D700 eBay PayPal dispute

When I sell a camera on ebay, usually I take some photos with the camera on the day I send the camera, showing how focus is working properly. I leave the photos on a mem card in the camera, advised the buyer about it and also save those photos on my computer. It is also a good idea to take a few shots of the 4 sides of the camera to have proof of the cosmetic condition of the camera. So if the buyer happens to damage it he has to own it as is.
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I deleted my suggestion.

Paypal / eBay suck

I've used eBay extensively. For anything expensive I only offer COD. It guarantees that the buyer acknowledges the current state of the goods and you get the cash on the spot. A lot harder for scammers if they have to pay you cash as well, because you can offer to meet them and check the goods if they complain. Never had an issue yet.

I have had a similar scenario and after eBay got all the facts they sided with me, the seller. If you have excellent feedback it is a big factor in their choices, also the buyer had less than perfect feedback.

I have 600 purchases and sales on eBay and never got taken advantage of and still think that eBay is the best place to get the highest dollar on your item. I will agree that buyers are getting harder to deal with but if the seller follows the rules, eBay will fall on your side most of the time.

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Greg Gebhardt in
Jacksonville, Florida

EBAY PayPal think they are an "Amazon.com" - they are entirely in support of the buyer. They are not really geared to be an "as-is where-is" selling service like craigs list or a traditional garage sale which is really too bad. Reading through all the messages in this thread clearly illustrates the risks a seller must be stuck with. Yes this sucks and it seems to keep getting worse for the seller because there is no real competition.

a few ideas that can help:

I always sell as-is and am sometimes using "for parts non working condition" category even though the item is in excellent operating condition and I describe and show excellent quality photos of it to support this. My track record is 100% and this is a major factor in achieving satisfactory sales..

If a buyer disputes the item it is generally best to take it back if you can't reach a friendly settlement. If it is damaged or (ab)used you can file a dispute claiming that the buyer did not return the same item in the same condition that you sent it in. You have the item and possibly the money until this gets resolved. I have never had the need to use this so I just offer it without personal experience.

A seller can leave a positive feedback with a negative comment . Against EBAY rules perhaps but it gets the warning out. Another terrible EBAY policy change.

A seller can always relist the item as soon as it is felt that a non-paying buyer will never pay. don't wait for the ebay settlement process to complete .

I am considering restricting sellers to those with significant positive track records. Unfortunately newbies are frequently trouble because they think they are buying from Amazon.com.. The seller must always check buyer feedback and weed out those with prior problems as early as possible.

Don't leave much money in your paypal account and don't link it to a bank account that has a significant fund balance.

If the seller is honest and sells good products that are properly described EBAY and Paypal will serve him well in a majority of the cases.

my 2.5 cents after 15 or so years on EBAY. It sucks but there is no better method for the type of products that I sell.

If he feels there is a fault with the camera have him take it to an authorized Nikon service center for evaluation.

If there is something wrong with the camera you can either refund his money or pay for the repair yourself. However, I would be a little careful how you word that. You do not want him purposely damaging the camera.

If the camera checks out okay, then he foots the checkout bill. That's the price for an education.

The other option is to simply refund his money and get it back. If the camera comes back and is in good working order (i.e., autofocus is good), then leave negative buyer feedback.

It all comes down to Good Faith/Bad Faith. If you sold the camera in good faith as a working camera, you have met your obligations as a good seller.

If the buyer is having buyer's remorse and is asking for a refund by deceit, then he is acting in bad faith.

Admitting that he now wants a D800 is a good clue that the buyer is a bit emotionally challenged.

just get your camera back

This person obviously just discovered the newly revealed D800 and is trying to make up some crap to get their money back when they could just as easily resell it themselves.

I always buy and sell my cameras and lenses on eBay with no problems. The people in the "Googled horror stories" are actually all the idiots who don't read instructions and then blame the system or the person.

Also if their is an option and they side with the liar make sure to open a mail fraud case against them and let them know.

Purple3d said:

Little update.

No update from the buyer in response to my PayPal dispute.

I rang PayPal and got there advice on the situation.

The buyer said

"I have taken several photographs using the camera and the auto focus seems to have a fault, as the quality is not as expected from that which is described of a Nikon D700"

He fails to say in this post that he wants to get a d800 instead.

PayPal said that unless the buyer puts down some better evidence of what's wrong they said you supplied him with a d700 and he got a d700. She said which I really like the d700 is a high end professional camera has he set it up properly.

She then added the eBay return request saying that he wants to get a d800 to the case file.

I stated that I'm not a shop where he can just try it and send it back as I have no idea what he's doing with the camera right now.

So on the upside my conversation with PayPal was all documented and added to the claim. So a bit of reasurance hopefully!!

To answer some of the other comments so far yes the item had £2000 insurance on the item. If there was damage done the buyer should of stated this on the receipt of the item.

I think it would be difficult to break just the autofocus. Without damaging more of the camera.

I feel like saying to the user has he put the auto focus selection on s and not stuck in the middle but really can't be bothered to explain to someone how to use a camera!!

I think the restocking option of 10% is a good idea. The camera sold for £1360 so it would be nice to think that it should sell for that again but sometimes eBay prices vary quite heavily!!

Let's see how it plays out will keep you all posted!!

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