*
Warning, may be a bit of reading here*
(First post too, hello)
Ok I sold a left handed Samick guitar to a guy over here in the UK. I am stationed in England (USAF)
and I often sell to Brits because the shipping is faster than shipping items to stateside customers (APO mail is slow!)
The problem. The buyer bought the guitar from me by outbidding the highest bidder. He won the guitar for 69GBP and 25GBP to ship via Parcel Force 48 w/insurance. He paid fast. I listed the guitar as "Used" and "Sold as seen in pics". Under the "Return Policy" tab I have it set to "No returns". In the "Seller's Payment Instructions" tab I have this listed "Item will be shipped within 3 business days from receipt of payment. Paypal only, payment is to be expected within 3 business days. All sales are final, no warranty is expressed or implied. Questions? Please ask!"
In the listing I wrote "Hi everyone! Up for sale in this listing is a 1990 Samick Super Strat. It is in nice shape for being 21 years old. Recently setup with fresh Fender Super Bullet strings (10-46) Has some small chips in the finish and a minor ding here and there. Nothing structural is wrong with this guitar. It is only cosmetic.....hence the low price."
Then I go on to say "Alder body, 25.5" scale with a 24 fret neck. It has a standard 6 screw tremolo (no arm included), S/S/S pup configuration, and sealed tuners. For a lefty that is into 24 fret necks but has wanted a Strat this is the perfect compromise. Strat tone with 24 frets! I bought this guitar for blues and to experiment with the S/S/S layout.....but I'm a metal guy at heart, hence the sale. Guitar is priced LOW for quick sale. Sold as seen in pics."
So, the guy wins the auction on August 29th then I get an email from him about two days later saying there is an issue with the electronics. Apparently only the neck pup is working on it. I wrote him back and explained that the electronics weren't tested and that they may have had an issue, it sat in my closet untouched for a few months. That is the reason it was sold as "used" and "Sold as seen". I only listed what I DID know about the guitar.
So, he flips out and then opens up a dispute through eBay. He opened the dispute in the "Item does not match description" category. Then listed the item as "broken".
So, in order to make it right I quickly ordered replacement electronics for it. I paid out of pocket for: 3 single coil pups, 3 pots, 3 knobs, 5 way switch and all wiring associated. It was all purchased from a guitar salvage seller on eBay....all pulled from a 100% working Stratocaster. When I wrote the seller to tell him I have ordered replacement parts for him he didn't respond. So, I decided to just offer him the refund instead. I offered to issue him "Partial Refund" now through Paypal, then the remainder when I get the item back in the same condition as I sent it out.
He refused the offer and went on to say he wants a full refund NOW as well as for me to cover his return postage.
What? I declined his terms and tried to explain to him that it wasn't acceptable, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the money AND the guitar if I did that. He went on to call me "Spurious"....which I looked it up and it means "⊗⊗⊗⊗". Nice. Very friendly indeed.
So, I have given him a number of options.
1. I offered to give him partial refund NOW and send him the replacement electronics, and fresh strings (they'll need replaced if it is going to get rewired). And he is to find his own way of repairing the electronics using the partial refund.
2. I offered to install the electronics/strings free of charge as well as cover the cost of shipping the repaired guitar BACK to him. All he has to do is cover his own costs of sending the guitar back to me.
3. I offered to give him a full refund AFTER I get the guitar back in my hands.
He has so far refused all of these options. My feedback is 100% and has been since I joined in 2006. I've got nearly 550 perfect transactions under my belt. I don't see any reason for this guy to think I'd scam him, but from the way he is clawing at getting a full refund BEFORE he sends the guitar back to me....well that is making me question his character.
He keeps saying if he accepts partial refund then eBay won't protect him and the case will be closed. He keeps saying eBay will protect him if I send him a refund NOW and it will be incentive for him to send me back the guitar.
What I'm confused about is first of all why, after me being as reasonable as possible in the situation (considering I'm going way out of my way to make the problem with the guitar disappear) does he keep refusing anything I offer him. It isn't like I'm being completely unreasonable.
And second, if I issue him a full refund prior to getting my item back....who protects ME? I could still get a negative feedback rating from this guy even if I did the full refund!
Can anyone give me some good advice? I don't understand this guys problem.....he's complaining about a guitar that was sold "as is" not working to his satisfaction and wants to create endless drama for me. What part of "No Warranty", "No Returns", "Sold as seen" and it being over 20 years old didn't he understand?
He is acting as if I purposefully sent him a broken guitar. I only sold a guitar that I had no use for....it had been sitting in my closet collecting dust! He got it for CHEAP!