I Bought a uke on Marketplace but it is defective. Need your opinions, please...

NOTE: case closed. PayPal contacted the seller and he agrees to pay for the repair.
I bought a ukulele here on Marketplace, a Kala tenor, from a senior forum member. Seller declared that the ukulele was perfect and like new. I bought it for $30.00 less than what I would have paid to Sweetwater for a new one (I have a 15% discount with them to use). The ukulele arrived two days ago, it had nylon strings that are not my favorite. In the evening, I decided to change the strings and, as I took the old strings off, I realized that there was an issue with the bridge: the right side of the bridge was not attached to the top, I could slide a piece of paper under it. See two photos attached. Probably the seller was not aware of it and the ukulele came in this condition directly from the store. Any way, I wrote to the seller a private message on this forum and asked to return it. He answered that I "might be picky", that a partially lifting bridge is an easy "two minutes" issue to fix, easier than adjusting a nut slot... (actually, my guitar tech to whom I sent the photos told me that it is NOT a two minutes fix...). The seller suggested that either I have it fixed (at my expenses) or, as an alternative, he said that he may accept a return but I have not only to pay for the return shipping cost, I have also to REFUND him for his shipping expenses when he sent the ukulele to me. I find this, honestly, quite outrageous. in both scenarios offered by the seller, I am going to lose money while he does not lose a cent, even if he has the responsibility of having shipped a defective instrument. I tried to find an agreement: I proposed to ship the ukulele back to him at my expenses, but I asked for a full refund of the price that I paid to the seller, with no discounts... At that point, the guy disappeared. No answers, nothing. I wrote him again asking, please, to respond. No, zero replies. I paid the seller with Pay Pal and since this morning the case is in Pay Pal hands. I never found myself in a situation like this. What would you do in my place? Would you keep the uke and have it fixed at your own expense ? Would you accept to return it and pay for both your shipping and the seller shipping, and close the case with Pay Pal ? Or, if not, what else could I do other than hoping that Pay Pal will take a decision in my favor ? Thank you for your opinions.

A case with PayPal should resolve the issue. They favor the buyer’s claim in most cases.
It’s possible that the bridge damage occurred in shipping, as it has been very hot in the US, so the seller can make an insurance claim as well,
Ron

Hmm, as I understand it, you got a fancy laminate instrument for under $200 that functions properly (for the moment at least) but does have a minor (?) manufacturing defect that the seller was presumably unaware of. If it was me, I'd play it, dont put high tension strings on it and not worry about it. If the bridge rips off you can get it fixed then. Or get another uke if that repair cost was too high.

The right answer is probably for the seller to provide a partial refund. Don't get me wrong, you were within your rights to demand a refund with you paying return shipping. That was also a fair resolution. But since that's fell through, I'd live with it. Just my opinion

The ukulele was shipped from wisconsin to michigan ( a two days trip with UPS) just a few days ago. Since one week, temperatures have dropped in our region, and are, on average, around 55-60 degrees. Although everything is possible, I doubt that the bridge lifting could have appened in transit.

Are we talking the marketplace here on UU, Facebook, or something else?

I second Jim Hankses reponse.

John Colter

Marketplace here on the Forum.

I'd also like to add that, in addition to the option of returning the ukulele, I offered the seller the option to keep it if he contributes to the expense to fix it. Also in this case, no answer.

I believe that, in this unfortunate situation, the fair solution is that both the seller and I lose a few dollars, in equal amount. He loses his shipping costs. I lose my return shipping costs, and we are even.

NOTE: case closed. PayPal contacted the seller and he agrees to pay for the repair.

This is the kind of thing that worries me every time I buy or think of buying a used ukulele. I've had no problems at all buying here - and returning, but have never had a uke arrive that wasn't as described. Getting a bridge re-glued, and the setup check that would need to be redone, is not free.

As the seller, I would never sell a uke in that condition without noting it. If it happened in shipping, I would take the responsibility off of the buyer and put in a damage report with the shipper. My guess is if that is the only problem with the uke, it probably didn't happened in shipping.

As a buyer, I would feel pretty much like gerado1000. Losing my return shipping costs is all I would expect to lose, and I would still be upset with the seller. In the future I might start asking sellers if they will pay for all shipping costs if the uke is not as described and would need a repair to make it as described. Nice to hear PayPal took care of the problem.

Why does this thread exist? Shouldn't the discussion be held by the buyer and the seller?

I just wanted to know from other forum members, based on their experience on Marketplace, if I should accept the seller's request to deduct his shipping expenses from the refund, or not. Is it against the forum rules? In any case, as I noted, the case has been resolved.

gerardo1000 said:

In any case, as I noted, the case has been resolved.

Click to expand...

You should probably close the thread then

I'd like to but I don't know how. Could you give me instructions?

gerardo1000 said:

I just wanted to know from other forum members, based on their experience on Marketplace, if I should accept the seller's request to deduct his shipping expenses from the refund, or not. Is it against the forum rules? In any case, as I noted, the case has been resolved.

Click to expand...

If it arrived as advertised and you just didn't like it, then that would be customary. In this case, I dont think that applies.

I will just add that shipping damage can happen, although it is unlikely in this case. I shipped a guilele last winter and the buyer informed me (and provided pictures) it arrived with a small area where the top had separated from the side. I assured him it did not leave my house that way. He wanted to return it, but I didn't want it back as I had sold it because the ergonomics didn't work well for me. He agreed that it was playable as-is, so we agreed to a new price in its current condition (about half the original purchase price) and I gave a partial refund. I did not get shipping insurance on that one. So I took a hit on that one, but hopefully the uke was still going to be useful, and my conscience was clear.

gerardo1000 said:

I'd like to but I don't know how. Could you give me instructions?

Click to expand...

If you're on the full website, it's in the red bar near the top, under "Administrative", (beside "Thread Tools"). Not sure where that would be on the mobile version.

glennerd said:

If you're on the full website, it's in the red bar near the top, under "Administrative", (beside "Thread Tools"). Not sure where that would be on the mobile version.

Click to expand...

That only works in the Marketplace. A moderator would have to close.

gerardo1000 said:

I believe that, in this unfortunate situation, the fair solution is that both the seller and I lose a few dollars, in equal amount. He loses his shipping costs. I lose my return shipping costs, and we are even.

Click to expand...

I'm glad things worked out for you.

If I was the seller, I'd feel very bad that the buyer was inconvenienced by my mistake or lack of attention. I'd certainly be very glad to pay return shipping and wonder what else I can do for the buyer.

This should be a reminder for sellers to always double check and maybe even play the instrument before sending it off. Kind of like a goodbye gift for the instrument and a final quality control: 2 birds with 1 stone.

@geradoo100

Thank you for not naming the seller, it simply wouldn’t be a reasonable thing to do and particularly to a member with a decent number of posts like him. The pictures of the Uke (from the selling thread) look like it is indeed unplayed and new, as such the seller deserves the benefit of the doubt and may well have thought that you were trying to pull a fast one - I can’t think that anyone here would but some people do you know ...

Sadly it is not at all unknown for bridges to be poorly glued down and it might well have been that the seller had no idea of the fault’s presence - any easily overlooked fault. If he had known of the fault then he could have sought to send the Uke back back to the store that he purchased it from for a refund (a far better deal than selling to you at a discount) or claimed a (free) repair off of the warranty.

Whatever, it’s good that you got a resolution. Sometimes things just go wrong and it’s no one’s fault in particular but rather simply an unfortunate combination of events and circumstances.