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Sold iPhone 5S on eBay, now buyer wants a refund almost 2 months later

apwtwenty

apwtwenty

macrumors 6502
Original poster
sold a Sprint iPhone 5s on eBay almost 2 months ago, November 4th, now the guy wants a refund.

he said: "it will not activate. listing said clean ESN. I've contacted Sprint and Apple. I would like refund."

it was in excellent condition.
I called sprint, they said it's not attached to my account anymore. I'm still in a contract with sprint. I'm not scamming this guy.

I sent him a message to contact sprint again. i want to work this out.

it's not a stolen phone, I did not report it stolen.
he left positive feedback.

thoughts please?
I'm p***** off
 
Unless it's past the 45 days for them to open a case there is nothing you can do except to accept the return and issue a refund once you receive the phone.
 
apwtwenty said:
sold a Sprint iPhone 5s on eBay almost 2 months ago, November 4th, now the guy wants a refund.

he said: "it will not activate. listing said clean ESN. I've contacted Sprint and Apple. I would like refund."

it was in excellent condition.
I called sprint, they said it's not attached to my account anymore. I'm still in a contract with sprint. I'm not scamming this guy.

I sent him a message to contact sprint again. i want to work this out.

it's not a stolen phone, I did not report it stolen.
he left positive feedback.

thoughts please?
I'm p***** off
Click to expand...

Buyer just wants his money back. Obviously he already activated the phone considering it's been two months. Who waits that long to use an iPhone? I would tell him to call into Sprint or show proof that when he tries to activate that he won't. Also, talk to him on the phone. Most people can't lie well over voice speaking.
 
As the other poster stated, ask for a screen print of the error (stating you'll see if you can help facilitate the error) and also talk to him on the phone as mentioned.
 
how can he not activate it on his account though?

I talked to sprint on the phone and they said if he contacts them, they will help him

----------
JackieInCo said:
You said it was 53 days after the sale. Was the case opened before the 45 day cut off?
Click to expand...

he opened a case today. got the email this morning
 
apwtwenty said:
how can he not activate it on his account though?

I talked to sprint on the phone and they said if he contacts them, they will help him

----------



he opened a case today. got the email this morning
Click to expand...
Did eBay change the rules? I thought 45 days was the cutoff and they could not do this?
 
Assuming the 45 days is the eBay rule... you have 2 choices.

Hand hold him to get it activated. Your time.

or

Go into the eBay rulebook where that 45 days is spell out and cut&paste and email it to him. He already gave you a feedback, he cannot rescind that feedback and turn it into a negative.
 
Let this be an example to stay away from eBay in general. They do nothing but favor the buyers nowadays. 5, 6 years ago they were ok. If he opened the case up before the 45 days you might have to issue him a refund.

But try and eBay CS notate your account. Try explaining the situation to them. Its worth a try.

In the future never sell a phone on eBay. Way too much hassle. Use swappa next time.
 
So the eBay buyer protection only covers the buyer up to 45 days if they open a case. After 45 days, they can still open a case but eBay buyer protection is no longer active and it is up to the seller to settle.

I would just try and help him a little further in trying to get the phone working. It's your call. eBay won't hold it against you if you just end it without a refund.
 
tell them to contact Sprint. you are trying to facilitate the issue but they are being unreasonable if they wont attempt to fix the issue.
 
apwtwenty said:
sold a Sprint iPhone 5s on eBay almost 2 months ago, November 4th, now the guy wants a refund.

he said: "it will not activate. listing said clean ESN. I've contacted Sprint and Apple. I would like refund."

it was in excellent condition.
I called sprint, they said it's not attached to my account anymore. I'm still in a contract with sprint. I'm not scamming this guy.

I sent him a message to contact sprint again. i want to work this out.

it's not a stolen phone, I did not report it stolen.
he left positive feedback.

thoughts please?
I'm p***** off
Click to expand...


Sounds like he is just having some issues with activation and his account. This is something that is very common with Sprint iPhones. 9.9 out of 10 times there is nothing wrong with the phone and the user just needs to contact Sprint to get the necessary compatible Sim card and make sure that the phone is being activated under their account.
 
Nevaborn said:
tell them to contact Sprint. you are trying to facilitate the issue but they are being unreasonable if they wont attempt to fix the issue.
Click to expand...

The problem is they opened up a dispute with ebay/paypal so the OP needs to do what he can to protect his funds
 
Update: The new timeline for opening a case is 30 days after the latest estimated delivery date.

To improve the resolution process for both buyers and sellers, the last day to open an eBay Buyer Protection case is changing from 45 days from payment date to no later than 30 days after actual (or latest estimated) delivery date*. This will give all buyers, international and domestic, the same amount of time after actually receiving or expecting to receive their item, to open an eBay Buyer Protection case. There is a transition period to make this go more smoothly.

The last day a buyer can open an eBay Buyer Protection case for transactions:
before October 26, 2013, is 45 days from payment date or 30 days after actual (or latest estimated) delivery date, whichever is later.
on or after October 26, 2013 with delivery dates on or before November 10, 2013, is December 9, 2013.
with actual or estimated delivery dates after November 10, 2013, is 30 days after actual (or latest estimated) delivery date.
*When we have no shipping or delivery information, we consider the latest estimated delivery date to be 7 days from payment date for transactions between a buyer and seller in the same country, and 30 days from the payment date for buyers and sellers in different countries.
 
maflynn said:
The problem is they opened up a dispute with ebay/paypal so the OP needs to do what he can to protect his funds
Click to expand...

Do we know if the customer has any evidence that he has talked to Apple and or Sprint and tried to resolve the activation issue? This is more user error than it is with the iPhone. Forgive me I am not to familiar with Ebay policy, but does the customer have to have some hard evidence that the item itself is flawed and not the user using it?

Thanks in advance for more information on how these Ebay matters work!
 
maflynn said:
The problem is they opened up a dispute with ebay/paypal so the OP needs to do what he can to protect his funds
Click to expand...

Then he needs to contact ebay as well and counter the claim, had this problem in the past years ago. If he explains that the transaction was over 50 days ago, its very suspicious that the new owner having owned it for this long is only just trying to activate the phone and contacting the seller with the issue. Then finally I would close with the fact that the OP has contacted the network carrier who have said they have checked the phone in question and there is no block and it is not associated with the sellers account anymore.

the seller just needs to point out all these things and that he is attempting to help rectify a problem that according to the carrier the phone was with that it's not of his doing.

also requesting further details and screenshots of the issue is good, asking for evidence they may or may not be able to provide and showing this also to ebay that you are attempting to work this out, this can lead to showing further noncooperation or fraud... and should they come up with evidence then you can take this back to Sprint and forward a screenshot of the inevitable email saying the seller needs to contact Sprint to sort this out as it is nothing to do with you ( removing any personal details off it first by cropping the image right ) then forwarding this to both the seller and ebay or even paypal should they get involved but generally it all goes through ebay as paypal is just a facilitator for the transactions.

Thats my thoughts based off past experience anyway.
 
NickRichyRich said:
Do we know if the customer has any evidence that he has talked to Apple and or Sprint and tried to resolve the activation issue? This is more user error than it is with the iPhone. Forgive me I am not to familiar with Ebay policy, but does the customer have to have some hard evidence that the item itself is flawed and not the user using it?

Thanks in advance for more information on how these Ebay matters work!
Click to expand...

he hasn't provided actual evidence. I'm just going on his word.

I'm waiting to see what he says.
I'll provide him my phone #
 
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