Shipped a computer, doesn't work..

[Oh4Sh0]

I sold a computer on ebay.. it was working when I sent it, (USPS Priority, insured).. however when it arrived the kid called me and said ti wouldn't turn on and that it had a dent on the front of it. He doesn't know much about computer troubleshooting.. however I've discovered that somehow the power supply got damaged in shipping. Atleast if he troubleshooted it right it is. I had him check to see if the LED was on on the mobo.. which it wasn't. So I made him check to make sure the psu was turned on, the power cable was plugged into the wall, and the 20pin connector was properly plugged in. After nothing still, I had him unplug the psu's connection to everything and do the paper-clip trick... still nothing. So finally, I'm thinking the psu was damaged in shipping (that's the last thing I'd expect to be damaged). So should I..
1. Send him a new power supply.. might be the problem, but maybe something else is damaged, or maybe he isnt testing the current psu right (tagan 480)...
2. Have him ship it back to me at my cost to figure out what's wrong (and maybe buy and install new psu + ship him back the comp again)
3. The computer has insurance from usps - file a claim. (never done before.. a hassle I assume?)

He says he will have his comp guy look at it because he's not very literate with computers. What would you guys do?

 

[pj-schmidt]

Hope like crazy that his comp friend figures it out!

Is there a power switch on the back of the PS?

 

[Oh4Sh0]

Hope like crazy that his comp friend figures it out!

Is there a power switch on the back of the PS?

yes, I made sure a 100 times he had it set to -

 

[2gigs]

dude, tell him to ship it back, him pay, and you pay back, or tell him to file a claim, thats more than fair

 

[quadnad]

TBH, even if the UPS claims service might be a hassle, it is what you paid for, and therefore you should have them pay. No point in having shipping insurance like that unless they pay for it. Maybe you'd be able to get the cost of having it shipped to you and back as well as the money for a new PSU in the claim. Seems fair to me considering it was their fault.

 

[BurntToast]

If your shipping insurance will cover the cost of the computer to the dollar, file the claim and don’t think any more about it.

Having him or you put another dollar into this comp is stupid.

 

[RogueTrip]

got pictures, with a dent in the side, depending where its at, could be a cracked mobo, or even enough shock could of shattered the HD, but if the mobo light doesn't light when the computer is off, probably not a HD issue.

 

[pj-schmidt]

got pictures, with a dent in the side, depending where its at, could be a cracked mobo, or even enough shock could of shattered the HD, but if the mobo light doesn't light when the computer is off, probably not a HD issue.

Very unlikely a shattered HD. They're rated to ~300+G's while not in operation. A 300G shock would probably do more than just dent the case, the HS would be rattiling around at the least.

 

[Oh4Sh0]

got pictures, with a dent in the side, depending where its at, could be a cracked mobo, or even enough shock could of shattered the HD, but if the mobo light doesn't light when the computer is off, probably not a HD issue.

No. without a working PSU there's no way I can find out whether anything else is damaged. I asked him if he had a working webcam or digi cam so that I could see if he was doing anything wrong on the paperclip trick.. to which he replied no. So I know that ATLEAST something is wrong with the psu (granted that he's doing everything correctly, and tested the psu correctly - but I left the system set up so that all he had to do was plug in the cables and press the power button when I shipped it), but nothing else atm...

Has anyone ever dealt with filing a usps insurance claim before?

 

[FadedSpark]

post pictures?

 

[Oh4Sh0]

post pictures?

as I just stated, the young man who purchased the computer from me said that he doesn't have a digital camera or a webcam. All I can go off of is what he tells me. I'm 100% certain that the computer was in working shape ready to go (I had just clean formatted the drive the night before I sent it), so if he says the case is dented.. my guess is the package got dropped at some point along the line. But I still have a hard time beleiving that would kill the psu.. lol.

 

[PWMK2]

Yeah, I would have a hard time believing the PSU got damaged too. I've dropped a million of those suckers... they're sturdy as hell, even the cheapo ones. And enough for there to be a visible dent?