ebay advice

[tamaranth]

what are my options if I buy something on eBay and it stops working within hours of first use?

I've emailed the seller, but no reply so far.

Comments

[lostcarpark.livejournal.com]

Take it up with the seller first. Most will try to help with any issues, especially if you haven't left feedback yet...

It depends a bit on what the description of the item says. If the item is described as "new" or "perfect working order" or something similar, then it's reasonable to assume it should work for a reasonable time. Alternatively, if it says "untested" or "sold as seen", then you takes your chances...

If you paid by PayPal, you can take it up with them. You have to do it within 60 days of the end of the auction, however.

[d-floorlandmine.livejournal.com]

I presume this is a certain suspect camera/MP3 player. I say hunt them down and hit them with sticks. But I'm in that kind of mood.

Sorry for abandoning you on the hill, btw.

[tamaranth.livejournal.com]

'sokay, it's nice on this hill!

Hitting them with sticks becomes a more appealing solution with every unanswered email...

[d-floorlandmine.livejournal.com]

[grin] Definitely.

And now I've got "The View From The Hill" going through my head ...

[pmcmurray.livejournal.com]

OK. Your commercial rights are completely unaffected by the fact that you bought this thing secondhand. In fact, any statement along the lines of "Sold as Seen" have no validity, so you're in exactly the same situation as if you'd bought it from Dixons in the high street.

The best way to proceed, providing it's been at least 24 hours since you sent the email is to open a dispute. On the item listing, click on "Report an item not recieved". The next bit of blurb will tell you something about this is if you don't receive an item or if it's "significantly not as described." NOt working comes under the significantly not as described.

So open your dispute. If they have any sense your buyer will come straight back to you. If they don't, then you'll eventually get all your money back from ebay, even if you paid by cheque or cash. You're covered by the Buyer Protection stuff even if you don't use Paypal.

Oh, and one more thing, you might be sent on to Paypal, it sometimes does that, and just do the same thing there.

An important point here - you don't have to return the item to get your money back - if you're buyer's honest they may ask you to do this, but you should still get your money back whatever you do.

Good luck.

Pat

[major-clanger.livejournal.com]

Your commercial rights are completely unaffected by the fact that you bought this thing secondhand

I'd quibble with this, not because the goods are second-hand but because this is a presumably a private sale rather than in the course of the seller's business. In such cases, section 14 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (goods must be of merchantable quality and fit for purpose) doesn't apply. However, section 13 does apply even to private sales; this says that goods sold by description must be as described. As has been noted, if the item was described as in good condition then this clearly wasn't the case.

However, I agree that the first course of action should be through eBay's own dispute procedures.

MC