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iPhone 5 sold on eBay UK but returned damaged. Options?
- Thread starter Steveh2780
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Hey sad but true I do the same thing and you may have noticed that they force you to add a debit or credit card to make a purchase on ebay also I had a $400 case opened one time and it put my paypal -400 and wouldn't let me remove my bank account or debit card with the account being in the hole.Double edged sword because I must admit most of my beloved apple purchases would not be possible if it weren't for my ability to get good resale value off ebay.If I list an iPhone which I am about to do I will say hey this thing looks bad but it works etc. etc. I always list accurate as possible but buyers (if looking to get money from you) will always find a way around it and scare you with the feedback rating.As for this case I would have looked it over and over and over again and would have ripped the screen protector off regardless of cost especially before listing as (without a blemish in sight) but I'm not taking shots at you trust me I have done stupid things such as ship phones without SIM card slots and had to go up to the post office at closing time and open the package lol
Yeah I could definitely kick myself for not checking the screen without the invisible shield, offered to take it off but they requested it stay on (can't really use that in a case against the buyer as listed as scratch free)
I think you'd actually lose less than that, I know the UK market is going to be different but I've sold Apple stuff with scratches, dents, etc. (I sold surplus equipment mainly from schools) and it didn't seem to hurt the value that much. It took a bit longer to sell than a perfect condition item but I'd probably count on more like £50.
Ultimately it depends on the buyer and how long you're willing to wait for the sale. Some people aren't going to care much about a scratch and will take the scratch for a small discount, others will want a huge discount for the same scratch.
If you're really curious just log onto eBay, do a search for your phone, and on the left column you can click "show only completed listings". You should be able to find a phone in similar condition and figure out a value with the scratch.
Yeah, hoping I get it back and there is no scratch underneath. If I get it back and I find any other damage to sides or back that was immaculate I will open a case against the buyer, get a refund and they can have the phone back
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Something to add- the phone sold as locked to EE (buyer on EE so no problem) I've since had the unlocking code emailed to me from EE so hoping it will cut my losses being able to resell as unlocked
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Yes your right, what someone sees as bad someone else will see as a minor imperfection. Thanks
Yeah, hoping I get it back and there is no scratch underneath. If I get it back and I find any other damage to sides or back that was immaculate I will open a case against the buyer, get a refund and they can have the phone back
Regretfully that's not really how eBay does business
Once eBay processes the return you're essentially stuck with it. Honestly, and I know you don't want to hear it, but he could return a brick and you'd be out of luck. eBay just goes by tracking, once the tracking shows you received the item back, they'll force the refund.
Yeah, hoping I get it back and there is no scratch underneath. If I get it back and I find any other damage to sides or back that was immaculate I will open a case against the buyer, get a refund and they can have the phone back
Regretfully that's not really how eBay does business
Once eBay processes the return you're essentially stuck with it. Honestly, and I know you don't want to hear it, but he could return a brick and you'd be out of luck. eBay just goes by tracking, once the tracking shows you received the item back, they'll force the refund.
Really? So they could essentially send me back a non functioning iphone 5 but would still get refunded? I'm definitely steering well clear of eBay for selling big items in the future
Which is a subsidiary of eBay
True, but at least they can see what they are buying and can either take it or leave it. No fees (unless you opt to bump up ad in listings)
And no postage, refunds, cases etc
Sounds to me like your iPhone 5 was in immaculate condition and the guy has 8k worth of emails sitting in his inbox which for some reason makes me think he's full of s h it.
Ebay (paypal) will side with the buyer they always do, eBay is incredibly unsafe selling anything, fine to shop there though, but I'd stand your ground though and tell the buyer it was immaculate as sold and you don't offer returns on this because it's too easy to be tampered with and genuine parts swapped out for knockoffs, whats to say that he didn't drop this?
Your call what to do here, did you offer returns? if not don't accept it back. If you offered returns which good old ebay just opts sellers into by default (jeez I loathe that company) then I guess you have to take it back.
