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what can reasonably be expected of a seller?

Let's get the obvious out of the way.  If the seller posts the item "as-is" & "untested" then that's that and you get what you get.  Right?  But if neither of these is indicated and the item is listed as practically new or unused or immaculate....  or has been in ideal storage for years, then is it perfectly reasonable to ask the seller about functionality, to request the seller test the item to confirm proper functioning?  If the price is really good, is it reasonable to ask about functionality?    I've had 2 situations lately where this has come up.   In the first instance, the seller was willing to accommodate and I did pay for the item and was awaiting confirmation that the item worked properly but was unexpectedly told that he sold to another who didn't need confirmation and my money was refunded.  And in the second instance, I asked the seller to connect the cdp he was selling to a system to confirm that if worked properly as it could be a decade old and had "probably" never been used.  He responded that he wasn't connecting it to anything and didn't have time to sit and play it and that it was already packed.   So, am I just being unreasonable and expecting to much?  What do you think is reasonable?  Thanks.
lcherepkai

Showing 4 responses by basement

basement
245 posts
 
I recently saw an ad for a Theta transport with a batch of LD's."....powers on. Drawer opens and closes. Laser has not been tested". What does that tell us?


And all the ads that say (paraphrased): "Trust me, it works, but no returns due to age". 


There are lots of ads everywhere , where it seems obvious the seller is lying because you can catch it. And there are lots of dishonest sellers, to be sure, that are good at not getting caught because they know how to work the system. 


Then there are sellers who are basically not trying to be dishonest, but have different or lesser ethics. Such as not taking responsibility for their shipper or packaging. 


The only "solution" as I see it, is to be ethical myself as a buyer, and expect the seller to  want to be the same. Then it's easy to know what questions to ask, and if they don't want to step up...well, then there is "as is" prices. 
basement
245 posts
 
Still don't see how that helps. 

If I am a buyer, and something arrives broke/not working/not as described, I don't want to deal with anything at all...not the shipper, not the buyer, just money returned or withheld and not paid. 

Don't want a "delay" in that either. I don't see any reason why I should have to wait for a refund while the seller sorts out getting paid back from the shipper. That's unethical. 
basement
245 posts
 
I'm a little confused too. 

If the buyer takes full responsibility for the shipping, who then is liable and what control is there over what was bought or represented? 
basement
245 posts
 
That's funny! I had similar experiences with Fedex around here some time ago. 

For awhile, (I was working downtown), I began to notice that most Fedex drivers would drop, throw, slam packages for seemingly no reason, while UPS treated them like...packages?


When I used to visit another forum, many had the same experiences, but with different carriers, sometime just the opposite experience. 


The issues don't seem to be carrier related, but regional. Sometimes even down to an individual. 


But, WHY a human in better than average shape would want to drop or toss a box is indeed strange. 
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