Personal Warranties by Sellers

[GIS-Man]

Hi All,

I just want to get your responses and views on such things as "Personal WArranty" many a time I see sellers giving such a thing as "Personal Warranty-1 week or 3 Days" I am wondering how this applies and is it really possible to give "Personal Warranty" and even then so to honor such Personal Warranty"

I am asking this is because of the following:

1. How do we actually give and accept "Personal Warranty on 2nd hand Goods? Even the shops in the so called camera belt sometimes do not give warranty on 2nd hand goods.

2. Will seller "really" honor such warranties?

3. As far as i know, once goods and monies exchange hands it is very very hard to enforce such "Personal Warranties". I have on one occasion been duped by such a warranty by a seller who went missing and even cut off my calls to him/her (I am not revealing gender as I don't wan't to cause anyone any annoyance) as I am only asking for opinions here.

Would CS members like to comment. I know that this thread may sound silly but for the betterment of the Personal Classifieds, I hope we can be more enlightened.

Personally I would prefer that the Mods here try to persuade members from giving "Personal Warranties" in their ads. May be even put in a warning to buyers and sellers that "Personal Warranties" are at the risks of the Buyers and Sellers

Thank You.

 

[Octarine]

The mods won't do anything. Two reasons: it's not their job as forum administrators and secondly they don't have any legal grounds to do so. The forum is the platform for announcements, not the legal trading ground like an online shop. Get it right: whatever you agree with any buyer or seller is entirely your business. Also, if you have made bad encounters and you don't reveal the names you support such behaviour and the next fellow will suffer as well. If you have clear facts and proof it's your responsibility to speak up and make it known. The mods can then act and block the seller here from further activities. But that's all.
Warranty is a bet, nothing more. The seller bets that it's working fine for the given warranty period. The buyer bets that something goes wrong. The buyer pays the wager upfront, the seller only if something goes wrong. If the announcement in Classifieds includes warranty then it becomes part of the verbal contract. Doesn't need to be rewritten again, the WTS announcement is enough. How this warranty is finally honoured is up to buyer/seller to agree upon. It could be that the seller pays repair works / parts or that the seller takes back the article and returns the money. Again: it needs to be agreed upfront. But that also requires that the seller to give complete contact information. Something that would clearly separate the wheat from the chaff of the sellers.
For you it can be a good way to see how serious the seller is. If he's fine to give full contact information for the warranty period then it's a serious fellow.

 

[tSkye]

Verbal guarantees are hard to prove, his word against yours.
Ultimately, it's just for reputation of the seller.
Bad rep for a person means no one trusts him and buys from him anymore.

For buyers, it's better Caveat Emptor, check thoroughly to ensure nothing goes wrong.
After all, the trouble to meet up and all is not worth it.

For sellers, they often offer 3 days to a week of personal guarantee.
This is to ensure the items' conditions are as claimed on the thread.

So read carefully, make a proper decision whether to meet.
Test thoroughly, and everyone goes home happy.

 

[nightwolf75]

short of a clear cut and provable fraud, CS policy has always been buyer beware. any agreement made by members over buy/sell is strictly personal and beyond the control of the admins or mods.

on a personal note, i always find giving personal warranties silly becos it is not enforceable nor practical. as a seller, i don't know wat u will do after the deal, within the personal warranty period. if something goes wrong due to personal idiocy, the buyer can easily turn ard and say it is my fault. there's no way to prove otherwise.

 

[redwine]

Well, as long as the buyer and seller agreed, everything goes.

I assume personal warranty will cover defects that are not specifically mention before sale.

 

[GIS-Man]

Thanks Nightwolf75, the eason I asked this is because recently when I wanted to sell an Fm the buyer insisted on a "Personal Warranty" to this I said that the only warranty i could give is that the camera is in fine working condition, mechanically and the meter was in working order then tested with a light meter. The buyer then insisted saying that there are many other sellers who gave their "Personal Warranty" on sales. Thje buyer said that he/she wpuld not require a full refund but was willing to take a half refund if the camera is faulty (Here I smelt a rat. I opined that this buyer wanted to just take the camera for a few days to have a good use of it and then later try to claim a faulty and get half the cost back, probably wantd to just "Rent" the camera from me))

My reply was simple, If you check the item on purchase and are satisfied with what you are buying then we could deal. I told the buyer that I could not simply give a "Personal Warranty" and let the buyer take the camera away and later on claim that the camera is faulty and demand a refund or the like.