In the UK The other dodgy ba stards on ebay are the ones that have feedback in the thousands they're usually looked after by ebay regardless of how dodgy they are because eBay makes lots of fees on either the hot property they sell or the knockoff gear- they sell their counterfeit t-shirts and claim their unemployment cheques, you sell them something and they tell you the item you posted never turned up and when you inform them that it was signed for by them because you sent it special delivery via Royal Mail then they tell you the box was empty - they open a case with the heartless irish drones at Paypal/eBay who decide that the Buyer is always right and you lose.
Avoid eBay where you can - use gumtree it's free - sure it is owned by eBay and you get a lot of scammers and freaks calling but easy to just hang up on them until a legit person calls and they do - safer to deal with people in person. eBay is such a risk for sellers forget sellers protection - that may work if you can prove the item was delivered signed for but guess what if the buyer says it's not in the box you're scre wed.
Ebay (paypal) will side with the buyer they always do, eBay is incredibly unsafe selling anything, fine to shop there though, but I'd stand your ground though and tell the buyer it was immaculate as sold and you don't offer returns on this because it's too easy to be tampered with and genuine parts swapped out for knockoffs, whats to say that he didn't drop this?
Your call what to do here, did you offer returns? if not don't accept it back. If you offered returns which good old ebay just opts sellers into by default (jeez I loathe that company) then I guess you have to take it back.
In the UK The other dodgy ba stards on ebay are the ones that have feedback in the thousands they're usually looked after by ebay regardless of how dodgy they are because eBay makes lots of fees on either the hot property they sell or the knockoff gear- they sell their counterfeit t-shirts and claim their unemployment cheques, you sell them something and they tell you the item you posted never turned up and when you inform them that it was signed for by them because you sent it special delivery via Royal Mail then they tell you the box was empty - they open a case with the heartless irish drones at Paypal/eBay who decide that the Buyer is always right and you lose.
Avoid eBay where you can - use gumtree it's free - sure it is owned by eBay and you get a lot of scammers and freaks calling but easy to just hang up on them until a legit person calls and they do - safer to deal with people in person. eBay is such a risk for sellers forget sellers protection - that may work if you can prove the item was delivered signed for but guess what if the buyer says it's not in the box you're scre wed.
Yeah the unfortunate thing is I list as not excepting returns, apparently if the item had ended on bidding that would stand as contract with the buyer (they see that returns not excepted but they still bidded basically meaning they saw that and are happy with no returns) Unfortunately I had 'Buy now' at £400 which is what they did and paid via, so basically the no returns accepted is exempt anyway
Absolutely. Have used Gumtree a lot and never had a problem besides a few time wasters.
Yeah I've used it before and it's been good. Only negative was I had a couple of calls around 2:30am that I did not answer and people had left voicemails. 2:30am lol , will only use email as form of contact in the future
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Thanks again for the replys guys. Will let you know how this all pans out in the next week or so. Hope I get it back in condition it was sent and that I can sell it on for ok money, I will be happy with that.
That's not so good. Hey at least with iOS you could use do not disturb. Though agree that you might be better using email. That's what I do for the initial contact.
Did the buyer actually say what he wanted out of this or did he just use the eBay dispute to voice a grievance hoping someone would magically provide a solution? The fact that he hasn't requested an immediate refund (and other things) means he probably intends to keep it. With that I'm certain he's hoping you'll send him a partial refund with him keeping the phone. The whole thing stinks to high heaven.
I say you just have him send it back to you. This really smells like he's trying to get something for nothing. He doesn't deserve to have the phone. In your shoes I'd ask him to ship it back for a refund (minus shipping) and take a loss. I'm willing to bet the bozo would rather keep the phone and request you send him a partial refund ... But don't do it. Don't negotiate with a bum like that.
I say you just have him send it back to you. This really smells like he's trying to get something for nothing. He doesn't deserve to have the phone. In your shoes I'd ask him to ship it back for a refund (minus shipping) and take a loss. I'm willing to bet the bozo would rather keep the phone and request you send him a partial refund ... But don't do it. Don't negotiate with a bum like that.
I've said it before and I'm gong to say it again.
Stand your ground. You said it was in perfect condition, why are you believing someone random stranger on eBay who says it has a stretch. Personally I wouldn't even want that phone back. You have no clue if they have tampered with the device or damaged it or something else. And once Paypal refunds the money that it's, case closed.
