Need your input regarding Ebay sale

[Dietch]

I sold an early 2008 15" mbp on ebay 2 weeks ago. I initially purchased the machine as a refurb from Apple and it has applecare through June 2011. Long story short, the new owner says he found 2 dead pixels on the screen that are driving him nuts. I never noticed them in the 2 years I had the computer.

I told him to contact Apple and see what they say. I have seen a lot of discussion regarding dead pixels and while I have seen a few situations where people got their screens replaced with 1 dead pixel, it seems as if it takes 5 or more to perk up Apples ears. I have already invested the money I received for selling the mbp in a new Imac.

So my question for you is if you were me, what would you do? Would you tell the new buyer that if Apple says you need 5 dead pixels and you only have 2, too bad? Would you offer them a discount -- how much? Would you take a return with the understanding that people will see the deal gone bad and you would now need to disclose 2 dead pixels? I want to be as fair as possible and make him happy, while at the same point, I don't want to try and re-sell it. I don't know how reasonable his concern is as I never noticed it.

Thanks!

 

[2056]

this guy sounds really picky. this makes me wonder why he'd buy through ebay in the first place, so many things could go wrong. you could have thrown him a water damaged product.

the dead pixels could have happened at any point in time. he should suck it up and take it to apple if he wants something done.

 

[vant]

You did not imply any warranty and you did not see them when you used it. Also there is an extended warranty you sold with it. The problem is far out of your hands.

 

[stridemat]

eBay auctions are generally sold as seen. You have your money and he has the MacBook, I would just leave it at that.

 

[mattgoldey]

Offer to buy it back from him at half the price you sold it for.

 

[Boiler]

Paypal dispute

You have to accept a return and refund. If he knows how to use eBay or paypal, all he has to do is file an "item significantly not as described" complaint with paypal, and you will have your account frozen and funds taken. You should have accurately described the item.

 

[Relznuk]

You have to accept a return and refund. If he knows how to use eBay or paypal, all he has to do is file an "item significantly not as described" complaint with paypal, and you will have your account frozen and funds taken. You should have accurately described the item.

Not only is this factually false, it's a very stupid thing to say.

 

[diacritic]

You have to accept a return and refund. If he knows how to use eBay or paypal, all he has to do is file an "item significantly not as described" complaint with paypal, and you will have your account frozen and funds taken. You should have accurately described the item.

I disagree. Some people simply do not notice dead pixels, especially if they are not in the central areas of the screen. I am nit picky about these things and noticed a dead pixel on my macbook pro about an inch from the left side of the screen. It bothered me for two days and then completely forgot about it until I saw this post. If someone is so obsessive about such things either you buy new so you can return the item or you ask the seller. At that point it would have been the seller's responsibility to scour the screen to find dead pixels (online programs make this quite easy to do).

Nevertheless, I've found that about 95% of the time when a used item is described as "mint" on ebay this is can be far from a true description; this is why I ask questions about every thing. It can be annoying, but if the seller is serious about selling (and getting the highest possible bid for the item) then all questions will be answered. I've been selling on ebay since 2000 and I've found that most complaints that I have received are from those buyers who do not ask questions; but in order to maintain my perfect feedback I've given refunds even when the "issue" is not my fault or was accurately described or pictured.

 

[diacritic]

Not only is this factually false, it's a very stupid thing to say.

Stupid, yes, but ebay/paypal tends to back the buyer in these cases. I sold a brand new, sealed macbook battery last year. It was new stock purchased at an apple store but I sold my computer very soon after buying it so I sold it one ebay. The buyer claimed that it was defective and would not hold a full charge. I told him to go through apple. He refused, filed a complaint, and before I knew it the funds were removed from my paypal account. I did not even know that this could happen without my permission. Sucks but this is the nature of the beast. Ebay needs competition (rather, we need it). And the battery? I gave it to a friend who told me it worked perfectly.

 

[Silencer]

If its still under apple care then I would refer him to apple if thats so much of a issue.

In my opinion the buyer should be wary if he/she is going to by a USED macbook pro from ebay.

 

[vant]

You have to accept a return and refund. If he knows how to use eBay or paypal, all he has to do is file an "item significantly not as described" complaint with paypal, and you will have your account frozen and funds taken. You should have accurately described the item.

I guess you aren't an experienced eBay user.

'Item significantly not as described'. First of all, two pixels is not significant. Second of all, he stated that he did not have the issues when he had the laptop. It could have been anything.

