the originals - He'll need to present the original packaging, the model and the 2 original receipts to get "his" money...

Bad part of this is - the Post Office will confiscate the engine.. and it'll never be seen again Someone told me they destroy everything after presenting it to whoever insures the postal service - you didn't think they would "lose" this money - did you???? wall1wall1wall1

You are not obligated to do anything as far as refunding any part or all of his payment - unless he agrees to return the engine to you.. for a full refund.. and you are not obligated to refund his original shipping, only the cost of the engine and the "return for refund" shipping he pays. COD is an option for this one if he whines about return shipping.

The reason is - The winning auction shipping (to ship it to him) was a service that was paid (to the USPS) to ship the engine, you only have to pay the return for refund shipping....

But again - it's good business to pay it all back....

Dont worry about the negative feedback... one or 2 a year aren't bad - and I think you can post "comments" now short comments - but you can post "something" in reply to a negative feedback.....

Let us know what happens..... Best of Luck!!!

 

[N Gauger]

Did he pay by Paypal???? If he makes a claim by Paypal, they may side with him - they will immediatly take his money out of your Paypal account and refund it to his paypal account..

Make sure! that "if" he decides to send you the engine back... CHECK the PACKAGE for the engine, before you send him his refund... A friend of mine got the package at teh post office, brought it home, refunded the money -- and a few days later when he opened the package - there was a rock in it.. instead of the item!!!!! He complained to Paypal, but the "buyer" had closed his account the day after he got the refund and that was that

 

[CRed]

Did he pay by Paypal???? If he makes a claim by Paypal, they may side with him - they will immediatly take his money out of your Paypal account and refund it to his paypal account..

Make sure! that "if" he decides to send you the engine back... CHECK the PACKAGE for the engine, before you send him his refund... A friend of mine got the package at teh post office, brought it home, refunded the money -- and a few days later when he opened the package - there was a rock in it.. instead of the item!!!!! He complained to Paypal, but the "buyer" had closed his account the day after he got the refund and that was that

If PP did side with him that's fine as long as I get the engine back first,if they refund his money without me getting it back I would not be happy and would quit using PayPal altogether.I have already told him I would refund him fully for the engine plus the shipping to me so I see no reason for a complaint in the first place.

Yeah I've heard of that happening,Quite often actually on a computer forum I belong to.Sad what people will do to save a few bucks or make money.

Thank you for the suggestions Mikey!

 

[jbaakko]

Did he pay by Paypal???? If he makes a claim by Paypal, they may side with him - they will immediatly take his money out of your Paypal account and refund it to his paypal account..

Actually, no, if he has the item, he can't have his money back until he returns the item. What you described only happens if he did not receive the item, and, because if his emails, Chris has "legal" proof that he received it.

In the end, PP can't take the money from Chris, legally, and won't unless the buyer returns the item, or Chris agrees.

However, I do feel saddened that my work has become the center of such turmoil! I'm not sure, but I'd assume the MU hose just came loose, I had to fix it twice myself.

Hope all goes well Chris!

(P.S. thanks for the two units I won, I'll get you the payment soon hopefully! Stupid me not expecting to win them. wall1 )

 

[tetters]

I use e-bay often. Mostly as a buyer. I dunno, if I purchased the engine and it arrived in the condition he claims, I probably would have just fixed it and moved on. Poop happens. Doesn't sound or even look like he got a lemon in the box. Some people are such turds, sheesh. I feel for you bro.

 

[CRed]

I use e-bay often. Mostly as a buyer. I dunno, if I purchased the engine and it arrived in the condition he claims, I probably would have just fixed it and moved on. Poop happens. Doesn't sound or even look like he got a lemon in the box. Some people are such turds, sheesh. I feel for you bro.

Thanks Josh & Tetters!I just want to know how it was damaged at all.Those Athearn Genesis boxes are nicely packed and there's no way that the little bit of play it had and the soft foam caused that much damage.I shipped it the same way I received it from the original seller and then it was shipped to CA and back with nary a scratch the same way also.And yeah,the damage was completely superficial and easy to fix which is why he didn't want the full refund because he got a great deal and knows it.Anyways,I offered him a $5 partial refund because I didn't want this to drag on over the holidays and he took that although I really would have preferred giving him the full refund and getting the engine back.I also wondered why it took him four days to contact me about the damage and he said it was because he didn't have any track set up yet.Hmmm,I don't know about you guys,but when a package containing a train arrives at my doorstep I can't wait to open it to at least verify that it was what it was supposed to be or check for damage and such.

Hey Josh,give me my money damn it!sign1

Looks like you might have it soon since your auctions are winding down so pay me as soon as you can Josh.

Chris

 

[who_dat73]

I had the same junk happen to me the guy THOUGHT the item was in the original box and that I had broken and replaced somthing I expalaned that they did not show the box in the picture or the description and that the part was a add on after it was out of the box type thing he wanted all his money back without sending it back to me I told him to take a hike I would give hime the purchase price back he payes shipping took it to pay pal he payed shipping they gave him the money as soon as he gave a shipping number. When I got them he had taken the motorcycles and smashed them tossed the pieces in the box and sent the mess back I complane PP says I cant make a complaint about a claim that said it was a broken item :curse:

 

[N Gauger]

Actually, no, if he has the item, he can't have his money back until he returns the item. What you described only happens if he did not receive the item, and, because if his emails, Chris has "legal" proof that he received it.

In the end, PP can't take the money from Chris, legally, and won't unless the buyer returns the item, or Chris agrees.

That's nice to know..

 

[CCT70]

I'm with Mikey on this, I smell a rat (scam). He's trying to get you for $17 which is extortion really, since if you don't, he'll threaten with negative feedback.

I was *just* telling Alicia, the Holidays bring out the worst in a LOT of people. It's all about greed anymore and makes me sick.

 

[Cannonball]

In the end, PP can't take the money from Chris, legally, and won't unless the buyer returns the item, or Chris agrees.

Somebody should tell this to Paypal.

I sold a bass guitar on eBay and the guy paid me though PayPal. I immediately transfered the money out of my Paypal account to my checking because I needed the cash from the sale. (Which is why I was selling it in the first place)

When I shipped the bass, I sent the guy the tracking number so he could watch for it. The next day I check my PayPal account. My balance showed negative $240.00. The guy had filed a fraud charge as soon as I shipped the bass and PayPal charged me to refund his money. When I contacted the guy about it, he had the gall to tell me it was a bank error and he was going to return the bass when he got it.

Right.... sure he was.

Fortunately, I was able to have UPS stop shipment on the bass and return it to me.

I still haven't paid the $240 back to PayPal though. They docked my account without my consent and never even asked for my side of the story. They finally locked that account because I refused to pay them but I could really care less if that's how they want to do business.

 

[ezdays]

I had thought that when they invented Pay Pal that it was the salvation of all eBay ills. The buyer was guaranteed their merchandise and the seller their money. That doesn't seem to be the case since I hear so many one-sided horror stories. Remember back in the 1700's and the witch-hunting days? All it took was the testimony of one person (a lier) to convict someone of being a witch. That seems to be the case with Pay Pal, and eBay for that matter. The seem to take one person's word that they've been screwed without first asking the other side of the story before they take action. What kind of protection do they really provide when they allow these things to happen?

I make no apologies, if I want to sell something on eBay, I have a store nearby "Isolditonebay" that does all the work and takes all the risks, for a fee of course. If I want to buy something, I go to my local brick and mortar store or order it by phone from a company that is in the business of selling whatever it is I need.