E-Bay problem.

[doc874]

Hey gang. I sold an 026 about a month ago to a guy and thought that was the end of it. Now i get a notice from e-bay stating the guy wants a full refund saying the saw was hard to start and the cylinder was burned out etc... I had bought a new cylinder kit ( genuine stihl ) along with a new decomp valve installed the parts ran the saw for about four hours or so and all was ok, it ran, idled and oiled great. I wish to be fair even though i always place an AS IS, on any used item i sell. I have asked for the saw back along with all parts including the cylinder thats apparently damaged and asked for another cylinder used or not from the buyer as i have a another piston for it. This is bothering me that this saw ran great and this guy gets it and now saids cylinders burned/damaged etc... Apparently he went to a Stihl shop and they said a cause could have been bad oil or extreme lean setting, even though it ran fine here. I have never had this happen before and have 100% feedback but i'm not sure whether something stinks here or not. Have anyone here ever had a saw do this? I know there could be many probable causes and i have no-way of proving/disproving what he's said which is why i sell all used items AS IS. What are your thoughts. I would particularly appreciate any Stihl dealer/teck opinions. This guy lives in Washington state and i live in Nova Scotia Canada. I hate to shaft anyone.

Doc

 

[begleytree]

sounds to me like the saw wasn't setup for his area, or he ran straight gas in it. both of these are the buyers responsabilities, and not the sellers.
a link to your auction or a C&P of the auction wording may help, but AS IS says it all, to me. Ask any of these stihl dealers onsite and see if ppl don't run straight gas in their saws, then try to blame it on settings.
-Ralph

 

[manual]

lets see now, you said you put a new cylinder kit in the saw before you sold the saw.
The guy may have changed the new parts with bad parts also.
You said as is. and i would leave it that way.
Might want to show him the reciept of the new parts in good faith.
Sorry about his luck.

 

[CaseyForrest]

Also, how long has he had it? couple days...couple weeks?

I spell out in any auctions when Ive sold a saw that I will set the high side rich and it is the buyers responsibility to set the carb for their area or have it done by someone that knows how.

I too feel that "as is" is a legally binding way of saying after you get it, its your responsibility, i.e. no warranty.

 

[doc874]

026

Well i feel abit better now. I still feel bad for the guy more so if i was to blame for this. I was wondering about the settings on the carb, i knew his area would be different for the settings and he admitted the dealer told him it could have been caused by lean setting. I think now that i will offer to take the saw back as sold with new cylinder kit and decomp valve i won't even want it installed so it will be cheaper for him. He's had the saw for about six-weeks now.

 

[CaseyForrest]

6 weeks???? Id say no way....theres allot one can do in 6 weeks to destroy a saw.

 

[computeruser]

As-is equals as-is. I wouldn't take it back, refund money, or any other such thing. I would explain the history of the saw - what you replaced, what you didn't replace, and the need to tune it for his conditoins - and then I would refer the individual back to the wording of the auction. I'm assuming you didn't offer refund/return terms in your auction. If you didn't, I'm not sure what leg he'd have to stand on at that point.

Even if the saw had been all burned up when you shipped it out, that's the game we play and the risk we take when we buy on ebay. And if you know that the saw was OK when you shipped it and therefore HE screwed it up or swapped parts, I would not waste my time trying to make things good with a liar. Let him drop some bad feedback if he wants.

 

[computeruser]

Well i feel abit better now. I still feel bad for the guy more so if i was to blame for this. I was wondering about the settings on the carb, i knew his area would be different for the settings and he admitted the dealer told him it could have been caused by lean setting. I think now that i will offer to take the saw back as sold with new cylinder kit and decomp valve i won't even want it installed so it will be cheaper for him. He's had the saw for about six-weeks now.

1. He had it too long. 36 hours is one thing. Better than 36 days is another.

2. "It could have been caused by a lean setting" = HIS FAULT. PERIOD.

3. Let him put the new P/C on it. And keep the saw for himself. He burned it up, he owns it, he can fix it.

 

[Canyon Angler]

He's had the saw for about six-weeks now.

It took him SIX WEEKS to find out the saw supposedly has a burnt piston???

Sorry, I smell a rat.

