Hi guys,
This is a wierd case and a first for me. Sold a Game console recently, buyer recieved the Item and left positive feedback.
A Day later he messages me saying the battery isnt working anymore, while the ac adapter is fine, I said I would cover half the cost of a new battery and he was ok with that and said he would get a replacement.
The Day after he says that the battery didnt work and there is a whole new problem with the console, its blacks out and isnt operating properly. I said that it might of been damaged in shipping (I tested it for 1-2 weeks before listing it on ebay incase it wasnt functioning anymore) so he would have to go through the Post Office (Australia Post) to get the insurcance on the Parcel (I usually opt for insurance since I offer free postage anyway, it prevents situations where I am liable).
He refused to take it up with Australia Post, since he didnt want to go to the trouble and he felt they wearnt liable. Unsure of what to do next I contacted ebay, they informed me to get him to open a return request and let it escalate so they can investigate it (since it seemed abit fishy to them). I asked him to do so and continued the process as normal.
I asked him to take a picture of the battery and record a video of the console in action so I could get a better Idea of what was going on, while suppling ebay with some evidence.
For some reason he wasnt messaging me in the return request, he kept private messaging me even though I asked him multiple times to respond in the request. He sent me a low quality low res picture of the replacement battery and told me that ebay wasnt letting him upload the video, I asked him to try again, and he responded saying it still didnt work.
I contacted Australia Post to see if I was able to get the insurance filed from my end, they asked me to try to get the buyer to file the claim again, if not they would need to escalate the issue and see if an exception could be made.
Before I could send the message to my buyer, he informed me that he sent the console back to me, bypassing the whole return process.
I do believe in sticking with the customer and making sure that they are happy with the solution, but he kept on stonewalling every attempt to solve the issue, and by sending it back he might have cost me a much loved console, while ebay have informed me that I should wait for the item and see the condition and contact them, it seems they are just going to refund the buyer now since he sent the item back, and found a loophole in the system. What should I do?
PS I should also mention that there is probably a 40% chance that he either changed his mind and/or damaged the console intentionally to get a refund, or has replaced the console with a broken one (Ive seen that this is a common problem on ebay), especially given his additude towards getting the insurance filed and providing any photos or videos of the console.
