View Full Version : question about options, RE: an already broken headunit i bought on ebay
ryan roopnarine
11-10-2006, 03:25 PM
about a month ago, i purchased a blaupunkt mp3/cd player to replace the stock headunit in my car. it was advertised as "new in box" and from its appearance, i didn't doubt it. the outside of the box wasn't sealed in cellophane, but had a nylon bundling strap around it (a strap like would be used to bundle a newspaper). the only odd thing i noticed was that there appeared to be a penciled B on the heatsink of the unit. long story short, i went to install the unit this morning, and found that it only the radio worked. when a cd is inserted, the unit never gets to the point where it displays track numbers (or directory listings for mp3 discs). blaupunkt's warranty only applies to the original purchaser, and for only one year (would likely be about to expire). i've never had a dispute on ebay before, so i don't know how to proceed. what recourse do i have here?
im thinking that i should:
1. write the seller, politely telling him that if he is unable to provide me with warranty service, that i would expect my money back (with his unit returned)
if that didn't work,
then
2. tell paypal that the unit is defective and that i need my funds back
if that didn't work, and i had to go to bank of america and have them file a disputed charge on my visa, would it screw up my ability to use my paypal account forever?
the only acceptable outcome for me here is to get at least the unit cost back, shipping i'm willing to eat (somewhat). i've already given the guy a positive feedback, he hasn't issued feedback for me yet. also, its been slightly over a month since i bought the item. have any of my windows of opportunity closed yet?
i guess i'm just asking what others would do in this situation. thanks.
Blitzkrieg Bob
11-10-2006, 03:49 PM
and I would e mail them when something goes wrong.
They may be able to send another unit or at least refund the bid price.
I been lucky and have not had to get into it with anyone, most of my bad experiances were cheap enough to say "aahh well that's ebay for ya!" and forget about it.
bigtisas
11-10-2006, 04:37 PM
Almost talk to the seller first before filing a claim. If they have good feedbacks, they wlll replace/refund your money. If they don't reply, file a dispute with paypal (assume you used paypal). Paypal will withhold the money from the seller until the dispute is resolved.
Email him. Give him 3 days. If no response, go with PayPal. They almost ALWAYS will have your back... BUT!
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE SHOULD YOU FILE THAT THE ITEM IS DEFECTIVE OR NOT AS DESCRIBED! DO NOT DO THAT!
If you do this, PayPal will do NOTHING for you. So again, work with the seller and see if they will do anything (usually not). Then file to PayPal for NON-DELIVERY OF GOODS. You have to trust me on this one. If you do anything else to claim, they won't give a rats ass. Finally, if PayPal and the seller DOES manage to get you, file a chargeback with your credit card company BUT expect your PayPal account to go negative... so basically remove all your personal info from that account and consider it written off.
Oh, if the item is under $175, file with eBay protection first.
Qube's method works! Dont ever say it was defective or not as described. They usually blame you as the cause. Do exactly what Qube said.
Usually the seller (if they have more than one) will ship you a new one.
attack eagle
11-10-2006, 07:53 PM
B meaning B-stock, meaning it had already been sent back as a warrantee claim and repair item.
Contact the seller first... and shoot, to be honest, I wouldn't dick around with paypal's warrantee, I'd go straight to chargeback on the CC and say to hell with paypal. It's not like you can't setup a second paypal account in 5 minutes. My wife (not very computer literate) did it to create her own (with my cc info) when she couldn't remember my password.
PAypal doesn't have your back... they make their money off the SELLER of the item, just like Ebay does.
ryan roopnarine
11-10-2006, 09:23 PM
B meaning B-stock, meaning it had already been sent back as a warrantee claim and repair item.
Contact the seller first... and shoot, to be honest, I wouldn't dick around with paypal's warrantee, I'd go straight to chargeback on the CC and say to hell with paypal. It's not like you can't setup a second paypal account in 5 minutes. My wife (not very computer literate) did it to create her own (with my cc info) when she couldn't remember my password.
PAypal doesn't have your back... they make their money off the SELLER of the item, just like Ebay does.
ahhhh, that's what i thought
they had these computer sales in orlando during the late 90s, early 2000s, where they had boxes of potentially broke/definitely broke computer parts. i got very good at determining what labels in spanish meant. the second i opened the thing and saw the B written on the thing, i knew it meant trouble, but i was hoping for the best. i don't see why the hell they would sell this model as a refurb unit as 1)the case is way too fresh to be refurb.
2) crutchfield got a hold of a big quanitity of this new units of this model and was selling them for 99$ plus shipping, which was real close to the price of this one. oh well, time to write a plausibly deniable email to the seller....
ryan roopnarine
11-10-2006, 10:20 PM
uhhhhh, guys, i f'd up.
it seems that i typed "item as described" in my feedback for some reason. any suggestions?
gmannino
11-10-2006, 10:25 PM
Never buy car electronics from Ebay. I've had dozens of customers buy stuff from ebay and 80 percent of them have to buy new equipment cause their ebay stuff doesnt work perfectly. Always buy from Ebay stores so that you can return it if need be or just buy it locally.
ryan roopnarine
11-10-2006, 10:36 PM
hello.
previously, i had won an auction of yours for this item
.......
unfortunately, the item i was sent is incapable of any kind of cd or mp3 playback. i was hoping to resolve this in as reasonable, and expedient manner as possible. please reply (ebay messaging service) as soon as you possibly can. thank you.
Sent just now. hopefully non-comittal (sp) enough to get the job done.
uhhhhh, guys, i f'd up.
it seems that i typed "item as described" in my feedback for some reason. any suggestions?
Don't worry. It really has no bearing on any argument or claim you make. Don't ask how I know.
brick8
11-11-2006, 12:12 AM
Try overstock.com. I just picked up a really nice jvc mp3/cd for my 525it for about $70. I was nervous about it, because I never did business with them before. Shipping was $1. I just installed it tonight and it works great.
ryan roopnarine
11-14-2006, 06:44 PM
well, it turns out that 45 days has passed since i purchased the unit, so i got the automatic "dispute closed" message/email. so, off to bank of america vee-saa card services I went. I contacted the seller/paypall'er 96 hours ago, to no avail.
last time i checked, ebay/paypal<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Bank of America (or at least a couple of <<<'s). hopefully, they can help me out (for once in our relationship) and sexually assault someone on my behalf.
duby55
11-14-2006, 10:54 PM
I was ripped on ebay for a replacement radio, the seller never shipped it. I gave the guy 3 weeks and was promised a refund and that never happened. That was my first and forever only ebay transaction. Neither ebay or pay pal would do anything to resolve the dispute. The seller was Fplaner, and had a 99% score. He seemed to fall off the earth.
bigtisas
11-15-2006, 01:59 AM
Just bought a JVC HU from ebay. The seller has over 1000 positive feedbacks. The HU seems new. I've not installed it yet. May be I'll do it this weekend. It will be my first car stereo install.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.3 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.