E-bay SGX2000 Nightmare Sale--Should I Refund?

[GibsonQC]

Hey, guys. I've had the biggest pain in the ass of a sale on e-bay that's plagued me for over a month now. I know it's not as bad as some others, but I'm just looking for advice. I sold a guy my SGX-2000 and X-15 footpedal. He paid by unconfirmed address TWICE, finally figured out the paypal things after numerous bitchy e-mails (to me, even though it was his fault). Then, he claimed the unit didn't work when he got it. More e-mails. I offered to refund his money if he sent the units back, just because I wanted to be done with the nighmare, but he ascertained that maybe it was the tube that was not working properly, since only the tube presets sounded bad. I had just put in a brand new $20 Groove Tube prior to shipment, but maybe it was too hot or something. I located & shipped him the original tube at my expense, he installed it and then said everything was now fine. Fast forward two weeks. . . Now I get an e-mail that says the program switcher (dial on the front) isn't working properly and the pedal's "up & down" buttons aren't functioning correctly.

 

The Up/Down thing is probably just because he doesn't know how to use the unit. I don't have time to hand-hold him through the manual, but he said the rest of the pedals (2 expressions & 10 buttons) all work fine, so I'm guessing the program Up/Down does too--he just needs to program the SGX to put the patches in order. I bought the SGX brand new, and the knob is basically attached to a "notched" pot (not smooth, but never was). Each notch is supposed to hit the next patch when you turn it, but it will occasionally skip a patch. Sometimes it will go from 150 to 152, skipping 151. It's done this since the day I got it from Thoroughbred Music in 1991, and all of them had the same style knob and probably operated the same.

 

So, after all that, if you're still with me, he wants me to give him a refund now. I clearly stated that all questions should be asked ahead of time, and that no refunds were offered. I was generous in offering him a refund with the first issue, but since that was "resolved" I thought this was a done deal. I really don't want to give him his money back, because for all the hassle this has been, he should probably be paying me more by now, between all the tech support, ebay support, and paypal support I've given him. I have 149 feedbacks, all positive, and don't want him to F up my feedback rating. But, given how he's been all along, I think he's going to leave me negative no matter what I do (just a gut feeling). Should I just leave the sale as-is (as it was supposed to be)?

 

Plus, he's had/used this unit for almost a month and has opened it up a few times already. I don't want to get back a worthless item. It worked fine before I shipped it, and I packed it REALLY well. I doubt he'll do the same, as it is heavy and will likely get damaged on its return trip. This has been a sale from hell.

 

What would you do? Thanks in advance for all suggestions.

[Frets99]

If you said as is . It's as is! End of story. You have already worked with him and everything was fine. You are not Walmart. It's F-n E-bay. Tell him to move on. No court would even find fault with you so iggy the bad boy and enjoy life!!

[RaVenCAD]

Tell him as-is means as-is and that the original offer was a courtesy and was a one-time offer because you felt he got equipment he didn't understand how to use and were willing to bail him out. Now though, it's been opened and possibly messed with. No way in hell would I take that gear back.

[nevermind]

Nearly 30 days and was sold AS-IS or NO REFUNDS/RETURNS? What was the question again? Oh yeah, {censored} that. It's his problem. You're probably right about getting a negative no matter how you handle it. I'd tell him to pull on his big boy pants and stop whining like a girl.

[ranalli]

No refund. This guy had his chance.


If anything, send him a box of feces.

[IRG]

I agree with the others. You've been more than fair. Ignore him from now on. Don't respond to any emails, and maybe you should leave negative feedback for him first.

[fanuvbrak]

You have the chance to to post a rebuttal to his neg feedback. But chances are, he's such an ebay dork, that he won't even know to do this.

From what you said, this transaction is complete.

[slaws]

Originally posted by fanuvbrak You have the chance to to post a rebuttal to his neg feedback. But chances are, he's such an ebay dork, that he won't even know to do this. From what you said, this transaction is complete.

 

 

+1

 

If he can't figure out Paypal he probably doesn't know how to leave feedback. You offered a refund once and now you're done. If you can drag this out a couple more months he won't be able to leave feedback. There is a 90 day limit I believe.

[Lucius]

{censored} it he is an idiot. Don't give him a dime. Cheers Lucius

[GibsonQC]

Thanks for the replies, folks. I'm often accused of being "too nice" to people (by my wife), even when it causes more work for me. If I knew I'd get positive feedback, I guess I would almost consider it, but since this guy has gone out of his way to be a thorn in my side from the beginning, I think its time to call this transaction "closed" and move on. . . Even if I did refund him, he'd probably bitch about how long it takes to get his money back from Paypal.

[DenverDave]

Originally posted by GibsonQC Thanks for the replies, folks. I'm often accused of being "too nice" to people (by my wife), even when it causes more work for me. If I knew I'd get positive feedback, I guess I would almost consider it, but since this guy has gone out of his way to be a thorn in my side from the beginning, I think its time to call this transaction "closed" and move on. . . Even if I did refund him, he'd probably bitch about how long it takes to get his money back from Paypal.

You have been very fair in dealing with him and it's his issue now - not yours. No are under no obligation to refund him jack....

[chikinpox]

If he's had it for a month he probably doesn't like the unit. Problems should have shown up long before that if it was shipped that way. I'd write him back a very nice e-mail stating everything you've done for him and the conditions of the auction and say you're very sorry but there's nothing you can do for him. He may give you poor feedback, he might not. You can't control that, so don't go out of your way (and your expense) over this. One negative feedback mixed in with 149 good ones isn't the end of the world.


Tell him to {censored} off, but in a really nice way.

