What Do You Think Of This?


I sold a Magnum Dynalab MD100 tuner here on Saturday.  I used it daily for almost 3 years and right up to the day I shipped it to its new owner.  There was never a problem with it, it always worked perfectly.  The gentleman received the tuner yesterday and complained to me that the tuner is broken.  He said that when the tuner is off, the meters still work.  I pointed out to him that it is the way the tuner is designed.  I have had 3 different Magnum Dynalab tuners and all 3 have been that way.  He also said the signal strength meter moves wildly and that he is getting a loud hiss.  I explained to him that it sounds like poor reception.

He wants his money back and I told him I would cheerfully refund him the money via PayPal once I receive the tuner back.  I stated I would refund him the 400.00 that he paid.  He then complained he wanted his return shipping back because I sent him a "broken" tuner and that I stated in my ad that it worked flawlessly (which it did).   I sent him another email which he has yet to respond to that I will cover his return shipping, and that as soon as I get the tuner back I will refund him the 400.00 plus the return shipping.

I am quite annoyed because He lowballed me down to 400 as I was asking 475.00 and this tuner went for 1970.00 new.  I also ate the PayPal fees plus had to purchase a shipping carton as well.  I am positive the tuner is fine and that he just has poor reception.  People here need to realize that we who are selling are not a store, this isn't try and return if you don't like or if the problem is bad reception.

At any rate, I am just going to refund him everything as I have flawless feedback and that means more to me than the money.  Whats your take on this?

128x128stereo5

@yogiboy

I sold the tuner because I bought a McIntosh tuner to match the rest of my McIntosh gear. Tuners are quite a hard sell so I figured I would practically give it away to sell quickly which it did on the first day.  He said he has the Magnum Dynalab ST-2 antenna which is the same that I used

You know that is a tuff one, we all have had similar experiences and probably from both perspectives. Bottom line if the guy had good feedback, active buyer and seller with a track record you are really at his mercy, I know have to take one for the team every now and then.
He is a recent Audiogoner with only a 6 for feedback, with 2 purchases.  This is the first time for me with 118 transactions under my belt.
I think he's being unreasonable and you're being more than generous, considering the relative Audiogon longevity of you both. He's also accusing you of dishonesty without offering any evidence. I would refund him the money when you get the tuner back if it does exhibit those symptoms, but not the return shipping.

+1 simao.  However, he probably has you over a barrel having used paypal.  As far as I can tell, paypal usually sides with the buyer in these types of disputes.  One option would be to suggest that you two file an Audiogon dispute, which is more likely to result in a similar result to what simao suggested.  As far as I can tell, many/most on-line businesses require buyer to pay for return shipping.  BTW, ST-2 antenna is directional if placed horizontally.  Perhaps that is part of his problem.