What the heck is this from?

[Dalgan]

I just sold a monitor NIB security tape still in tact, on craigslist and now the guys claiming when he turns it on it has issues. All the years Ive been in IT I've never seen an LCD look like this

. It looks like it was sprinkled with water or something.
History of this monitor, in case it helps, it sat for ~ 3-4 years in a closet indoors on its side in a cardboard box. No water or other damage found on the box. Sold on craigslist and shipped to a guy 4 hours away. I know, never ship, but he checked out. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Also he hasn'tnt made any demands but what do you think a fair solution to this would be? I took photos of the thing before I shipped it out w a current newspaper because I'm anal like that. Photos show all security tape intact and no box damage.
TIA,
Stue

 

[ssddx]

i've seen an effect like that splotching before.

i believe it is caused by either water damage or by use of chemicals on an lcd screen. if you search google you see various posts about dropping phones in water and getting a splotch effect or when someone tries to clean a screen with alcohol.

i'm not sure about the vertical streaks. they almost look like someone jabbed the monitor and scratched it, however, it appears similar to the splotch edges which makes me think that it could be chemical smears.

i suppose the splotches could be impact related as well but all of the impact damage i have seen resulted in a rainbow of colors sort of effect and blobbing.

 

[Dalgan]

Thanks for the input. I just dont get it.
He just emailed me that the vga cable was plugged in when he opened it.. Something not right about this. I cant see someone at UPS messing with it because it only took a day to get there. The security tape had to have been tampered with if the cable was attached...

 

[ssddx]

you say that this was factory sealed with the original security tape?

monitors all come the same way: in a box with either hard styrofoam or cardboard packing, a foam or plastic sheet over the screen and all cables and accessories in bags or boxes.

i've never seen or heard of one having the vga cable hooked up already.

--

my take on this matter?

with you not having tested the monitor all you can claim is "it was factory sealed" which doesnt do much to protect you. if you had the monitor out and tested it first then there wouldnt be this issue.

one of two things happened:

A- the customer got the monitor but doesnt like it so they damaged it to get a refund. this is quite common when dealing with retail business but i dont see why anyone would go to the trouble of splotching a monitor.

B- the monitor was somehow damaged before you received it and has been sitting in the box damaged all this time. perhaps someone put a defective returned monitor in a new monitor box. did you buy it at a trustworthy place?

i highly doubt ups screwed with it. in any case the security tape would have been broken.

without physical proof you have no choice but to offer a refund and accept the loss.

 

[hang-the-9]

The Lenovo monitors we use at work have the VGA cable attached when new, with a DVI in the box.

That sure looks like something dripped on the screen to me, after several years, lots of stuff could have seeped in the box.

If this all on the inside of the screen?

 

[Dalgan]

I bought this straight from Dell. Well I bought a computer and this came with it shipped separately. I already had a dual display setup so I didnt need this. I stuck it in a guest bedroom closet and there it stayed away from all things bad. When my daughter was born I decided to free up some space in the closet and put it on craigslist. The pics of the box before I shipped it show no signs of "spillage" or damage for that matter.
I shipped him what I stated I had: NIB never opened dell 24" monitor. The way I look at it is I took a risk shipping it to a nonlocal address and he took a risk buying something from a nonlocal address. Im hoping him filing a claim w UPS will resolve this. But if UPS says sry not our fault then I'm going to have to come up with a fair solution. One thing is for sure, Ill never ship again....

Im not sure where the "splotches" are. All I have are the pics he sent. He said he already had the same exact monitor at home and he wanted another matching one so who knows, he could have had a bad one and saw this up and figured it would be an easy switcharoo. Anythings possible at this point.
Thanks for your replies.

 

[ssddx]

is there a serial number on the box? or date of manufacture?

if ups doesnt want to deal with the damage (i doubt they will say it is their fault) then the customer will want either a discount or a return.

i would advise against doing a discount deal as there is no way to verify fault.

if he wants a return when the product arrives i would check the numbers against the serial numbers or date of manufacture on the box when it left. if they match then perhaps there really was a problem with the monitor. if they do not match then i would say fraud and keep the money he paid for the monitor.

personally i wouldnt even offer to pay for shipping unless i personally verified that the item i sent out was defective.