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hmm...sold my sealed mavic but buyer insists that it's not new (i'm getting scammed?)

PayPal doesn't care. Customer complains, they get their money back, seller gets screwed. Do not pass go, end of story. If you're lucky you eventually get whatever remnants of your product back, maybe. There's nothing you can do.. everyone wants to use paypal so it's tough to sell on there without using it
 
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yeah, afaik, paypal and ebay don't really care that much about the seller. if a buyer complains, they'll refund the buyer. if a buyer does that over and over again, they will probably stop at some point though but you're still pretty much screwed as a seller.

and yeah i get that taking pictures and connecting everything to download flight logs, etc. could work as a deterrent. for a really unscrupulous buyer, they would just say that the seller is pulling a scam by having a good product but lied and sent them a box of rocks instead of what is in the picture...item not as described.

i have no problem with the few hundred potential bucks that i lost. i'm just glad that it wasn't a more expensive lesson. it cost me $65 net overall since i had to pay for part of the return shipping and i'm fine with that.
 
The trouble is Paypal allows its buyers to file claims up to 6 months after the sale date. I know a number of colleagues that sold laptops and reel to reel tape decks then after say 4-5 months the buyer files a claim. Many times the buyer will even to something to damage it and say something like it no longer powers on. Paypal always refunds their money.

And as far as wiping the logs - yes it can be done. I know a fellow hobbyist that had a P4 that he crashed - his fault. He replaced the broken parts and if I remember correctly applied either -24vdv or -48vdc to several areas on the main logic board including VCC of the eprom. Sent it in - no power was the complaint and a new P4 was shipped to him just a couple of days after they received his "faulty one" which was covered under warranty.
 
The trouble is Paypal allows its buyers to file claims up to 6 months after the sale date. I know a number of colleagues that sold laptops and reel to reel tape decks then after say 4-5 months the buyer files a claim. Many times the buyer will even to something to damage it and say something like it no longer powers on. Paypal always refunds their money.

And as far as wiping the logs - yes it can be done. I know a fellow hobbyist that had a P4 that he crashed - his fault. He replaced the broken parts and if I remember correctly applied either -24vdv or -48vdc to several areas on the main logic board including VCC of the eprom. Sent it in - no power was the complaint and a new P4 was shipped to him just a couple of days after they received his "faulty one" which was covered under warranty.

Strictly speaking, frying the PCB is not the same as wiping the logs. It's a bit like planting C4 behind your TV, in lieu of turning it off at the end of the evening you trip the detonator.


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Strictly speaking, frying the PCB is not the same as wiping the logs. It's a bit like planting C4 behind your TV, in lieu of turning it off at the end of the evening you trip the detonator.


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Yes, if I understood him correctly when he was told by a friend just to apply -24 or -48 volts to a few pins of the eprom including the vcc+. He had it apart replacing the top half of the shell I believe. So he did that and it still powered up (and he was concerned that the logs could still be read)so he went back inside and touched a few more legs of chips with the same -voltage and then it wouldn't power up at all. So he sent it in and they immediately replaced it. He said that after he crashed it would no longer connect to the controller although the camera appeared to work fine.
 
What a bummer .... hope this works out ..... sounds like flight logs maybe helpful if you can get ....

Sold mine on eBay and had an issue .... Buyer first asked to cancel the Buy Now Sale after they paid and then after it shipped they claimed box was missing some part ..... So they opened a return ....

Responded to missing item turned out it wasn't even part of package and Buyer backed off but then still Buyer would not close case so we called eBay and they said best thing to do was issue a remorse return which we did as on our Buy Now we had 20% restock fee ....

Buyer still would not close case so a second call to eBay and case was closed after three days .....

My lesson sell on Craig's List or BooKoo or some other means to get cash in hand when package leaves hand!
 
Here are some details.

I did try to pull the logs. I installed DJI Assistant and it connected to the mavic pro. However, when I clicked "Flight Logs", it just hung as it tried to get a list of the logs. The mavic fan did go on and it got loud but it never actually gave me a list of files. After about 15 minutes or so, I just disconnected the mavic from my computer. I tried it again but the same problem.

I tried connecting the mavic pro remote to my phone but there was no camera picture. It did connect successfully though.

When I sent the box to the buyer, it was brand new and pristine with the seal intact. When I got the box back, the seal was broken (not a problem since he said that he opened it) but the box was all dirtied up like it had been in an auto oil change shop. I questioned him about it thinking that maybe he didn't send me what I sent him but he said that he is a mechanic that owns a huge repair shop so he did get the box dirty and apologized for it. He was fairly cooperative the entire time but his story that he's sticking with is that he received it, broke the seal, opened it up, and basically found what he sent me (an old looking mavic pro that's all used, scratched up, etc.). He said that he tried to fly it but it kept falling down (maybe a motor issue?).

The receipt from apple did not have the serial number on it.

