New kind of buyer fraud - a case of laptop

[ezcalc]

I  correctly gave the description of the item, a laptop, in the main section, but the ebay software somehow described the laptop incorrectly as 16 inch instead of 14 inch.

The buyer claimed that he was misled by the detail that was automatically generated by the ebay.

So I agreed to take the return, although his claim was frivolous on its face.

Surely enough, as I suspected the buyer asked for a partial refund for the reason of a screw fell off from the laptop. Wait, the buyer requested the return for wrong screen size, but wanted a partial refund for a screw fallen off?

Clearly the buyer was playing a dishonest and stupid game.

I refused the partial refund offer as a matter of principle.

Today I received the laptop back only to find out that the screw hole was clearly damaged.

My serious concern at this point is: did the dishonest buyer open up the laptop to steal or replace some parts? I do not know, but this could be an issue for any seller if the ebay chooses to ignore this obvious fraud. In other words, request to return for a missing screw could be a new kind of buyer fraud.

Note: needless to say, the damage did not exist at the time of packaging,  since that I could not lift the laptop up without dropping the screw.

In response to the obvious fact, the dishonest buyer gave his stupid guess such that the screw hole damage might have been caused by the rough treatment during shipping.

[momcqueen]

Is it your laptop? Serial number or other distinguishing feature?

There are two separate and distinct issues at play here. One being a serious catalogue misalignment, the other being a damaged return.

[reallynicestamps]

but the ebay software somehow described the laptop incorrectly as 16 inch instead of 14 inch....So I agreed to take the return, although his claim was frivolous on its face.

Well, no.

He thought he was getting a 16" laptop.

He actually got a 14" laptop.

This is a Not As Described dispute.

It doesn't matter who made the mistake, what you sent was NOT what was in the Description.

Today I received the laptop back only to find out that the screw hole was clearly damaged.

You missed the error in your Description, is it possible that you missed the problem with a screw?

the buyer asked for a partial refund

This is the part where I tend to think the buyer was being sketchey.

If he didn't want a 14" laptop, why did he care about a screw ? He would be returning the unwanted machines for a refund anyway.

[ezcalc]

Please read my post carefully before you give your input. First, I said that I agreed to take the return. Also I said that I accurately described the laptop as 14 inch in the listing only to create a discrepancy in the listing. Again, I could not miss the screw part unless I put my finger on the screw hole to stop the screw from falling off. The buyer messed up the screw hole. What did he do to my laptop to create a damaged screw hole? That's my question. The returned laptop was not reset to the original condition and was dirty with finger prints all over, but I am not making an issue out of that.

[momcqueen]

You missed my post. Are you certain this laptop returned is the one you sent? There are two separate issues being described by your account of the situation.

(Also, getting persnickety won’t help you gain advice.)

[ezcalc]

This is not my first post. I still recall fondly of those ebay pundits out there who took the side of the seller who sold me a fake software.  Like the previous case, I am here to give others including ebay a heads up about a type of buyer fraud. 

The buyer returned the same laptop, perhaps except the power cord. Initially, I was not able to charge the laptop, which was resolved with other power cord I had.

BTW, I just noticed another screw missing. The laptop was rarely used and looks new with the protective plastic sticker as in a brand new laptop  I also realized that the laptop on battery does not seem to run nearly as long as it used to. It's entirely possible that the buyer replaced the ssd and others. So I guess the question boils down to why the buyer messed with the screws?

[hlmacdon]

With the  corporate changes out of the US, the only way you can protect yourself as a seller is to add free returns. This allows you to charge a restocking fee to account for possible return fraud such as this. Personally I would refuse to sell any item in a high fraud category on ebay these days given the recent changes which place a buyer in the right 100% of the time. 

[momcqueen]

I never said it was your first post. What I said is that if you're coming here for free advice from other users, getting irate at those who routinely dish out that advice won't get you where you need to be. 

Don't laptops have serial numbers somewhere? Where is yours?

[esclyons]

yes, screws don't just fall out of laptops,  i hope you adjusted the refund as it was missing the cord and obviously messed with. As far as the battery not lasting, they do get less charge holding over time, and you did say the laptop didn't get used often.  Be sure to add the buyer to your blocked buyer list.