Needing some advice (not another pick me a gun thread)

[professor_chaos]

So here is the story. I had a smart parts nerve and sold it on ebay. Before I sold it I had a problem with the solenoid and my pro shop couldn't fix it so they sent it to SP. Sp sent it back with the new LPR upgrade and fixed the solenoid, so all is good. I get the gun to my house air it up and shoot a hopper through it and everything is working perfectly. I decided to put the gun up on ebay b/c I wanted to buy my friends karnivor, so I boxed the gun up and it sat there till I sold it. The gun sells on ebay and 3-4 days after payment is supposed to be made he finally gets me the money.


The guy gets the gun and tells me I sold him a messed up gun b/c there is a leak inside the gun and he wants his money back. He also says the gun was very dirty and some other stuff. I don't know where he comes off saying the gun was dirty because I cleaned it before I sent it and I also tested the gun and everything was working properly. The only thing that I know that was my fault was that I forgot to retap one of the grip frame screws and didn't mention it in the auction, an honest mistake that has nothing to do with the performance of the gun.


Well here is the problem, I don't currently have the money b/c I paid off the karnivor and bought presents for my daughters two year birthday party. I offered to have the gun sent to smart parts and I would pay for the repairs but he insist that the only solution is to get all of his money back. I would never sell a messed up gun to anyone and have perfect feedback here on AO and on ebay. He keeps emailing me and soforth and I get paid on the first but giving him his money back for a gun that was working when I sent it is hard for me. On the other hand it is really eating at me (almost to the point of nausea)knowing a gun I sold is for some reason not working properly. Coming up with that much extra money would be possible but would put a financial burden on my family for the next month with school and everything coming up. I just really don't know what the right thing to do would be 1) keep the money for a gun that was working when I shipped it or 2) come up with the money for the gun and struggle financially (sp) through the next month.


I'm hoping to get some advice for this crazy event (other than don't buy SP, I've already came to that conclusion) and any input would be appreciated.

[spyder luver]

i would tell him to prove that it was leaking and all that other crap was happing with it *dont ask me how u could do that* but i hope it turns out well for U AND UR FAMILY and i think hes just full of himself and is making it up so he can get the money back and pay somone off for something

but just my opinion but again i hope it works out well for u

[Load SM5]

I would'nt feel bad about it. The fact that he says the gun is dirty when you know for a fact it is'nt sends up some red flags for me. For all you know he got it dirty after he screwed the whole mess up doing a faceplant at his field, or turning the reg up too high causing the noid to leak or blow. I would also say that having the gun sent back to smart parts might point out what he did to it and that's why he does'nt want to do that option. Tell him that's your only offer to remedy the situation and if he does'nt take you up on it then tough poopy. If he does send the gun back make sure you see a bill from SP and don't take his word on anything. Also you could see if suspicious issues like "chainsaw through gripframe" show up before you send him any money.

Out of curiosity, what else does he claim is messed up?

[Maggot6]

ASk him to prove that you did it.

[vf-xx]

Personally I'd require him going through Safeharbor. That's what Ebay has it for. If you're sure that his claims can't be true, then Hold your own, don't let some shmuck ruin things for you.

IIRC you can start the Safeharbor process yourself and that may make things better on you.

If nothing else the dispute process should give you enough time to get paid again.

[RusskiX]

How long did he have it before he started emailing you with complaints? How is his other feedback?

If it was more than one week, I would generally say too bad for him. When I get something, I immediately air it up and run paint. to test.

Offer to send him a copy of the recent service invoice from your pro-shop / SP showing that it was just serviced and in functional condition. If he played with it and is now messed up then I would attribute to user error.

Good luck.

[professor_chaos]

I appreciate all the advice so far. He has good feedback on ebay too, 18 positive and no negative. He said as soon as he aired it up that it started leaking, but like I said it was workng fine when I shipped it. He emailed me this either the same day he got it or a day after. He also said that either the stickies had cracks in them or the grip frame had a crack in it, didn't understand him but is bs either way. I don't understand why he doesn't want to send it to SP, more than likely they will fix it for free (they fixed it for free for me anyway). All he will tell me is that this has been a bad transaction and he wants his money back. As someone mention earlier I should go get something from my proshop showing I sent it to SP and the gun was working. Thanks again

[professor_chaos]

I just don't see how one minute the gun is working just fine, boxed up and shipped, then not working. Anything is possile I suppose.

[JESTER22]

If you sold him a car and it broke down the next day would you give him his money back? i dont think so. you always take a chance when you buy second hand. how many times have you gone to play and taken you gun out of your bag and nothing, it won't work but it was fine when you cleaned it and put it away.

its one of those things he will just have to live with it. if he is saying that there is a lot of things wrong with it and he will not take it to smartparts. sound if he is trying to switch a gun on you. by trying to get his money back and giving you an identical one in return that is well and truely knackered. i would tell him to forget it. 1 negative feed back on ebay is not the end of the world.

