Ebay advice

[julesg007]

Without knowing for sure what the buyer of the forks has been up to you are somewhat blind until you do know for sure, sorry I know that's stating the obvious but until you do know I don't think you can move this issue forward.

I also think you are in a very difficult situation and unfortunately one of your own making, although totally inadvertantly I'm afraid.

Here is the official eBay meaning of the selling catergory Used.

"Used: An item that has been previously used. The item may have some signs of cosmetic wear, but is fully operational and functions as intended. This item may be a floor model or an item that has been returned to the seller after a period of use. See the seller’s listing for full details and description of any imperfections."

It clearly states that the item is fully operational and functions as intended which of course would extend to the remote lock out.

I do, however, think the buyer is being a bit of ass by not at least discussing things with you before opening a case against you.

One thing I would make sure you do when you discuss the matter with eBay is to advise them to the very best of your knowledge the lock out was operational and you were extremely surprised to be informed that is was not functioning properly. However, you kindly provided to the buyer the method to make the lock out function properly and the seller subsequently informed you that if there was a problem which of course you dispute they "fixed it" or were using the lock out properly and therefore you feel that the buyer has subsequently broken or done something they shouldn't have done to the lock out and is trying his luck!

I don't know if that'll help or not but nothing ventured nothing gained is my view but I suppose a lot depends on what you have said in any e-mails you've exchanged.

A possible way to sort this matter out is to offer to the buyer a full refund based on the reason that the forks were sold with a working lock out and that subsequently the lock has been been found to be defective and therefore not in line with the "used" description of the auction. Get them back and see what the buyer has been upto.

I'd also ask eBay what the situation is if it is clear that the buyer has done something to the lock out they shouldn't have and thus you feel the problem was of their making - i.e. can you counter claim at a later date?

If you do get the forks back, perhaps you should try selling via the forum and then at least you wouldn't get hit by another load of eBay and Paypal fees.

Whatever happens I hope you get a satisfactory outcome.

 

[Carlos]

As for repair costs, £100 is more or less the standard fee to send to RS for a service or repair investigation.

 

[Nigel-P7]

As a buyer when I get something bike wise, if its not 100% unless its a train smash I take it on the chin and move on. He though as the buyer should have aksed all the right questions about a S/fork to cover himself first. As they are open to come back. I reckon he is swinging the lead!

As a seller I will service/condition every 100% otherwise as its not worth the hassle if it goes pear shape! If there not dont sell it. The fork cannot cost no more that £7 standard parcels each way. Take it back ASAP and me done with the man.

Lesson learnt otherwise it will drag on for a year and a day, its not worth it chap.

N

 

[old_coyote_pedaller]

Once a dispute has been opened for "not as described" I think eBay/PayPal give the both of you 10 days in which to settle it between yourselves, at the end of that time they will then decide on it if you haven't resolved it. Keep in contact with buyer as eBay/PayPal read your correspondence during this time.

Every time I've read of cases like this the buyer always wins whether the seller has done anything wrong or not.

In my dispute with a seller for not as described he refused refund or even accepted there was anything wrong with item, blaming me for the damage.
He lost, eBay/PayPal sent/emailed me a prepaid postage label to send item back. Once they got confirmation that seller had received the item back I got a full refund including postage which was then removed from seller's account by PayPal.

I'm afraid you've got the shitey end of the stick, as others have said it looks like the buyer will win even though it looks to me he is pulling a fast one.

I'd be inclined to give the guy a refund and get the fork back, don't give him the satisfaction of getting the fork cheaply after a partial refund or repair if he is pulling a fast one. That way you haven't had a dispute ruled against you and the buyer might not give you negative feedback.

It's crap I know. :evil:

 

[mechagouki]

Out of interest, what year was the fork, and how many miles did it have on it?

I bought a brand new 2008 SID WC for my wife's bike, and despite an above average amount of experience with suspension forks, I never got the remote lockout to work - I installed it as per RS instructions, when you push the lever it rotates the compression damper adjuster, the fork just doesn't lock. I'll admit I've not put more than 45 minutes or so of tinkering into it, and my wife doesn't care if it works or not, bit strange though.

If yours is a 2007 or later I have to say that 200 quid is a bargain, lockout or not.



EDIT: OOPS! I just looked at your listing, If I was you I'd be glad he's not complaining about the misleading description, that's clearly not a 2008 fork, 2008 World Cup looks like this:

I think your fork is a 2006 or early 2007.

 

[mallott]

Russel has hit the nail on the head. if the lockout was working in the first place there would be no need for him to have it apart and shag it up as others are implying. I'd be wazzed off if i had paid for a fork that didn't work as stated.

Refund him, get it back, fix or sell on as untested. Learn the lesson for next time to cover your ass every way!

 

[renaldo]

Thanks for all the advice everyone, I've certainly learnt some lessons for the future.

Just to be clear I would like to say that, aside from the untested lock-out, the fork did work perfectly. He disassembled the fork to install the lock-out, not to try and fix it, and although I did not explicitly state it was not fitted in the advert it is clear from the photos. In a way my argument is, does the lock-out not work, or has he not fitted it correctly or damaged the fork in trying to install it?

I am worried because the buyer is saying the seals may be damaged and there is play in the fork which I would notice if I had ridden the fork. This was certainly not the case when I sent it to him so I'm worried if I go for a return it won't be in the same condition I sold it in, but I don't think I can prove this. I guess another lesson learnt.

Anyway, I'm thinking of saying I'd rather do a refund but asking him if he can confirm what has been done to the fork since he got it and by whom. Not sure this will make a difference but at least I may know what is in store for me.

Ultimately I accept ebay will side with the buyer but surely there is a limit to what a buyer can do to an item from which point on the seller can no longer be held responsible for its condition?

 

[Carlos]

Do those remote lockouts have to have the fork disassembled to fit them? A lot of them just bolt onto the top of the leg.
Did it have the lockout lever on the top of the leg already? I don't know much about these sus forks aside from seeing lots of similar RS forks. The remote lockout lever is just a cable - nothing to go wrong. If the lockout lever on the forks worked before, then installing the remote one wouldn't make any difference to this.

 

[bluedazzler]

if you sold something on ebay and the buyer is not happy, you should offer a full refund on return of the items, the buyer pays return postage costs.

it's that simple.

ebay fails when people try and palm their junk off onto others, too much of this has been happening lately, that said, if the buyer stripped the fork to bits then it becomes difficult to sort out...

 

[Dick Scruttock]

Is he expecting a full lockout as they don't have a full lockout option.