refunds for BST (a seller's question)

[rabbithair]

I was wondering if RFD'ers have used or seen refund policies from private sales? How often are there abuses?

thnx

[djemzine]

I was wondering if RFD'ers have used or seen refund policies from private sales? How often are there abuses?

thnx

Well to be honest I have never experienced a BST thread in which I've bought or sold stuff that a refund had to be requested. That's why I ensure from whom I buy has a good BST feedback.

Worst case if it does get to the situation of a refund being requested then I guess one can always contact the buyer/seller and come to some sort of agreement but then again there's that risk of going through with the BST transaction beforehand.

I guess a RFD user could be reported but then there'd be some sort of proof required. With mine if I am dealing with a huge amount, I draft up a terms of condition.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

[coriolis]

I'd say BST is basically AS-IS. When I sell stuff, I give the buyer as long as they want to look at it or test it out. Of course, with computer parts, electronics, its a little more complicated. I try to offer as much help as possible, but refunds are not a standard and should not be, unless specified or agreed upon.


Remember, you are not a store. If they wanted refunds/exchanges, why didn't they just buy it from a store that has that.

[sexyj]

What about for a brand new sealed item that is DOA.

Would you guys expect a money back or just contact the manufacturer ?

[audit13]

What about for a brand new sealed item that is DOA.

Would you guys expect a money back or just contact the manufacturer ?

If I really want the unit, the seller cannot replace the DOA unit, and I can deal directly with the manufacturer, I would just deal directly with the manufacturer.

For my sales, I state the condition of the item, any issues with the item, and offer a 7 day DOA warranty.

[WorldIRC]

I stand by my product at the time of sale, however, I am not a retail store and offer no warranty when I sell something. I allow a buyer the opportunity to open it up, play with it, and test it out if they so wish. However, once the deal is done, the deal is done.

I have several hundred feedback on here and HowardForums, never a negative blip.

[junot111]

agree that these sales should be as-is

obviously being scammed is another question.

[Setz]

I once sold a videogame (that was used, not brand-new) for 30$. Met the guy, he inspected it, said it was cool, and that was that. I get home, plop on RFD, and he sends me a PM saying it's badly damaged. I told him I'd get him another one (which I did), and took 5$ off the price (so I gave him 5$ back + the time I spent to get a new one and meet him). I looked at my disc, and it looked fine, turns out he looked at it under a magnifying class for minute scratches and wasn't pleased. He liked the new one, so that was that. Until I got home and the same reason was in my PM inbox asking for a new one. I just ignored it because I was fed-up and in the end I lost money. Because of this, I generally don't give refunds unless it's a considerable reason (eg. item is busted, DOA, etc).

That said, I asked for a partial refund once on a Dreamcast I bought. Picked it up for 100$ (+30$ since I had to take a bus to Toronto to pickup...), and got home and it wasn't functioning properly. Making lots of noises, disc read errors, and some of the peripherals he gave me were dead. I asked for a partial refund so I can get it repaired and it was no problem.

[Jrawk]

Although credibility wise I don't have anything other than word of mouth with people I've sold to in the past (no heatware, feedback, etc). I'm not in the business of selling crap, or dealing with headaches.

The only time I had someone come back to me and ask me for a refund was a set of 2 winter tires I sold. Sold them to someone on the Toronto Mazda 3 forum. I got them with my vehicle when I first purchased it, but had 2 brand new all seasons put on by the dealer, and opted to have 2 more matching all seasons put on. The tires had lots of life left, I think it was 80% tread per the manufacturer.....

Anyhoo. Guy came by, looked them over. Gave me money. Messaged me a week later saying he went to a mechanic to have them installed and was told they were no good. They had tiny hairline cracks between the tread. The tires were 3 years old per the build date. Were round and smooth by all standards. I'm a pretty mechanically inclined person, but didn't know much about the situation.

Regardless, I told him bring them back and I'd give him back his money.

What's fair is fair. They weren't useable.... or they were. I really don't know. But I wouldn't want the same thing to happen to him or his family as a result of junk tires I sold him.. so it was an easy decision.

[Setz]

Sometimes you have to do things you might not want to to keep your credibility on RFD. I recently sold a gift-card and it was lost in the mail. I hear of these things happening all the time and usually the seller reneges on any responsibility. I like to keep informed the whereabouts of my sold goods, and in the instance of something getting damaged or lost or dying, I go above and beyond to try and resolve it. In the aforementioned gift-card case, I could have just run with the money, but not only would that be morally irresponsible of me, but it damages my reputation on RFD. I have one of the highest feedback scores on the site, and it brings me great pride, but this could be ruined with one poor sale. Feedback is only good if it's 100% positive.

[Albo_baller]

Easy ways to avoid fraud:

1. Deal locally
2. Test what you're buying before you actually hand over the money
3. If it's good and you want it, buy it and be done with it !

I've always dealt locally and have never had a negative experience