 

[vant]

Stupid, yes, but ebay/paypal tends to back the buyer in these cases. I sold a brand new, sealed macbook battery last year. It was new stock purchased at an apple store but I sold my computer very soon after buying it so I sold it one ebay. The buyer claimed that it was defective and would not hold a full charge. I told him to go through apple. He refused, filed a complaint, and before I knew it the funds were removed from my paypal account. I did not even know that this could happen without my permission. Sucks but this is the nature of the beast. Ebay needs competition (rather, we need it). And the battery? I gave it to a friend who told me it worked perfectly.

What did you write in the dispute?

 

[diacritic]

What did you write in the dispute?

I said that it was new, sealed, and covered by warranty as I still had receipt in hand. What else can I say? It was no good for ebay. And I maintain a no return policy that his highlighted in the description. I was surprised by it all but did not want to make a fuss and risk getting negative feedback.

 

[itommyboy]

You have to accept a return and refund. If he knows how to use eBay or paypal, all he has to do is file an "item significantly not as described" complaint with paypal, and you will have your account frozen and funds taken. You should have accurately described the item.

WRONG. \stops reading thread

OP you got yours and he got his enjoy your iMac and call it
a day.

 

[showkati]

Obviously if he left a positive feedback and your money was released, you are not liable for anything else after that. If he had noticed this problem instantly after receiving the item and filed a claim, then you would be liable.

Its his responsibility as the buyer to test and examine everything before he leaves positive feedback to release the funds.

you don't owe him anything.

 

[elpmas]

failed. ebay won't take your money without asking you a thorough question...depending on how you answer your question is how they'll determine it. i would rather risk a "negative" feedback then to return the money and receive the item back.

I dont think you should worry. sometimes you gotta be harsh in ebay, tell him to just sell it if he doesn't like it. you shouldn't worry so much bout this stuff :]
oh and keep us posted on this.

 

[lovemacs]

It's definitely a warranty issue with Apple, not you. If you didn't see them before you shipped it, and he didn't ask, there's not much you can do. The computer is under warranty with Apple and he should take it up with them.

If he asks for a partial refund, he's just trying to get some money back on his purchase.

Has he taken it down to an Apple store, or even called Apple about it?

I recently purchased a MacBook Pro on eBay, and the lid didn't sit exactly level when closed. Apple's sending a box out to take it in to their repair center, and the representative on the phone said it would be covered under warranty. There's no damage to the body aside form a couple of underside scratches, so it hasn't been mistreated. If the MacBook Pro you sold him is in good condition and hasn't been dropped or dented, it should be covered under warranty.

 

[spaceballl]

Not only is this factually false, it's a very stupid thing to say.

That's where you're wrong. Even if you mark that returns aren't accepted, if he files a dispute on paypal, paypal will withdraw the money from your account, giving you a negative balance, until the dispute is resolved. Paypal almost ALWAYS stands on the side of the buyer. It's pathetic...

Just try to keep him happy. This sort of situation is actually what scares me from selling my MacBook Pro on eBay in the near future (after arrandale comes out!)

 

[AppleByte]

Sounds like buyer's remorse to me. Unfortunately, ebay caters to buyers and has turned their back on sellers. Sellers are just at the mercy of the buyer's mood for the day. This is for the most part, there are exceptions, of course.

I would not even worry about it. I definitely would NOT offer a partial refund. Either do nothing or give a full refund and get your MBP back if it is bothering you.

Spaceball is right, it doesn't matter what you put in your description about refunds, the buyer can go through paypal for a refund. Lots of sellers also put that you MUST pay within 3 days or item will be relisted and neg feedback given. Ebay gives the buyer 7 days to pay before any dispute can be initiated.

BTW, I buy and sell on ebay and have since 2000 also, but these days, it scares me to sell anymore. It used to be a fair place to trade.

 

[lovemacs]

If you ship to the buyer's confirmed address and use signature confirmation, you are covered by Paypal's seller protection. Dead pixels are a warranty issue and should be taken up with Apple.

 

[Stokes]

Remind me not to do business with a lot of you.

The assumption that the laptop didn't have the dead pixels until it got to the buyer is ridiculas.

If you didn't disclose that they were dead, FOR ANY REASON, whether you forgot, didn't notice, or just ignored... it's your fault.

Take it back, give him his money back. You deal with the warrentee issue. He shouldn't loose out on more time and money because you didnt' accurately describe it.