[NewMagMan21]

seriously man, give him the finger. If you're positive it was in working order than shipping it isnt gonna dirty it, crack the frame, and cause leaks...(Unless the airplane/truck explodes) He obviously found a better deal or is having buyers remorse and just wants his money back. I can understand his want, but lying isnt the way to go about gettin his money back..even though just saying "I want my money back" wont do anything for him either...but hey I see this sort of thing all the time, keep your money, and tell him to be happy and shut up.

[JoshK]

You need to keep the money. He needs to understand that a family's well being is more important than a quick fix to his problems he created.

I just have two things to say...

#1 Allways post "Sold as is" in your listing...that will save you any grief you may have.

#2 List that you have to be 18 to buy the gun. Of course this won't prevent kids under 18 from buying it, it will give you even more insurance against these immature buyers (usually kids) from getting their money back.

You need to just let it go, and if he gives you a negative feedback, just respond to it with the real story, and complain to ebay.

[afultz075]

Well, I was in just about the exact same situation a few weeks ago, difference being, this was an in person transaction at a big game.

I sold a guy a gun as soon as I got there, it was back fresh from a rebuild, chrono'd and tested the gun before leaving to ensure a working marker. I even offered to put air to the gun and cycle it for him before the gun/cash exchanged hands and he declined.

Fast forward to later that day after the evening game is ended and I get a cell phone call. The mounting bracket of the gun (U-shaped piece welded together for mounting a bottomline on a Sheridan frame) snapped at the weld and the gun was refusing to recock (mind you, this is after the person put an aftermarket reg on the gun not designed to run raw Co2). The word refund is brought up during the phone call and he insists I take a look at it. The marker is brought to my tent and I observe the damage. I simply said a refund was out of the question as the gun was in working condition when it exchanged hands, and full knowing that it had been out in the field earlier in the evening, anything could have happened out there. And I used the example that if it was a car and it broke down, you wouldn't get a refund.

I would say keep the money full knowing that the marker was working when it exchanged hands. I hate it when I have to do things like this that cause other people to view me as an a-hole and tout me as one, but I won't be pushed around and have a non-working gun put back in my hands when whatever is problematic is 100% not my fault.

[Gumbe]

man if you no for a fact the gun was working and you have proff of you sending it to get it fixed then keep the money....you have the proff what proff does he have....he probly messed it up and didnt wana pay to get it fixed..plus it could be his dad account that had the feedback and hes the son (i dont know just a though)

[Lohman446]

I offered to have the gun sent to smart parts and I would pay for the repairs

That is the reasonable offer - insist that the marker be sent to SP for any repairs needed and insist SP contact you in regards to any repairs. Offer to pay for shipping and make a decision on repairs based on what SP finds, but if the marker was working when you sent it, you really have no basis to be concerned - its his problem.

FYI - I once had SP sell me a tank that had issues - I sent it back for repairs - THEY billed me. Almost anytime you are dealing with anything on the very edge of performance you are going to end up with something finicky

[RingOfScale]

He payed for a working shocker.

You offered to make sure it is still working (send it to SP).

He declined.

Obviously he no longer wants a working shocker.

Musta changed his mind.

Ignore him now.

-rIng

[chairman_mao]

Sounds like a big scam to me. I agree with LoadSM5 that he probably face planted or was screwing with the presseure becuase he read some where that he can make it shoot better with more pressuer. He's counting on you feeling bad about it. Like was mentioned before get proof of SP's repairs and reoffer to pay for any other required repairs but under no circumstances give him any money back other than for repairs. That's just my opinion

[MiniSpdRcr]

Well everything has been said...INSIST on getting it sent out to SP. Under no circumstances send the money back. Send proof to Ebay that the gun was fixed before being sent out. Should tilt everything in your favor if it comes down to it.

[Soopa Villain17]

just tell him to shove , this happedn to me before but with xbox games , isent them in mitn shape , then he imed sayign one was cracked in half n stuff , im sure its a scam

[onedude36]

i dont believe him.

[goforbroke]

Keep the money sounds like bs to me. You offered to pay to fix it (if it actually was broken) and he refused so it's his problem if he doesn't want to get it fixed, and wants a full refund instead.

