Cue Sale Advice?

plshrk22

plshrk22

A Holes Billiards
Silver Member
So I recently sold a cue over seas and the seller advised me that the color of the my photo and the cue in person were not the same. He now wants a full refund. Of course I would refund if cue was not straight or damaged but Im just baffled and not sure what to do. I dont want to risk my rep but I feel I represented the cue very clearly.. Im not sure what the right thing to do is..
 
If you decide to take the return/refund.... get it back... Inspect to be sure it is exactly as it was sent and then refund. Go from there. If it is damaged you can have it refinished and deduct the cost. Split the shipping. Or explain it was sold as is.
 
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If you do decide to refund hs money I would use an escrow for the return. To many possibilities of you not getting your cue back. If you feel your photos were solid and your description was spot on then it's a tough call. I guess it depends on the situation. If the guy has a good rep, as well as being well known here then I would probably refund once I had the cue back. If he's a newbie then I probably wouldn't chance it. I would never deal internationally for reasons like this.
 
plshrk22 said:
So I recently sold a cue over seas and the seller advised me that the color of the my photo and the cue in person were not the same. He now wants a full refund. Of course I would refund if cue was not straight or damaged but Im just baffled and not sure what to do. I dont want to risk my rep but I feel I represented the cue very clearly.. Im not sure what the right thing to do is..
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Without knowing details, my "scam antenna" would go straight up. How did you get paid? Was the buyer a well known member here?

Can you put up pictures of the cue?

Maybe less shipping costs round trip. International shipping is usually so expensive, it makes returns prohibitive.

Chris
 
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I would be very, very careful taking a return in this case. Overseas shipping is certainly expensive, risky and, like Chris, my scam antenna just pegged the meter.

If you took a return, it should be through an escrow and return shipping/escrow costs should be on the buyer side. I am not saying at all to not do a return, just be prudent.

I have done many, many deals overseas and have found every single transaction to be flawless. Superb buyers and sellers, with top flight character in every case.

I do also know that the possibility of scam or unforseen difficulty can arise.

Do NO refund until your cue is safe in hand and in proper condition.

I give the advice this way because I know no details about your sale, the buyer, etc. With more knowledge I may say something else. Variables are in play.

Good luck!

Will
 
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He has 4 Positive iTrader but he is new. I do not alter my photos but I do take them out in the sunlight which cues always look their best in the sunlight but you can also see EVERYTHING which is why I do it.

The 8 Pointer is the cue in question. I can understand it would be a little darker inside in poor lighting but nothing to make the buyer not like the cue??

DSC_0061.jpg
 
Color........

midstroke said:
Dont know if i would refund overseas just for color variation.
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I am not sure what I might do if the buyer is questioning color and that is his only beef.

It would depend on how off your picture is from the actual cue in my hand. If way off, then..........
 
Beautiful

That cue is very beautiful. I can't imagine what the guy's problem is? Maybe he just decided he couldn't afford it. Color couldn't be the real reason!
 
Warning, Warning make sure everything is ok before anything further. How did this person pay was it through Paypal? Was it by check? if so my scam antenna would be doing overtime. Remember a check can clear in your bank account and then be found to be in some way fraudulent up to 10 weeks later. Under no circumstances refund any money until the cue is back in your hands and definately split the shipping.
 
He paid through PayPal. Yeh Im not sure what is going on. To tell you the truth, the more I look at the cue, the more I want it back :). Here is what he said to me when I told him I was unsure about returning his money just because of a color issue.

From Buyer:

Well, all the cues I bought before pretty much looked the same as on the pictures.
The look of a cue does of course not effect the game. But the more you like the look of your cue the more fun it is usually. And that does in a way effect your game (at least for a lot of people).

Considering the colour:
I really think it will be hard for me to sell this cue in that colour, since I know quite well the taste of the people around here. It is not so easy as well to sell cues from cuemakers not know here.
Arguing with buyers about not so many inlays for the money can also be agonizing sometimes...
 
If you strongly feel you did everything in good faith as you advertised let's call the sale As Is. Also use this as a learning experience.
 
plshrk22 said:
He has 4 Positive iTrader but he is new. I do not alter my photos but I do take them out in the sunlight which cues always look their best in the sunlight but you can also see EVERYTHING which is why I do it.
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The new member thing concerns me.

