Many have asked me how the controversy on Ebay ended up, relating to the Commodore Plus/4, who arrived defective, which I showed you in last video.
The situation went very well and, in this article, I will explain to you in all the details. For those who have not seen the last video, I summarize the situation.
Buying the Commodore Plus/4 on eBay
Avevo visto un Commodore Plus/4 su eBay da un venditore inglese. Il computer mi piaceva abbastanza: aveva delle piccole macchie sulla tastiera, ma erano cose di poco conto. Il retro computer era dichiarato come "testato e funzionante".
The seller had accepted my purchase proposal and therefore had served the price a little. In any case, between transport and import fees from England, I had spent more money. In short, it was not it was not properly cheap, however, for a plus/4 tested and functioning Commodore, the price was worth it.
Already the computer had arrived with a certain delay: I expected it in mid-March it had arrived at the end of April, so I had to open a first dispute, on eBay, to make sure that they looked for where the package was with my computer.
When I received the package, I opened it with you. We saw it: it was not well packed. In fact, there was not very packing element, so the computer could slam into the package, damaging itself.
I still didn't think I should open a further case on eBay!
The first thing I did was Try power voltages of the power supply, before connecting it to the computer, of course. The fuse immediately blowed. If the computer had really been tested and working, the fuse would not have blowed immediately.
After replacing the fuse, the power supply worked. However, when I connected the computer to the TV to see the classic screen of the Commodore Plus4 ... Nothing: black screen!
Do I need to open a dispute on eBay?
On social networks, in many but you have suggested to open a dispute to the seller. Some argued that the fault was not with the seller, but more with the transport.
Others lashed out against the seller, claiming that the computer was already defective when he sent it. I have a doubt, sincerely, also because the seller has never been able to send photos with the computer on.
I decided to open the dispute on eBay, in a rather kind and delicate way, not accusing anyone. Now I show you all the list of messages, so you can check yourself that I have not insulted absolutely anyone!
Being the English seller, I wrote him a very quiet first message, right in his language, with my super English, that not even Shakespeare could have written such a thing!
eBay Dispute Details
And here is the detail of the texts of the controversy on eBay.
I: "Good morning, I am really sad to inform you that the computer does not work I tried to connect it to nutrition and television, but, even if the red light turns on, the image is not shown on the TV. I, really, expected a working computer because you had written and working, but it is not. I expect a refund, in order to try to adjust the computer, if possible.
In short, they message quite quietly, no insults. It simply tells what is the reality of the facts, which you have also noticed in the video of unboxing and try.
The seller, at this point, replied: "It was fully functional before shipping it. Fully tested. I suspect that the damage may be caused by transportation. Let me check, I assure you that you will be fully rewarded."
Somehow, the seller reassured me. If the computer does not work, it refunds me. Perfect! Better this way! I answer him, thanking him. Moreover, he did not even but he said goodbye. He wrote the sentence directly, thus, without pleasantries.
Me: "Good morning. I look forward to your research. Let me know, I am very sad about this Commodore. I, really, expected it to be working. Let me know as soon as possible. Greetings, Amedeo."
So, even in this case, as you can see, I behaved in a polite way. In fact, many of you have told me: "eh, but, maybe it's not his fault, maybe he sent it working".
The seller, at this point, writes to me without even greeting: "would you accept a partial refund?"
I also stopped greeting him at this point. "It depends on the amount of the refund", I told him, "consider that I spent some money with transport and import fees and now I find a computer that does not work. Let me know."
Enough, from this point on the seller the seller no longer showed up. After a couple of days I wrote to him, soliciting his reimbursement offer. After another two days, so 4 passed since the seller's last message, I started to worry. In short, he doesn't answer me anymore. First he tells me that he reimburses me and then disappears.
I wrote to him: "Hello, are there any problems? I haven't received anything from you yet." In short, at this point I begin to get impatient.
Guess what? The seller opens a case against me! He asks Ebay to intervene and writes: "The object was completely functional, tested and in good condition, when I sent it to the sorting center. The damage may have been caused by transport".
Of course, he may also be right that the product was damaged by transport, but I received it broken. At this point we put ourselves in eBay's decision.
Response to the dispute over eBay
After some time, I received the email, communicating me that the decision had been made and that Ebay had decided to completely reimburse me.
In fact, in the summary of the eBay dispute, you see that I have been fully refunded: both the total of the computer and the shipping costs, and the import costs. A refund that covers, therefore, the total of what I had spent, without even having to send the computer back!
On the other hand, I also put myself a little in the role of the seller. I am in good faith: you have seen it too, in the video, that computer doesn't work. But, suppose that he really sent him working. In short, he would have lost money! Then, in practice, it was not like that, because I phoned the eBay service center and it was explained to me that, in this case (in a specific case) it was Ebay who repaid me. So, the seller was paid by Ebay, the transporter was paid by Ebay and I was refunded by Ebay.
In this case, eBay adopted a strategy that made me, the seller and, probably, the shipper happy too.
Among other things, I noticed that the seller but he had also left positive feedback.
So: positive feedback and broken computer for free!
If you like it and you are not yet subscribed, you can subscribe to the YouTube channel and activate the notification bell. In this way, you will help me share the passion for retro computers and vintage electronics with as many people as possible!