[santos]

Originally posted by DenverDave You have been very fair in dealing with him and it's his issue now - not yours. No are under no obligation to refund him jack....

 

 

+1000

 

This guy is a nightmare, agreed, but I'd just ignore him and let things fall as they may. You can always rebut negative feedback. Not ideal, but it's a small price, i think.

[Hessian]

Piss on that guy.

[Polaris20]

Better yet, post his e-mail address on HC so we can all belittle him for being the ignorant douchebag that he is.

[GibsonQC]

Originally posted by Polaris20 Better yet, post his e-mail address on HC so we can all belittle him for being the ignorant douchebag that he is.

I won't do that, but if you want to PM me I'll send you his ebay moniker to add to your blocked bidder list. I'd hate for him to do this to anyone else. If this were a "real" auction, he would have been SOL from the get-go.

[lerxstcat]

As-is auction, a month later and he's opened the unit up a few times? I'd blow him off. If he negs you you'll still have a 99%+ rating, and you can explain this to any prospective bidders who ask about it later. If the guy leaves a neg over a month after the deal went down it is a good sign that something went wrong well after he had the unit in his possession.

I'd tell him he just needs to read the manual and learn how to program the thing. He'll need to know that if he wants to deal with any multieffects unit, so bite the bullet and learn to use what you already bought. Who knows, he might do that and then thank you for making him do the learning curve. If not, one neg won't kill you and Ebay would laugh at a complaint at thisw point. Just save your emails just in case though...

[telesan]

Hey, you have been an above board Ebayer. Just send him an email and list everything that you have done for him and remind him the auction was "as is".

If someone wants to be an ass and leave bad feedback there is not much you can do... I have been there just remain true to your ideals and roll with the punches...

[Khan Fused]

Sonds like you been more than fair trying to work with him. He needs to learn how eBay and the real world work.

[tbx]

Originally posted by chikinpox If he's had it for a month he probably doesn't like the unit. Problems should have shown up long before that if it was shipped that way. I'd write him back a very nice e-mail stating everything you've done for him and the conditions of the auction and say you're very sorry but there's nothing you can do for him. He may give you poor feedback, he might not. You can't control that, so don't go out of your way (and your expense) over this. One negative feedback mixed in with 149 good ones isn't the end of the world. Tell him to {censored} off, but in a really nice way.

 

 

oh yeah. this is the best and most complete answer yet. try to forget for a few minutes what a total braying ass he is being, and try to remember sometime when you were 12 years old or something and might have been a pain in the ass yourself. or whatever it takes to stop hating on him long enough to write a very polite letter that points out that you sent him something that you thoroughly believe was in great working order, that you went ahead and went an extra mile and shipped him more stuff after the sale, that you've answered his questions and emails as patiently and helpfully as you've been able. most importantly repeat to him that you're very sorry you can't help, but the sale was on "as-is" terms because sometimes used items develop problems after the sale, sometimes new owners accidentally and unknowingly damage items, and other issues that "as-is" can address.

 

finally, ask him nicely to find a service dept. somewhere as you've exhausted all the time that you can afford to on this problem. express your hope that the problems turn out to be trivial, if you want, but don't spend any time apologizing. just lay out the case.

 

 

sorry to hear you're going thru it. ugh.

[k4df4l]

Sold as is w/o warranty, condition fully disclosed...Problem upon reciept, problem solved.

Problem 30 days later, not your problem.

[stratopedia]

Ignore the dumb{censored}.

Worst case scenario is he eventually learn how to leave feedbacks and give a negative one to you. You would then have the chance to respond to the feedback and while the link to the listing is still active, viewers of your profile would be able to take a look at all the regulations that you'd set on the listing; if they really cared.

On another note, can you by any chance report to eBay about the buyer?

[GibsonQC]

Thank you kindly for all your suggestions. Here is the mail I composed and sent back, in case anyone is still following.

*********************

Thanks for your e-mail. Unfortunately, the units were sold "as-is", and I can not take them back at this point, as we are more than a month out from the sale. They are both in very good condition, and are probably better than any other used ART units you will find on e-bay. I clearly stated in the original auction's payment instructions that all sales are final, and that the items were used. If you are unhappy with the items, you are always free to sell the items yourself. I'll even postpone leaving feedback so no potential buyers see the auctions in your feedback history.

What I can do is tell you that the scroll wheel on all of the ART SGX units works that way. Because the pot is "notched" and not just a standard linear/audio (smooth) style, it occasionally jumps past a preset. I bought it brand new from thoroughbred music in 1991 and it has always done that. I would guess that any other unit from that year, and possibly all years, will likely do the same. As for the foot pedals, they scroll through your assigned patches in a preset order (not sequentially up & down, unless you explicitly set it up that way). For instance, you can assign patch 151 first, 197 next, etc., so they are in performing order. You'll have to read the manuals to figure out how to set the performance order because I don't recall the specifics.

Thanks again, and have a great weekend.


************************

Too much information? Probably, but I tried to deliver the message in a polite manner, and even tried to direct him toward the right section of the users' manuals.

[SiCkboy78]

This {censored}er sounds like a total nightmare....Dont answer another email from this {censored}bag!!! Its been a month and he hasnt left feedback for you after this!?!, he's going to leave a negative, as a matter of fact, it sounds like thats what he wants out of this deal. So, leave him a neg first. People should be warned about this {censored}ing scumsucking cumdumpster!!!

[xupernaut]

Originally posted by ranalli No refund. This guy had his chance. If anything, send him a box of feces.

He sounds like he'd think its a footpedal and plug his guitar into it and then stomp on it.