Sold product, but buyer says is damaged

Guest2 · 26 Mar 2010 at 15:54

Last month I sold someone an Nvidia motherboard. The buyer is now saying they have got around to testing it and some of the pins are bent so it doesnt work.

Before the sale I was using it with no problems what so-ever with a E2140 CPU. Everything worked perfectly but I upgraded to an intel board because it didnt clock as well as i liked. I sold this board with no warrenty for little money, about £23, of which it cost me £6 to ship it.

How do I know the buyer has not accidentally damaged the board themself or just want their money back because it cant overclock well or something?

I have 100% feedback in Ebay, OcUK and AvForums. I always pack items very well and send recorded or special

The buyer has emailed me asking "What are you going to do about it?"

james.miller · 26 Mar 2010 at 15:55

nothing, he's had it a month?

Sinque · 26 Mar 2010 at 15:56

A month? Tell him he owes you a fiver for each email as technical support

neoboy · 26 Mar 2010 at 15:56

Well if pins are bent then it must have been damaged in transit although little suspect that he only got round to it a month after. Where did you sell this?

Cuchulain · 26 Mar 2010 at 15:57

james.miller said:
nothing, he's had it a month?

This, tell him to sling his hook.

bloodiedathame · 26 Mar 2010 at 15:57

Don't reply.

Smit · 26 Mar 2010 at 15:57

I guess you didn't take any photos before you sent the item?

A.N.Other · 26 Mar 2010 at 15:59

That's a little late to be complaining, to be honest.

Do you have some photos of the board before you sent it from adverts or something and has he shown you some of the damage?

Guest2 · 26 Mar 2010 at 16:02

A.N.Other said:
That's a little late to be complaining, to be honest.

Do you have some photos of the board before you sent it from adverts or something and has he shown you some of the damage?

Yeh, thats what i thought. Dont think i have any photos no. However he could just have bent them when fitting another cpu or cooler, so photos from beforehand wouldnt make any difference

Prophet · 26 Mar 2010 at 16:03

How long is it before you can't raise a complaint with ebay? If it's over a Month is there anything he can do?

neoboy · 26 Mar 2010 at 16:04

21 days or less if you left positive feedback on ebay. Although quick search on MM says he sold it on here (thread dated 1st March).

EDIT:

Yeah so to elaborate my previous post, if it wasn't bent before you sent it there are only really 2 possible scenarios here:

Damaged in transit
Damaged by the recipient

It's not your fault if either of the scenarios occurred, however, if the first happened then you need to raise a claim with whoever you used to post the item although the problem now is that buyer left it so late so it may get dismissed by them. Unless you packed it badly it really wouldn't be fair for the buyer to expect you to do anything else beyond that and just bite the bullet. Besides I can't imagine bend pins being a huge issue, just straighten them out?

anything I don't mind · 26 Mar 2010 at 16:05

Tell him that HE bent the pins and he is lying (demand pictures of the bent pins), he is trying to trick you out of money and mess up your ebay rep or do what the other guy said and ignore it.

gurusan · 26 Mar 2010 at 16:06

On mobos I always take photos of the CPU socket, all components, and serial number prior to shipping to safeguard against any funny business.

If it's been a month then I probably would not accept a return.

Guest2 · 26 Mar 2010 at 16:08

It wasnt sold on ebay. Ive just noticed the user has an I7 rig, so presumably he may have built it from someone else or sold it on but they have bent the pins/complained of broken pins.

I am 100% positive that it was working fine before i sold it with no bent pins. I dont try and skank people as my feedback shows

neoboy · 26 Mar 2010 at 16:14

Only reply you can give to "What are you going to do about it?" is ask him if he wants to raise a complaint with the postal service then and assist with that although he will then have to provide picture of the item AND packaging it came in.

gurusan · 26 Mar 2010 at 16:15

Was the mobo shipped with a socket cover? If it's missing I usually tape a little piece of cardboard over it.

Guest2 · 26 Mar 2010 at 16:17

gurusan said:
Was the mobo shipped with a socket cover? If it's missing I usually tape a little piece of cardboard over it.

No, i bought it off someone and it never came with one. The cpu latch thing was down on it though so nothing could have knocked it in transit

mame · 26 Mar 2010 at 16:40

No that's too late. I've bought CDs and PS3 games off ebay, not had chance to test them in the first week and just left good feedback before I've even tested them because, if there is a problem, I've waited too long.

Only cheap items though.

Guest2 · 26 Mar 2010 at 20:36

Update- what I sent to him...

-------------------------------
Hi mate,

I can understand that you are not happy, but to be fair it has been a month.
I can 100% guarantee that no pins were bend before I sent it and it was
working perfectly. I made sure the CPU latch was down so the pins were no
exposed and it was packed carefully. I would not try to sell a damaged
product to another forum member, I have bought and sold other things on
OcUK, Ebay and other forums and have good feedback to show this.

Have you tried bending the pins back into alignment with something like a
credit card?

If you want I could assist you with claiming compensation but I am told that
you will need a picture of the item and the packaging it came with. The
item ID is ************ on Royal mail

Thanks
-------------------------------

His Reply...

-------------------------------
Hi,

The reason it has been so long is that this is my spare pc which I am giving to my niece, so I was not in a desperate rush to get it finished. I had a quick glance into the box when I got the parcel and didn't notice the damage on the socket until today when I looked closely at the board before putting the chip on the board. When the cpu latch is down there are still pins exposed and it would not take much force to damage them. There is no way you could fix it with a credit card as you can barely see the individual pins to straighten them. I would guess there are 4 or 5 that are damaged.

If you say that it was 100% OK when you sent it then the only other thing I can think of is the floppy cable which was loose in the box has hit the socket while in transit and bent a few of them. It does sound a bit far fetched though, but might be possible due to the fragility of the socket pins. I would have expected you to have the plastic socket cover over the pins to protect them in transit.

I dont think claiming compensation will work as the box has not been damaged, poor packaging and a lack of a socket cover has been the cause if you say that it was OK when you sent it.

What do you intend to do about it?

Regards
-------------------------------

It was not poorly packed at all. I didnt have the cover on the socket but i didnt have it when i bought it off someone else. I explained what i intended to do about it with regard to royal mail claim

DJMK4 · 26 Mar 2010 at 20:38

Urgh I hate people who try to pull a sly one.

Just say its been over a month, he should have contacted you sooner.

Simple fact is, if I was buying something used, I would test it as soon as I got it, not a month down the line