CPU bent pins and buyer issue

[Vexr]

I sold a used FX series processor in its full retail packaging (the metal AMD tin that includes the stock HSF) in a padded envelope. There were no issues removing the CPU from my motherboard and I confirmed all pins were in alignment.

The buyer received the CPU and alleged several pins were bent, particularly around the edges. He provided photos of what appears to be an FX series CPU with bent pins.

I asked him to return the item (at my expense) for a full refund. My plan was to then pursue this with the Royal Mail as I sent it Recorded Delivery and insured up to £50, which covered the price I got for the processor.

The buyer decided otherwise, and without my agreement passed it to a computer repair shop. They've apparently straightened out the pins at a cost of nearly half the value of the CPU, which the buyer wants me to refund.

I feel a potentially very awkward dispute coming on here. Any advice?

 

[Vexr]

Sold where ebay?

Make sure you document everything as if there was any dispute they should have returned the item straight to you and/or had you remedy the situation.

Yes, and they paid with Paypal. Usual step for them to take would've been to request a return through eBay (which I asked the buyer to do) and they'd get a return postage label to use that I'd be charged for. I'd then verify the damage/that it's the same item, and send them the refund. I could then pursue the Royal Mail for compensation.

Sounds like partial refunds / getting things fixed through third parties then coming after the seller for the cost is a whole other quagmire (for the seller apparently). Obviously if I was a shop on the high street I'd say 'no chance' because they didn't follow the proper returns policy, but I'm aware the 'buyer's always right' when it comes to eBay.

With that in mind, makes me wonder if I should just roll over in goodwill, assuming he can at least provide a receipt for the work done.

Alternatively makes me wonder if I should have him duke it out with eBay/Paypal and see what they say - though going by their track record he'll be fully refunded, I won't get the CPU back, and things will have become far too complicated to get anything out of Royal Mail.

 

[Vexr]

Thanks for the responses everyone. All communication has been by eBay messages.

I replied making him aware of my concerns about not following the usual returns policy and that I'd be looking in to what action would be appropriate to take. A few exchanges of messages later, plus me realising I'd not got a decent un-blurred picture of the pins on the CPU from before I sent it (I know I didn't include one in the auction - I won't be making that mistake again), I decided to offer to go 50/50 on the repair cost with him, which he accepted, acknowledging that he was partially at fault for going to get it repaired instead of returning it.

Considering if he had returned it at my expense then that cost wouldn't be recoverable, that works out that I'm down about £7 (that's assuming I'd have been fully compensated by Royal Mail - another potential headache I'm happy to avoid). I think I can live with that. If he had insisted on the full repair cost, then we'd be going down the other route for sure.

Cheers all, and hopefully that'll be the end of the matter.

 

[Vexr]

Edit:Amazed you went the route of reimbursement of the professor. I await the follow up of "the insurance didn't cover it". (Although I hope that is not the case). If the package wasn't damaged, I am struggling to see how you will claim it back. Did you get a photo of the package ?

I don't expect the insurance to cover it at this stage. I also don't expect the package to show any damage (what with the AMD FX retail box being made of metal). Maybe I'm just a big softy as he gave a story about going offshore to work on the oil rigs, which is plausible going by where he lives and explains why he rushed to repair it.

He did seem to appreciate the position he'd put me in and the fact he'd invalidated my recourse to claim for postal compensation. I was also aware my photographic evidence that the pins were fine before I sent it weren't up to scratch, which could put me in a naff position if it boiled down to that further along the line in a dispute. The net cost going 50/50 therefore seems small enough to me take on the chin and keep the peace, at least on this occasion.

 

[Vexr]

I'm thinking I might've been had afterall. He sold on the CPU he bought from me a few weeks later, even using the pics from my auction lol. He also sold an FX-8320 about the same time along with a bunch of other AM3+ era components. It could certainly have been his 8320 that had bent pins rather than my 8350.

Oh well. He only got about £12 out of me, so that's something.

 

[Vexr]

You're a fool.

I bet he did! His scam worked and he got your cpu for half price.

A fool? Ouch He got £12 off a ~£50 processor in the end, that's not half price.

What's more ouch is the £150 I recently lost by buying a new monitor in a sale a month ago rather than in a sale today. A £12 loss avoiding a dispute on eBay doesn't seem so costly by comparison.

 

[Vexr]

There's a difference to being a non-savvy buyer and getting scammed though.

Lol, yeah whatever. Says the guy who thinks £12 is half of £50.

 

[Vexr]

Yeah, I read 50/50 as the sale price, not the repair cost - my mistake.

Still didn't need to refund the 12 quid though.

Oh, and stop assuming my gender

It was a fine margin. As stated elsewhere in this thread, if he did insist on the £24 repair cost I'd have stuck to my guns and gone the full process through eBay/Paypal. £12 on the other hand was just a say low enough for me to decide not to bother.

I'll be sure to review my inclusiveness and diversity policy regarding the use of the word 'guy' as soon as I start giving a damn

 

[Vexr]

What doesn't seem plausible is that someone who works on oil rigs (a well paid job, I assume) is a) Spending £50 on a second hand CPU and then b) Trying to claim for a £25 repair that he had done after you offered a full refund.

There was something off about the whole thing, but then again someone professionally scamming to get 20-25% slithers off the price of low value items doesn't make much sense.

As said elsewhere in this thread, he sold the CPU on again a month later for £46 and using the pictures from my listing and falsely claiming it'd never been OC'd lol. A poor money making scheme if that's how he scams, though his selling history is bizarre compared with the story he gave to me. He's sold an 8320, my 8350, a 9390, a Ryzen 1600X, and a whole bunch of AM3 motherboards, one 1080 Ti, and some DDR4 RAM since I sold to him. I must say, doesn't seem he was as hardware deprived/desperate for my CPU as he made out.

12 quid isn't much off 50, youre right. It comes down to principles and whether you mind somebody dishonestly trying for a discount on the sale price or not. If you are happy with such dishonesty then go for it.

Id have told him where to shove it though.

To be fair, my eBay experience has been pretty positive recently despite this mishap:



£12 lost from that due to a potential/probable scam doesn't seem so bad.

 

[Vexr]

I feel that those types of serial cheats and scammers would eventually get found out and their actions will eventually end up coming back to bite them.

Thanks for sharing your experience with us OP, glad you've not taken this experience too negatively. It serves as a reminder for me to take as many photos of items and packaging before shipping sold items.

Yeah, definitely - photo it and photo it good. I can be glad if this example results in some future sellers being a bit more savvy than I when it comes to PC gear/CPUs, even if the burn I experienced on this sale was relatively minor.