why buying used is risky

[RollinLower]

so instead of, you know, putting the cover on the socket, this guy just sent the motherboard as is. with the cover included mind you, but just thrown in the bottom of the box, and now 2 pins are bend. are you f-ing kidding me?

[dalekphalm]

15 hours ago, RollinLower said:

so instead of, you know, putting the cover on the socket, this guy just sent the motherboard as is. with the cover included mind you, but just thrown in the bottom of the box, and now 2 pins are bend. are you f-ing kidding me?

1. Did you see detailed pictures of the motherboard before buying it? Did those pictures include a close up of the motherboard socket and all pins, verifying they were, indeed, intact before shipping?

 

2. If so, how did you buy this motherboard? Ebay? Craigslist? Kijiji? LTT Classifieds? Some forum hardware swap?

 

3. Assuming it was Ebay, simply ask the seller to send you either a full refund, including shipping (plus shipping the motherboard back to him), or file a case with Ebay, and they will quickly sort it out and force a refund.

 

4. Assuming it wasn't with Ebay - was the package and shipment insured? (Eg: By UPS or USPS) If so, file a claim with the courier.

 

5. If possible, leave bad feedback where appropriate for the seller (Eg: Heatwave, Ebay, forums, etc).

[RollinLower]

12 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

-snip-

1. Yep, got detailed pics before. He even had a little paper with his name on it on those pics, so they where legit. Socket seemed fine then.

 

2.i'm dutch, so i bought it on Tweakers.net it's pretty much the biggest online enthusiast market for used buying and selling tech in the netherlands and belgium.

 

3.not ebay

 

4.not insured sadly, bit i still have (civilised, mind you) contact with the seller.

 

5.feedback has been written already. Still though, the pins arn't broken, just bend a bit. I think i'm gonna try bending them back. Worst case scenario is i destroy more pins on an already 'dead' motherboard, right?

[dalekphalm]

9 minutes ago, RollinLower said:

1. Yep, got detailed pics before. He even had a little paper with his name on it on those pics, so they where legit. Socket seemed fine then.

 

2.i'm dutch, so i bought it on Tweakers.net it's pretty much the biggest online enthusiast market for used buying and selling tech in the netherlands and belgium.

 

3.not ebay

 

4.not insured sadly, bit i still have (civilised, mind you) contact with the seller.

 

5.feedback has been written already. Still though, the pins arn't broken, just bend a bit. I think i'm gonna try bending them back. Worst case scenario is i destroy more pins on an already 'dead' motherboard, right?

Yes, that is the worst case scenario, but I would personally advise you to first contact the seller again and get his permission to attempt a bent-pin repair, and get him to agree that you bear no responsibility for further damage to the motherboard, and that the bent pins are already justified as grounds to return the board.

 

Basically, you want to make sure you're not liable here.

 

If you break the pins off, the seller could claim that you "further damaged it", and thus won't give you a refund.

 

Also, man, please learn from this mistake. NEVER EVER NEVER NEVER EVER ship used parts without insurance. Hell, don't ever ship anything valuable without insurance.

 

What if it was FedEx (or whatever courier) that fucked up your package? (Actually, it probably was, but in this case, it was packaged insufficiently to begin with). Without insurance, you'd be boned, since in that case, it wouldn't have been the sellers fault, so why should they refund you?

 

You got lucky in the sense that at least the seller is at fault.

[Misanthrope]

Sucks but yeah you should do it the other way around: new motherboard, used cpu. That way you still save cash and minimize those kinds of issues.