Long story short. I sold a turntable on Dec 4 last year (sold on a different site, not here) and the buyer just got back to me yesterday saying that the tonearm that was included is not the tonearm they thought they bought. They’re partially right as Nottingham AceAnna is a newer version of the Anna (which I had no idea about, I honestly thought they are the same). There’s also the original AceSpaceArm included.
The buyer wants me to take the entire turntable and both tonearms back for a full refund and me to pay shipping back. Mind you, this is 1.5months after I sold it.
Am I unreasonable not willing to take everything back? I’ve offered to take the Anna tonearm back and give a reasonable refund for that, alternatively, him keeping the Anna and me giving him a smaller refund.
Really need to get your perspective on this as I want to do the right thing.
I would just give them their money back and take it back… screw principals or technical law whatever. IMO, right and wrong is irrelevant and will never be agreed to if a 2nd person is involved.
At my age and station in life, I don’t care anymore. How would I want to be treated? No one thinks they are unreasonable.
So true story, I sold a VPI turntable with a vintage SME tonearm to a guy on Long Island who drove to philly to pick it up. When he got home… the thing was silent… no signal. He freaked out and called me and was angry. I immediatly said I would take it back… but after he calmed down after saying how carefully the table was not bounced around… he agreed to pop off the top plate (very easy to do) and found the plug had fallen off the tonearm. He pushed it back on and all was good. But overall… I really didn’t care… I don’t need the money and it is just not good to me or them to be in dispute or unhappy.
There’s a lot to unpack with this but I’ll simply say, if your for sale ad specifically stated the tone arm(s) you were including then no I wouldn’t give them their money back. If I’m buying any audio equipment wise I have done the research prior to buying it.
I’m kind of in agreement with Bruce about just taking it back, but to clarify… did you say in your ad that it was the “newer” arm (the AceAnna, or whatever)? And were there pictures of it?
Just trying to figure out how the buyer was confused. If things were represented accurately, and they just realized there’s a newer one out there, then you have no responsibility to take it back (and certainly not to pay for return shipping).
The thing that stands out in your narrative (to me) is the 1.5 month lag between the buyer taking ownership and their newfound unhappiness with the transaction. That long interval makes me think there may be “buyer’s remorse” in play and the tonearm issue is secondary. Waiting six weeks to bring the issue up is really beyond reasonable and I think your offer was quite fair. I’d leave it at that unless you’re feeling generous and don’t need the money.
So a few questions to answer… My ad did state AceAnna, but I honestly did not know there was such a thing as an Anna before that. My understanding was that the AceAnna and Anna was used interchangeably and that was the same thing. There was a clear photos of everything in the ad, so I kind of feel that the buyer should’ve realized what was included. To add to this story, the whole thing was sold about $500 below market.
What really concerns me is that it took 1.5mo for him to get back to him. Nothing from the time he bought it until he got back stating that he’s unhappy with the tonearm. If this was the week after he received it, I would take the whole thing back, but how long is too long to bring up things like this?!
If you advertised an AceAnna tonearm and provided an Anna, have him return it and refund the purchase price. Why it took 1.5 months is between the two of you. For example he may have come to the conclusion only recently that the tone arm was not what was advertised. Best to resolve it and move on.
Ok, seems like the consensus is to just accept the return. I will do that for the sake of keeping things clean and standing by my misunderstanding of the Anna vs AceAnna
You advertised an AceAnna, and sold him an AceAnna, yes? If that’s the case, then I’m with Al and anyone else who says no return. It’s not your responsibility (although sure it would be nice) to know about any other component or variant other than the one you advertised and sold. Doesn’t matter that you didn’t know there was an Anna - you didn’t advertise one. It’s the buyer’s responsibility to make darned sure he knows what he’s paying for. Having said all that, it’s obvious your choice to do as you see fit.
EDIT: I guess I should add that if I got this wrong, and the buyer got something that was not as per described, then I’m with the return first, inspect, then refund crowd.
Putting aside all the information stated so far, I would offer one, perhaps unusual, suggestion. Ask the buyer to take photos of everything and share them prior to shipment to make sure you get back what was shipped to him and to verify the condition of everything is the same as when you shipped it. I say this since some of my wife’s collector buddies who have sold on various platforms and have had incorrect or damaged items returned. In other words, fraud. Not saying this buyer is doing this but given the circumstances it would be some assurance you’ll be back to square one. I also agree with not refunding money until you get the turntable and arms back in original condition. These steps might make a fraudster think twice …
I would agree to the return, but not refund the money until you receive everything back in the same condition as you sent it. Too many stories of buyers f’n up stuff and then asking for their money back. Six weeks is a long time.
I agree, if you have to pay shipping and all that not a cent to him until you have it back.
Worse case, escrow.
(But I still believe you should tell him to learn to fly)