hi all,
I recently sold a mandolin on ebay for $250 to a buyer in California. He received the item and I thought all was OK.
Today, 12 days after he received the mandolin, he has told me that the mandolin will need approximately $100 in tuneup and repair. He asked me to cover part of this repair and I refused. Throughout our correspondence (off of ebay messages, BTW), he kept adding to the list of damages finally ending his last email with me saying that the neck is bent on the mandolin.
I listed the item as used and claimed that there are minor cosmetic damages in my ad. I said "the neck is straight!" in my listing, which, in my unprofessional opinion, I believed it to be. I now feel that he is trying to pick things out of my description to use against me.
The mandolin sounded nice to me and I did not notice any of the issues that he now claims is wrong with the instrument. I am not a professional musician, nor an instrument technician, nor did I claim to be in my ad.
Buyer now wants to open a dispute on ebay and paypal against me. I refuse to provide a refund now, nor did I claim I would at any point in my ad. He has had the instrument for 12 days now, including time spent at a music festival, and there is no telling what sort of damage he has done to the mandolin.
How much can this guy screw me over? Can ebay force me to refund his money? There is no telling what he has done to the instrument, and if I receive the instrument from him again I could be receiving total junk.
I've never had any negative issues on ebay. This is really testing my faith in the online auction world...
thanks for any advice...
