(Not OT becasue it’s bike kit)

I sold some SPD shoes recently, that I’d been advertising on here. These ones —

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fs-shimano-spd-shoes-sz45-cheap

The bloke has just PMd me saying —

“I have just inspected the shoes and noticed the left shoe has been glued and has a hole on the left side that i can put my finger through. I haven’t reported it to e-bay as i thought we could resolve this without taking the matter further”

Now, I cleaned them up thoroughly before the sale and they looked fine to me. Used, but not damaged. But this sort of thing always puts the seed of doubt in my mind, if you know what I mean: I was 100% sure they were OK…. But I certainly HAVE NOT glued them!

Now I listed eBay auction from my phone and only used phone pics, but I have 6 high-res pics (See the STW ad!) saved he knows nowt about. So far I’ve replied asking if the packaging was damaged.

I hate to think that someone might be trying to pull a fast one on me, but it does feel a bit like that so far.
They didn’t sell for much and I’m not overly fussed about the money, but if they come back damaged I’ll be peed off, becasue I could have used those shoes!

Whaddya reckon I should do/say? I’m undecided…….

Have you asked him to send you photos of the damage/gluing?

I think that might be the next step, but I have asked where the damage is.

I would wait for the pics. If it’s in an area that you have clearly covered in your photos, tell him to sling his hook, backed up by copies of your photos, assuming you haven’t worn the since they were taken.

I think I’d tell him I’d got pictures, I’d imagine he might just drop it – If you ask him for pictures he’ll have to damage the shoes to not lose face & you could end up having to refund him for damaged shoes if Ebay find in his favour.
Even if he does just drop it, he can leave negative feedback & you can’t do anything about it.

he’s after a discount. Tell him to post them back at his expense and you’ll refund when they arrive. You’ll never hear from him again.

he’s after a discount. Tell him to post them back at his expense and you’ll refund when they arrive. You’ll never hear from him again.

Well, ultimately that’s what I will do, for sure. I’m not refunding and letting him keep them, whatever the condition!

For the sake of £15 I’d just agree to refund once the shoes have been returned.
Chances are they wont want to go down this route if there’s nowt wrong with them.
I’d not bother with asking for pictures.

Geoff, I know what you mean, I do…….

i had this with some boxing gloves i sold, where the guy said they had a one inch rip that had been glued (probably would have noticed that!) I asked him to post them back for a refund (TBH i was disappointed that they’d sold so cheap as well). Never returned but very bad, abusive feedback left. quite irritating really.

I usually get down to selling on ebay when I have 10 bits and bobs to sell and each time 1 (out of 10) buyers wil have a go this*. Tell them that you are a firm believer in the customer always being right so if they return them to you that you will give them a full refund including the postage. They’ll probably give up although if they are a hardcore blagger they may then ask for a partial refund (discount) just reply that you made your original offer and it still stands.

If he is able to provide photos then unless he has performed a ‘switch’ with a damaged pair of his own then you may need to go to Specsavers!

* It’s a complete hassle isn’t it. Good luck.

It’s still possible to ask a buyer to alter/remove feedback left, but has to be done within a very short timescale and I think a dispute needs to have been started with e-bay.

Agree with action of photos first, then offer full/part refund with return of item if full refund.