Shipped X-Arcade Dual to Canada Now Buyer Says Doesnt' Work Need Help!

[edge10]

Just sold X-Arcade Dual Stick on Evilbay and just received this message:

I just received it and started using it, the first player up does not work it sticks in the mechanism and the 2nd player sticks to the left which makes my character always move to the left. This is my second one and its in much worse shape than my original. It doesnt work at all. I want a full refund please, I am not happy with this product I received, it was bought with full intentions of being 100% perfect working condition especially only being used twice by you.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260568487812&ssPageName=ADME:X:AAQ:US:1123

I had it attached recently, played a couple games and didn't see this problem.  I even had notepad open to check the key responses and they looked fine (no stuck keys etc).

Any ideas?  I sent him to the link at X-Arcade about opening it up.

When it rains it pours!   :'(

[Malenko]

Returns:   No Returns Accepted


says so right in your auction. tought call, stuck imput could be anything, did you ship it insured?

[edge10]

It was shipped via UPS so it should hopefully be covered for $100.

Of course, he wanted it declared for only $20 to beat customs and I was stupid enough to go along with it.

I blame myself and Canada!

[Malenko]

tell him you'll be kind enough to help him try to fix it (should honestly be a quick fix) but you aren't accepting returns. Sounds to me like hes trying to swap his broken one for your working one; at your expense.

[spacegoogie]

tell him you'll be kind enough to help him try to fix it (should honestly be a quick fix) but you aren't accepting returns. Sounds to me like hes trying to swap his broken one for your working one; at your expense.

Same thing I was thinking. A few years back I went to Fry's Electronics  because they had one open box tankstick. I put it into the shopping-cart ,thinking this feels really light.
I opened it and there was a singal player x-arcade stick in the box! Not only that but it looked as if someone smoked like a train. It had a yellow tint to it and a few of the joystick bolts were missing.....Thank god I looked before I walk out of there.

[Epyx]

Got nothing to do with the fact he is from Canada...

As a "Canadian" myself I would tell him he's out of luck but as Malenko suggested, you can try to help him via email.  I would not do a refund...sounds fishy to me.

[edge10]

Thanks.

I hope it was clear I was kidding about the Canada thing.

Either way I think I'm done with Evil bay.

[Red]

Just watch out because he may file a claim with eBay/PayPal and they MAY give him a full refund under their "Buyer Protection" policy even if you stated "No Refunds" if he says it's non-working.

Good luck.  Let us know how it turns out.

Red

[edge10]

Just watch out because he may file a claim with eBay/PayPal and they MAY give him a full refund under their "Buyer Protection" policy even if you stated "No Refunds" if he says it's non-working.

Good luck.  Let us know how it turns out.

Red

I figure that is what will happen.  What will doubly suck is if I get stuck the eBay and PayPal fees from the purchase on top of the lost shipping charges.

[_Iz-]

What city in Canada did you ship it to? Maybe one of us is local and can check it out personally for you. I'm in Kelowna BC Canada.

[Epyx]

Vancouver, BC here. And agreed, if it's local ill go check it out as well.

[opt2not]

Vancouver, BC here. And agreed, if it's local ill go check it out as well.

+1 
East Vancouver here. I'll go check it out with a baseball bat.

on a serious note:
Being a Canadian myself, all I can say is that's weak-sauce and hopefully you don't get jaded about shipping stuff to the true north strong and free in the future. Most of us are honest, good peeps. Mostly...

[shateredsoul]

Southpark has led me to believe otherwise,

on a side note,  I was about to use the "K" word.. Kanuck but looked it up for proper spelling and found this

Kanuck: A slang (and often offensive) term for a Candian, most oftenly a French Canadian.

Is that true?  Is it offensive? I never knew

[Dazz]

Blame Canada!

[mlalena]

It sounds like both sticks failed for mechanical reasons - and not the micro switches either.
Joysticks "sticking" in one direction seems like an odd thing to break - twice, but if it is really broken then you should be able to walk him through a fix.
I would ask for pictures to "diagnose" the problem.

[BadMouth]

 I even had notepad open to check the key responses and they looked fine (no stuck keys etc).

If it posted the keys correctly in notepad and no keys ssssssssssssssssssstuck, then I don't see how the issue could be with joysticks.

It almost has to be an issue with how he configured the controls.
Either that or he's dishonest and trying to rip you off.

[CheffoJeffo]

Have him return the damned thing (at his cost) and then refund the purchase price.

If you don't, then you are going to get negged and he's going to file a Paypal dispute. You have no other way to win. It's that simple and the cost of doing business on eBay.

