CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

Jeremy112 · Joined: 28 Sep 2006 Posts: 2649 Location: Fond du Lac, WI

I thought I should get some ideas on what the best solution I should go with for this situation, before I just go ahead and give a refund without questioning the decision.

Ok to start, I have a JVC HR-S9500U SVHS unit that I sold recently for $330 to a guy in canada who wanted it for converting video to PC. I offered a 14 day DOA warranty on it in the event that it would not work.

Now before I sold it I spent a day going through the entire unit checking out electrical and mechanical components and testing it out and it is honestly one of the nicest VCRs I have ever come across. Anyway the VCR had the green light for selling, its just about as mint and perfect as it can get short of being brand new.

Now the guy received it and he emailed me saying it did not work, that when he would put the tape in the unit would play for a second or 2 then power down, and he could not get it to work after.

Curious, I looked this issue up on the net and found it is somewhat of a common issue with the newer JVC SVHS units, so I agreed to let him send it back and give him a refund as long as he shipped it back in the packaging provided with the accessories etc...

Well I got it back today, it didnt come back in the box I sent it in, nor did it come with any of the good packaging that I used, but nevertheless it did make it here in one piece as it left.

I tested it out right away and it works perfect.... no indication of it having an issue or anything.

SO anyway, the question I have now that you know the back story, do I trust the guy that it was bad and that shipping it fixed it miraculously, and give him a refund, or do I do something else?

If I do something else, what is the something else I should do? I know it sounds like a dumb question but I rarely get returned items and the ones I have had returned were indeed flawed as the customer said. I have never had anything come back that was working, and worked fine when I got it back, so I am unsure if I return the VCR and keep the payment or partial refund or take it up with ebay??

Any ideas are greatly appreciated, I just want to proceed in the best interest of both the customer and I. Smile

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2012 2:36 am Post subject:

Tell Analog to stop effing with you. Razz

Regardless, you're effed, unless you send him a full refund. Paypal will only back him, and doesn't give a flying fish what you say.

I'd block the guy though, Iv'e done that a lot in the last year.

Good thing you didn't go through what another eBay seller did, Tinman told me this one.

Tinman bought a super high end Revox off an ebay seller for dirt cheap. He was local to LA, so Tinman went to pick it up. Turns out the guy had sold the thing for $2K originally, and the buyer said the same thing, that it didn't work. Buyer files a dispute, eBay freezes the seller's money, buyer sends the machine back. Sure enough, it didn't work. Seller sells it to Tinman at a huge loss.

Tinman spends 2 full days repairing it. Seems that the original buyer only needed a couple of parts out of the machine, then the first buyer went into the machine, pulled out socketed chips and put them in backwards, and went to the point of changing transformer windings on the screw terminals. Go figure. In the end, apparently only one chip was blown due to it being put in backwards, but it takes all kinds out there.

Refund the money, relist, and hopefully it will sell for more. If you don't refund shipping, you'll get a negative. Mind you, you might get a negative anyway if the guy's an *******.

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2012 3:35 am Post subject:

OK here's one for you then.

I bought a SONY Hi8 VCR off a guy on eBay. It was just serviced, CLA'd. Came with the receipt from the service shop. I got it at my USA address. Tested it for 2 days, recorded some stuff, played it back. Then I took it home to Canada.........

I set it up plugged into my Pioneer DVD recorder to copy my Hi8 tapes. One day I push play on tape one and it goes for 2 seconds then shuts down. Great! Just outside the 2 week return guarantee. What to do? So I begged Mac to fix it (I'm not above grovelling when there's analog equipment hanging in the balance either).
Then I send it to Mac here on the forum. You know, in the USA. He gets it and - you guessed it - IT FREAKIN WORK PERFECTLY FOR 2 FREAKIN MONTHS! Mac watched all his old Hi8 tapes on it. So he asks me what I want him to do? I tell him to open it up at least and have a look for anything obvious. Nothing! It's just perfect.

So he ships it back to me. I get it to my USA adress. Pop in a tape. VIOLA! IT WORKS!

OK it was a glitch right? Maybe shipping it jarred it ~~loose~~ strait.

I take it home, back here to Canada. I pop in a tape. It plays for 2 seconds and shuts down.... Crying or Very sad

SOAB!

Mac and I figure it's something in the air up here. Rolling Eyes

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2012 3:59 am Post subject:

Stop putting your backbacon over the power supply vents.... Very Happy

ecrabb · Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2012 3:59 am Post subject:

If it works after shipping, maybe you should just take it to UPS and ship it to yourself, Jeremy! Wink

SC

Nashou66 · Joined: 12 Jan 2007 Posts: 16171 Location: West Seneca NY

Jeremy112 · Joined: 28 Sep 2006 Posts: 2649 Location: Fond du Lac, WI

Thanks for all the advice and neat stories guys. I guess I will bite the bullet and just give him his money back, he seems like one of those people that will get pissy if they don't get their way. Thats the last thing I need to deal with.

Before I relist the unit Im going to check out and see what would cause the issue he described, and see if theres is anything that can be done to keep it from misbehaving.

I suppose the good thing from all this is it does work still, the guy didnt rob parts from it, and it came back as it left, which is a rare occurence for UPS.

Thanks again, Smile

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2012 1:58 pm Post subject:

This is where eBay breaks down IMHO. You can list something AS IS, and while Phil and I have had our disagreements over this one, even something refurbished that's considered to be vintage electronics should be sold AS IS without a warranty, unless you're a dealer and offer a warranty. eBay has no problems refunding money even on something that's sold as defective. It's happened to me a couple of times selling NONWORKING laptops, sold clearly as is, missing parts. 'No, I didn't know the motherboard was defective, I never powered it up as it stated in the ad'. Still, I was out the $18 that I sold the stupid thing for on eBay.

Sh&T happens in transit as well, and I personally buy nothing techy on eBay, ever, without expecting it to need some work. THat's just me though.

macgyver655 · Joined: 22 Aug 2007 Posts: 8508