When does seller's responsibility end?

Once an item is received undamaged, the recipient should be given a reasonable length of time, i.e., 3-4 days to ensure proper functioning. He should then submit feedback indicating his satisfaction with the transaction, at which point the seller should no longer be responsible. We are buying and selling used equipment at a substantial discount over new prices. Now, many of us of us go well beyond this standard, but it should never be expected that we do so.
I attempt to do everything possible to accurately represent the equipment I am selling both in terms of condition but also in making sure the equipment will meet their needs and expectations. I think that avoids a lot of unhappy buyers and buyers remorse type situations.

+1 Brownsfan

I had a fellow email me about a month after he received the pair of speakers I sold him asking what was going to be done about the damaged speakers. I asked him why he waited so long to say anything. I also told him that FedEx would probably tell him that he should have been a little quicker to say something also. How are we supposed to know whether the damages were made during transit or through poor handling when he was moving them yesterday? Just a lack of common sense.

I recently purchased a preamp which I immediately hooked up to put through the functions, and found it to be faulty. I emailed the seller who gave me the option of a full refund, or to send it to the manufacturer to be repaired, with him covering shipping both ways, and the repair cost. I opted for the latter and am anxiously awaiting its return.
A most excellent seller.
I feel a week would suffice to examine a piece of equipment, unless the buyer was going to be out of town and let me know.

I agree with most of the replies here, though this subject has been brought up before. If I recall correctly, the previous thread sided mostly with the buyer. Many said they thought at least a couple of weeks was approriate, since many are busy and it takes them time to try out the new toys.

I don't really agree with that, I feel the buyer has to put some effort into the transaction as well, and has an obligation to test the gear and to contact the seller with any issues within a reasonable time with any issue. I think a week is more than enough time for any issue to be raised.

I once had a buyer contact me 6 weeks after delivery with an issue, because he did not set it up until then (says he). I mean 6 weeks??? At what point do these buyers understand that they are buying used equipment from hobbyists and not new equipment from dealers???

And how, exactly, does PayPal propose to determine if the USB input is faulty? Are they going to send out an "audio expert" to inspect the unit and determine if the input is faulty? Of course not.

I absolutely will NOT conduct any more transactions where PayPal is the method used for payment. I say this because PayPal boned me last year when I purchased (via FleaBay) a brand new Seiko watch from a Singapore-based seller.

My postman, when he made the delivery to me, said "What did you buy, an orchid?" because of the return addresss and the fact that the box was so very light. I was immediately suspicious and asked him to standby while I opened the package. And inside the package was a Seiko watch box and NO watch - surprise, surprise!! And, BTW, the package was *very* well sealed, there is NO way that it was opened in transit and then re-sealed

I offered the postman an ice cold lemonade and asked him to stick around for 5 minutes while I drew up a document stating the facts and had him sign it. Luckily for me, my next door neighbor, who happened to be at home at the time and is also a Notary, notarized the statement within minutes of my opening the package.

I then contacted the seller and told him of the problem. The seller vehemently denied my claim and called me a liar. Within 24 hours, I had also contacted PayPal and told them my story and also offered to send them a copy of the signed, notarized statement.

PayPal refused to accept the statement as proof of my claim and told me that I had to go down to the local police station to file a police report AND to the Post Office to get the Post Master to make out a sworn statement. It would have taken me at least half a day to do so, hardly worth the time and effort for a $125 watch. Why they required me to jump thru these hoops instead of accepting the notarized statment I already had is still a mystery to me.

I never did get the watch nor a refund. Since then, I have stopped doing business with FleaBay and PayPal entirely. However, over the course of the next few weeks, I *was* able to run-up my PayPal and FleaBay bills enough to cover the amount I was taken for.

I then shut down my PayPal and FleaBay accounts and also closed down the bank account I used for these transactions and left them holding the bag. Naturally, they badgered me for several months, demanding payment. And, of course, I ignored their demands and told them to go pound sand. An eye for an eye, so to speak...

Additionally, it would appear that PayPal and FleaBay are running what is essentially an illegal operation and I feel no guilt whatsoever for having done what I did.

It still amazes me that the US Govt. has not gone after PayPal and FleaBay for their criminal activities. And why do I say that they are criminals? Simple, open your wallet and look at ANY dollar bill of any denomination - it CLEARLY states on the left side of the bill: "This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private"

The fact that FleaBay requires that ALL tansactions be conducted using PayPal as the only form of payment is CLEARLY illegal. If every FleaBay user would simply stop conducting business with them for just one week, they would be out of business within 8 days...

-RW-