AltheCyclist

This is why I stay away from ebay....

bkaapcke

"There's a $20.00 beef here. Seller says $20 is reasonable for a new spoke and buyer wants $40 for spoke and truing. Think about how this is going to sound in a EBay/Paypal appeals process, being decided by people who aren't bicyclists. You want to "tag" the buyer because he "missed" the spoke problem when he picked up the bike. Well, YOU MISSED IT TOO, and you owned the bike. It's just not going to play out well, because the deciders would want a truing too. So, give him the money. bk

Nachoman

+1

laura*

You're *****ed. At this point, offer the buyer a full and complete refund and tell him you will come and pick up the bike in person.

NEVER accept PayPal for local pickup items! The buyer simply has to claim non-receipt to get their money back. Because you didn't mail anything, you have no proof of shipping/delivery! That means you will lose.

Kimmitt 

Yeah, sorry, man. Give the buyer more or less whatever he wants and beg for forgiveness.

Rowan

Looks like the buyer sent Vito and Tommy around to traction's place to sort out the deal. We haven't heard from traction on how the debacle was finalised.

Chris L

+1.

contango 

Although since the guy has emailed complaining that the item was "not as described" and proposing very specific solutions it clearly shows that he has the item in his possession.

fit24hrs

I had almost the exact same incident happen and the other guys was **** as well like you described. I shipped him the bike and he claimed that there was a crack in the rim. There was no crack in the rim when I had the bike but I said ok, fine, I'll pay half the cost of the rim. He emails me saying he took it to two bike shops who recommend an immediate replacement at the tune of $183 for parts and labor and demands that I pay that amount. I told him no way. At this point, I had already refunded him $50 for the cost of the rim and sends me some BS invoice for the remaining balance with a whole bunch of threats to paypal and ebay. There's no way I was going to let him threaten me so I said F it, send me the bike back and I'll give you a full refund minus the amount I already refunded. At this point, he contacts paypal and realizes that he couldn't squeeze a partial refund out of me, only a full, and gives up, but not without leaving me negative feedback. 10 years of a perfect record ruined. My feedback rating drops to 50%. I call ebay claiming feedback extortion and send them our exchanges. The guy on the other line says that since we didn't communicate through ebay, there's no way he can authenticate the exchange and tells me that there's nothing he can do. I'm slowly rebuilding by feedback rating (at 80% now) but sometimes I wish that would've just paid the guy and be done with it. Not worth the dramas, man. Learn from my mistakes.

DCB0

I hope traction has resolved this issue in some way satisfactory to both parties. But I will give my take on it:

The bike was not as described. You specifically said there were no problem with the wheels and there was a spoke missing, which is a minor problem, but is a problem nonetheless. He has less obligation to inspect than you have to accurately describe the condition of the item, which you did not. I don't think $20 is to steep a price to pay for your mistake.

biknbrian

Wait, if I'm understanding this right you should without a doubt be refunding $60 for the shipping. As far as the spoke he wants $40 and you are willing to give him $20. It's twenty F'ing dollars man, all this over twenty F'ing dollars. I'd expect both of you to be going, "No, my mistake for not mentioning it, I'll give you the extra $20." "That's ok, I should have looked more closely." "No take it." "No keep it." Shame on you both for not being able to resolve this.

IthaDan 

It was almost a year ago, how did this resolve itself (this lab computer doesn't have a question mark, weeeeeeeird.)

AndreyT

His claim for the "shipping charges" is without merit. Even if the bike was completely different from the description, it would still not automatically entitle the buyer for the refund of his shipping expenses. Some businesses do it, some don't. It is a matter of checking the "terms and conditions" beforehand. For one example, if you get sent a completely wrong item by a merchant on Amazon, Amazon will resolve the dispute, but the shipping charges (both ways!) will still be on you.

Truing the wheel is indeed normal maintenance, especially on a 8-year old bike.

Your offer to pay for the spoke is perfectly fair, reasonable and sufficient.

AndreyT

It is highly unlikely that the buyer will accept this solution. If the messages quoted are accurate, it is rather obvious that the buyer in this case was "on a mission" from the get go. They buyer wants to make money out of this.

P.S. Ugh... An old thread.

justfitme

Oh my..it is 6 y.o.