How does ebay's buyer protection work?

[slap-a-da-bass]

I bought a Peavey dyna bass on ebay last week. I asked specific questions about the bass being fully functional, including the preamp & knobs.

When I received the bass, it was noticeable right away the neck had a strong concave bow around the 3rd fret, the A string buzzed being played open, and got worse as you tried to fret. The intonation was way off. I can expect to do a set up for my liking, but this was in no way "very good used condition". I took the bass to my local guitar shop, they tried to set it up, but could not do much because the neck has a developed a bow, and the truss rod does not work, or has reached it's maximum travel. The were able to fix the intonation. I spent $50 on the set up, no new strings.

I've contacted the seller either asking for a partial refund, & I would part the bass out, or a full refund. Problem is They will not pay the shipping either way, so $60, plus my $50 for the work done. I'm out $110 for nothing if I return it. They will not offer a partial refund.

Any advise how to handle this?

File a claim with ebay/paypal? What is the likely outcome?

Thanks

[Zooberwerx]

They offered you a refund minus shipping? So you're asking if the seller protection plan will cover the two-way shipping expenses? Good question but I doubt it.

If I were the seller, I would not accept a return that has had work performed after the fact. Best thing you could have done would have been to ask for a refund immediately upon receipt & inspection.

Riis

[bongomania]

Originally Posted by Zooberwerx

They offered you a refund minus shipping? So you're asking if the seller protection plan will cover the two-way shipping expenses? Good question but I doubt it.

If I were the seller, I would not accept a return that has had work performed after the fact. Best thing you could have done would have been to ask for a refund immediately upon receipt & inspection.

Exactly.

Here's how Buyer Protection works: You receive an item, it is not satisfactory, you file a claim with Paypal. You keep all original packaging and you do not alter the item in any way. You take close-up photos of the problem (if visible).

Paypal opens an investigation to determine whether the claim is valid. During the determination process, Paypal opens a dialogue between the buyer and the seller. In that dialogue you can negotiate a partial refund. Ebay/Paypal will not have anything to do with that discussion.

If Ebay/Paypal determines that you are telling the truth, they direct you to ship the item back to the seller, at your own expense. When the seller receives the item and informs Ebay/Paypal that they have received the item, then Paypal will refund the amount you originally spent. You do not recoup the cost of shipping the item back.

Now that you've had the item altered by a third party, nobody will find in your favor, because any "problems" you show now could possibly have been caused by you or the third party.

[slap-a-da-bass]

Guess I'm screwed then.

I thought having a professional inspect the bass and have it documented from the music store would help my case.

[bongomania]

"Inspecting and documenting" is one thing, "trying to do a setup" is entirely different.

[elgecko]

First off, setup and playability are highly subjective.

I bought an item on Ebay once and the seller sent me a completely different item. I let the seller know and he said he'd refund my money once I sent it back. I responded and asked that he send me a return since it was his **** up and he stopped responding. I opened a case against the seller and eventually, Ebay sent me a return shipping label (it was on Ebay's dime, I asked). The refund was late...of course. I very rarely give negative feedback on Ebay but I gladly did so for this loser.

[Skitch it!]

Fully functional to me indicates a functioning truss rod, something that would not be apparent immediately to the eye and would need a professional inspection, which you have undertaken. My feeling is the seller was well aware of this, and I advise you to screw this guy to the floor with whatever means available, that's me though, I like to get exactly what I paid for as everyone, don't accept it.

[MNAirHead]

Challenge of Ebay is that it's subjective.

Functional means a ton to a ton of folks.

Return shipping is normally on the customer dime... the setup should have been approved.

====

Which peavey and what did you pay for it?

------

Tim