Any other justification is just being a weasel. And, moreover... why would you spend the money before you knew he was satisfied? That, to me, says you've already a few messed up priorities. Treat others like you'd want to be treated. Give them the benefit of the doubt, especially when you have ZERO reason not to.

 

[SolRayz]

^agreed...dead pixels should have been CLEARLY specified. Now, whether you knew about them or not is your problem not his.

This kind of crap is the main reason I stopped buying and selling on ebay. I certainly wouldn't drop high $ on a MBP on ebay, thats for sure.

 

[chris975d]

Stupid, yes, but ebay/paypal tends to back the buyer in these cases. I sold a brand new, sealed macbook battery last year. It was new stock purchased at an apple store but I sold my computer very soon after buying it so I sold it one ebay. The buyer claimed that it was defective and would not hold a full charge. I told him to go through apple. He refused, filed a complaint, and before I knew it the funds were removed from my paypal account. I did not even know that this could happen without my permission. Sucks but this is the nature of the beast. Ebay needs competition (rather, we need it). And the battery? I gave it to a friend who told me it worked perfectly.

Boiler and diacritic are more or less correct in the information they are stating. At least I know that it's happened to me through Paypal, where the buyer wasn't pleased with the item I sent him, even though nothing at all was wrong with it, and filed a dispute with Paypal. Paypal deducted the funds from my Paypal account, and since the money from the sale was already withdrawn from that account, paypal pulled it right out of my checking account that is linked to my Paypal account. Honestly seemed like a case of "buyer's remorse", as I relisted the item exactly the same way (same exact ad), and sold it to another buyer who was perfectly fine with it. Paypal always sides with the buyer, and does everything in it's power to "protect" the buyer. You can also look at my other post about a friend of mine who sold his laptop on eBay, sent it to the buyer, where the buyer took his laptop out of the box, replaced it with a broken one of the same model, and filed a dispute with Paypal. He shipped the broken model back to my friend as per Paypal's return/refund policy (the tracking number is all Paypal asks for to prove delivery of the return), and Paypal refunded his money automatically once proof of delivery for the return was submitted. So my friend is still dealing with Paypal on this after 4 weeks, and now doesn't have the money for his laptop that he "sold", and is in possession of a dented laptop that has no hard drive or RAM in it. But Paypal "protected" the buyer in this case, as they always do...

 

[showkati]

Remind me not to do business with a lot of you.

The assumption that the laptop didn't have the dead pixels until it got to the buyer is ridiculas.

If you didn't disclose that they were dead, FOR ANY REASON, whether you forgot, didn't notice, or just ignored... it's your fault.

Take it back, give him his money back. You deal with the warrentee issue. He shouldn't loose out on more time and money because you didnt' accurately describe it.

Any other justification is just being a weasel. And, moreover... why would you spend the money before you knew he was satisfied? That, to me, says you've already a few messed up priorities. Treat others like you'd want to be treated. Give them the benefit of the doubt, especially when you have ZERO reason not to.

Remind me to not sell anything to hot head like you either.

Let me explain to you how today's Paypal policy works, because you clearly seem to be stuck in the past. You have no access to the money UNTIL the buyer has the item in his hands and is completely satisfied with it.

If the buyer actually took the time to inspect his computer and found the issue BEFORE giving the "all is good" green light to PayPal he would have grounds for a refund/claim.

 

[Perrumpo]

eBay and PayPal back the buyer with almost no questions asked, unless the seller is a huge power seller (eBay has a bias for them).

I was selling a simple helmet on eBay that came with certain accessories. I clearly listed exactly what was included in the auction. 40 days later, I receive a complaint from the buyer that the helmet didn't come with something he wanted. The accessory he wanted was not part of what I listed as being included, nor was it shown in the pictures since it wasn't included. He got nasty and left negative feedback over this $30 helmet because he said "significantly not as described. crucial items missing. BEWARE!" Yet he didn't even want to return it and it took him 40 days to notice?? Yeah right.

Even though this was a prime example of Feedback Extortion, an eBay policy, where a buyer attempts to extort items or money from you with the threat of negative feedback, eBay wouldn't hear a single word from me about it. So I got my first and only negative feedback, and he has the helmet and money.

When you aren't a power seller, eBay doesn't give a damn about you as a seller, and a buyer can pull almost all the strings they want. In this case with the MBP, the buyer has the upper hand completely.