red_avatar wrote on 2021-08-27, 12:30:
eBay definitely does NOT refund if the seller clearly states it's sold for parts and likely not working. I watch plenty of channels where they repair broken stuff bought off eBay and all these channels repeat that even if the item they sold clearly was a lost cause (seller tried to repair it himself and royally screwed up for example even if the auction doesn't mention anything like that) they can't get a refund. As long as the seller does not give a guarantee it works, they have their ass covered.
As a result, a lot of sellers will hide behind the "not tested but comes from working machine" line meaning you buy it with a risk that it may not work, knowing it doesn't.
Even two days ago I bought a Gameboy cartridge. The seller mentioned "slight damage, not tested - no refund if not working" but since Gameboy cartridges are hard to destroy I still ordered it, thinking the contacts just needed a bit of cleaning. I received it and the thing was absolutely filthy and even after a thorough cleaning, inserting the cartridge a dozen times did not make it work nor after a thorough cleaning of the contacts with a cotton swab with IPA. It was very clear the seller knew it was not working since they sold it at less than half the going price. I opened up the cartridge and used sandpaper on the copper contacts and that finally made the game work so I got lucky there - the contacts must have been very heavily corroded.
I wasn't talking about items sold "for parts or not working". 😀
Again, if the item is being sold as "Used" (which means that it should be a perfectly working item), then it really doesn't matter what the seller writes in the description (mentioning in the description that the item is "untested" and that "returns are not accepted" will not transfer the responsibility to the buyer (which is what most sellers think).
"Untested" --> it just means that the seller acknowledges that he doesn't have time to test the item and is willing to risk having the item tested by the buyer.
"Returns are not accepted" --> this simply refers to buyer's remorse, and does NOT count for faulty items. If the item is defective, the seller will have to take the item back and he actually needs to pay for the return shipping.
I actually had this situation with a Voodoo 5 5500. The seller sold it as "used", however he denied all responsibility in the description:
Technical condition is unknown. Visual condition as depicted above. Due to the age I can't provide any function guarantee. As german laws apply here: no guarantee, no warranty, no refunds.
I purchased the card (and it wasn't exactly cheap), and it turned out to be completely dead. I naturally contacted the seller, explained the situation and his exact response was:
Hi,
I'm very sorry to hear about this (contrary to your assumption I didn't know of any defect) but I made very clear that this item is untested and the technical condition is therefore unknown (as stated in the auction description). I even explained in a very detailled manner in our previous communication, that I'm specifically excluding any rights of refunds, or return of those items whose condition is unknown (even to me).
You bought it completely aware of this uncertainty. I'm sorry but I can't provide you any positive solution here. Feel free to contact eBay though.
Suffice to say that I opened a SNAD case, and eBay even appologised to me for his behavior:
Hello, […]
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Hello,
Good day to you! My name is JUstine from eBay team. Your concern about the 3dfx Voodoo5 5500 AGP that was endorsed to me because the buyer never provided return label. I am sad to hear about this, no worries I got you. I will resolve this problem because that is my passion.
After carefully reviewing the case I noticed that up until now the seller did not provide a return label. Good news! I decided to processed your full refund of 352,00 € I also request to prioritize your refund to be availble to your account within 24 to 48 hours. One more thing, make sure to check your email because I did send a separate email that contain the sweet message about closing the claim and processing your refund. You don't need to return the item anymore also you don't have to do anything else.
I hope that atleast this message made your day a little better. If you need assistance in the future don't hesitate to reach out. Thank you and please don't forget to smile for the rest of your day!
Sincerely,
Justine R.
eBay Customer Support
Pretty weird response from the eBay customer support (it looks as if it was written by a 12 year old), but... yeah. 😁 And that's right, I could have kept the card for free if I wanted to. 😀 (and the card was in very good esthetic condition, with a full box in a pristine state!).
I eventually returned the card to the seller, even though he had been a complete and utter jerk (of course, he did pay for the return shipping, though).
This has always been my experience with eBay. As long as you explain the situation very well in the SNAD case (thus proving that you are not a scammer), you should always win the case against sellers that don't take responsibility for what they are selling.
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