Selling TV circuit boards

[miklamot]

I am a business owner. I repair electronics, mostly TVs. From time to time, I sell circuit boards for extra income and to reduce inventory overstock. I sold a board to some guy in California. He opened a return request saying the board doesn't work and that it doesn't match the picture on my listing. 

I never stated that the pic was of the exact same board. All of the part numbers match with my listing. I fee that this guy has no background or training in electronics, and is just an ordinary Joe who wants a DIY fix. He doesn't understand how these TV circuits work, and was probably expecting to just plug in the board and his tv should work. If he misdiagnosed the problem and blew up the board I sold him, how is it fair for me to have to refund him for his own stupidity and inexperience. If he ships the board back to me and it is damaged, how does eBay handle this. They always take the buyers side. In this situation I would be very angry if they forced me to refund him for damage he caused. I though I covered my butt in my listing. 

Could someone take a look at my listing below and let me know if there is a better way to cover my butt so I don't have this happen again.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/272164824104?ssPageName=STRK:MESOX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1561.l2649

[pierrelebel]

"Could someone take a look at my listing below and let me know if there is a better way to cover my butt so I don't have this happen again."

That is easy.

Make sure the image you provide in your listing matches the product you sell - exactly.

Show the exact product offered for sale.

[miklamot]

The only difference is the stamped letters on the heat sink. They are slightly different, but there is no difference in the operation or circuitry. 

[xeposter]

Wait...so the board in the photos was not the same as the one you sold?

Alex

[miklamot]

everything is exactly the same but the letters on the heat sink. It says DFG on the pic I used, but the one I sold I think it says DHG. Its just a board revision code, but everything else on the board looks exactly the same.

[xeposter]

Well, my only advice is to always use photos of the exact item you are selling unless it is a brand-new item, then you can use a stock photo.

Alex

[miklamot]

Thanks, will do that. Luckily all the other boards I have have the same code.

[miklamot]

So there is still the issue of any damage the buyer may have done if he misdiagnosed? I tested the board thoroughly before shipping and it worked fine. I don't want to be stuck refunding this person if they damaged the board. Do I have to refund the buyer if he damaged it? I don't have an issue with the return for item not matching pic, but I WILL NOT refund him if he damaged the board.

[zee-chan-jpn-books]

"I never stated that the pic was of the exact same board."

Yeah unfortunately because of this it could become an "item not as described" case...

[femmefan1946]

I don't want to be stuck refunding this person if they damaged the board.

You can't always get what you want.

At best you can minimize the costs.

Do I have to refund the buyer if he damaged it?

Yes, if he opens an Item Not As Described, he would win because of the photo. And you would be paying for the return shipping from California with Confirmation of Delivery.

Yes, if he opens Request for Refund (Buyer Remorse) claim. But you won't have to pay return shipping.

So let's just make this as cheap as possible.

Politely tell him that you are sorry the board doesn't meet his needs and then... sorry about this... refund him.

You might only refund the price of the board, but frankly, you may as well refund his entire payment.

Again. Sorry.

You seem fairly sure the buyer messed up the board and it is now unusable. So you don't want to pay to get back junk.

You're in business. This is a transaction that went badly. Not your fault, we understand.

But the costs are business expenses and tax deductible.

And put the twit on your Blocked Buyer List. You don't want to deal with him again.

[miklamot]

I told the buyer I will refund him once I get the board back, but he is demanding a refund right away. He also wants me to send him a ship slip, no idea what a ship slip is? I know I don't have to pay him until he ships the item, but this guy is being a jerk. 

If he threatens me about refunding him now, before the board is shipped back to me, I will be reporting him to eBay.

[pierrelebel]

"no idea what a ship slip is? "

This is postage within the USA.  Since you are in Canada, you should advise the buyer that this option is not available.  Period.

"I know I don't have to pay him until he ships the item'

Correct.  Inform him to follow eBay's policy.  Return the item and you will refund upon safe return.

"but this guy is being a jerk.  "

It is not necessary to adapt his attitude.  Remain polite and cordial - like all Canadians!