What is interesting is that this advice, however harsh it sounds, assumes that you are 100% correct and that the stupid stick works fine and maybe he is trying to scam you. OTOH, maybe the damned thing did break.

The simple fact that you shipped to Canada via UPS tells me that you don't have the first clue ... however, that also tells me that the buyer is missing that same clue.

[taylormadelv]

Switches inside are stuck. This has happened to me a few times. The inferior design of the "leaf/micro" joysticks causes issues. Also, the fact that so many wires are stuck in there can cause problems. X-Arcade has answers for this on their website but if he persists, talk with him over the phone and talk him through reconnecting all the switch connections.

[RandyT]

If the connectors in the X-Arcade aren't fully insulated, it's very possible that a couple of them worked their way off of the switches in shipping, and due to their close proximity to one another, are shorting to an adjacent wire.

Get him to pop the thing open and provide you with photos.

Also, when it comes to ebay, "watermark" your stuff somehow so you can recognize it again, and photograph it for later authentication purposes.  In the military, we used to open up our personal electronic possessions and scribe info on the inside of the cases.  Might be worth it to prep stuff in a similar manner before shipping it, just in case.  Then again, most  ebay sellers can't be bothered to even run a dust rag over anything they sell, so I doubt the practice will catch on  .

RandyT

[edge10]

Vancouver, BC here. And agreed, if it's local ill go check it out as well.

+1 
East Vancouver here. I'll go check it out with a baseball bat.

on a serious note:
Being a Canadian myself, all I can say is that's weak-sauce and hopefully you don't get jaded about shipping stuff to the true north strong and free in the future. Most of us are honest, good peeps. Mostly...

I don't think the baseball bat is necessary but anybody in the area with a screwdriver (Not as a weapon!) could open it up fix anything that might have got loose and save us both over $40!

[edge10]

The simple fact that you shipped to Canada via UPS tells me that you don't have the first clue ... however, that also tells me that the buyer is missing that same clue.

How so?  UPS cost a little over $39 and USPS was going to cost over $46.  He thought *I* was trying to gouge him on shipping but the thing weights over 15 pounds all
boxed up and it wasn't going to fit in any standard price shipping box.  So, please tell me how I'm clueless.  Some peoples kids!

[CheffoJeffo]

The simple fact that you shipped to Canada via UPS tells me that you don't have the first clue ... however, that also tells me that the buyer is missing that same clue.

How so?  UPS cost a little over $39 and USPS was going to cost over $46.  He thought *I* was trying to gouge him on shipping but the thing weights over 15 pounds all
boxed up and it wasn't going to fit in any standard price shipping box.  So, please tell me how I'm clueless.  Some peoples kids!

Some people's kids ? What ? You've shipped one whole package to Canada ... and totally ---smurfing--- botched it to boot ?

Get offa my lawn.

If you don't understand about UPS and their brokerage fee raping, then you are as clueless as I said that you are.

You think your buyer is mad and unreasonable now ? Just wait until he gets bent over the sink for the additional $30+ that is coming and you didn't tell him about.

 

[opt2not]

Southpark has led me to believe otherwise,

Yeah, that's the sad thing about the American school system. They don't teach people about their neighbours, the USA doesn't really care about anything outside their own borders, so all you have is what pop-culture tells you.  Before my wife and I got married (she's american), she didn't know anything about Canada,  not anymore! 

on a side note,  I was about to use the "K" word.. Kanuck but looked it up for proper spelling and found this

Kanuck: A slang (and often offensive) term for a Candian, most oftenly a French Canadian.

Is that true?  Is it offensive? I never knew

It's "canuck", with a "c".
I've heard several stories about how it started. One of them being that it started as a derogatory term for french canadians.
Another story is that Americans started it off as a slang word for Canadians, during the fur-trading days a long-long time ago. It was derived from the native-indian word for canoe, "canouche" because that's what the natives would deliver furs on.
 

In any case, we canadians liked the word so much that we adopted it as our nick-name. That's so the canadian way, "oh you're trying to make fun of us? That's ok, we'll just take that word for ourselves and embrace it! Now what?". 

The simple fact that you shipped to Canada via UPS tells me that you don't have the first clue ... however, that also tells me that the buyer is missing that same clue.

How so?  UPS cost a little over $39 and USPS was going to cost over $46.  He thought *I* was trying to gouge him on shipping but the thing weights over 15 pounds all
boxed up and it wasn't going to fit in any standard price shipping box.  So, please tell me how I'm clueless.  Some peoples kids!