Stand your ground. You said it was in perfect condition, why are you believing someone random stranger on eBay who says it has a stretch. Personally I wouldn't even want that phone back. You have no clue if they have tampered with the device or damaged it or something else. And once Paypal refunds the money that it's, case closed.
The case was opened under 'item not as described' he has requested refund. Not a lot I can do but get it back, check it over and refund him. If it is not in the same condition I will save him on my eBay and wait until he sells something and do exactly the same lol
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Unfortunately eBay will side with him whatever the situation, my fault for not checking more thoroughly at the end of the day, even though I am 90% sure it was immaculate. Will never use eBay again for selling any big items, not worth it with hassle like this and the ridiculous fees that you now have to pay out
Then it sounds more like he's trying to make a cause to validate his buyer's remorse.
Doesn't eBay policy require that he contact you (two or three attempts) and discuss the matter before opening a case? If he didn't PM you first then he already is guilty of misusing the system. I would draw that to their attention.
FWIW there were a couple of times when I regretted an eBay purchase (sometime because I hadn't thoroughly studied a poorly written description) for a "no refunds" item. In those instances I contacted the seller and politely offered to return the item at my expense and give him a few $$$ for his troubles. Only once have ever had to open a case and even that May have been premature.
Doesn't eBay policy require that he contact you (two or three attempts) and discuss the matter before opening a case? If he didn't PM you first then he already is guilty of misusing the system. I would draw that to their attention.
FWIW there were a couple of times when I regretted an eBay purchase (sometime because I hadn't thoroughly studied a poorly written description) for a "no refunds" item. In those instances I contacted the seller and politely offered to return the item at my expense and give him a few $$$ for his troubles. Only once have ever had to open a case and even that May have been premature.
Thanks for your message. Yeah it does make me wonder if he is regretting his purchase, especially where he said heis giving me a case and spare charging cable with the phone he is sending back. He contacted me once stating that he could see the scratch and that I had not listed with scratch. I told him to check that it was not just the screen protector. He apparently checked it and said it is a scratch. Just want it back now to resell, too much hassle with eBay
eBay only requires that buyers contact the seller before *escalating* the case to eBay for a resolution. Buyers can initiate a case at any time and the new rules make it so the case doesn't count negatively against the seller record if the case is resolved before eBay steps in. From what it seems eBay just wants to reduce support costs so they started encouraging everyone to solve stuff without eBay intervention.
If the item comes back and it's damaged more, don't save him on your eBay list and do the same thing back. eBay does expect this and it's pretty easy to see both user names have "been in a scuffle" for lack of a better term.
If you really want to cause some havoc there's a few loop holes in eBay's system. Let's just say it involves the process of linking accounts together... and you have all his information. That's probably as far as I can discuss on a public form though, so send a PM if you're interested.
What's to say that isn't another iPhone?
Did you keep a log of the serial number of the phone you sent?
Get him to screenshot the serial number page with the scratch visible?
Also check the exif info of the photos he sent you. It could be he used your iphone5 to take the photos of the scratched phone!?
Did you keep a log of the serial number of the phone you sent?
Get him to screenshot the serial number page with the scratch visible?
Also check the exif info of the photos he sent you. It could be he used your iphone5 to take the photos of the scratched phone!?
With 8,800+ unread emails, my guess is that he is a scam artist and those are bounced back emails... I'm like you, I baby everything I own, and I would KNOW if my stuff had a scratch on it... IMHO, I think he's trying to scam you... How do you know the picture he's sending you is even the same phone you sent him? Make him send you a screen shot of the IMEI and the scratch!
Since he claims to have removed part of the invisible shield, demand a photo of the entire front of the phone, a clear photo. You would know right away if he attempted to remove the shield because it required water to apply and doesn't just stick down perfectly after pulling it off. In fact, the shield most likely can't be reapplied after lifting. This goes for the Zagg ones and the Best Skins Ever ones.
Scratches on a screen protector mean nothing and should not warrant a return when you can simply take it off and buy another (or use the warranty if you're the original owner).