So I sold a lens on ebay....

And the guy has had it for a month.

I just got an email saying this:

eh i dunno what to do. The lens was perfect when i sent it out over a month ago. And he has had it for a month and even took it on vacation. Who knows what it went through on his trip.

I know that if he files a paypal claim, paypal will side w/ him as they usually do the buyer.

I also wonder why he did not contact me immediately if there was some sort of issue.

Any suggestions?

Sounds like a sleaze that just wanted a lens for the trip....not sure how you can be held responsible after he took it on a trip...be sure to save that letter from him...since it contains that information.

Tell him to pound sand. It's too late. Empty your PayPal account and let him get his money back the hard way. Keep records of everything.

If it were me, I would offer the refund once you receive the lens back from him. Just his tone, it seems like he is potential trouble. I don't trust him. To me, it screams he either damaged the lens or is having delayed buyer's remorse. But if you are confident about the condition of the lens, I would just do the refund once you receive it back from him, and sell it elsewhere. That's just me

Even if he wins a Significantly Not As Described claim, he'll have to ship the lens back at his own expense and prove that it was delivered to you before he gets a refund. If he misses any of those steps, he's SOL.

If he tries the Not Received complaint, as long as you have a tracking number that shows delivery, confirmed address (his), and a signature if it's over $250, he'll lose.

Tumbl3w33ds wrote in post #6650837
If it were me, I would offer the refund once you receive the lens back from him. Just his tone, it seems like he is potential trouble. I don't trust him. To me, it screams he either damaged the lens or is having delayed buyer's remorse. But if you are confident about the condition of the lens, I would just do the refund once you receive it back from him, and sell it elsewhere. That's just me

If HE screwed up the lens on vacation, then OP has issued a refund and cannot resell the lens in prior condition.

On the other hand, OP, you could tell him to send it back then remit the refund when you verify it's condition as originally sold.

If you can string him along another 15 days, it'll be too late for him to even file a claim of any kind.

Oh yeah, And call PayPal. Ask them if a Significantly Not As Described complaint is valid if the item has been used by the buyer on a vacation. Be nice and let them know you have the email stating they took it with them on vacation and you're unsure of what could have happened to it then.

A live rep will be able to look at it from a human perspective. Letting it go through the normal computerized procedure can result in a loss on your end, whereas speaking to a human can clear things up.

I called paypal...there are so many loopholes for the buyer it is sad.

Call them again. Talk to them. Be firm but polite.

You said you're going out of town but make sure you keep up on your emails and check paypal while you're away so you can respond to anything you need to respond to. You wouldn't want some crap happening when you're not even aware. Lack of response on your part can be an instant loss. I haven't had a claim filed against me in awhile though so I don't remember the timelines.

Paypal told me that the buyer has to offer the vacation information up in his dispute text. It is useless for me to copy and forward emails as they can be altered...

The paypal agent told me that it sounds like the buyer just wanted a cheap rental...we'll see what happens...

You might offer to let him send it back to you and tell him you'll refund asap.

Chances are, by the time you receive it, and inspect it, the 15 days will have passed. Tell him to ship it UPS Ground since that's the most cost-effective method for an item of that weight AND has tracking in case something happens to it in transit. UPS Gound will eat up to 7 days, plus the time until he packs it and sends it off.

Oh yeah and for the future:

Sell your camera gear on forums like this one, not eBay. Significantly Not As Described only applies to eBay. When you sell off eBay, you only have Item Not Received and Chargebacks to worry about, and you can always win those with a confirmed address, delivery confirmation/tracking, and a signature.

Just wait till you try closing your Paypal account, I had so much fun trying to close it that I will never go back on ebay!

I would ask for photos of his vacation with the defect he's talking about. Do you have any way of verifying undoctored photos? He could apply a gausian (sp) blur to a few and send them as proof.