Advice on a sales return

T

Tricky01

Messages
1,328
Name
Simon
Edit My Images
Yes
I sold a Sigma 18-200 to a guy on a forum (not this one) for £80 inc RMSD. He got the lens fine, accepted delivery etc. etc. Then a week later he PMed to say he'd bought the wrong mount and needed Nikon. The ad had clearly said Sony, but as it's an easy mistake to make and I was in a good mood I offered to take it back and offer a refund of £10 less than paid (£70) to fund the special delivery I'd paid to get it to him. I also clearly stipulated that it needed to be returned special delivery.

Now I had sent it in a box, special delivery, and the lens was like this:
5042207115_26bbd9da0e_z.jpg



It came back just wrapped in - albeit a LOT - of bubble wrap and parcel paper. it was also posted recorded delivery, and inside it was like this:
5042827220_321df13c79_z.jpg


Part of the body has been dented just inside the filter thread. I know the lens cap either came off in transit or was packed loose and I suspect this was the object that caused the dent.

My issue is I'm a bit annoyed it hasn't come back as I requested special delivery and it isn't in the same state as when sent. That means I'll need to rephotograph it for sale and probs won't get the same price for it.

I've offered a refund of £10 less than the original refund (£60) or to return it to him (at his expense) for him to sell on - is that fair?

Would appreciate some advice!
 
If you haven't refunded him yet then I would just send the lens back to him (by the cheapest method) and tell him that as he's responsible for the damage the lens is his.
 
Best bet is to say to the guy that you wont be able to give him the refund back with it being returned in this state, he say pay for you to post it back for him to try sell on others no refund.

Unless you gave it to him already :thumbsdown:
 
IMHO I would send it back with no refund as the goods are damaged and tell him to sell it on (If he can)
 
Haven't done anything yet except PM him back with those two options.
 
as above. You wouldn't take a monitor back to PC World with a crack in the screen saying you bought the monitor with DVI and realised you only got VGA.
Send it back and have no further contact with the guy. When you do send it back, send it recorded though - that way if he turns and says oh I never got it back you can go oh my tracking number says otherwise
 
Personally, I'd send it back and ask him to refund your postage. The words Nikon & Sony don't look the same, do not have the same spelling and don't sound the same. Tell him he can make a claim via royal mail for a damaged item.
 
That looks like a pretty serious dent! Are you sure the lens cap did that?

It sounds harsh but I'd send it back to him/her and keep the money. A return is when you get back what you sent. You sent a pristine lens, and got back a damaged one.

Just a check, is the serial number the same? Not one of those buy it and return a different (damaged/faulty) item instead?

Chris
 
AS it was a private transaction I would suspect that you could just send it back as Jackwow says and keep the money, its down to him if he didn't read the advert properly. As the lens was damaged then he should at least have it back and pay for it to be repaired before returning it to you if you were willing to accept it.
Personally I wouldn't accept it back It is really up to the purchaser to ensure that goods purchased are exactly what they want, if in doubt should have asked appropriate questions before purchase. There may well be a case to return goods if it is not as described, but that doesn't apply in this case apparently



If he had bought from a company/retailer then there may be some sort of redress if the lens was returned as sent in the same condition, most decent companies would give a refund

Maybe worth remembering if selling anything via the net or any media is to clearly state that anything sold is non returnable.

Realspeed
 
Last edited:
chris321 said:
It sounds harsh but
Click to expand...

Think you've hit the nail on the head there - I really don't want to be "harsh", I kind of pride myself in being fair and don't like having anyone disliking me!

I think the general consensus is it's not harsh though, so think sending back to him recorded delivery is the way forward. cheers all (y)
 
Have just replied with:

I've taken some advice from some others and on their recommendation I'm not willing to accept it back, nor offer any refund. I was keen to be fair and try to come to a compromise but actually I really don't need to compromise in anyway:

It was mine and I sold it to you. You had it and I was effectively "buying" it back from you on the stipulation that it was in the same condition as when I'd last seen it and was sent special delivery. Neither of those terms were met.

I can either post it back in the bubble wrap via recorded delivery as you had sent to me or you can fund special delivery and boxed packaging to ensure no further damage.

Let me know how you wish to proceed and I hope you understand my stance on this.

Simon

Thanks again people, appreciate it.
 
Well worded. Civil, but making it clear you're not going to be messed around! I'm sure plenty of other members would have just told him to 'do one' :D

Let us know how it goes :)
 
Good for you, Its tough being "hard" as you are trying to be very fair, but at the end of the day a business transaction is just that. It would be different if selling to a friend, but to a complete stranger who may or may not be quite so honest is a different matter entirely. Definately send it back, keep the money and if he/she wants to take the matter further I don't think they will have much luck.

Realspeed
 
Last edited:
I would put a claim in through royal mail and tell them it was damaged in tranist , the insurance that you pay as part of the cost should cover it.
 
Why did he wait a week after delivery before he contacted you? If it was already damaged when he received it, surely he'd have said so the same day. Plus, it's highly unlikely he got the Sony/Nikon mounts mixed up.

You've been more than fair IMO.
 
janbokev said:
I would put a claim in through royal mail and tell them it was damaged in tranist , the insurance that you pay as part of the cost should cover it.
Click to expand...

There are a couple of issues with doing that...

1) Recorded Delivery only covers up to £41, so someone would be well out of pocket.

2) Compensation is dependant on the item having been adequately packed and from what the op describes the packaging fails meet the RM minimum standards ("Surround in a minimum of 50mm/5cm of cushion material and place in a rigid container")


I'd also be checking the serial number to ensure it was the same lens that was sent out in the first place......
 
chris321 said:
That looks like a pretty serious dent! Are you sure the lens cap did that?
Click to expand...

yep...I call bull****. He got the lens, dented it and then went oh....lets try get a refund.
Anyway of checking his camera model? i.e. if this is another forum where he may have posted pictures check the exif data of a pic he's posted (or flickr link with tags?) and see if he's got a Nikon or a Sony
 
Hi timmy - yeah, I went through all his posts to check before offering the original refund and he was a nikon owner. It is the same lens that I sent and I'm pretty confident it was the lens cap because of the angle it was at when I took the packaging off.

Have heard back from the guy - he clearly read and responded to my second message (the one I popped in italics above) prior to the original one explaining the situation and providing the pictures! His response was quite irate because the message above doesn't really explain the damage. Once he'd read the original though he calmed down and has quietly agreed to have the lens sent back to him recorded delivery.

Case closed. Thanks a lot for all the comments, only been on TP for a month or so and it's probably the mostly friendly forum I've ever been on. getting comfy? I'll be a forum regular in no time...
 
Chaz Photos said:
I dont know why but looking at the photos I cant but think is it the same lens? the lettering look different to me, check the ser numbers if i was you
Click to expand...

I was thinking the same thing. THe one he sent back had part of a hand attached to it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top