[xeposter]

"Ship slip" might mean "Shipping label." You may have to send your buyer a shipping label before they can return the item.

Alex

[pierrelebel]

"You may have to send your buyer a shipping label before they can return the item"

Alex - the seller is in Canada (using Canada Post) and the buyer in the USA (using USPS)

How can a Canadian seller easily provide an American buyer with such USPS label?

[miklamot]

OK I would like to know if there is a way to cover my butt with the listings for circuit boards. I was thinking of maybe putting a "VOID" stickers on the connectors and put in my listing that the buyer should be a qualified TV technician, or have a qualified technician do the install. I don't want ordinary Joes doing DIY repairs, they are the ones who will be a headache for me. 

Any ideas on what I can do to prevent having returns because the buyer damaged the board because they don't know what they are doing?

[pjcdn2005]

If someone wants to hire a tech to do the work, they will probably get the tech to bring the supplies too...I can't see them buying the product on eBay and then calling a tech.  I know that what you describe is a problem for sellers in some categories but other than giving the buyer specific instructions on how to install something, I don't know what else you can do to prevent situations like that. The eBay MBG is going to trump any disclaimers that you make on a listing.

[ricarmic]

What I do when I list an item where I have multiples is I include wording in the description in large bold coloured letters... something like "All of the lots have the same stamps in them, however the cancels etc will vary".  

Generally one cannot expect a very high readership of the description, however if the buyer gets it and has a problem they do seem to then read the description. Sometimes I think that avoids a problem, sometimes not, see below. Inserting similar wording that "the board configuration is the same but serial numbers etc will vary" may work for your situation.

Note though that when one sells enough stuff one will encounter knobs. I don't know what the ratio of knobs/1,000 is in your category, but when I encounter them in my world, my goal is to minimize the cost, impact and time it takes to resolve the situation. I don't argue with them, I just accept that they are "right" and try to resolve with minimal cost, impact and my time, blocking them of course at the right time.

Generally because of this, I don't normally change my listing practices until I have repeat problems with the same wording/listing style from different buyers because you can never please everyone....

[maximus7001]

"OK I would like to know if there is a way to cover my butt with the listings for circuit boards. I was thinking of maybe putting a "VOID" stickers on the connectors and put in my listing that the buyer should be a qualified TV technician, or have a qualified technician do the install. I don't want ordinary Joes doing DIY repairs, they are the ones who will be a headache for me. 

Any ideas on what I can do to prevent having returns because the buyer damaged the board because they don't know what they are doing?"

TV boards are a high risk category as you have found out. There is no fix for stupid, therefore you will always have problems like this, just deal with it. Is it the $50 board you sold? If so you may just want to refund with no return and move on. Is it really worth the risk to pay $36.99 US to get the item back to find out he wrecked it and you have no recourse? (he is going to be stupid and send it the most expensive and/or by a courier) (if he sends by courier the courier is going to hold it hostage for another $30+)

This whole scenario seems to have upset you. Don't take things like this personally, it is a fact of business. Like the one time we had an INR a few years ago for a $70 cassette tape. I lost sleep over that one but never should have as it was self inflicted. Also never should have sent that outside of Canada/USA because tracking at the time was $75 to Norway.

Always use actual pictures and lots of them. You have 12 for free with each listing.

[maximus7001]

Just noticed the text size in your descriptions. You should be using a larger font. Have you looked at one of your auctions on a mobile? The words are really really tiny. Even on here on the forum we usually bump the font size up a bit so everyone has a better time reading our posts.

[xeposter]

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@maximus7001 wrote:

Just noticed the text size in your descriptions. You should be using a larger font. Have you looked at one of your auctions on a mobile? The words are really really tiny. Even on here on the forum we usually bump the font size up a bit so everyone has a better time reading our posts.

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You can make fonts bigger by holding down the "ctrl" button and push your mouse scroller thingy up. On mobile, you can take your fingers and make it bigger too. Of course, not everyone knows how to do these things, but it does help for super small font sizes.

Alex