The box was also missing a few things (it was missing one of the extra props, one of the extra cord adapters, some of the small boxes that stored the usb cable and instructions, etc. He claims that it came that way.

I didn't think the apple store would take it back but I took it to the store and told them that I bought this one but the camera doesn't connect properly to the phone (can't see a picture on my phone when connected to the RC). They looked for the serial number but also noted that it wasn't recorded on the receipt or their records anywhere. They opened the box and visually inspected the mavic pro (took it out) but did not inspect the RC or check for the extra props or inspect the charger.

The employee scanned it, scanned my receipt, and accepted it as a return. She didn't seem to know anything about these drones though as she first asked if I wanted a replacement. I said that I'd like one but they probably don't have any in stock. She checked and sure enough, there were none in stock.

I am happy that they took it back. If I ever get any more from the apple store, I will be sure to open up the box on the spot in the store to verify before taking it home. I will also sell locally only. eBay fees were way too high. I sold this one for $1400 but ebay took $140 and paypal took around $35 and shipping was another $25 so I only cleared around $1200.

The return shipping that this guy used was crazy. He sent it fedex overnight priority (or something crazy like that) and it was $130! He offered to split it with me (I told him that I'd pay for him to return it to me but didn't specify what to use, etc.) so I guess in the end, I'm out $65 but that's fine.

I was definitely curious to see if there were any flight lots from before 12/10 (when I picked it up at the apple store) or after 12/13 (when the package arrived at his location) but because DJI Assistant just hung, I was not able to pull flight logs from the mavic.

When this guy first messaged me, my initial reaction was that this guy was a scammer either trying to get a free mavic (will send me back nothing or a box of rocks) or he got it, crashed it, and now wanted a refund. It's odd because as this played on, I believe him more and more and think this might really have been an Apple issue.
Dude. You're just being ripped off by the buyer. His story totally changed. Bummer but Honestly, end of story. Report him and move on.
 
Either way it works out please let us know what happens, if I were you I'd ask for msingers graces and let him give you the actual facts based on your logs from the Quadcopter!!! He is the man and can positively check and know if the buyer is scamming you! And I'm serious about this!!! I've seen him help others where no one else had a clue!

Too late, Ethel. He has already returned to Apple and been refunded. We'll never know whys and wherefores.


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I had this happen to me on Ebay. Sold a 100 dollar controller brand new in box from Apple. Buyer said there was books in the package. He won his money back. He didn't even have to return it. I am done with selling on Ebay. The only thing I can think of is recording yourself putting the item in the original box, sealing it and packaging it then in the same video show you sending it to their address so there is no question if you sent the item. What a joke. Even if the buyer has good reviews that doesnt mean ****. They dont get negative feedbacks for scamming people. There is no record of how many times this guy has done this. Probably could do it all day.
 
Hold on people,,, something isn't right here, Apple for one thing will have the serial numbers for items they sell on the receipt it does this automatically so there's no cashier forgetting this, there are several other discrepancies in this story as well, I'll not go into them but if you read what's said carefully you'll see what I mean. I've seriously got to wonder who's scamming who,,,, signed not convinced LoL
 
I'm guessing he crashed the Mavic and sent it back buyers remorse. Sad but likely true.


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ugh...i'm pretty sure that i'm getting scammed but wanted to get some thoughts.

i bought a mavic pro online on apple.com for store pickup. i bought from the apple store because i get a slight discount on products sold there.

i picked it up last week and it looked fine. the box looked new, the seal was intact, etc. i bought this back in october and as much as i like the mavic pro, my finances are a little different now than october and i could use some extra cash for the holidays for gifts and such so i sold it on ebay. after fees and such, i didn't make that much (maybe $100) but whatever, it was still worth it...or so i thought.

i never opened the box and sold it as brand new, sealed, etc. i only took a picture of the front outside of the box for the ebay ad.

the buyer got it and immediately emailed me saying that he opened it up and it's obvious that it's been used, the camera doesn't work, it's missing some stuff (one extra prop, a cable), etc. the buyer has a long history on ebay (12 years) and is a good buyer with lots of feedback (over 800, etc.). he doesn't have any negative feedback. the guy more or less seems like he's acting the way that i would if i bought something brand new but received something that isn't new and has issues (pissed but still calm, etc.).

anyway, he sent it back to me and yeah it's obvious that this thing is used as it has some scuff marks and some minor scratches on it, etc. i also tried hooking it up to my phone (android nexus 6p) and as the guy said, there's an issue with the camera as i don't see a picture on my phone when i connect my phone to the remote. i don't have my iphone with me but i can test with that next week.

i initially thought that the guy is just scamming me by keeping my new one and sending in a broken one and maybe that's what he's doing but his history and feedback seems legit. the box and drone serial numbers match. i didn't keep a record and details of what i sent to him though so i can't verify.

