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HELP!! I sold a FLAWLESS PS3 on eBay, and the seller reports back that it's broken!

mattcube64

mattcube64

macrumors 65816
Original poster
May 21, 2006
1,297
115
Missouri
Alright, I sold a PS3 on eBay along with some games and accessories. Everything was in FLAWLESS condition, and the system worked perfectly.

Well, I shipped via UPS, and the seller informed me today that the movie boxes were cracked, and the PS3 doesn't work at all.

Now, this HAS to mean UPS basically played volleyball with the box. And here's why: not only did I do a fantastic job of packing everything nice and snug, using bubblewrap and different forms of packaging materials; but I ALSO had the UPS clerk inspect it. And then, I paid extra money to have the UPS worker pack the box in ANOTHER box, so it would arrive discretely and in a professionally packaged box.

I feel very terrible for the buyer- they shouldn't have to open up a broken system. That has to suck. However, I'm also FURIOUS that this is even happening in the first place!

***

Now here's the deal. I wasn't gonna buy insurance, but after the clerk offered it, I decided it'd be a good idea. So, out of my own pocket, I got the insurance just in case.

So, can I assume this is a pretty painless process? I make the claim, UPS checks out the package, and sends me a check? ... And then, of course, I would send the buyer a refund? Is it easy?

Or, is UPS likely to be a pain in my @$$? The system itself supposedly still looks fine (even though some of the blu-ray movie cases are completely broken). Are they gonna try to claim it was broken before shipment? Or is it pretty easy to prove that they were careless?

I have some pics of everything that I took for the eBay auction, so I at least have proof the cases were in fine condition. But, the only thing I have to prove the PS3 was working is my word... although, I swear, it was working perfectly.

Anybody have to go through this?

And at the end of the day, who has to take it as a loss per the law and eBay terms? Granted, I'm gonna do everything in my power to get the refund, and thus refund the buyer. However, I certainly am not okay taking a $400 loss just because. So if things weren't to work out, is the seller or buyer just SOL?

Thanks. And, if this is in the wrong place, please feel free to move this thread, mods.
 
I sold some speakers on eBay, bought the insurance and on the way to Hawaii they were damaged. Even though the speakers were slightly damaged I still received the $300 I stated the item was worth, and passed that along to the buyer. I sent the item through a local shipping store, and received the check from the store, not UPS.
So there is hope, it just may take some waiting.. I've sold many things on eBay and always buy the insurance for just such a reason....
 
The buyer of the item will never be out of pocket. If the item got damaged in transit then its up to you to a) take the hit on the $400 b) claim of the insurance you purchased.

Its not the buyers fault after all.
 
This is why I rarely deal on eBay. Craigslist for me. You get the cash immediately and there is no buyers remorse or claims of damaged goods.
 
first, are you sure the ebayer is being honest?

A few years ago, I sold a perfect sony laptop on ebay... and the buyer reported that the system was messed up and didn't boot in english. It was clear he was trying to swap his broken laptop for my new one. I told him to provide evidence that it was my laptop and he couldn't. He filed a dispute, but paypal ruled in my favor.

It's always smart to take down the serial number and note anything unique about your system to make sure you're not getting conned.

The odds of the PS3 taking a beating enroute is pretty slim if you packed it well. It doesn't sound reasonable that the PS3 doesn't work at all. I've had a ps3 dropped and tossed around and it works perfectly fine. And the cases of the DVD's were cracked? I didn't even know that was possible.

If the buyer is indeed being honest - one thing I've learned is that often UPS/Fedex/USPS will only validate your insurance claim if it was packed in the original packaging. From reading others' experiences on getting insurance claims.. it sounds pretty unforgiving - but I've actually never had a claim myself so I can't speak from experience.

Good luck and it never hurts to be a little skeptical.
 
On the flip side of this kind of story, just over a year back I bought a PSP off eBay. The disc drive didn't work so I recorded a video of it not working and tried every PSP disc I could find (to make sure it wasn't a faulty game). He contended with me for weeks about how it was working fine when he sent it. But in time I got my money back and had sent the device back, him footing the delivery costs.

And this is the bit that made me really dislike using eBay.

He got it back and said it worked and started to kick up a fuss against me.
Damn place full of dodgy sellers. Like others have said you should have gone to Craigslist or even tried selling it locally. You might not get as much as eBay but at least you can cut off the dodgy sellers and buyers.
 
Damn, by the looks of eBay, I'm officially scared of that place. Not only as a buyer, but a seller.

I feel lucky a year ago when I packaged an old N64, controllers, and games, shipped it to the Midwest for $200. No packing peanuts, no bubble wrap, and NO insurance. I was lucky I got good rep for it too in the end, no damage.

It seems more conn-artists are out to hunt other down. I'm sorry to hear of your dispute. Hopefully, this isn't out of complete dishonesty, and it WAS actually damaged. Never will I, personally, ever use eBay again, because of the risks, and Paypal's new policies.
 
I don't do eBay anymore, period. Now when I sell something, I first start with my circle of family and friends, then I post it on my company's internal buy/sell forums. That way at least I know where the other guy works ;) I haven't had need to go beyond that so far but if I did, I'd use a local group.

I had all kinds of silly eBay experiences too including one much like the OP's. I sent a video mixer to someone in Texas and he reported something like "Thanks! Works great!" in his positive feedback. A few months later I received a notice from PayPal that he'd filed a dispute because the mixer was broken. He claimed he sent it to a depot for repairs and they charged him $350 (this is a mixer worth $400). When asked why he posted that it worked at first, he claimed he was on vacation and didn't really get a chance to play with it until now. Luckily PayPal said that since it was past 60 days from the original transaction, he had no case.

There was another instance in which I won a PowerBook, and when I mailed a cheque, the letter bounced back with "return to sender, no such address". I asked the guy to confirm his address and mailed it again, and again it came back. Meanwhile he's starting to get on my case about not paying...
 
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