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Powerbook key dropped off.. what to do?

generik

generik

macrumors 601
Original poster
Aug 5, 2005
4,116
1
Minitrue
Actually the Powerbook is no longer in my hands.

I recently sold off a Rev-E 15" PB on eBay and today I got an email telling me that he received the mac with a key fell off. The machine was ok when I sent it off, and assuming he is being frank about it then it must have fell off when it got bumped during transit.

My eject key was a little loose when it first arrived, but pressing down hard on it did the trick for me; but it wasn't as bad as a broken key!

He did ask for either a complete refund as well as the postage fees he'd have to incur for its return, or as an alternative postage charges to the repair centre plus the price of a broken keyboard plus the cost of his time (he did stress that he expected to be able to work on it right away).

I've read posts about keys falling off on PBs from time to time, and how it is usually covered while under warranty. Would it apply here in Australia too?

I don't know how to make of this, I made a loss selling it and it looks like I am going to make a bigger loss and get the stupid POS back.
 
Now exchanging a few emails with the buyer, but it sounds like the key got broken. Apparently there are hooks under each key and he said one of the hooks is broken.

Wow..
 
generik said:
Now exchanging a few emails with the buyer, but it sounds like the key got broken. Apparently there are hooks under each key and he said one of the hooks is broken.

Wow..
Click to expand...
How the hell that could have happened when the displayed was closed? :confused:
 
Mac_Freak said:
How the hell that could have happened when the displayed was closed? :confused:
Click to expand...

I just realised I forgot to put the in foam that was between the keyboard and the screen.. might that have been the cause? :eek:
 
If he wants a refund you definitely shouldn't have to pay for him to ship it back, and its iffy whether or not you should even refund the money you already spent on shipping. Did you offer insurance on this auction or not?
 
Yes it was insured.

I did tell him to contact the post regarding it.. the way his first email looked like did make me have a strange feeling though, about how I should pay for his time.. cost of a new keyboard.. cost of sending it to a Apple service centre..

Hell, what if he just snapped the key off himself, and perhaps get the "repair" fees from me, and get it fixed at an AppleCentre for free?
 
Since it was insured, if I were you I'd give him two options. 1:You send him all the insurance documentation or whatever it needed and he makes a claim. 2: He sends it back (his expense) and you refund him the purchase price (not shipping).

I get the feeling that if he were to take option number 2 you would just end up snapping the key back on and being angry. But under no circumstances should you pay for his "lost time," and there's no way you should pay for this "repair." This is exactly what shipping insurance is for.
 
If I accept to give him a refund.. would I be able to get Apple to fix it?

I don't know what's the real situation, but for all I know he might have read about the screen issue on engadget, felt some buyer's remorse, and *snap*

Of course that's a really paranoid line of thinking, but in all of my 700 hard earned ebay feedbacks I've seen tons of weirdos.
 
If it's truly broken, contact the courier before you do anything. You would need to get a claim rolling. In this case they would probably reimburse you for the repair costs - that is if It's actually broken. It sounds like this guy just wants a quick buck, I have a feeling he'll back down if you stay firm.
 
I got a picture, does it look broken?
 

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the keys are a user replaceable, and the pbook is under warranty. you should try calling apple and have them send a new key to his address. i don't think that will take to long and it should satisfy the buyer, if that really is his reason for wanting to return. goodluck
 
generik said:
I got a picture, does it look broken?
Click to expand...

I would say that this guy is full of sh*t... but it looks like he's missing his colon :eek: :p :D

Ok, bad jokes aside... :eek:

generik said:
... plus the cost of his time (he did stress that he expected to be able to work on it right away)
Click to expand...

That's ridiculous. If his work is reliant on that key, he can just use a USB keyboard while he waits for a replacement key from Apple.
 
If...

It is still under warranty, he can take it to an Apple Store and a Mac Genius can usually replace the key on the spot. Quite common.
 
moonislune said:
It is still under warranty, he can take it to an Apple Store and a Mac Genius can usually replace the key on the spot. Quite common.
Click to expand...

Yeap it is still under warranty.. a tad over a month old.

Phew.. at least there is less cause to be worried. I was like "OMFG WTF" when I saw that photo he sent me.
 
Lol! That's not very nice.

Well, all I want is to get this resolved asap.. the most expensive thing I have ever sold on ebay to date, can't imagine any stuff ups.
 
Apparently Apple can't send you one key. When I called to get them to send me out a V key as mine was broken on delivery they said I would need to send the whole computer back in to get one key replaced because they "don't have any extra keys lying around!!"

WTF, what kind of computer company doesn't have any extra keys lying around.
Anyways, my local apple store said stop by and they would pop a new key on no problem.

It is a little fishy if he wants to return the whole book because of one broken key!

Good luck!
 
Today I got a new email update from him saying that he couldn't claim on the insurance from the courier as the box appeared to be in good condition, but he contacted Apple and was told that it'd cost $50 to fix the key... and that we can share the cost to fix it.

Does it cost $50 to fix a key? On one hand it doesn't sound like they are pulling the entire keyboard, but on the other hand it does sound a bit hefty to fix 1 key :(
 
Ring up his *local* apple store yourself, ask if they can replace the key for free or at low cost.

When thats sorted out, tell him you have personally spent much time sorting it out for him and all he needs to do is pop into his local apple store, where it will be done, thanks to you.

If it's like 10 bucks for a new key, you could pay it yourself, or tell him you already spent more than that in phone calls and pulling strings, and ask him to pay that cost himself, cos he did make a massive saving buying the PB off you.

If you do arrange a repair for him, I would say you've fully fufilled your responsiblities as a responsible member of society.

cheers,

.. RedTomato ..
 
a full refund!? that's crazy. i had my L and : keys break off and i took it to the apple store where they replaced it for FREE. it wasn't under warranty anymore and it was a year-old model.
 
i have an ibook that just went over the warranty. my "d" letter is rubbing off a little so i brought it to the apple store and they said they'd replace it if they had an extra one in the back. that's all.

they usually have spares keyboards in the back and they just swap the key. why can't he just do that?

if it's under warranty, they said they'll order a new keyboard.
 
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