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.

[colic2bullsgirlore]

Is it this one?

Corona (Crown) 8 Transistor AM portable radio, model TR-885, Crown Electric

 Condition: Used:
Seller notes: “In good/fair condition, some cosmetic wear due to age and use, crack to one corner as pictured. The circuit board is missing screws and so is loose. Untested.”

If it is, I would suggest that anything you list as "untested" should also include, so therefore is listed for sale as "for parts and not working".

I think the buyer just saw "Good to fair" and expected to be sent a working radio.

[repentatleisure1952 · Accepted solution]

Next time this happens... no back & forth.

Send one reply... "Sorry you are unhappy with your item please return for a full refund "... rinse & repeat if necessary.

Then accept the return & send a label.

Never contact eBay.

Familiarize yourself with the eBay Money Back Guarantee.

You would now have your radio back... maybe...and you could list in the correct way.

Used means the item works as intended... should be under parts/not working.

[springyzone]

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@oldbright wrote:

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'.

If the ad was the one shown by colic2bullsgirlore, then no, you didn't explicitly describe it as broken.

What part of 'good/fair condition, some cosmetic wear'  necessarily implies it was not working?

If I had bought it I would expect it wasn't perfect, but that's a long way from thinking it was only good for parts.

You did say untested, I agree, and for me at least that would be a red flag, but it definitely should have been advertised as for parts and not working.

Ads need to be as explicit as possible so a customer knows exactly what to expect. You used the word broken here with us. It should have been in the ad too.

Perhaps contact the buyer and offer to pay postage and they may be happy to return it to you. Worth a try.

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[janeababe]

This listing is in the category of :  Collectables, so I actually believe that the description of ‘in good/fair condition’ is actually accurate. (this is relating to the physical appearance of the item)
BUT…. That’s about where it stops being accurate.

The only mention of ‘broken’ is about the corner of the radio casing. And while the photo also shows that broken corner, it’s not enough ‘blurb’. The word broken IS NOT relating to the functionality of the radio itself. 

Untested. One word to describe the working function of the radio! ONE WORD! Not good enough, when selling antiques and/or collectables.

When I clicked on ‘see full description’…. I learned NOTHING NEW ABOUT THIS ITEM! 

Sure, pics can form part of the item description, and you are providing great pictures,  but you really need to work on saying more about the actual OVERALL condition of the item in this section. 

I learned more about what days you post, then I did about the radio tbh…. 

I can see why your buyer wasn’t happy.  

(I buy a lot of antiques and collectables; not on eBay) 😉…. So you really have to work a bit better on your item description if you don’t want a repeat of what’s happened here. 

[curraone]

Reading the OP the issue does not seem to be about the description as such.   It is a question about ebay procedure.

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.

Reading this - it seems that ebay refunded because the seller did not respond in time, and the seller said they did and provided proof.     With just this fact, I think it is worth a call to ebay support and trying again.

[janeababe]

…. And this all happened because the buyer opened an INAD case. The OP is stating that the item was explicitly described as broken and untested in both the description and photos.  

I disagree with that statement. 

The OP took it upon himself to tell eBay that it’s not a case of INAD, but instead a case of ‘change of mind’.  I don’t think the OP can honestly read the mind of his buyer, unless he has talents we don’t know about 😉, so at best, it’s just speculation. 

Ebay are right with their findings in this case. The seller misrepresented the radio in this listing. Most likely, unintentionally, but still misrepresented never-the-less. 

The OP should get his radio back though. I do agree with that. 

[oldbright]

Good to know, thanks.

[oldbright]

Okay, thanks.

[oldbright]

Okay, thank you.