Wondering what my rights are

[oldbright]

Hi all,

I sold a broken radio to a buyer - radio was explicitly described as broken and untested in both the description and the photos. He received it, complained about it being broken, and requested a return because the 'item was damaged or defective'. I asked eBay to amend it to 'change of mind', which they said they would and agreed it was a case of buyer's remorse. They asked me to request additional photos from the buyer, which I also did, but he did not provide. eBay then stepped in, closed the return in his favour, and refunded his money because they said I hadn't contacted the buyer in time. I had contacted him on 3 separate occasions, and I provided the dates of those occasions. I asked for an appeal of the decision and the original decision was kept. I'm now minus a radio and $48.95, and eBay have ignored my last email.

Is there anything I can do now or should I give up? Cheers.

[domino-710]

I reckon - give up. 😉

[springyzone]

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@oldbright wrote:

I would also like to note that everyone is telling me I should have 'listed it for parts or not working', but that is not an option in the collectable radios category. New or used are the options.

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Okay, I understand your problem. When I read your description plus your post here, I understood the fair/good rating was probably about the cosmetic appearance.

You've said people are buying old products and should realise they may not work but what I would do if I were you is expand slightly on the description.

So if you are selling a vintage item like this, perhaps in the ad write something like "Fair to good external appearance but please note it is untested and probably not in working condition.

Have that right near the top of your ad where a buyer can't miss it.

Given the loose circuit board etc that was a possibility.

I know you are saying untested means you don't know if it works or not. That's true. But in the circumstances, it is better to err on the side of under rating it. If you put that something is probably broken and not in working order and they get it and by some chance it is working, then you're going to have a very happy customer. 

[colic2bullsgirlore]

 Dunno I reckon that the OP is so lucky that they can pick the radios to not test ie the "untested" ones ...... as opposed to the ones that they think "hmmm I will test this one because I know that at least I will get a hiss and a crackle" ... or maybe even better it will actually function as a radio

....the descriptions are definitely  improving though

Vintage Westinghouse Wide-Fi transistor radio, broacast receiver, c. 1961, rare

Last updated on  28 Jan, 2022 21:38:22 AEDST 

Item specifics

Condition:

Used:

Seller notes:

“In good condition, some minor general wear, minor damage. No corrosion that we could see, possibly some loose solders. We could get a crackle when we plugged a battery in but were unable to tune it.”

[countessalmirena]

@oldbright,

When you list the sort of item that must function in some way (e.g., electrical item as opposed to an antique cup), then by default the item will be taken to be in working order.

If it is not in working order, the listing must explicitly state that it is not in working order.

If you don't know whether or not it is in working order, you have two choices:

Check/test whether or not it is in working order, or

List it as "not in working order".

If the category doesn't have a Spare Parts/Not Working sub-category, then include the information in the title.

A buyer will expect an item that can be either "working" or "not working" to be working, unless it is explicitly stated that the item isn't working. eBay also expect the same thing. It is usually worth the extra effort to test those sorts of items.