In article , Carl Byrns says...

The instant you refused the refund offer, the balance tipped in favor
of the seller because the seller can now claim that YOU acted in bad
faith-

I guess I don't understand something here, and it has not
been discussed up to this point.

The seller offered a refund, and then withdrew that offer.
Wouldn't a reputable seller make that refund offer unconditionally?

Here I am *not* discussing the shipping cost issue, but rather
the idea that if a business is on the up and up, they would
make the refund offer, and stick to it. That such a refund
(minus the shipping costs) has been offered and then retracted
does not speak well of the seller. One could even imagine
that if a seller was aware of the recalcitrant nature of the
purchaser, he might deliberately offer something with the
almost certain knowledge that it would be rejected.

Who is to say that such a refund would actually be sent, if
Harold were to return the piece at his own expense? If the
seller is willing to deliberately mis-represent the item
from the outset, it might be tough to actually *get* the
refund.

I think a reputable seller at this point would say, 'look,
we're sorry you don't like it. We'll refund the purchase
price and split the shipping with you.'

All of the reputable businesses I've ever delt with via
mail or phone or internet have never retracted an offer of
refund once it was made. That's one feature of this deal
that just plain rubs me the wrong way. Either it's a
refund offer, or it isn't. But it cannot be both, no matter
what the buyer said in response. Is Harold strong willed?
Yep. Can he rub folks the wrong way? Umm, uh hum. Well
mister vendor, welcome to the world of dealing with the
public. I suspect that in absolute terms, Harold probably
rates a six or a seven in the 'problem customer' catagory.

I wonder what that seller does if he hits a nine or a ten?
'Cause with photos like those two, that's gonna happen sooner
rather than later.

Jim

==================================================
please reply to:
JRR(zero) at yktvmv (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com
==================================================