First Possible Return from Ebay - Page 2

Originally Posted by NewbyScrapper

George, 1st off, the OS, generally, could care less if the Ram came from XP. The capabilities of the motherboard are far more important.

As we don't know the precise info on the ram you sold this person, OR the precise info as to motherboard make or PC maker's name and model number that the buyer put the Ram into, makes it virtually impossible to give a definitive answer.

Compatiblity could be a major issue at the buyer's end. I've seen mobos that uneducated users have tried VERY hard to insert PC100/133 sticks into a DDR slot and vice versa, then wonder why it doesn't go "snap" or the retaining clips break :confused: Not saying your buyer tried this tho, lol.

If you plan to persue the issue with the buyer, get more details from them with regard to mobo and or PC maker's info and ask them to define "doesn't work". i.e. Did they use just your stick of ram by itself or was it added to an available empty slot? The size of ram (MB). EEC or non-EEC, they have and the MB that you sent them?

Too many variables/possibilites here.

Cheers, Ed

Might have missed my post last night. It was resolved. The buyer forgot to latch the stick into place and then I guess when he put it back together, the stick of ram came undone.

Like others have said, pretty much part of the turf with eBay. Chalk it up and move on.

Try having the "inop" item be a bench tested $400 navigation radio. That one hurts. I had 3 in a row that I took in the shorts on before I stopped selling them. Best that I could figure, they were taking my good units, swapping out the parts, and then sending the unit back junk. Painful.

RAM is the most finicky component I know of, especially if hasn't been handled well. My techs catch hell all the time because they'll put RAM in the bad pile, then someone else will come behind them, throw it in a slot, and it works. It's when we start throwing them back into the good pile that we start having problems. My policy is, if it tests bad once (unless slot has had it) throw it in with the scrap. I would take the customer at their word on this one, and even if it comes back "working" I would assume it did not work for them. Besides, as long as they pay to send it back, there's no need to call anyone a lier.

Originally Posted by telecomguy

If you see many returns, you might want to burn a bootable memory test disk (downloads are at the bottom of Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool). It's a very thorough test of your memory. It might save you some headaches in the future.

what does it do exactly?

the individual messaged me back. it was an error on their part. they forgot to latch the sides onto the stick.

Originally Posted by GeorgeB

they forgot to latch the sides onto the stick.

never ceases to amaze

Originally Posted by sean7278

The problem is the seller basically has NO rights on eBay. I have been selling there for years and have had a similar policy to what you described. You get your money when I get the item back and I'm not paying shipping to return it. BUT if the buyer logs a complaint with eBay they will just take the money out of your PayPal account and refund it to the buyer. Sucks but even though eBay is a hassle to work they are a sometimes necessary evil. I hope it all works out for you. If you sell a lot on eBay take a look at EasyAuctionsTracker.com The Ultimate eBay Spreadsheet for Sellers & Trading Assistants! It's a great tool and can be used for things other than eBay. A bit pricey but defiantly worth a look. I have been using it for years and it saves a lot of time

Win or Loose if they ever do that, especially when I have proof from the buyer agreeing to terms, and terms that would be written in the ad of the listing, then they will be sued for taking out unauthorized funds from my account.

Originally Posted by IdahoScrapper

Yeah good luck with that.

I may have missed it, but how much did this RAM cost you?

Nothing...All ewaste I get is 100% free, through a few commercial clients. I have only paid once, and that was to a small pc repair operation.

Even if I had, that isn't the point. The point is, is whether you are selling online or offline, if someone says something is defective, the seller will want the merchandise back, before they issue you a refund. Try going to best buy and purchase anything from them, or any other retailer, buy something, and then say, I need my $$$ back, because you sold me defective equipment. They will first tell you to provide them the equipment...if you do, you have a chance...if not, will regardless of a receipt, you wont get a refund.

That is my point. Regardless if it is ebay, or anyone else, that is just plain business practice. You never take someone at their word. If ebay/paypal cannot understand how normal business practice like that really and truly works, then I wouldn't be at all surprised to find out they have been sued before, and most likely settled to avoid being in the news.

Originally Posted by Phantoms001

I totally understand your point, I do agree with you 100%, but the reality is that this is not the way it works in real life. Walmart will give you a refund on things purchased at other stores (people come in with no receipt and if they make enough noise they will get store credit), restaurants comp meals all the time that someone says was bad (even though they ate most of it), Paypal and Ebay are going to side with the Buyer, they have to in order to stay in business.

It sounds like your problem is that you need to decide on what fights are worth fighting.

