Advice on how to handle a bad sell on audiogon?

[Meeks32]

Hey guys need some advice. I just sold a Toshiba hd-xa2 HD dvd player on audiogon last week to a guy who lives across the country. I had a a2 & xa2 player & decided I didnt need the xa2 so I sold it. I had used it only a few times & it worked flawless even on the day that I packed it up in its original box with original packing foam. Unit worked perfectly & was well packaged & was delivered to him last tuesday. I just got a email today saying that the unit was "locked" in the welcome menu & he wanted his money back. I've seen this actually before with a a2 that I bought from circuit city & I had to return it for another one. Now should I refund money to him & take back the "broken" item when I tested it the day it shipped out to guarantee that it was working? I have no problem refunding money & I dont want to be one of those people who cheat another but its anoying when this happens when you made sure that the thing you sold was working & packed very well.

[Mike Reeter]

Poop happens,I shipped an A'gon buyer a perfect CDP...When he set it up,the tray would not work properly...the pick-up was not coming up.

I paid for a new transport that he installed himself,and all was fine...he even offered to pay for half the cost,but I declined.

Have the guy ship the unit back,and refund his money...at least that what I would do.

It sucks,I know...but put yourself in his shoes...would you expect anything less?

[Serendipity]

Poop happens,I shipped an A'gon buyer a perfect CDP...When he set it up,the tray would not work properly...the pick-up was not coming up.

I paid for a new transport that he installed himself,and all was fine...he even offered to pay for half the cost,but I declined.

Have the guy ship the unit back,and refund his money...at least that what I would do.

It sucks,I know...but put yourself in his shoes...would you expect anything less?

I'd agree with that, since the same thing happened to me as a buyer in a deal on the 'gon. Put yourself in his position, like what happened here:

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=61305

[SKsolutions]

I think it's feedback dependent. If he has a moderate amount of decent feedback, I'd do the right thing without question. If he's a flake that just signed up last week, I'd want some references or assurances. Giving an eBay ID means nothing unless you get an email from his account. I always have a healthy skepticism when dealing on any platform where you don't know the other party's integrity. It's like getting carded. . . if you have the credentials, you don't mind showing them. Here is a bit different. My first purchase here was sent before I even before he received the check, and I've let that good experience govern future transactions that I've had here.

[Kex]

Can you find out what the "factory reset" procedure is, or something similar? Perhaps you could download the manual and possibly even try out the procedure on your remaining unit (it might be fairly similar) and then ask him to try it out, even if you agree to refund the price of the returned unit in case the reset/troubleshoot fails to resolve the issue. He should be liable for return shipping IMO, so it is in his interest to get the unit working.

It should be fairly obvious from his attitude if he is legitimate or not.

[Meeks32]

Yea, he said he called Toshiba & they said it would cost $200 to fix. The thing is when you deal with stuff like this is that the person could have had a unit that is the exact same & it went bad and instead of paying to have it fixed, they could buy another working one & return the broken one. I've heard a story like that before & that kinda worries me. Also dont know why it took 5 days after he got it to email me.

[BaggedLancer]

Talk with Appadv

[WilliamM2]

Yea, he said he called Toshiba & they said it would cost $200 to fix. The thing is when you deal with stuff like this is that the person could have had a unit that is the exact same & it went bad and instead of paying to have it fixed, they could buy another working one & return the broken one. I've heard a story like that before & that kinda worries me. Also dont know why it took 5 days after he got it to email me.

Didn't you write the serial # down? I usually take a pic of it.

You don't refund his money until you get the item back, and if it's not the same one, no refund.

[shack]

Also, he should pay shipping back to you. That is SOP with most any shipped transaction. When you get it back then give him a refund.

[RuSsMaN]

When / if you do get it back, make sure it was the actual unit you sent.