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The camera was purchased by a guy in Atlanta who first emailed me about my return policy and I replied that the usual 30-day period and return-as-you-received applied for a full refund minus the shipping costs. He bought the camera a few days later and I instantly shipped it to him through Priority Mail to beat the Thanksgiving break. I received a delivery confirmation yesterday so I was naturally surprised when he emailed me as to when he could expect it. After sending him the tracking number, he confirmed that he had received it but at the same time added that after shooting few pictures, the LCD screen was not working for reviewing the pictures. In the same breath, he asked for my return address. I asked to see if he was using it correctly and pointed him to the different setting for shooting and reviewing the photos. He responded within the hour saying, the MyMode was not working and he was returning the camera.
Of course, I was disappointed since I was considering using the money for a new lens for my SLR but I found the whole thing a bit fishy since the buyer was more concerned about returning the camera than its condition or quality even before he bought it. Probably I am just being paranoid but the camera was working perfectly fine and I packaged it extremely carefully complete with bubble-wrap and those air-filled plastic bags that come with any Amazon purchase. I read up on Amazon’s return policy on the Marketplace and it is heavily skewed in favor of the buyer especially for used goods. But there have been cases of buyers returning defective items and keeping the originally purchased items. Ash managed to dig up the original receipt so that we can compare the serial number of the camera when it is returned. But I’ll have no way to prove if the buyer has tampered with the internal parts and damaged it. I’ve told him that I would refund the money only if it arrives before I leave for India, is in the condition I had sent it in, and matched the serial number. But in absence of any outward proof of any wrongdoing, I might have to refund his money if those conditions are met. But the whole thing just seems too fishy and I’m keeping my fingers crossed and waiting for the camera so I can personally inspect it.
Online transactions are heavily based on trust and although retailers shoulder most of the liability burden, you are simply not willing to invest any time and effort in any dispute that arises. Your reputation as a seller may be negatively impacted and thus any future sales that you might be hoping to do can be affected. Any misdeeds such as buying stuff and exchanging non-working parts or tampering with the original item before returning must be rampant. I just hope that isn’t the case with my camera. Although Amazon recommends that the seller refund the buyer in case of returned items, the sellers are not obligated to in case they suspect any mischief. The buyer is covered under Amazon’s A-to-Z Guarantee Protection and the sellers have to negotiate with Amazon regarding the dispute. I just hope I don’t have to go that way because frankly I don’t have the time or the inclination.
Have you had any such bad experiences with selling your stuff online?
by Patrix | on Tuesday, November 27th, 2007 at 11:25 pm | 
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November 27th, 2007 at 11:58 pm reply
I had a similar problem with amazon’s seller program earlier this year too…
Someone complained about a book not being shipped in a bubble mailer, despite the fact that the book was hardcover and there was no way it was going to be damaged in shipping.
Needless to say, Amazon sided with the buyer and now my online account is tarnished forever :(
Hope your situation works out well.
November 28th, 2007 at 12:27 am reply
I have had a similar experience with selling my medical school books on amazon as well. I made the mistake of throwing the receipt with tracking number on it and this one person sent emails saying they have not received the book. I had sold close to 20 some books during that time, after mailing then the book i would email them the tracking number via usps and this was the only incident where I had to return the money. It was very fishy indeed for me as well.
November 28th, 2007 at 11:19 am reply
sir jorge, incidentally my only negative rating on Amazon Seller was thanks to a buyer who bought a hardcover book and complained of its sorry state. When he returned it, the book was hardly in the sad state he described. I guess he wanted it for an exam.
Sines, Yup! I guess we’ve to learn the hard way. Sending a tracking number in a reply email makes sense.
November 28th, 2007 at 1:38 pm reply
That’s why I use craiglist. Easy to dispose of as ppl are in same city and once the deal is done, well its done :D
November 28th, 2007 at 2:36 pm reply
Supremus, I know! I had placed the ad on all possible networks - Amazon, CraigsList, Facebook, etc. It just happened that Amazon took the bait first.
November 28th, 2007 at 2:46 pm reply
This is not simply an Amazon rules®ulations game with just your feedback at stake. If the buyer did tamper with your camera, he is violating the law.
10 years ago, in the early days of eBay, my roommate paid $1200 for a bose he never got. At that time we complained to the police and there is a separate section that deals with internet shopping frauds. Your recourse would be to go there. Or at least threaten the buyer that you would approach this police if you suspect fraud.
November 28th, 2007 at 2:55 pm reply
Hawkeye, I understand but I’m waiting for the camera to be returned before I can conclusively say that I was cheated. If the camera was exchange, I’ll know instantly but if its innards were tampered with without noticeable damage on the outside, I really won’t be able to prove it. My trip to India might put a damper on any action I would want to take.
November 28th, 2007 at 3:24 pm reply
Its amazing right. I used to think I was the only magnet who attracted all the world’s cheaters to steal my money.
Imagine the odds of someone picking you to cheat. I suspect if the buyer is really a fishy guy, he is prowling for first time sellers with little or no feedback rating.
I wonder what his feedback rating is.
November 28th, 2007 at 3:29 pm reply
Also, take it from my personal experience. If you are planning to give a huge bulky SLR camera to a close family relative and ask that person to snap all the important moments of your wedding, your gonna be doing more man-resource-management than you what you think.
my person never wore the camera belt and was always near water.
November 28th, 2007 at 3:41 pm reply
Hawkeye, oh yeah! if something can go wrong, I’ll be one of the first to get a taste of it. Although not a scam, I had a similar weird similar experience once with a Craigslist ad.
BTW although I know it exists, where can you direct access the buyer’s rating?Never mind..got it! The dude doesn’t have a rating yet; so it seems he is new on Amazon.And nope, I’m hardly likely to give my camera to any relative apart from my wife/fiancee and my brother. I’m protective that way :)
November 28th, 2007 at 4:10 pm reply
In that case, If he does not turn out to be a fraud, I think he is chickening out of the deal or he got a better deal somewhere.
ya! the close family relative i was referring to is the ‘brother’ :-)
November 28th, 2007 at 4:26 pm reply
Hawkeye, well, I understand getting a better deal and wanting to return the camera. I’ve no problems with that. But then why make up a story about a defective camera? And if he is going damage the camera just to back up the story then it is simply pathetic.
And if my brother does anything to my camera, he know there’ll be hell to pay. He has had that experience before. Adi, if you are reading this, remember the way you fled after dropping my PoP model?