Ebay and Paypal are both designed to protect the BUYER. You can do a google search on "screwed selling on ebay" and will find THOUSANDS of complaints from sellers that just got the short end of the stick. The more searches you do the more complaints you will find. I've seen people have tens of thousands of dollars frozen in their paypal account.

I have better things to do with my time then fight a losing battle with Paypal over a few dollars. As I said before, this is the reason I do not sell high dollar items on ebay. I will find another outlet. You should be completely prepared to LOSE anything you are selling on ebay and eat the shipping costs.

I could buy your RAM, send you a message via ebay that it was bad, send you an empty padded envelope with tracking, and guarantee you 100% I would get my money back while keeping the memory. Other posters here will tell you the same thing. It's part of doing business on Ebay, you just hope you avoid the slugs and honest people buy.

By all means, run your business what ever way makes you happy and the most money. I'm certainly not criticizing your practices or ethics. I'm just give you a few thoughts so that you don't have to learn an expensive lesson the hard way. Why reinvent the wheel?

True, and I understand fully on how ebay and paypal work. They are in it for the people who make THEM money. What they don't get and understand, is that it is BOTH the seller AND buyers that make them money. Without one, there is no other.

If someone tried to mess me over on a deal, I wouldn't worry about handling it through ebay and paypal. What everyone does keep forgetting though, is that when you complete a transaction, you have the buyers/sellers information. As long as you keep good records, you deal with paypal and ebay to keep good with them, and you sue the buyer/seller outside of ebay.

Again, this isn't about the worth of an item, or what someone sells it for, or reputation, etc. It is just the principal of the matter.

Also, yes, I agree that Walmart and many restaurants do this all the time. That is their business model, but they are most likely the only retailers/restaurant you will ever find that will.

Businesses are not in business to get screwed over. They are in business to make money and treat customers the right way, but it is a 2 way street.

Even if a buyer bought an item (ram or other wise) and they had any issues with it, I would just ask for it back, and then refund them their money. I wouldn't care if it was really broken or not. If not, I will just resale it. If it is broken, to scrap it goes.

Even if you put in the listings that all items are sold as is, no refunds...that alone is a joke, since ebay and paypal don't care and will do it in a heartbeat.

Originally Posted by Phantoms001

I totally understand your point, I do agree with you 100%, but the reality is that this is not the way it works in real life. Walmart will give you a refund on things purchased at other stores (people come in with no receipt and if they make enough noise they will get store credit), restaurants comp meals all the time that someone says was bad (even though they ate most of it), Paypal and Ebay are going to side with the Buyer, they have to in order to stay in business.

It sounds like your problem is that you need to decide on what fights are worth fighting.

Ebay and Paypal are both designed to protect the BUYER. You can do a google search on "screwed selling on ebay" and will find THOUSANDS of complaints from sellers that just got the short end of the stick. The more searches you do the more complaints you will find. I've seen people have tens of thousands of dollars frozen in their paypal account.

I have better things to do with my time then fight a losing battle with Paypal over a few dollars. As I said before, this is the reason I do not sell high dollar items on ebay. I will find another outlet. You should be completely prepared to LOSE anything you are selling on ebay and eat the shipping costs.

I could buy your RAM, send you a message via ebay that it was bad, send you an empty padded envelope with tracking, and guarantee you 100% I would get my money back while keeping the memory. Other posters here will tell you the same thing. It's part of doing business on Ebay, you just hope you avoid the slugs and honest people buy.

By all means, run your business what ever way makes you happy and the most money. I'm certainly not criticizing your practices or ethics. I'm just give you a few thoughts so that you don't have to learn an expensive lesson the hard way. Why reinvent the wheel?

This is 100% correct.

If you sell on eBay and collect payments via paypal, you will almost certainly run into this eventually. And when you do, I don't care how good your legal team, documentation, etc is. You will lose. Paypal has been sued numerous times, has a history of going to court over incredibly small/petty claims, and has (since) restricted its user base from being able to file certain types of suits against them. It's all in the fine print.

dont feel bad about returns, i average about 2 per week

Originally Posted by Phantoms001

I'm pretty much on board with jghilino. When I sell on ebay it's just easier to refund the money and move on. They can file a dispute with ebay, paypal, their credit card, they will get the money back anyways. Feedback does matter. When I buy it does influence my decision. I'd rather lose a few dollars and keep my feedback good so I will make more sales down the road.

That being said, I sell things I have very little money in. While some of this stuff goes for 100+, if there was a problem along the way, I have very little if any money in the items. I'm very selective in what I sell on ebay. I think you should have these losses "built into" the items you sell.

How much did you really pay for the RAM you sold? It takes a long time to build a good reputation and only a few seconds to damage it. While this time it was resolved, if you continue to sell on ebay it will happen over and over.

Very well said.