i'm pretty sure that the apple store wouldn't sell returned items either so i don't think it's them. but when i was in college, i knew a guy who would scam circuit city and best buy all the time by buying stuff (laptops, printers, etc.) and he would carefully open the package on the bottom (not top), replace the new laptop with an old crappy one, and re-seal the box again on the bottom. he would take it back to the store and tell them that he never opened it and the store would see that the seal on the top of the box is intact and never check the bottom of the box and he'd get away with it. the store would then just put it back on the shelf and sell it again. my father in law was once scammed this way because he bought a printer and when he opened the box, it was a crappy old printer in there. i am 100% sure my father in law was not pulling a scam and as you can imagine, it was really tough getting the store to believe him.

anyway, there isn't really much i can do other than refund the guy. i suppose i can try to take this back to the apple store for a refund but i doubt they'll believe me. has this ever happened to anyone?
This is exactly why eBay is dead in the water for sellers. Nothing but head aches. I personally would have sold it locally for a $500 premium and it would have sold. Cash and carry.
 
Hold on people,,, something isn't right here, Apple for one thing will have the serial numbers for items they sell on the receipt it does this automatically so there's no cashier forgetting this, there are several other discrepancies in this story as well, I'll not go into them but if you read what's said carefully you'll see what I mean. I've seriously got to wonder who's scamming who,,,, signed not convinced LoL

I attached an upload of the receipt. My only obvious modifications are the red blocks. There is no serial number on the receipt. Yes, it's odd and the apple employee was confused when I returned it but she scanned the box and shrugged it off.

I bought 2 of these so I got 2 receipts and both were like this (no serial on the receipt).

I'm still not sure what happened specifically since I returned it and they took it back (luckily). Either someone else pulled a scam on the Apple store by buying one, replacing the inside, and returning it (and the apple store didn't verify the contents of the return because the seal was intact) or the ebay buyer crashed it and broke it and returned it or the ebay buyer kept the new one and returned his old one to me (I didn't record the serial before sending it out).

On a slightly related note (that I'm sure you'll also find fishy), I also bought an apple iwatch 2 for my wife for Christmas but she didn't want it so we went to the store and returned it. She tried to return it on her own but she said that they wouldn't let her return it because they scanned it and said that they had no record of the sale. They told her that it wasn't sold from the apple store so it must have been sold from another store like best buy, etc. So later I went to the store and showed them the receipt on my phone (similar to what I attached here) and they took it back and gave me a full refund. The receipt for the iwatch does have the serial number on it. My wife isn't sure why they couldn't seem to find the receipt by scanning it. It was brand new and still shrink wrapped. The employee did not open it or verify it in any way and just took it back. Whether they sell it again or not, I don't know.

I also bought some mavic pro batteries and the batteries also do not have serial numbers on the receipt (just part numbers like the mavic pro).
 

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I don't see a serial # on my Apple receipt either for whatever it's worth
 
Hmm.

So the guy opens it whilst covered in oil and, seeing a scratched and used Mavic, flies it anyway?

Bollocks.

As for the seal part?

If someone was going to the trouble of spamming apple by opening the underside of the box and taking someting of such high value back, they wouldn't put a Mavic Pro back in, they';d put a brick of the same weight in.
 
Hmm.

So the guy opens it whilst covered in oil and, seeing a scratched and used Mavic, flies it anyway?

Bollocks.

As for the seal part?

If someone was going to the trouble of spamming apple by opening the underside of the box and taking someting of such high value back, they wouldn't put a Mavic Pro back in, they';d put a brick of the same weight in.

His explanation said that he works in a shop so he opened it in the shop and the box got dirtied up a little bit. He said that he tried to connect the remote to a tablet but the picture didn't show up. The box didn't have a lot of wear and tear on it (edges were sharp, etc.) but was scuffed up. I guess he may have then tried to take off with the joysticks. Maybe if it worked he would have been ok keeping it (or asking for a discount or something) but he wanted a refund since it was obviously used + didn't work.

I verified this when I got it by trying to connect it to my tablet and it wouldn't show a picture (don't remember if it actually connected successfully to the drone or not) but I didn't try to fly it.

Just to play devil's advocate...the potentially original scammer who scammed apple might have bought it, flew it, crashed it into tree branches, and then returned it. He may have been careful with the seal since it's just a sticker and kept the box is excellent shape and then decided to return it to Apple. He probably claimed that he never opened it (which is why Apple sold it again) but just in case apple does decide to open it up in front of him, at least there would be a mavic pro in there and not a brick.

When I returned it, the employee did open it up and visually inspected it but noted that it seemed fine and accepted it. She did not try turning it on, etc.

The remote control looked pretty new and less scuffed up than the drone (since my theory is that it was probably fairly new but drone was crashed).
 
I can't believe that a high dollar item, doesn't have serial numbers on a receipt, even Walmart does this, I can see a battery not having it, but when I bought my wife her iPad, it had it on the receipt, as did my mini iPad, and these were under $1000.00, purchased at an Apple Store, and I was told by the cashier to be sure and hang onto the receipt for exchange or returns, and I'd need it for warranty work. Sooooo hmmm


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