Returned item situation - suggestions needed.

[888-jackpot]

Hi all,

I sold a used Apple iMac that was what the buyer described as in excellent condition when they received it last week.

Upon receiving it & before I could even say more, through the eBay messaging.

I was told by the buyer that he had opened up the iMac desktop PC, which is not an easy task whether you're an experienced tech or not. This I discovered when I checked YouTube videos on how to open up an iMac to replace a hard drive, which the buyer proceeded to do without my authorisation.

He only stated that he wanted to upgrade the hard drive for his own use. Upon trying to upgrade he said there was a Firmware chip password, which I did not know about (common problem worldwide I discovered on Google).

As I am a reseller, I got in contact with the business I originally bought it from & they sent me an updated invoice to include the serial # that wasn't on the original invoice. They couldn't help much further apart from that.

So I gave the invoice to the seller & he also printed the eBay invoice then went to an Apple store. But they could not assist due to their policy that they required the original Proof Of Purchase receipt.

So out of good faith I said I'll accept it back, which it should arrive by Wednesday. Obviously I will be inspecting it to make sure the screen is on properly as he would have had to PRY it open carefully.

His latest eBay message reply also indicates that he wants me to refund the cost of the item & postage he paid totalling $745. I believe that is fair considering I paid the extra $30-$35 it cost me on top to get it shipped. But his message on Friday indicates he wants me to pay the full postage costs of up to $60- to have the item returned to me.

That would mean I would be out of pocket of almost $90-$95- in just postage costs. I've already offered the original payment he made of $745- but should I also have to pay the extra $60?

In this last message as well he said the hard drive was faulty. Which I believe is a false claim, it had an operating system on it & was working without any known issues. It was the buyer who said he wanted to only upgrade it.

How should I handle this return since the item has been interferred with? If it's cosmetically damaged then I know I can further adjust the return for a partial refund. Has anyone been in this situation & done so?

The buyer also never asked any questions prior to bidding/buyer. He never asked me to check anything or if he could upgrade it after receiving it. I read on another sellers page that any attempt to upgrade the hard drive sets the 4 digit pin to a 6 digit pin instead & it could take up to 6 months to crack it!

Thanks for reviewing this subject.

[digital*ghost]

This doesn't strike me as "item not described", but rather a change of mind return because the buyer can't do what they wanted to with it - I mean, if it was fully functional as it was supposed to be, and you made no indications the buyer would be able to do what they planned to with updating, then I don't see how this means the equipment is faulty or not as described.

The buyer might be under the impression that "not fit for purpose" means if it doesn't suit their intended purpose, then it qualifies as "not fit" but that is not the case at all.

Unless I have missed something in your post, then I would absolutely put this down as 'change of mind', and in those cases i personally refund item price only, and none of the original or return postage costs. 

Perhaps you can advise the buyer to sign up for PayPal refunded returns so they they will still get reimbursed, and it might keep the peace a bit since they have indicated they don't think they should be responsible. 

https://www.paypal.com/au/webapps/mpp/returns

[brerrabbit585]

As soon as they said they'd opened it up I would have told them they couldn't return it. If they'd opened a false claim with ebay to say it was faulty you would have had the messages to prove that it was working before they opened it, and that they didn't open it because it was faulty. Even if it had been faulty, opening it themselves wouldn't look good for a claim.

Even if you'd fought it and they won an ebay case, you wouldn't have been any worse off than your current situation where they could easily return a worthless piece of equipment. Because of that it would have been worth taking a risk and fighting any claim they may have made if you refused a return.

Whether you can retract your offer to let them return it I don't know but you may have burnt your bridges by agreeing to it. You may think you don't have to do a full refund if the item is damaged but you'll have to prove to ebay that they damaged it, and the extent of the damage or they'll automatically refund the lot.

[888-jackpot]

Hi, so I got the iMac back & it was blinking with a question mark file icon. It does not load any operating system or to the desktop. I'll get onto eBay support now because Google said to press the Command & the R key to load it up. But now it's come to the Padlock icon only prompt which was the EFI Firmware chip password that the user said he came across after fiddling with the item. This item is now worthless to me as I can't resell it for what I paid for it originally.

[888-jackpot]

Hi see my other reply to the other user. I have been returned an item that is no longer working as what I shipped it.

[888-jackpot]

Also, now that I can't even log in or see the desktop I can't verify the serial # that the same item was returned. I dearly hope eBay can help out with this & that PayPal resolves it by not forcing a refund now that I've got a iMac I can't even use.

[digital*ghost]

Is it an ebay case, or a PayPal case?

If eBay - Use the call me back option from eBay, explain that the buyer has modified the item, and in the process of doing so, damaged it beyond repair. It sounds like the buyer's messages through eBay will support this. Be sure to note that while you accepted the return in good faith, presuming that the the buyer would meet their obligation to return the item in it's original condition, which they have to do in order to be eligible for a refund (remind them that this is eBay's own policy). Ask them how to deny the refund because the buyer has not met eBay's policies to be eligible for a refund (this makes it clear it is an expectation set out by eBay's policies, as you don't want it to seem like you're asking what will happen or what you can do, which leaves it open for eBay to decide things and make it seem like there's nothing you can do).

If they try to say they can't determine the condition of the equipment, just reiterate that the buyer's own messages state very clearly that they modified the item from its original condition. If they say you're obliged to refund, remind them again that it would be going against their own policies, and that you will take it higher if they force a refund (be polite, but firm). 

If it's a PayPal case, are these messages through the PayPal resolution centre? Either way, PayPal have the same policy (return in original condition), so again you will need to speak with them on the phone, provide as much evidence as you can collect prior to speaking with them, be that screenshots of their messages through eBay detailing they modified the item etc, and if you can provide video and / or photographic evidence of the differences between what was sent and what was received back, I'd organise that too. 

I hope it works out. 

[collect247]

Sounds to me like the buyer has done a switcharoo lol

[888-jackpot]

Thanks for your input, unbelievable but the buyer was given their refund not even 12-hrs when I notified eBay again that I received the item not in the original condition that I had sent it. I even gave them the exact web link of where I had bought the item showing it was in working condition.

Unfortunately as well the buyer has slandered me & left a negative feedback just to cover up his fraudulent action of claiming his refund.

[imastawka]

You can get that neg removed.

He's mentioned the case, which is a no-no.