Yeah, UPS sucks when shipping to Canada. Should've just gone with standard usps, or DHL. I actually think DHL is the best international delivery service in general, I've never had a bad experience with them and their service is top-notch.

[CheffoJeffo]

Yeah, UPS sucks when shipping to Canada. Should've just gone with standard usps, or DHL. I actually think DHL is the best international delivery service in general, I've never had a bad experience with them and their service is top-notch.

+1

I have been surprised with some DHL bills 3-4 months later (FWIW, NEVER for stuff shipped from Ultimarc!), but none of them has ever been outrageous like UPS (when the brokerage fee outstrips the duty and taxes, then something is wrong).

[Epyx]

I have been surprised with some DHL bills 3-4 months later (FWIW, NEVER for stuff shipped from Ultimarc!), but none of them has ever been outrageous like UPS (when the brokerage fee outstrips the duty and taxes, then something is wrong).

Ah gotcha...never had that kind of experience with UPS other than Ultimarc lol so that was likely why I couldn't relate...Ultimarc its usually place order...then two days later bang its here.  

Best bet if you are a Canadian near the border (and ordering from US) is to use a cross border outlet for shipping. For example, here in Vancouver I use "The Letter Carrier" in Point Roberts, USA.  Then I just take the stuff across myself and if it's under $200 no taxes/duties for a quick visit.

[edge10]

.

[ark_ader]

Have him return the damned thing (at his cost) and then refund the purchase price.

If you don't, then you are going to get negged and he's going to file a Paypal dispute. You have no other way to win. It's that simple and the cost of doing business on eBay.

What is interesting is that this advice, however harsh it sounds, assumes that you are 100% correct and that the stupid stick works fine and maybe he is trying to scam you. OTOH, maybe the damned thing did break.

The simple fact that you shipped to Canada via UPS tells me that you don't have the first clue ... however, that also tells me that the buyer is missing that same clue.

+1

Totally agree with Cheffo - refund him and do not sell anything long distance. 

I have done it before and it has always ended up with a ---smurfy--- ending.

[opt2not]

Southpark has led me to believe otherwise,

on a side note,  I was about to use the "K" word.. Kanuck but looked it up for proper spelling and found this

Kanuck: A slang (and often offensive) term for a Candian, most oftenly a French Canadian.

Is that true?  Is it offensive? I never knew

Here ya go, I almost forgot about this video:

I send this to all my American friends. It's very informative! It was even informative to me...I didn't know that Canada is the biggest supplier of oil to the US. Or, the 9/11 support...

[danny_galaga]

Southpark has led me to believe otherwise,

on a side note,  I was about to use the "K" word.. Kanuck but looked it up for proper spelling and found this

Kanuck: A slang (and often offensive) term for a Candian, most oftenly a French Canadian.

Is that true?  Is it offensive? I never knew

Here ya go, I almost forgot about this video:

I send this to all my American friends. It's very informative! It was even informative to me...I didn't know that Canada is the biggest supplier of oil to the US. Or, the 9/11 support...

Great clip (",)

[edge10]

Well, I guess all's well that ends well. 

I sent him the links from X-arcades site.  He said he would check things out and I haven't heard anything since.  It has
been over 30 days since he last contacted me.  I all but begged him to let me know if he still had any problems over 2 weeks
ago with no answer.  I now consider this issue closed.

Thanks for all the advice given in this thread.

[BobA]

Good advice re troubleshoot the X arcade but the best advice was NEVER SHIP UPS TO CANADA.   The added brokerage charges that UPS comes up with are way way way out of line.   On top of everything else they cannot explain how the charges are applied.

[edge10]

Duly noted, no UPS to Canada.  I did go and read some of the UPS horror stories after this incident.  Apparently extortion is one of the things 'Brown can do for you'.

[ids]

Southpark has led me to believe otherwise,

on a side note,  I was about to use the "K" word.. Kanuck but looked it up for proper spelling and found this

Kanuck: A slang (and often offensive) term for a Candian, most oftenly a French Canadian.

Is that true?  Is it offensive? I never knew

Here ya go, I almost forgot about this video:

I send this to all my American friends. It's very informative! It was even informative to me...I didn't know that Canada is the biggest supplier of oil to the US. Or, the 9/11 support...

I knew about the oil and the landing of planes in 9/11...while that was a moving piece of friendship, it only scratches the surface.  These two countries have a lot of reasons to be friendly, beyond the obvious.  If only customs would chill, because I have some orders I'd like to place!