School Toy Sale - Defective item sold

Sunny Dayz

Hey all,

My son's school had a bring-and-buy sale during the week.

Himself came home all delighted with a battery operated toy but said it needed new batteries. I fished a new set from the drawer and when I opened the toy, two springs where the batteries rest were broken and slightly rusted, which meant the toy won't work. :mad:

Himself was awful disappointed. My guess is whoever had sent it in knew it wasn't working but sent it in regardless to get rid of it.

What should I do in this regard? My son is in his early years of primary education so wouldn't know to try before you buy. Should I mention something to the school to let them know that someone has sent in defective items incase it has affected anyone else?

Paulw

Unfortunately, it's buyer beware. Nothing more can be done.

It may only be a case that the connectors for the batteries are damaged, and maybe they could be repaired cheaply. Sometimes it is just a small thing to fix.

Sorry for how it worked out for you.

dudara

Nothing you can do about this - it's really a lesson learned. It probably wasn't even intentional on the part of whoever donated the toy.

Miaireland

Nothing you can do to be honest. That is the risk of buying at a jumble sale. I wouldn't say anuthing to the school tbh.

amdublin

Buyer Beware.

I'd use it as a teaching point for your child rather than saying anything to the school.

the_syco

Sunny Dayz wrote: »

when I opened the toy, two springs where the batteries rest were broken and slightly rusted, which meant the toy won't work.

Most of the stuff given to such sales are stuff that are not used anymore. The parent probably saw the toy as a toy that wasn't being used, and gave it in: the toy probably wasn't being used as it was broken, but the parent may not have tried it before giving it in?

amdublin

Sunny Dayz wrote: »

My guess is whoever had sent it in knew it wasn't working but sent it in regardless to get rid of it.

I doubt this.

Sure it'd be easier to throw it in the bin to get rid of it.

emo72

its a school fundraiser thing. dont feel so bad about it. as a previous poster said the best lesson here is for your child to learn from the experience.

i would be inclined to not bring it up or mention anything to the school.

Zab

People are misspeaking in this thread. You can obviously ask the school for a refund, they just don't have to oblige. Now, whether you actually want to or not is a totally different question and one that only you can answer.

Also, it sounds like it may be possible to fix it. Tinfoil is your friend.

Cabaal

Zab wrote: »

People are misspeaking in this thread. You can obviously ask the school for a refund, they just don't have to oblige. Now, whether you actually want to or not is a totally different question and one that only you can answer.

Also, it sounds like it may be possible to fix it. Tinfoil is your friend.

Nobody is misspeaking, people are instead being realistic and thinking of the bigger picture

To be perfectly honest if its bring and buy its for fund-raising, if you want the OP to look like a dick then sure go right ahead and suggest they look for their money back.

The OP has no rights (buyer beware) and in fairness the money is for fund raising so best to leave things as they are and learn from it

Joey the lips

I cant comment on the consumer aspect and as its a fundraiser i would not care to

however if you really want to save the toy there is 2 things you can do.

Give the metal contacts on the toy where the battery goes a good rub with vinager on a cloth makeing sure the vinager does not get into the toy.

Let the toy dry out a while.

The new batteries should now work. Whats happened is the batteries wasted in the toy the acid has leaked because they were not removed.


If the vinager does not work scrape the contacts with a stanley knife - The flat of the blade to clear away the rust.

amdublin

Being realistic:
How much did your child pay for the toy?

Ie. What do you think you will look like going back to the school over (I am guessing) max €5.

Let it go dude and instead talk to your child about being careful about this kind of stuff in the future.

Zab

Cabaal wrote: »

Nobody is misspeaking, people are instead being realistic and thinking of the bigger picture

There's no need for us to argue here.

Paulw wrote: »

Nothing more can be done.

dudara wrote: »

Nothing you can do about this - it's really a lesson learned.

Miaireland wrote: »

Nothing you can do to be honest.

There's not nothing he can do. He can ask for his money back. His lack of rights doesn't preclude him from asking. Most people are just making a judgement call on OP's behalf that he shouldn't ask for it back. I therefore put it to you that they're misspeaking.

Again, this isn't worthy of an argument.

dudara

I would hazard a guess that things like this are considered private sales, and therefore items are purchased as seen. In such cases, you can ask for your money back, but the seller has no legal obligation to return in to you.

emo72

hi zab,if you were in the same position would you ask for your money back?

Ricardo G

As a previous poster stated "let it be a lesson learned" for you and your son. A car boot sale/jumble sale will usually sell used items that no longer work or have been used to such an extent that they have seen their best days. I would be inclined to let this one slide and see if you can fix the toy. Would more than likely cause you more tension bringing it back to the school and looking for a refund

Zab

emo72 wrote: »

hi zab,if you were in the same position would you ask for your money back?

I'd consider it if it was expensive, say over €25(?), which is really unlikely. So, no, as it's essentially a charity it's unlikely that I'd personally even really consider it. I'd explain why to my kid, though. He should know that it's okay to stick up for himself.

ejmaztec

I never expect anything to work that was bought from a school jumble-sale, it's the charity that counts. Most parents don't realise that the crap they're donating was damaged beyond repair by little Barry, who kept quiet about it, or that half the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle are missing.

If you go asking for a refund, you get the evil eye thereafter from anyone who knows about it.

MrBroker

I think that's all part of the 'fun' of jumble sales, if you did let the school know there wouldn't be anything they could do for you. It's not like they bought in a load of defective merchandise themselves that they were selling on, they'd probably find it hard/impossible to find the person who had dropped it in. AFAIK if you buy something second hand & from a private person it's buyer beware & you don't have a legal comeback.

I second Joey the Lips advice, vinegar trick worked for a toy car my son left batteries in and forgot about for quite a long time.

CH3OH

Did he get a receipt?