I said that I don't know what would happen to the camera ater it leaves my posession. I even added that there is no 2nd hand camera shop in the world who would allow you to take out a camera and later claim fault and refund, even half the price.The buyer could use it for as much as possible, or even damage it and later claim that I sold a faulty Camera. The buyer the became nasty an said that he/she would flay me in CS saying that I am not a genuine seller.

My reply was simple, "It is you who contacted me to make the purchase and not I who called you to sell the item".

This was when I decided that enough is enough and called off the deal.

This is why I ams asking these questions. Nothing more than to get views from CSers.

THanks for all the replies and comments some are really useful and I hope others learns from these exchanges.

GS

 

[chngpe01]

When I sell my equipt, I do give 7 days personal warranty against any defect, except any damage due to accident or mishandling or cosmetics defects or defects already spelt out

This is because I believe and is confident in what I am selling. I would not want to sell to someone a piece of item that is not working at all.

I once sold a SD-8A (which I did not use for quite awhile, after I got a quatum) and the seller found that is was not working after a few days. I refunded the $ in full.

A 7-day warranty is a gentlemen agreement stated out front when posting in the Buy and Sell. And one should honour it if he offered it.

If the seller do not post the 7 day warranty then the buyer should not take it for granted that there is one or that it should be a norm.

Personally I do not see any wrong in offering a personal warranty, to each his/her own.

 

[markyen]

TS: if the buyer ask for the sky and earth and you think it is too much it is wise for you to call it off.

I had experiences wherby buyer test everything (1 hour !!) and it is ok BUT say the product not good enough!:bigeyes: I quickly pack and go rather than waste another 1 hour hagging price or personnal warranty. My point is some buyers but here in BNS and wanted "shop warranty" from us. or "manufacturer's warranty" which we can't give or commit to.

Nevertheless, just to point out BNS is just a platform for us and some of us are busy with work we are not full time doing business here, it is just hobby. I understand the hardship of moderators as I was once a moderator for a forum but now with kids have no time already.

There are good sellers and buyers out there... Just take more pictures and hope our agenda in on photography.

Cheers

 

[GIS-Man]

TS: if the buyer ask for the sky and earth and you think it is too much it is wise for you to call it off.

I had experiences wherby buyer test everything (1 hour !!) and it is ok BUT say the product not good enough!:bigeyes: I quickly pack and go rather than waste another 1 hour hagging price or personnal warranty. My point is some buyers but here in BNS and wanted "shop warranty" from us. or "manufacturer's warranty" which we can't give or commit to.

Nevertheless, just to point out BNS is just a platform for us and some of us are busy with work we are not full time doing business here, it is just hobby. I understand the hardship of moderators as I was once a moderator for a forum but now with kids have no time already.

There are good sellers and buyers out there... Just take more pictures and hope our agenda in on photography.

Cheers

Thanks Mark. That's exactly what I did. Get out of the situation before anything nasty happens. Afterall as you rightly put it. I am not in Business to BnS. What I usually let go are usually items that I have owned for a long time and decide (sometimes regretably) to let go so that I don't have to spend time mainitaining them.

Thanks for the kind works and comments.

 

[GIS-Man]

Thanks Mark. That's exactly what I did. Get out of the situation before anything nasty happens. Afterall as you rightly put it. I am not in Business to BnS. What I usually let go are usually items that I have owned for a long time and decide (sometimes regretably) to let go so that I don't have to spend time mainitaining them.

Thanks for the kind works and comments.

Got the Idea on "Personal Warranty" now. Give or Don't give does not really matter at all. It is an agreement between the buyer and seller. Even if one does not state in the Ad that there is a "personal Warranty" a gentlemen's agreement can always be arranged provided both parties are agreeable to the terms when doing the deal.

As Mark rightly put it. Spend less time quibbling on such things and go out and shoot more.

I will close this thread before I forget about it and leave in running for too long.

Thanks to all who commented and gave good advise.

GS