Faulty Chinese Car DVD GPS... Help!!

Amaris on 30/01/2014 - 22:32

Hi
I am in a bit of a fix and would like to get your opinion regarding what I should do….

I bought a 2 DIN car GPS+DVD player from an eBay seller who also seems to ship from Australia but under another account. I paid on 17/12 and got the unit probably early Jan. I only got around to installing it in my car yesterday. After installing it has been nothing but trouble. The GPS program starts but cannot lock onto more than 1 satellite, the CD initially worked but now does not and refuses to eject the CD till I press the eject button many times (sometimes with a crunching noise from the inside), the front USB input is temperamental and the microSD card refuses to read a perfectly good 8GB card.

I wrote to the seller who promptly replied and asked me to change the GPS software with a new version he sent….did not solve the GPS issue. Now he says to send it back for repair.

My position is that as the unit is basically not working from the beginning (as against it breaking down after a few months), I wanted a refund. I opened a dispute on PayPal yesterday but did not escalate it to a claim. The seller responded to that by refusing the refund request (not surprised) but offering to repair it if I sent it back. I wrote back saying I wanted a refund and requested that he pay for return postage as it did not work properly out of the box. I am yet to receive a reply and I guess I may have to wait as it is Chinese New Year.

What do you guys think are my chances of the seller/ PayPal agreeing to my refund request? What should I do now? Should I escalate it to a PayPal claim and ask them for a refund?

Thanks

Electrical & Electronics

Comments

  • Cheeper on 30/01/2014 - 22:48
    +2

    Buckley's chance.
    When you purchase semi expensive items from overseas sellers they know you will not send it back because of the freight cost. They sell thousands of these things all around the world every day so they know the tricks.
    Even if you did send it back some sellers will play the game of.. "not received"… "or you must have sent it to wrong addrsss"…

    Even if they did receive the unit back they could just say we have tested it and it was damaged through poor install. Now you would have to disprove that.

    With high volume sellers ebay will always support the seller as they are the revenue creators, not you.

    In short…u r up a creek without a paddle.

    You can only try to pursue refund… nothing to lose.

    Was the gps receiver module placed in a good spot? You tried the gps outside and not in a garage? The install is ok?.. nothing over tensioned to pull the chassis out of shape?

    Hard way to learn that when you opt to buy these things from overseas, especially through ebay, you have no warranty even though they may say you do.

    Lesson learnt the hard way??

    • Amaris on 30/01/2014 - 23:11

      Thanks. The install was OK. I kept the antenna outside the car for 30min hoping it would pick up a signal.
      As you said…lesson learnt the hard way I think…

      • xsacha on 30/01/2014 - 23:37

        Basically the only way to go with these things is to check the reviews. If the seller/item has good reviews, it'll probably work. Otherwise you are taking a big risk.

        • Amaris on 30/01/2014 - 23:58

          The seller did have very good reviews but guess I got the lemon!

  • sonu1111 on 31/01/2014 - 02:48
    +1

    Hi Lahiruwan,

    I am a eBay Seller and If you are actually cheated by someone then first step is PayPal, most of the time it will be in your favour but high volume sellers do have a advantage.

    If PayPal doesn't work for you then you can open a claim via your bank and you will get your money back in 20-45 days. Claims via Banks are 100% in your favour if seller can't provide tracking number.

    It happened with me but case was, buyer received the stock and he opened a claim via bank by mistake, he got his money refunded as I never use to use tracking service before but problem came he denied that he got his money back even I send him several emails about refund transaction. As it was only $40, I forgot about the money but learned a good lesson.

    Hope my comment might help you.

    Thanks
    AJ

    • Amaris on 31/01/2014 - 10:46

      Thanks AJ

    • Cheeper on 01/02/2014 - 23:06

      Sellers on ebay get gypped too. Something good usually gets ruined by a few baddies. :-(

  • Geewhizz on 31/01/2014 - 07:36
    +2

    Even if a paypal decision goes in your favour you're still going to have to pay for the return postage. You're going to be out of pocket one way or another.

  • miked1 on 31/01/2014 - 17:34
    +2

    I bought one of these things for my car a couple of years ago. I looked at a few options from overseas buyers but I ended up buying from a local seller in Australia, mainly because he gave me 1 year warranty on the product. If you do manage to resolve the issue through papypal, have a look for a local seller. It may be a bit more expensive but gives you peace of mind in case anything goes wrong.

    I actually met up with the ebay seller and picked it up. He didnt seem dodgy and made sure if i had problems to let him know. He also offered a direct replacement if it was faulty.

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