Sold laptop on TM...buyer saying BSOD constantly..? What should I do?

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HandBrake

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#305862 9-Jun-2023 00:45

Sold my gaming laptop as I had an accident and needed funds quickly for a replacement car. Wasn't even planning to sell it as it's a nice laptop but I'm a minimalist and font own much else.

The laptop arrived last week and he said all looks good and gave me positive feedback.

Today I get a message saying it's BSODing constantly even for web browsing.

I'm assuming if he can't fix it with simple driver updates he will want a refund (based on how he's worded things) but I'm not all that happy.

Prior to selling I stress tested the laptop and took it with me on a 2 week trip and gamed most nights (I only play Overwatch which is a pretty optimized game but I play hours at a time). Not a single BSOD.

Once had BSOD issues for 3 days issues after a GPU driver update but grabbing drivers direct from NVIDIA solved that. That was over a year ago so I had written no issues in the TM ad =_=

As a seller would you just refund him and ask for the laptop back? Just not really the headache I was looking for and was trying to sell local but kept getting scammers on Marketplace lol so went TM route

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#3086750 9-Jun-2023 01:17

It's a second-hand electronic item. They can (and do) fail at any point in time for various reasons.

As a buyer, they can't disregard this. Caveat emptor always stands true.

As a seller, it's unfortunate to hear that something which was working fine suddenly isn't, but you don't have to do anything to rectify the situation if you don't want to.

You can offer troubleshooting tips, but you're also well within your rights to hold firm on the sale. There's no obligation to take it back with private sales, but morally this may not sit right with you which is fair enough.

Also be aware that there are scams just like this situation where someone buys a functioning phone/laptop etc, then says it's not working and that they want a refund in the hope that they will be able to return an actual broken item to you. You're then left with a broken device and no money while the cheeky sods have their money and a functioning device.

Linux

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#3086758 9-Jun-2023 07:32

@HandBrake the item is 2nd hand you did not offer a warranty so just refuse! Wait for the ' I am going to the police ' and then tell them good luck with that

Remind them the item worked fine when it arrived and not your problem

LostBoyNZ

584 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3086767 9-Jun-2023 08:26

I think they should factory reset the laptop and using the default browser see if it still crashes. As you know it worked fine before, and it's highly unlikely that a part of the hardware happened to go faulty just now, I think you're right to suspect it's a software issue.

With the brand and model I'm sure we or they can find out the particular way to reset that laptop. I think asking them to factory reset is reasonable, because if they'd bought it from a store and taken it back for repair, that's what would happen.

But as others have said, you have no actual obligation to help or refund anything. If you were going to consider a refund, I'd ask them to reset it first and if it still crashes without them installing anything extra, to send it to yourself (at their cost, which again is what would happen if they bought it from most online stores) and when you receive it try resetting it and testing it. If it works fine I'd either send it back to them or ask them to pay for the return shipping. If it's faulty, I'd give a very good inspection of the item before considering a refund.

And absolutely never send them any refund or even partial refund until you have the item in hand and know it's the same item you sent them etc.

If it was still crashing even then, a hardware issue is more possible but then again you don't know if they spilled something on it or what they did. And also as Mehrts pointed out, unfortunately scams with 'faulty' items do happen.

jonathan18

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#3086768 9-Jun-2023 08:28

Linux:

@HandBrake the item is 2nd hand you did not offer a warranty so just refuse! Wait for the ' I am going to the police ' and then tell them good luck with that

Remind them the item worked fine when it arrived and not your problem

While this may be legally ok, if it's the approach you do take I'd suggest you're far less likely to antagonise the buyer if you avoid this belligerent language/tone (eg, telling someone 'good luck with that' or 'not my problem'!) and go for sympathetic but firm.

BlargHonk

148 posts

Master Geek

#3086776 9-Jun-2023 09:02

Sounds like a scam or someone trying to get more money from you. If you refund them I would be very careful to make sure the laptop you get back is 100% the same one you sold them (with all parts not changed). I wouldn't offer them a discount either.

myndlyz

472 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3086784 9-Jun-2023 09:09

Maybe the buying is having second thoughts or regrets purchasing it and is looking to undo the sale and get a refund? If the laptop was fine when you sold it I dont see what the problem is from your side.

heavenlywild

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#3086787 9-Jun-2023 09:17

That's how the cookie crumbles.

Technology can break or play up. That's why you get a good deal on out of warranty stuff on TM.

I wouldn't be doing anything with this buyer.

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Batman

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#3086809 9-Jun-2023 10:05

BlargHonk:

Sounds like a scam or someone trying to get more money from you. If you refund them I would be very careful to make sure the laptop you get back is 100% the same one you sold them (with all parts not changed). I wouldn't offer them a discount either.

this. happened to me too. scammers

gehenna

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#3086812 9-Jun-2023 10:13

BlargHonk:

Sounds like a scam or someone trying to get more money from you. If you refund them I would be very careful to make sure the laptop you get back is 100% the same one you sold them (with all parts not changed). I wouldn't offer them a discount either.

Get them to send you the event logs

Batman

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#3086813 9-Jun-2023 10:18

HandBrake:
As a seller would you just refund him and ask for the laptop back? Just not really the headache I was looking for and was trying to sell local but kept getting scammers on Marketplace lol so went TM route

your laptop might be damaged in the return process, very risky

don't trust anyone nowadays

Batman

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#3086815 9-Jun-2023 10:20

gehenna:

Get them to send you the event logs

i won't do that unless they did that on their own accord

they might intentionally damage the laptop to show you there is "a problem"

gehenna

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#3086817 9-Jun-2023 10:37

the logs will show when the issue started, if there is an issue. if the logs show it started after the request, then you know it's BS

Batman

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#3086911 9-Jun-2023 13:01

gehenna:

the logs will show when the issue started, if there is an issue. if the logs show it started after the request, then you know it's BS

good point, provide specific instructions on how to obtain the logs and email the log, once received, it's proof either way, if no logs, case closed.

blackjack17

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#3086915 9-Jun-2023 13:19

You also don't know what software / accessories they have installed / using.

My surface pro used to blue screen if i pulled the charger and hp dock out at the same time. Would never blue screen otherwise.

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HandBrake

21 posts

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#3086929 9-Jun-2023 13:49

I did a clean install of Windows before selling it though wouldn't have thought it would cause any issues (I've always done this for previous laptops/desktops I've sold and never had any issues reported).

Will ask for a copy of the event logs and try to assist to avoid a return. Will say it does suck for them... I'd personally hate that if I was on the receiving end. The guy has 100% feedback and lots of trades so didn't feel he would be the type to try and pull a fast one.

Will see how it goes. Cheers.

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