[ebay] Damaged goods - how to handle?

[Roger Belly]

I recently sold a DVD player on Ebay to a buyer who seemed to, once or twice, wish to walk away from the deal after the auction ended. Anyway, the auction completed (via Paypal) and the goods were sent by insured courier.

Two days after he received the item I received an e-mail saying the item was broken (it was sent in the original packaging and adequately wrapped) and requesting a refund (I suspect foul play, but can't prove anything). In order to keep the buyer happy I stated that I would make a claim for the item and refund the money after the claim was settled.

The buyer now sends me roughly 3/4 e-mails per day requesting a refund up front and refuses to wait for the claim money. Personally I would prefer that the courier company investigate the problem and I will refund once the claim in satisfied.

Who's in the right here? I was under the impression that once the buyer had signed for the goods, this is an obligation that the goods are in acceptable condtion - however he's already threatening legal action despite the fact I am offering a refund, albeit in a slightly longer timescale.

[splobber]

In the classifieds here it is an unwritten rule that if something is reported as damaged and is proven when returned to the sender the money should be refunded and the seller pursue the claim with RM or the courier.

[mufflator]

My advice- forget the legal semantics. In a non-commercial transaction such as this you're in the right. The buyer should wait for the insurance to come through. Sometimes they will ask to inspect the goods and there is always the chance they will find a reason not to pay up. It is too easy for a buyer to make a false claim so if you know it was working beforehand I would treat this with extreme suspicion as damage is very rare (although some couriers are worse than others eg. Business Post).

The buyer can't really pursue this through PayPal very easily as the item was received. He can claim it was not as described but this will be hard to prove.

[IAmATeaf]

My advice- forget the legal semantics. In a non-commercial transaction such as this you're in the right. The buyer should wait for the insurance to come through. Sometimes they will ask to inspect the goods and there is always the chance they will find a reason not to pay up. It is too easy for a buyer to make a false claim so if you know it was working beforehand I would treat this with extreme suspicion as damage is very rare (although some couriers are worse than others eg. Business Post).

The buyer can't really pursue this through PayPal very easily as the item was received. He can claim it was not as described but this will be hard to prove.

I'd be careful on the PayPal front, the buyer could lodge a dispute saying that the item doesn't work and PayPal as we all know always tend to side with the buyer and may issue a call back on the monies paid.