odd buyer

[davidc4430]

sold an item to a fellow who made an offer, no problem

he got the item but claimed it didnt work (it was new but hey, sometimes new things dont work)

i said he could return it for a refund or try making it work by oiling its bearings

got terse reply 'i shouldnt have to fix it when it was supposed to be new'

so i replied 'send it back for a refund

that was a few days ago havent heard back from him

just took a look at his account feedback, hes been a member since 2018, only shows 4 feedbacks all from sellers

there is no record hes ever left feedback for anyone

im now wondering just what his game is, is the item really not working or was he hoping i'd offer a partial refund?

if it was me i'd have either tried to get it going or box it back up and return it for the refund

btw, i also did a quick ebay search for the item and you just cannot get a new in box item for any price, even a good used one is a lot more than i sold mine for, like double the price!

[twyngwyn]

He may not know how to lodge INAD claim; he may have decided to keep it….many reasons.

Don’t worry until / unless you hear more

[springyzone]

Well, it may be your lucky day.

Seems you've struck an occasional buyer who doesn't really know how ebay works and never bothers with feedback.

My gut feeling (which isn't always accurate but I think may be here) is this isn't someone out to scam you, he's struck a problem and is annoyed.

He probably hasn't sent it back because he doesn't want to be out of pocket for return postage. 

Did you in fact send him a return postage label or offer to?

He may be afraid if he sends it back, he'll end up with no item and no refund and let's face it, that has happened to some buyers before, those who don't go through ebay claims for a return.

He may have decided to just keep it, even though he isn't rapt that he received an item that needed some work. But he may also not bother with feedback.

You have offered him a return, you don't have to do more but if he does contact you again, you could advise him to go through ebay or else explain how you can send him a label. The thing is, if he has oiled the bearings and it is still not right, will you give him a full refund?

[davidc4430]

i havent heard from him

you could be right if he doesnt know about ebay returns

not my job to help him out with that

the item (a hornby model train engine) was new in unopened box

i bought it with the intention of building a train set and using it as one of my engines, never got as far as building any thing

so its been sitting on my shelf for a few years, hence my thoughts the oil in the bearings most likely dried up

even if he attempted to get it going and it was still a non runner i would fully refund him

im 99% sure i could fix it, ive messed with slot cars a lot

sadly i would not be able to list it as new any more

[springyzone]

I guess no news is good news, in this case.

If he doesn't contact you again or does not open a claim, then that is on him.

You never know, he may even follow your advice and oil the bearings.

Maybe he was just having a general grumble when he wrote to you.

If the item was a good price, he will probably decide to just live with it.