Need a second opinion on an ebay dispute

A while back I got my original iPhone replaced under warranty due to a screen issue. I already got the 3G, so I decided to jailbreak/unlock it and sell it on ebay. I only used it to make sure it worked by downloading some apps, making calls and surfing the web a little. In the auction I gave a 7 day return policy and guaranteed the item to work upon arrival, but specifically said the item was sold "as is" because jailbreaking and unlocking are not guaranteed and any issues after could be due to software downloaded that I can't guarantee.

The buyer got the phone and it worked. They left me positive feedback. The buyer emailed me exactly 7 days after the auction complaining the phone is dead. (the return policy states the item has to be returned in 7 days)I tried offering ways to fix it and never even stated I wouldn't refund, but the buyer wouldn't have any of it and only wanted a refund. My guess is they downloaded something that caused the crash, which I specifically stated I wouldn't guarantee. But of course they would never admit it.

The buyer made a dispute claiming "not as described, which really doesn't even tell me exactly what their disputing. Either it was that the phone didn't work or the buyer's claim it was not a new/refurb phone from Apple. Obviously the phone worked, so that was covered. I got paperwork from Apple proving the phone was replaced by them and sent it to Paypal.

2 days later I get a message saying the buyer deserves a refund with no explanation of why. I still don't know what exactly the dispute was about. They never told me. Do you think this is right???

If it was to be returned in 7 days that would mean the phone was post marked to you within 7 days?

You made it difficult for yourself by first offering a DOA guarantee...
then turning it around and contradicting yourself by calling it an "as is" auction. "AS IS" is exactly that... no guarantees.
You can't have it both ways.
You have to pick one or the other... DOA guarantee or AS IS... and since you offered the DOA guarantee first, you will likely have to uphold that above and beyond any other claim.

Personally, I don't feel that the buyer is due anything.
He bought a used phone in a private sale on an auction site.
If it doesn't work, that's his fault.
I do buy stuff on eBay, but I know that the items are other people's used junk.
If it doesn't work, then I am a fool for buying it. I don't cry and run and blame the seller if something doesn't work. If they claimed it did and then it doesn't when I get it, that is a different story.... but if it works when I get it and then stops working at some point thereafter... then it's not the seller's fault.

What D3v1L8OY said.

Yeah the return policy says, "Item must be returned within 7 days". As far as I'm concerned, there's no room for interpretation there. It clearly says I have to receive it back in 7 days, not get an email complaining of a problem. If I had got it back there would be no problem with me taking it back, and the buyer had time to ship it back by then.

avtraino said:

What D3v1L8OY said.

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I agree and disagree. I said guaranteed not DOA and as is because I wanted to assure the buyer it worked. But at the same time I know they could download some junk program that could kill the phone, which is likely what happened. It wasn't DOA as it was. Not DOA not means dead on arrival. I met that condition. I guess I should have left the DOA part off and simply stated the item was tested and functioning? I don't know if that's the same thing, but I've seen a lot of big sellers use that kind of language. Still, the phone wasn't DOA. It worked for at least 2 days according to the buyer, but for some reason they took 6 days to contact me.

So the phone worked when the buyer got it and was a refurb/new as I proved with the Apple documentation, but Paypal still says the buyer is right. I don't get it. I guess they really do take thee buyer's side no matter what. I think this has put me off selling on ebay. Basically a person who buys something from me can trash it and complain not as described, and I'm left with the junk they send back.

Paypal can go ahead and pay the person back, but unless Paypal wants to tell me specifically how they feel I was wrong, that debt can sit on my account until the end of time.

fleurya said:

Yeah the return policy says, "Item must be returned within 7 days". As far as I'm concerned, there's no room for interpretation there. It clearly says I have to receive it back in 7 days, not get an email complaining of a problem. If I had got it back there would be no problem with me taking it back, and the buyer had time to ship it back by then.

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That's pretty weak, IMO. You say "Item must be returned", not "Item must be received". If on the 7th day he needs to return it, then postmarking it that day should suffice as it having been returned. That seems to be pretty standard for anything legally due by a certain date (tax returns for example, though I've seen it in the fine print on credit payments and details of contract cancellations... it's the postmark date that counts). Of course if he needed a return address and you dragged it out past the 7 days mark, well that's hardly his fault.

That said, I agree 100% with DB. You gave conflicting rules there. Additionally, you used PayPal, and they make the decisions ultimately on how anything gets resolved and can, at their discretion, give or take from your account. You agreed to all that when you created an account with them. There's a few "hate" sites about PayPal and their policies over things like this.

Paypal screwed me once. Sold my old ipod video that had a black mark in the screen (to this day I dont know what it was). It did not mess with the function of the ipod at all, as I clearly described in the auction. Still the buyer filed a claim with paypal and said the "item was not as described." I emailed the buyer and they told me the screen had multiple dead pixels... Honestly, that could be what made the black line, but I dont know. Either way I resold the iPod for the same price so I ended up not losing. In your case, I would be PO'ed

PayPal ALWAYS sides with the buyer, even under the most ridiculous circumstances. I sold a MacBook logic board on eBay a few months ago which worked perfectly. However I stated in the auction that it was sold AS-IS, because it is a fragile part which requires some skill to replace, and I didn't want to be held responsible if someone messed it up. I offered no warranty at all. Well a MONTH later the guy files a claim with PayPal saying it is "not as described". He says it won't charge a battery. Anything at all could have happened within that month, buy PayPal still made me issue a refund. And what's more, I still haven't even gotten the logic board back!

ADKhikerVW said:

PayPal ALWAYS sides with the buyer, even under the most ridiculous circumstances. I sold a MacBook logic board on eBay a few months ago which worked perfectly. However I stated in the auction that it was sold AS-IS, because it is a fragile part which requires some skill to replace, and I didn't want to be held responsible if someone messed it up. I offered no warranty at all. Well a MONTH later the guy files a claim with PayPal saying it is "not as described". He says it won't charge a battery. Anything at all could have happened within that month, buy PayPal still made me issue a refund. And what's more, I still haven't even gotten the logic board back!

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That's even more extreme than my situation, and completely ridiculous that you never got it back!! They said in my message that if they didn't get anything proving the buyer sent it to me they would not refund. I don't know what that requires, but given Paypal's idea of what is acceptable so far, it could be nothing more than the buyer emailing them saying they sent it with no other proof at all!