Anyone know... my bro sold a camera lens on Ebay and after the return period expired, the buyer is now griping that the lens has something wrong with it. If my bro says Sorry, you didn't make a "claim" within the return period, can the buyer give my bro a bad rating?

Buyer is saying that my bro did not disclose that the lens might not work on his camera at all settings. My bro says that it is known that this lens might not work at all setting on any given camera. The buyer seems to have become unreasonable to me. Also griping that there is fungus in it. My bro says he saw nothing wrong with it at all and certainly didn't see any fungus.

My bro knows quite a bit about cameras and the buyer seems to know a lot, too, maybe even more than my bro. I said, heck if he knows that much, he should know about the potential issues with this lens. Obviously, he knows something, else he wouldn't have bought a 40 year old lens (that my brother spent over a hundred dollars on getting it modified). I know nothing about cameras.

Buyer wants to keep the lens but have my bro pay him $100 to get it cleaned and modded further.

Welcome to the pitfalls of eBay. Unreasonable buyers can leave negative feedback for you no matter what. Some buyers use feedback extortion tactics to get the seller to refund money even though they don't want to return the item. If the camera lens was such a bad deal do you think a reasonable person would keep it? Probably not. Without having seen the lens I can't be certain but I'll venture a guess the buyer is trying to get something for nothing out of your brother. I've sold thousands of items on eBay including rare Leica camera lenses and cameras and know first hand how shady many buyers can be. There are many shady sellers as well but I'm presuming your brother isn't one of them. If it were me and I knew what I sold was as described, I'd tell the buyer to take a hike. Be forewarned, if the buyer paid with a credit card he can make up any story he wants and do a chargeback. He'll get the lens plus his money back unless your brother can prove the lens was as described. eBay will do nothing to help your brother as they are pro buyer.

You might want to re-check Ebay. They do NOT allow you to leave negative feedback any longer.

The purchaser may probably open a CASE with Ebay under the Buyer assurance program.

I just had a case opened against me for sale of my Yamaha Motif XF. The buyer did not like the sound of the Piano's after 10 minutes of playing it???? Ebay ruled in my favor and the case is now closed.

It's interesting you mention lenses, because I just sold and purchased a total of (8) eight lenses on Ebay. Thankfully for me, each transaction went as smooth as silk, but you do run the risk of running into a picky buyer here and there. I cover myself by making sure my Auction Description covers every thing regarding return policy, sold "AS-IS", etc, etc.....

Good luck to your Bro on this one.

You're mistaken regarding feedback. The buyer can leave the seller negative feedback no matter what. Sellers are prohibited from leaving anything but positive feedback. EBay will do nothing for you if the buyer leaves an unwarranted negative feedback. Try having a negative feedback removed and see how well you fare.

The buyer can open an eBay claim but can also do a chargeback on their credit card if they paid via credit card. It's a flawed system if the seller is on the up and up.

I sell a bit on eBay. Call customer service tell them you're offering a refund on return of the item even if it is past the return period. That's what I would do. Just tell the buyer to return it in a nice message. Handle it as smooth as possible if you intend to continue selling. If you're not going to sell anymore. Do whatever makes you happy. If you explain to customer support I'm sure they will not allow negative feedback. I've had a few problems but handled them in the proper manner and I have no negative feedback so far.