for starters, no, i can’t disclose this person’s name or specific location. i will say that they live in the U.S. (along with myself).
here goes:
weeks ago i posted a used A4 for sale w/ several bonus sound packs - $910 shipped. after getting a long stream of questions about it’s conditions and requests for specific photos (which he received), the buyer sent me a Paypal payment.
days later when it arrives he sends me an e-mail saying he’s let down b/c i apparently misled him about it’s condition. several small little nicks in the paint that he’s pretty “OCD” about (he sent photos). though i thought he was being extremely nitpick-y, i offered to make amends. i’d rather have him return it than to be thought of as dishonest.
i waited about another day for him to get back to me. two Sunday evenings ago over the phone i presented him with two options:
A: i can refund you back as long as you cover shipping back to me.
or
B: i’ll send you a partial refund of $40, effectively giving you a fully functional, slightly nicked A4 (with multiple soundpacks) for $870 shipped.
after thinking it over a minute he chose option B. we had a polite and brief convo that ended in an amicable agreement… or so i thought.
i had even told him i wanted to get the issue settled b/c either way i had another gear deal was going to affected by our agreement. that was Sunday afternoon (the 16th). within an hour or 2 of our phone conversation i sent him the partial $40 refund.
the very next morning i awoke to find an e-mail from this forumite stating that he’s changed his mind and wants a full refund. i replied that i wasn’t OK with that - after all we had reached an agreement just the afternoon before and that (as he knew) i had already moved funds around, etc
next i get an e-mail threatening that he’s willing to start up a Paypal dispute, blah blah blah.
i call him and things got a bit heated, despite no ad hominem attacks. at one point he said “well it’s obvious we won’t come to consensus in this conversation”. i said “we came to a consensus yesterday afternoon - we had a deal and now i’m supposed to just be OK with you changing your mind whenever you want.”
what happens next ? a Paypal dispute is opened then escalated to a claim.
enter me having the first of MANY long, drawn-out Paypal calls wherein i have to explain how:
1 the buyer was offered a full refund from the start, but
2 the buyer agreed to a partial refund which he received; then
3 the buyer changed his mind after an agreement was struck.
days later, and unsurprisingly Paypal decided that the buyer should receive a full refund (even though they continue to say i’ll get my $40 back).
despite a big headache, i could live with that.
here’s the kicker:
i receive the box today and videotape the unboxing- not that i expected anything funny but figured i’d do it all the same. the box looks slightly more wrinkled than i recall (i shipped FedEx, he shipped UPS -i hate UPS)…
but HE SENT ME THE WRONG POWER SUPPLY.
he sent me a P.S. for a Roland SP-404. my Elektron power supply nowhere in sight. how does a guy that’s OCD about microscopic nicks on a desktop synth send me the wrong 2-piece power supply ??
i didn’t want to contact him at all anymore, but Paypal says i either have to file a police report or go through some 3rd party arbitration service. after that i decided i’d e-mail the buyer, and later on i decided i’d call him.
i left him a voicemail stating that i’d have no problem closing the PP dispute if he’d simply refund my $40 and send me proof that he’s shipping the Elektron power supply within another day or so. nothing yet.
i’m really wondering if he sent the wrong power supply on purpose, as our last phone convo wasn’t nasty but it certainly wasn’t friendly. maybe he knows that Paypal tends to side with the buyer-no-matter-what and wanted to really stick it to me. the only similarity i can think of is that they’re both black 2-piece power supplies, despite this one having white zip-ties around the cables.
i’m just typing this up to get it off my chest and to see how others might weigh in. i posted on one other forum i frequent but of course i still kept him anonymous.
the last thing that i want to do is pursue things any further with Paypal as they’re basically worthless, but i certainly will if i don’t hear from this guy by tomorrow morning. i’m the one that’s been left to do all the phone calls and waiting, etc. i can’t stand the idea of him getting his $910 refund plus $40 while not even sending me the proper power supply…