OT - well sort of - warning I'm long-winded

[myntik1]

I'm posting this here because I'm sure someone in the biz has come across a shady person when dealing with greedbay and payfoe and can give me some advice.

about 3 months ago I purchased an Archos Gmini from someone on EBAY for $105.  I pay through PayPal and wait to see what brown can do for me.  A couple days after I made my payment I got a message from PayPal instructing me not pay this person there is a problem with their account. PayPal stopped the transfer and put the money back in my account. The seller (supposedly a woman in NY) sends me a message stating that due to the high activity on her account EBAY and PayPal had suspended her priviliedges.  Her ad said she had the machine for about a yr and upgraded to the camcorder version.  When I checked her history I found out that she bought it from some online wholesaler who sells things 'as is' about 2 weeks before I bought it off her.
So anyway I get the item from someone from some guy in Ohio.  I would have bought the item from whoever, but now I'm convinced I'm getting scammed.  of course the item doesn't work.  I sit on the item for about a month waiting on the seller to send me a meesage so  I can tell them I'll send it back to them, but I'm not paying out of my pocket to ship a defective item.
Week 4, I send the unit to Archos and pay a $100 to have the unit fixed.  Now the seller is threatening to send me to PayPal collections if I don't pay.  I sent PayPal a message earlier and I'm waiting on their reply.

So what are my options in this case?  If I have to, I'm willing to pay them half of what they bought the item for.  But my natural response is to say 'f ' ' the seller for being a scam artist.

[ChadTower]

Regardless of what happened, I say 'f' your English teacher.

[shardian]

Regardless of what happened, I say 'f' your English teacher.

15k posts and still as helpful as ever.

[ChadTower]

I guess you don't read the threads I do help in?  Like this one?  Or this one? Those were just in the last couple of days.  Any time someone has a pinball issue, I'm one of the few around here that gives in depth assistance.

I have just as much right to conversation as anyone else around here.  If you're not looking in the places where I do help, that's not my problem.

[SirPeale]

So you received a non-working item and haven't paid for it, is that correct?  I say F the "seller" if it's not as advertised.  They can file a claim with Paypal, but since there's no transaction, what can they do?

[myntik1]

So you received a non-working item and haven't paid for it, is that correct?  I say F the "seller" if it's not as advertised.  They can file a claim with Paypal, but since there's no transaction, what can they do?

Correct, so I guess I'm in the clear.

I didn't realize my 6th grade English teacher was checking internet boards for grammar.

[shardian]

I guess you don't read the threads I do help in?  Like this one?  Or this one? Those were just in the last couple of days.  Any time someone has a pinball issue, I'm one of the few around here that gives in depth assistance.

I have just as much right to conversation as anyone else around here.  If you're not looking in the places where I do help, that's not my problem.

testy,testy. Yes, I see your helpful posts from time to time. I just like picking on you because you make it so easy.

[CheffoJeffo]

So you received a non-working item and haven't paid for it, is that correct?  I say F the "seller" if it's not as advertised.  They can file a claim with Paypal, but since there's no transaction, what can they do?

Correct, so I guess I'm in the clear.

I don't think so, I don't think you legally own the unit since you never actually paid for it and the seller made a reasonable offer to refund (I know that people may not like paying return shipping, but that is common practice, particularly on eBay) .

Did you initiate any dispute resolution measures on eBay ? If not, you're likely just another NPB to them. 

Don't get me wrong, I think you were being scammed.

Cheers

[ChadTower]

testy,testy. Yes, I see your helpful posts from time to time. I just like picking on you because you make it so easy.

Fair enough.  Stop talking about testes.

[quarterback]

Wait a minute, why did the person send you the item if you hadn't paid for it?

[myntik1]

I guess I didn't word my original rant clearly.  The payment was in the process of clearing when PayPal put the master lock on their account. When I rec'd the item I sat on it for about a month.  I couldn't send them a message through ebay and PayPal had frozen their account.  After a month with no contact from the seller I sent it to Archos to have it fixed. 

Last night I googled their screen name and found out that they paid 67 for the unit from the wholesaler 'as is'.  I like the item, but not enough to give them the original price.  The My Name is Earl voice in my head says meet them half way ($38.50).  They bought a broken unit, toss them half of what they paid for it.  No one is going to give them more than that for a broken unit.  The other voice in my head says they tried to scam me and it backfired so I owe them nothing.

[pmc]

Last time something like that happened to me, I negotiated a fair price with the seller. The item arrived in less than advertised mechanical condition and I asked to return it. The seller asked for a fair price instead. I made an offer and he refunded the difference in Paypal. I got a deal and he got rid of his broken item and avoided the hassle of a return and re-listing.

If it was me in your shoes, I would have returned it rather than fixing it. But you want to keep it, so at this point I'd negotiate a fair price with seller. The seller doesn't have the item or the money and from your story, they are probably simply out to cover their expenses from the upstream sour deal.

This is the kind of stuff that makes me really dislike using eBay. It adds alot of stress that, in the end, outweighs the benefit. I hope your expense is still a good deal in the end. Can you please post when this gets resolved? You got me real curious how the story will end.

-pmc

[ChadTower]

The law in local transactions generally goes thusly:

1)  Return the broken item and receive full refund.

or

2)  Repair the item and subtract repair cost from the original purchase price.

[pmc]

The law in local transactions generally goes thusly:

1)  Return the broken item and receive full refund.

or

2)  Repair the item and subtract repair cost from the original purchase price.

That makes perfect sense. Do sellers generally follow that practice on eBay? I haven't gotten enough broken stuff to see those scenarios play out.

Hmmm... that means that myntik1 owes $5 versus the $105 the seller is likely to be demanding.

-pmc

[ChadTower]

No, those sellers use ebay specifically to avoid accountability for the broken item.

What makes this situation so unusual is that he has the item but has not paid.  Usually the person is just out their cash for a broken item.

[pmc]

Hey myntik1! How'd the story end?

[Havok]

Hey myntik1! How'd the story end?

He's in jail now, and can't respond...

 

[myntik1]

I sent the person a message thorugh there new paypal account basically stating that they misrepresented the item and it arrived broken.  I was willing to come to a compromise, but had no intention of paying the full price.  I asked them to send me what they thought a fair price was. I figured I would go as high as $30 and call it a day.  The person never responded to me.  So I guess it's mine.