Buyer claims item is defective

dudara

I recently sold a Nintendo DS game (Age of Empires II) on eBay. I had only played the game a handful of times, and lost interest quickly.

I sold it for £10 + £2.50 p&p to a buyer in the UK. He has since contacted me to say that the game freezes on Day 47 of a campaign.

He appears sincere, but what do I do in this situation? He has asked me if I have the receipts to return the game (meaning that he will obtain the full refund price?). I am not willing to accept the item back, but I am willing to make a partial refund (£5 perhaps).

Any input from anyone?

jor el

How long ago did he buy it and did you state any returns policy in the original auction? If it's more than a a few weeks ago, I wouldn't be offering any refunds, as it could have broken at any time. There isn't really much you can do if the game freezes at some point beyond where you played it. I don't really see what the buyer expects of you either.

If you're in Ireland and have the receipt then it'll probably be no good to him in the UK anyway.

dudara

He purchased it approximately 3 weeks ago, and I didn't state any returns policy in the sales listing. (I deliberately did this, as I didn't want the hassle of dealing with small value returns).

The buyer only informed me of the defect when I emailed seeking feedback.

Here is the listing for more information.

Would a goodwill gesture go astray? I want to avoid negative feedback here.

rgfuller

According to wiki there may be a fault with the game itself:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Empires:_The_Age_of_Kings

In which case he should try and deal with the issue rather than return as faulty.

dudara

@ rgfuller Thanks for that link. I've emailed the buyer asking if this may be an issue. I'll await a response from them before deciding what else to do.

Passenger

Well if he hasn't already mention that he wants a refund then it's doubtful he wants one surely.