"As is" means "as is." I didn't hear anything about a "one year warranty" on this saw...

 

[doc874]

026

computeruser. The saw was listed as is in the refund area of the listing. The history of the saw was given, at least what i knew of it. The saw had new cylinder kit i even got one with the decomp valve the old one never had this. I bought a cover from Stihl crazy off this AR site to accomodate the valve and when i shipped it, it started on less than half a pull. I wish i could get the original listing wording here on this site for all to see. Perhaps i will print it, take a pic and post it tonight, just so all can read what i wrote.

Doc

 

[tbst]

He is full of it. And trust me you will win even if he files a complaint with ebay andd paypal. Do not refund.

 

[PES+]

Did he contact you before seeing the dealer?

You are pretty much at sea level and I doubt he ran it below sea level. Fuel mixture needs to be leaner the higher you go.
Where did you set the mixture screws do you recall?
I would hope you set it lean best top end or tached it to spec then richened it up a good bit.

 

[mini kahuna]

you know you sent the saw with new parts and running well,as is.
don't feel bad because someone blew it up.
to ask for a complete refund on an "as is" item after 36 days is just nonsense.
ebay and paypal would never rule against you in this case.

 

[doc874]

026

The screws were approx 1 & 1/4 out from seated. He is actually from Washington state not Kansas that was my type-o.

Doc

 

[computeruser]

Where did you set the mixture screws do you recall?
I would hope you set it lean best top end or tached it to spec then richened it up a good bit.

True. But why should it matter? It goes without saying that it is the users obligation to make sure the saw is tuned, not only when it is first purchased but on an ongoing basis while using the saw. Period.

Look at it this way - suppose that you sell a guy a car and have it shipped to him. The tires leak a bit of air because, say, they're mounted on chromed rims and the weather just turned cold. The car arrives. He elects not to check his tire pressure. Six weeks later he wrecks the car/damages the rims/whatever because the tires were underinflated. Whose fault is it?

I really hate looking at saw auctions where people put screens of disclaimers in there about saws being dangerous, requiring tuning, etc. It clutters my screen and annoys me. These admonishions are about as commonsensical as a warning not to use a blowdryer in the bathtub, I figure, so why waste screen space with them? But I guess that there may be some merit to including that info after all...at least for some buyers.

Anyway, stand firm. Idiots should bear the cost of their own mistakes.

 

[PES+]

Agreed

If the dealer had found a leaky base gasket you may have made a mistake and feel obligated to help him. You did put the piston in the correct way right? Arrow towards exhaust port

 

[doc874]

026

Yes the piston was in with the arrow toward the muffler. According to his e-mail, all his dealer said was it could be caused by too lean or bad oil mix. All i know is that saw ran excellent before i drained it for packaging and sending. I have never had a problem with anything sold on e-bay yet so i think as suggested here in an earlier post that he never adjusted the carb for his area and or, ran straight gas in it. I have also come to the conclusion that i am not responsible for people who know nothing about a saw or carb settings prior to operating it.
Doc

 

[Justsaws]

An auction with refunds is stupid.

"As is" should be all it takes.

People like the moron in question is what makes EBay a less enjoyable experience.

Just say "no" and be done with it.

If people want assurances then they need to buy new.

 

[Lakeside53]

With your carb set as you describe it, it's almost 100% that it bad mix. Bad cylinder gasket? Doubt it. Very rare on an 026.. not sure I've ever seen one.


I too smell a rat, but, the problem is whether he even knows he put bad mix in it.

You think you sold him a good saw; he thinks you sold him a dud. It's "he said, she said..." there is no way to resolve this with scientific data.

If you decide to bend over (you shouldn't), don't have him ship it back to you (it will cost more than it's worth!). I'll help you out with free labor (I'm in WA). PM me if it gets to that.

 

[doc874]

026

Lakeside, thanks for the offer. I will stand my ground on this, i know it worked great when i drained it and packaged it up. I believe it is likely due to the fact that he never set it up or ran bad oil and possibly straight gas. As for a base gasket? I doubt it also, it never lost power or stalled or even sputtered when operating the saw. I have been around saws long enough to know when one sounds wrong or virbrates differently from coughing/sputtering and spewing smoke etc...

Doc