other Am I Being An A*****e

[paulram]

A month ago I bought a heater box on ebay.  To be fair I asked no questions as I had none.  I just wanted the outer box.  It came in smashed and the seller (with over 400 positive transactions) told me that it was for parts only and that a picture could not be used in defining that the box was in good condition and that I may not have been able to see the problems and 40 years of temperature change affects plastic in ways that damage it.  He states I should have asked questions.  My point is that a picture tells everything and I had no questions. Am I being unreasonable to ask for my money back?  I told them I would eat the shipping and even ship the box back to them.  They obviously have done something right in the past to have 100% feedback.  I just can't swallow their answer.  Look at the picture.  What I received was a smashed fan housing and busted fan (I don't need the fan just the housing).  The picture shows the housing to be perfect. Does the fact that it is for parts only make this ok?

 

Their definition of used or for parts is:

 

For parts or not working

An item that does not function as intended and is not fully operational. This includes items that are defective in ways that render them difficult to use, items that require service or repair, or items missing essential components. See the seller's listing for full details.

 

Their third response... I won't bother with the first two....

 

"It's common sense to ask questions on an item like this especially for a 40 year old plastic heater box that undergoes years of temperature change. You should never assume anything. The listing clearly states "no returns ask questions. We disagree with you that pictures are enough to warranty the condition of the housing. We have no pictures of the box the way you claim you received it to go by, no way of knowing that damage actually occurred in shipping, no way of knowing the box we possibly receive back is the box that we sent you. The parts that we believed to be useable on the heater box were clearly stated. What you describe you received contained all of these useable parts. Essentially you received exactly what was described in the listing as usable. Even if some of the parts on this we described were less than perfect, it is sold for parts not working and in need of repair. You say we don't have to eat shipping. You don't take into consideration our time for finding the part or vehicle, getting it to our place of business, removing the part from the vehicle, listing, packaging, and delivering the item to the Post Office and other expenses along the way. If this were an item that is returnable we may have included a restocking fee to cover costs like this. As it is return shipping is bourne by the buyer. You asked for our email outside of eBay to communicate about this listing and send photos. This is a red flag for us, you can send photos directly through eBay messages. Photos are not entirely likely to change our position on this matter, but they may help. Because we do not automatically agree with what you state without any support other than your word is not cause to sling accusations of us being crooks and thieves as eBay sellers or is it conducive to resolving an issue such as this. We do honor what we state in our listings. Any eBay representative examining our customer care will see that we take of our customers."

[Cru Jones]

If the box was not damaged in the picture on the ad, but was when you received it then I don't see what they're going on about. The part that was not damaged was the part you needed and you bid according to the pictures on the listing, so seems like it got damaged during shipping, which they should be able to file a claim against the shipper for. Seems unreasonable for you to ask him to verify the box isn't damaged when the pictures don't show it damaged. Going by his logic anything bought on eBay that's listed as 'for parts' would need the potential buyer to explicitly verify if their particular piece of the assembly was not damaged even when the photo in the ad showed it as not damaged. Seems ridiculous.

[paulram]

I guess my big problem is that they keep telling me pictures aren't enough to tell if the housing is broken. Anyway I either take it to the next level or just chalk it up to having 1 out of over 150 transactions on ebay not go my way.  I don't think that going through ebay resolution is going to give me justice and I really don't want to be the only debbie downer to give this guy negative feedback.

 

It just baffles me with his answer.

That being said if anyone needs a core,valve or controls... I'm your guy

[jerry]

it looks to me that you could cut to the chase by sending a photo taken in the exact orientation as the one they used in their listing and if it does not match up, then you have a case.  you can file a case through ebay and they will arbitrate based upon your description and the email traffic you've sent with the seller.

 

what you are describing is that the physical appearance is not the same as originally depicted.  they do crack, but it shouldn't be a pile of broken plastic when you get it.

it looks to me that you could cut to the chase by sending a photo taken in the exact orientation as the one they used in their listing and if it does not match up, then you have a case.  you can file a case through ebay and they will arbitrate based upon your description and the email traffic you've exchanged with the seller.

 

what you are describing is that the physical appearance is not the same as originally depicted.  they do crack, but it shouldn't be a pile of broken plastic when you get it.

[TR]

How much $ did you pay?  The seller has a point and so do you.  If they don't meet your expectations give negative feed back and they can respond.  Bottom line may be that though they don't accept returns in this case they will ... but maybe not.  Ebay can be great or not so good for buying items like this.

[PaulTWinterton]

Common sense dictates that the seller, while packing the heater box would see that it's damaged.  Broken!

 

He should ask himself ( I would) "Why would a customer buy a damaged box when he is clearly trying to replace a damaged one that he already has?"

 

A used and worn one, sure, but broken is just wrong.

 

I was taught in retail business many years ago: The customer is always right.  You get more business from a happy customer and a bad reputation if you customer is unhappy.

 

He should gladly refund, especially when you're eating the shipping.

 

I don't like him already.  Greedy.

 

My opinion/recourse:  Eat the loss, but tell us who it is.  I certainly won't buy anything from him.  Hopefully he'll get the message if others won't buy as well.

 

By the way, I've seen plenty of 40yo heater boxes in good shape.  Temp damage, yeah right.

Common sense dictates that the seller, while packing the heater box would see that it's damaged.  Broken!

 

He should ask himself ( I would) "Why would a customer buy a damaged box when he is clearly trying to replace a damaged one that he already has?"

 

A used and worn one, sure, but broken is just wrong.

 

I was taught in retail business many years ago: The customer is always right.  You get more business from a happy customer and a bad reputation if you customer is unhappy.

 

He should gladly refund, especially when you're eating the shipping.

 

I don't like him already.  Greedy.

 

My opinion/recourse:  Eat the loss, but tell us who it is.  I certainly won't buy anything from him.  Hopefully he'll get the message if others won't buy as well.

 

By the way, I've seen plenty of 40yo heater boxes in good shape.  Temp damage, yeah right.

[TobyB]

If you were not sent the box you saw in the picture,

 

tell ebay.  They'll give you your money back.

 

'Not working' for a heater box means the core leaks, the fan doesn't spin, the valve is stuck.

It doesn't mean destroyed.  Take a picture of what you have, in the same orientation, and tell them.

 

ebay's in business to make you happy.  They routinely hose sellers, even (especially?) honest ones.

 

And especially rude, unhelpful ones.

 

It's the danger of trying to sell on ebay.

 

And move on.  Most people are nice, honest and helpful.  Some are not.

 

What I'd do,

 

t

[DRedman]

This sounds like a junkyard dealer who is dealing with real junk where there staff  know nothing or care about the car parts pulled or don't know about our dedicated honest 02 owners.  That's why their third response is a "cover their butt" response cause it's happen many times before and maybe for different car brands.  Let us know who it is so we can avoid them.

[MrForce]

Contact Ebay. File a claim. If you don't want to be a "Debbie Downer" don't leave feedback. I just had a deadbeat buyer not pay after two weeks of promises. Cost me a back up sale as well. I had to file a claim just to get my seller fees back. guy had a sob story about an accident with an uninsured motorist. I did not leave any feedback.

 

Good luck,

 

Rob

[dbmw2002]

Real simple guys, file a Paypal claim and you will get a refund, then the seller will have to deal with Paypal instead of the buyer. Paypal is totaly buyer biased and has the power to make this refund happen, period.........