Refund for lens??

Hi,

Last night I sold my Rokinon 8mm F3.5 lens through Kijiji for $160 CAD. At the time, the buyer saw a couple of little marks on the front glass which I couldn't see, but I don't have the best eyes either. Anyway, about 3 hours later, he contacted me asking to return the lens as he states the marks are dings. The lens works and I was finally able to figure out how to get sharp images with it.

I figure I have 3 options.

1) Tell him all sales are final and do not give a refund. He saw the marks, but bought the lens anyway. I really need the money to pay bills.
2) Buy back the lens and give him the refund.
3) Give him a $25 refund due to the defect. I still pay the bills and he gets a reduction in the price of the lens.

Last year I bought a camera and literally within 10 minutes of getting home, the sensor went on it. It's possible the guy was dumping the camera on me. It is also possible that it was just my luck that the sensor went belly up at that particular time. Either way, I didn't go back to him asking for a refund. I fell when buying or selling used, all sales are final.

So, I am really confused.

What would you do in this case? I will have to give him an answer by the end of the work day today.

If he had the opportunity to evaluate the lens before purchase and knew the marks were there, would stick with option #1.

^ Agreed. Purchases on Craigslist/Kijiji and similar are as-is where-is. He accepted the lens, he owns it.

Thanks for the help folks. I decided to not buy the lens back, but did offer $20 refund to help adjust the cost of the lens. We've had a few emails back and forth, but no mention of getting together to pick up the $20.

I have sold many lenses on eBay and accurately described them with 4+ photos.
I stated that the lenses are functional however all sales are final and no refunds.
I had stated the possibility of imperfections on used equipment and restated that
buy bidding they were buying the lens as is, based on the posted photos.
I have had ZERO issues from buyer.
I agree, all sales are final.

Chopper Al wrote in post #17010934
Hi,
At the time, the buyer saw a couple of little marks on the front glass

It's the buyer's responsibility to fully inspect the lens before making the transaction because once they have it, you won't know if they damaged it further once it's in their possession. It's usually as-is when buying from online listings such as Craigslist/Kijiji, so you have to be careful.

Chopper Al wrote in post #17010934
What would you do in this case? I will have to give him an answer by the end of the work day today.

I would give him his money back and let him off the hook. No sense forcing anyone into anything they don't want to do. Sell it to someone else.

If you go with Tom Reichner's advice, does that lens have a serial number? If so do you have a copy of it? It is possible he is exchanging a bad copy with your good copy.

It is also possible that there might not have been any marks, he also could have dropped the lens after he bought it (now he wants you to eat his mistake).

If it failed to work right after someone bought it I'd be inclined to take the money back. But if all that is wrong are marks, that is something he should have checked for marks on the glass (at the very least) when buying.

i'd charge him a re-stocking fee...

jimewall wrote in post #17012914
It is also possible that there might not have been any marks, he also could have dropped the lens after he bought it (now he wants you to eat his mistake).

Option 1, and keep in mind that the buyer may logically have attempted to clean the lens and may have made the situation worse.

He likely isn't trying to scam you. He probably just didn't realize that they were dings.

That being said, it is his responsibility to verify the condition of the product before buying it. Unless you specifically told him that they weren't dings, I would sleep easy not returning his money.

The only lens I've sold in person, I cleaned beforehand to make sure that any dust wasn't anything more. The guy also spent 10 minutes inspecting the lens & taking some pictures to verify it's operation.

Chopper Al wrote in post #17010934
Hi,

Last night I sold my Rokinon 8mm F3.5 lens through Kijiji for $160 CAD. At the time, the buyer saw a couple of little marks on the front glass which I couldn't see, but I don't have the best eyes either. Anyway, about 3 hours later, he contacted me asking to return the lens as he states the marks are dings. The lens works and I was finally able to figure out how to get sharp images with it.

I figure I have 3 options.

1) Tell him all sales are final and do not give a refund. He saw the marks, but bought the lens anyway. I really need the money to pay bills.
2) Buy back the lens and give him the refund.
3) Give him a $25 refund due to the defect. I still pay the bills and he gets a reduction in the price of the lens.

Last year I bought a camera and literally within 10 minutes of getting home, the sensor went on it. It's possible the guy was dumping the camera on me. It is also possible that it was just my luck that the sensor went belly up at that particular time. Either way, I didn't go back to him asking for a refund. I fell when buying or selling used, all sales are final.

So, I am really confused.

What would you do in this case? I will have to give him an answer by the end of the work day today.

Unless I'm reading the highlighted statement incorrectly, the buyer accepted the lens after calling out the 'issues' on the front element. Am I the only one who read it that way?

No, hence my first paragraph in my first post.

The buyer should have determined that before he left. That is why I think he maybe trying to switch out a bad for the OP's good.

But I don't think that is the only possibility, which is why I mentioned some others.