A lot of reputable sellers will not ship or sell overseas. I have in the past and I've had very few problems, but the red tape, shipping delays, concerns and expense, customs, etc. can be a nightmare. I don't think I would do it anymore.

I'm not saying this is a scam, but here's how you could be scammed. You were paid by paypal, cue is sent back to you and received fine. You receive an e-mail from the buyer saying that his original paypal account is closed, please refund via paypal to another e-mail address or Western Union, or cashier's check) . Then a few weeks later, your original payment is recalled by paypal because the credit card on the account was stolen. Since you refunded though your own account to another address, you are out the refund amount.

Anyway, if you're going to have a lot of transactions over time, having a refund policy is a good thing, a very good thing. many people simply won't buy if the seller's policy is "no refunds". If all of your costs are covered, and you were paid in a safe manner, and the cue is returned to you safely, then yes, I would refund the buyer.

Refunding people for whatever reason is not fun, but a sale isn't a sale until your customer has satisfactorily accepted the goods. It doesn't matter why he didn't like the cue.

In my opinion, it's best to just bite the bullet and refund. The more experience you have buying and selling, the more you will come around to this thinking.

Chris
 
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plshrk22 said:
He paid through PayPal. Yeh Im not sure what is going on. To tell you the truth, the more I look at the cue, the more I want it back :). Here is what he said to me when I told him I was unsure about returning his money just because of a color issue.

From Buyer:

Well, all the cues I bought before pretty much looked the same as on the pictures.
The look of a cue does of course not effect the game. But the more you like the look of your cue the more fun it is usually. And that does in a way effect your game (at least for a lot of people).

Considering the colour:
I really think it will be hard for me to sell this cue in that colour, since I know quite well the taste of the people around here. It is not so easy as well to sell cues from cuemakers not know here.
Arguing with buyers about not so many inlays for the money can also be agonizing sometimes...
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See my post above, If he covers all costs, then I would take the cue back. Come up with a fair published refund policy and stick with it. Mine is I will take a cue back for any reason less shipping costs upon a reasonable 3 day inspection from receipt. I have taken $8,000 cues back no questions asked. I've bought and sold many hundreds of cues and have only had a handful returned. It's a good practice. i would only refund after receipt of the cue in the same shape it was shipped, and only to the original paypal payment he gave you.

Chris
 
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Thanks so much for your input Chris. The good guy in me wants to refund but I still dont feel right doing it. I honestly think he is having buyers remorse as I think that cue is beautiful. I am going to refund him his money upon receiving the cue.
 
plshrk22 said:
Thanks so much for your input Chris. The good guy in me wants to refund but I still dont feel right doing it. I honestly think he is having buyers remorse as I think that cue is beautiful. I am going to refund him his money upon receiving the cue.
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Yep probably buyer's remorse, Because it's is a great looking cue, just make sure you don't get scammed and I think he should pay full shipping back because the pictures are good.
 
plshrk22 said:
He has 4 Positive iTrader but he is new. I do not alter my photos but I do take them out in the sunlight which cues always look their best in the sunlight but you can also see EVERYTHING which is why I do it.

The 8 Pointer is the cue in question. I can understand it would be a little darker inside in poor lighting but nothing to make the buyer not like the cue??

DSC_0061.jpg
Click to expand...

When I do pictures for things for sale like cues. After I do the pictures I will sit at the computer with the cue right next to me and mess with the picture til it looks exactly like the cue. Lighting can often change what the color looks like when you take the picture. I am not trying enhance anything or fool anyone by manipulating the picture, quite the opposite, I am trying to be as honest as I can be. Just something to think about for the future.

I am not that crazy about selling over seas anyway. May not be worth the hassle even if you make a few more dollars.
 
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This is a great reason why when I do sell anymore, it is not to overseas buyers. I think it's a scam myself. I would immediately remove the funds from your Paypal account and disconnect your current bank account from it. Then you can work on a resolution....but not before protecting yourself and your money first!

Lisa
 
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