scottheisel Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Okay, so I sold a Red Sparowes record on eBay a few weeks ago. It was factory-sealed and brand new; it just had no place in my collection, so I decided to part with it. A guy buys it, I ship it promptly, it arrives, he leaves positive feedback, the end. Then this morning, I get this: I think I already gave you positive feedback, but I just got around to spinning the EP tonight. It is warped, and right at the lip, so the needle has problems landing on the disc properly, of course. The disc is useless to me. I reply: I'm sorry for that, but I had no way of knowing -- the item was factory-sealed when I sold it. Your best bet is to email the label that put it out, Sargent House, and ask for a replacement copy. He replies: That's a real crappy reply. I bought the record from you. Y-O-U. I might have to stab this til it breaks. You suck. My response: Unfortunately, there is nothing I can really do. As I said, the item was factory-sealed and I had no way of knowing it was warped, nor do I have a replacement copy I could send you. I'm not a store or a distributor; I'm just a guy. But again, I recommend contacting Sargent House, as I'm sure they'd be more than willing to replace the record (they're the ones who sold it to me in the first place): http://sargenthouse.tumblr.com/contacts His response: Hey guess what? I am "just a guy" too, and I have 4500 feedback as a seller. You have 900 feedbacks, so you are a seller, not just "a guy." Are you kidding me? As a seller, you take on the responsibility for what you accept money for. Period. I have refunded payment many times. It's a fact of life. Just a guy. Give me a break. Contact the record label. Yeah, that'll get a big response. Give me a break! Nothing you can REALLY do? A refund is what you do. Jeez, I guess that never occurred to you, did it? At this point, he opened a claim against me, as I was writing him the following: The item was described in the auction as being factory-sealed and brand new, and both of those things were true. The item was not damaged in transit, either, so there is no basis for a refund to be issued.This is a manufacturing defect that I had literally zero way of knowing about. When you end up with a products that has a manufacturing defect, whether it's a record or a refrigerator, you need to talk to the *manufacturer* in order to get it fixed or replaced. And again, just try to contact Sargent House, the label that released it, as I'm sure they will send you another one. I've bought records before direct from a label that came warped, and when I contacted them to tell them, they would send another one out, no questions asked. He then just sent me this message: You are a fool. when I open an item from Wal Mart or Best Buy, or anywhere else in the whole wide world, and it is damaged, no matter what the reason, I take it back where I bought it and I get a replacement or a refund, not to the manufacturer. What are you thinking? THAT is how the real world works, as opposed to the world you are trying to sell me. Wake up! Dead wrong there fella! And the reason you got a refund from the record company before was, as I said above, because you bought the record from them. I didn't buy the record from Sargent House, I bought it from YOU! Get it. You could have had it lying around in the sun for all Sargent House knows, so NO, they will not give me a refund. They would only give YOU a refund, but only if you bought it from them. See how the big world works now?? I didn't buy it from them, I bought it from you. Little old responsible seller YOU! Where do y'all stand on this? Am I fucked? Do I owe him a refund, even though there was no possible way I ever could've known this record was warped? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hickey Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Do yourself a favor and you contact the label yourself and see if they'll help this guy out. But if he already opened a claim, you may be fucked even if they do send a replacement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonbeams Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hickey Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 This guy sounds like a world class douche, by the way. I wouldn't be surprised if he posts here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brandon260 Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 This guy sounds like a cock. You really don't owe him anything. He should take your advice and contact the manufacturer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weepingwillow Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Factory sealed is factory sealed. I don't see you at fault on this at all. If the item was open and marked as used and you didn't mentioned it was warped that would be on you. But in this situation it's defective record from the factory end. Not something that you could have known about. You proposed the most logical solution (contact Sgt House). If the buyer even took two minutes to contact them you might not have to go through all the eBay drama. Some people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papermonsters Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 This dude is a dick, Scott. I'd probably just get my item back just so I wouldn't have to deal with this dude anymore. Suck, man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottheisel Posted March 26, 2012 Author Share Posted March 26, 2012 Do yourself a favor and you contact the label yourself and see if they'll help this guy out. But if he already opened a claim, you may be fucked even if they do send a replacement. And therein lies the rub: I don't exactly get along all that well with the woman who runs Sargent House. (It's part of the reason I sold this, as well as a bunch of other SH records, on eBay the other week—they just left bad tastes in my mouth.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collectivemike Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 In my experience on eBay the buyer always wins, regardless of the situation. Sucks but it's true Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonbeams Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Agree with Hickey. In any place in your description, did you state "I cannot be held responsible for condition of item because it is still sealed" ? If not, I would normally offer a refund, however, the guy was kind of a dick in his opening email. I like it when sellers open their sealed records to check condition before selling the item. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattisr1984 Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 my feeling on these types of situations is we all know how theyre going to end - paypal will always side with the buyer if they get involved. youre better off at least getting the record back, taking a look at it for yourself plus avoiding the negative feedback which you are bound to receive at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flood Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 he left positive feedback, id lean on that.. and be like you obviously got it in good working order or you wouldnt have left positive feedback. altho paypal sucks and he'd probably just get his money back regardless of what you say, and you wont get the record back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ducksworth Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 As a seller myself, I would have offered a partial refund. This scenario is way past that though. Its in the devil's hands now. And I'm extremely confused with collectivemike saying the seller always wins. eBay is a buyer's paradise. The seller has little to no rights or options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jtk Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 I would stop emailing the guy, first of all. Your first response telling him to contact the label was enough. If there's a claim against you on the item now, wait for it to be decided. You might want to limber up though, because I think you're gonna get fucked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collectivemike Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 As a seller myself, I would have offered a partial refund. This scenario is way past that though. Its in the devil's hands now.And I'm extremely confused with collectivemike saying the seller always wins. eBay is a buyer's paradise. The seller has little to no rights or options. Haha woops, I meant buyer. My brain is fried today Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerseydave77 Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 I'm with Flood here. Dude is a dick. Tell eBay that it was sealed and new and that for all you know this ass has a record player next to a window where he left the record to take on a massive amount of sun one afternoon causing the warp. He left positive feedback. I am betting you win this one if you push forth that it was new and you have no idea what he did with it in the intervening weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhulud Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Damn...if the dude hadn't been such an asshole throughout the whole communication process, then maybe I would have considered a refund as long as he sent the record back. But fuck him now if he's behaving like that. I guess he missed the memo going over polite and professional always works better than being a complete douchebag when emailing and communicating with people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ducksworth Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 For all the people saying the buyer was a dick, I don't think Scott's first reply was the best either. Its not the record label's responsibility. Scott should have taken care of this issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
One Hundred Fifty-Two Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 You have handled it well so far scott. Hope it works out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhulud Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 For all the people saying the buyer was a dick, I don't think Scott's first reply was the best either. Its not the record label's responsibility. Scott should have taken care of this issue. How would you have handled it then? (I'm not looking to start shit here where someone will get their pantied in a wad...I am legitimately curious as to how it should have been handled differently then...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yocaseycasey Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 As a seller myself, I would have offered a partial refund. This scenario is way past that though. Its in the devil's hands now.And I'm extremely confused with collectivemike saying the seller always wins. eBay is a buyer's paradise. The seller has little to no rights or options. Shut up ducksworth. Go sell some Jack White tickets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattalica17 Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 For all the people saying the buyer was a dick, I don't think Scott's first reply was the best either. Its not the record label's responsibility. Scott should have taken care of this issue. why they put it out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerseydave77 Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Even if Scott was considering a refund I think the first reply was reasonable as a starting point. The buyer jumped to "You Suck" awful fast and went downhill from there. I would have moved into screw-you mode at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ducksworth Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 How would you have handled it then? (I'm not looking to start shit here where someone will get their pantied in a wad...I am legitimately curious as to how it should have been handled differently then...) Partial refund or return. The buyer didn't start out as a dick. His first message was fine. Why would someone who buys something on eBay be responsible if the product they received is defective? Scott's attitude in his first reply is "oh well. not my problem." But it is his problem. He sold something & the buyer isn't happy. Telling the buyer to have Sargent House deal with it isn't necessarily going to fix the problem. Can I return any warped/scratched LPs to labels whenever I feel like it? This buyer doesn't have a receipt from purchasing the LP in a store. He purchased someone's personal copy from eBay. What record is it? When was this pressed? How long has Scott had it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motorbike Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 i would have offered him a full refund but he would need to returm the record first. i do this with my auctions because i would rather have the item shipped back to me at no cost than have paypal fuck me over and leave me with nothing. seeing as he left feedback i would blame him for the problem since he was such a dick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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