item caused damage

[morriscey1]

So I bought a PWM fan hub on ebay, Hooked it up per instructions on listing, and it fried my motherboard. 

What options do I have to 

A) have my motherboard replaced by the seller

B) prevent the seller from selling that product anymore

I'm more than a little upset that this hum killed my PC - and at the very least the seller shouldn't be allowed to sell something that causes damage when used according to instructions.

[femmefan1946]

Has it been less than 30 days since the hub was delivered?

Go to the Resolution Centre at the bottom of this page and open an Item Not As Described Dispute.

The seller will be required to send you Return Shipping.

If he doesn't, or when he gets it back, you will be refunded.

Has it been more than 30 days?

Go to the Paypal Resolution Centre under Tools at the top of your PP account page.

Same procedure except that you have 180 days from payment to file the Dispute.

And except that you have to pay to return the item to the seller for your refund.

This may help with b) because eBay eventually kicks sellers with many lost Disputes off the site.

As for a), unless the seller is an accredited dealer for the manufacturer, any online purchase will not be covered by the manufacturer's warranty.

This is not a problem only with eBay, but with any online purchase from a downstream seller.

Hooked it up per instructions on listing, and it fried my motherboard. 

20/20 Hindsight: you probably should have followed the manufacturer's instructions instead. Many manufacturer's make their instructions available on their own websites.

[esclyons]

wow, how badly did you really need that part if you had to wait for it to come from overseas.. no retailer would be responsible for in correct installation and collateral damage. at best you will get a refund for the part..

If i really needed that part, i would have went to my local best buy.. my opinion only..

[mcrlmn]

You could've bought a quality hub/splitter from a certified Canadian retailer for $20.

What is the brand and model? It must be pretty special to chance purchasing a Chinese knock-off over a couple of bucks.

It's pretty much plug and play, so how did you brick your mother board?

Fan hubs are typically powered directly by SATA cable to the power supply, not the motherboard.

Perhaps you just fried the capacitor in the hub.

You'll never get your board replaced, and unless the hub is a knock-off you're probably out of luck with burning the seller.

I'd follow femmefan's direction, and for future reference, heed her advice at the bottom of her post.