Buyer wants a refund for item that was sold as 'not working'.

[yazzi18]

Hi all,

The item in question that I sold was a modifiied PS3, sold with the condition 'for parts or not working'.

I had bought the console myself as not working and had intended to use it as a fix-it project, but I never got around to it. So decided to sell it as-is.

The buyer bought it from me on the 19th of August, no contact or payment until I started a paypal case. Was paid on the 25th of August and sent out on the 26th.

The buyer has just now (Sep 30th) sent me a paypal invoice demanding the full cost of the console (+postage!) to be refunded and told me that the console cannot be fixed, stating that the modifications on the console had not been professionally done, which was something I never claimed in the first place and stated that the modifications had been carried out by the previous owner.

On top of this, the buyer has sent me this demand via paypal itself as a personal payment request, not via eBay or in relation to the original listing.

Now, forgive me if I'm wrong, but I'm fully entitled to ignore this demand, am I not?

Thanks in advance.

[zelly888]

If the buyer paid with paypal then the buyer has to go through paypal and not ebay to resolve any disputes.If the buyer had not paid you then it would have gone through ebay.

[davewil1964]

If they want a refund through Paypal they will have to open a SIGNIFICANTLY not as described case.

Paypal will usually put the funds on hold and give the buyer the address (furnished by you) to which they have to return - by trackable means at their cost. Once they alert Paypal to the fact of shipment, Paypal will then give them their money back.

At this point, if the returned item complies with the description or has been damaged by the buyer,  you contact Paypal by phone and speak to a supervisor stating your reasons as to why the buyer is not eligible for a refund. When Paypal reject your defence you mention that you will have no option but to refer the matter to the FSO. If, unlikely, Paypal don't cave at that point, refer the matter to the FSO.

[yazzi18]

FSO, seriously? It was listed as not working, what they recieved was as described and not working (even left positive feedback!). Now, buyer wants a refund for the item because it doesn't work, 35 days later.

As it is, it was not a refund request, a SNAD, or any kind of dispute. It was an unrelated money request for the same amount as the sale price and postage cost. No mention of a return.

[digital*ghost]

IMHO, the buyer wouldn't have much chance of winning a SNAD claim (particularly as it was listed as not working), so if one was opened I would fight it every step of the way.

How you handle the PayPal invoice is really up to you (eg ignore it, attempt to contact them and resolve amicably etc) - for obvious reasons, I wouldn't pay it even if I was willing to refund their money.