Wanted to alert CS to this buyer - Simon Thong 90082335.
I sold him a Fuji 50mm yesterday. Turns out, the lens was slightly faulty (MF focus by wire wasn't working well). I agreed to refund him if he could return me everything as-is. However, Simon said he had already thrown the box away. Since I made it clear I'll not a accept a return with anything less since I needed the box to make a return as well, he said he will find the box and we agreed to meet today. (Why would anyone throw a box and accessory away less than 24 hours after purchase is beyond me)
Now, upon meet up, I tried the 'faulty' 50mm and found some MF stickiness. Simon tried my copy and found no issues. Instead of negotiating a refund, he held onto my lens and walked away i.e. stole my lens. He doesn't have the box as promised, nor did he have any intention of negotiating a refund. Instead he lied that he had the box for a chance to meet up and stole my lens. I tried to stop him verbally to no avail. By the time I called the police, he had left the MRT station with my lens.
The police did eventually catch Simon, and we were given an option to negotiate and make peace instead of escalation. To avoid further confrontation, I agreed to a full refund less $20 for the faulty lens (without hood, box, and warranty card) and he would return what he stole since the lens was faulty after all. (On hindsight, I should not have responded had I known he would resort to theft)
At the end of the day, I got back a lens that is faulty, without box, hood and warranty card because a fraudster resorted to theft instead of civil negotiation. Sure, the buyer was angry that he received a faulty lens despite having checked it thoroughly on the day of purchase. I gave him the option to return it as-is but through no fault of mine, the buyer threw the boxes and accessories away but expected a full refund anyway. And when he didn't get his way, he resorted to theft and deceit.
This behavior is illegal and not something I wish for anyone in our photography community to encounter. I can only hope my experience will help future buyers and sellers avoid a situation like this.
I sold him a Fuji 50mm yesterday. Turns out, the lens was slightly faulty (MF focus by wire wasn't working well). I agreed to refund him if he could return me everything as-is. However, Simon said he had already thrown the box away. Since I made it clear I'll not a accept a return with anything less since I needed the box to make a return as well, he said he will find the box and we agreed to meet today. (Why would anyone throw a box and accessory away less than 24 hours after purchase is beyond me)
Now, upon meet up, I tried the 'faulty' 50mm and found some MF stickiness. Simon tried my copy and found no issues. Instead of negotiating a refund, he held onto my lens and walked away i.e. stole my lens. He doesn't have the box as promised, nor did he have any intention of negotiating a refund. Instead he lied that he had the box for a chance to meet up and stole my lens. I tried to stop him verbally to no avail. By the time I called the police, he had left the MRT station with my lens.
The police did eventually catch Simon, and we were given an option to negotiate and make peace instead of escalation. To avoid further confrontation, I agreed to a full refund less $20 for the faulty lens (without hood, box, and warranty card) and he would return what he stole since the lens was faulty after all. (On hindsight, I should not have responded had I known he would resort to theft)
At the end of the day, I got back a lens that is faulty, without box, hood and warranty card because a fraudster resorted to theft instead of civil negotiation. Sure, the buyer was angry that he received a faulty lens despite having checked it thoroughly on the day of purchase. I gave him the option to return it as-is but through no fault of mine, the buyer threw the boxes and accessories away but expected a full refund anyway. And when he didn't get his way, he resorted to theft and deceit.
This behavior is illegal and not something I wish for anyone in our photography community to encounter. I can only hope my experience will help future buyers and sellers avoid a situation like this.
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