[Aslan]

I have mixed feelings because I am a frequent buyer on ebay and get screwed all the time. Apparently, "AS IS", means "It's broken, so don't send it back when you realize it's broken". And, "I don't really know much about this gun" or "I found this out in my garage but I don't have an air tank to test it...but it worked the last time I used it" or "I'm selling this for a friend of mine so I don't know much about it"...are ALL codes for, "this gun is probably screwed up, but if I act like I'm not exactly sure how it's screwed up...it won't be my fault.". So, yes...I've gotten screwed royally on ebay. I've gotten guns missing parts, I've gotten guns with completely rusted out internals, and I've gotten guns that obviously were NEVER cleaned. So I'm very leary of ebay sellers that claim something works fine...then magically doesn't when it arrives. :mad: :ninja: :mad:

That being said (rant out of the way), if you know it was clean and working...don't give the guy his money back. This sounds like buyers remorse...big time. Here's what I would suggest....only because on the few occasions where I've went after an ebay seller about a crap item...this is how they resolved it amicably:

1) Try to help the guy fix whatever the problem is. If you have the knowledge of what might be wrong, share it. If you even "suspect" that there's something wrong with the gun and the kid has a point...offer to fix it for him. Tell him that if he sends it back to you, you will re-clean it, fix it (or have it fixed), and you will do all of this at your cost if he assures you positive feedback. If you can narrow it down to some inexpensive part or valve...offer to buy him that part and ship it to him. Essentially, let him know that his positive feedback is important and you want to resolve his every concern, even if you have to eat a small portion of the profit in doing so. :(

2) Offer to refund him a small portion of his money. I once bought a marker on ebay, it was missing parts and looked as though it had NEVER been cleaned. I told the guy that I wasn't happy with it and could not give him positive feedback DESPITE the fact that he listed that he didn't know if the gun worked and it was sold as is. He apologized and offered to refund me a portion of the price because I was unhappy. I never took his money...the mere fact that he was sincere and even offered to give me something back allowed me to see that this seller was deserving of positive feedback despite his lack of knowledge about caring for paintball markers. ;) :p

Just some ideas. :cheers:

[Recon by Fire]

Unless in your terms of sale, you included a refund policy. You are under no obligation to refund his money. You have offered to correct the problem already. Thay said I concur with the previous post concerning the haphazard condition of items bought by users on ebay. So the "screw this guy" is out. Defintely look to resolve the issue but you are not strictly required to offer the refund by ebay policy unless you offeref a refund policy in your auction.

[peewee]

been there. In truth I have been at both ends of similar deals. Got a shocker that was hosed up all over the place. Leaked out the back etc. I found out that many peoples idea of a well maintained marker is no where near my level. I traded the shocker off to a shop for a micromag & a couple low end blowbacks. I have had someone try & say that the marker was nonfunctional when they recieved it. I contacted ebay & pressed the issue by forwarding a reciept in regards to the status of the marker upon sale. Ebay sided with me & I nerver heard from them again. Forward your email exchanges to ebay. This will show your good intent in regards to getting the marker up to 100%. They will most likely side with you. It sounds like you have made the effort to do the honorable thing.

[Teamslayer76]

Hey, Dude I feel for you. I own a Nerve and gosh has this thing been a pain. Smartparts "forgot" to put the new LPR on my gun. But, it doesnt qualify for the free upgade so I'm screwed. I'm trying to sell it but so far no offers...only trades.

As for your situation I say hold your ground on offering to send the Gun to SmartParts for repair. That really all you can and should do. I hope the situation turns out good.



With hope,
Russell

[minimag03]

#1

[professor_chaos]

I appreciate all the advice, it has really helped me come to a decision, with that being said here is the actual email I sent him.

Hello, I have been thinking of this hole situation and we are going to need to come up with a different solution other than me giving back all your money. I sent you a gun in working condition and I have the papers to prove it. I will gladly send you, ebay, paypal, or whomever you wish a copy of this paper. I will admit that I did not fix the screw hole prior to auctions end and that is the only thing that is my fault, that is a two dollar fix and you will not have to buy a whole new grip frame as you said. I will offer again to have the gun sent to smart parts to be repaired and I will pay for the repairs. If you decide to do this then SP will need to contact me in regards to what is wrong with the gun, price, and so forth. There was no sort of refund policy listed in the auction and you can leave me negative feedback if you wish but I believe this is a resonable offer.

I didn't want to come off like a butt and I hope this will get things starte in the resolution process but I fear it won't. Thanks again for all the advice and you can continue to leave more post as I will keep this updated the best I can. Thanks again.

[sleepingbeauty]

It sounds to me like a kid bought a gun at a spur of the moment then found out he wanted something else. I wouldn't give him his money back, and if it was me I wouldn't have kept up the communication after he didn't want the gun to be fixed by smart parts. I have heard so many times of people getting nerves or shockers and putting to much pressure in them and blowing them up.

Sounds like an irresponsible person who doesn't deserve a nerve :P

thanks-
Pat

[yingyang]

forget about it, maybe the mail man dropped it, who knows what could of happened.