Q&A: Mistaken Purchase (and the Price Changed?)
Mistaken Purchase (and the Price Changed?)
Question
I ordered a product from abroad and later regretted it. When it arrived in Israel, I sold it to a friend, still sealed, at cost price. A few months passed, and the friend came to me claiming that only now had he tried to use the product, and it turns out to be defective. He therefore claims that this was a mistaken purchase.
I argue that if he had checked the product immediately, I could have opened a complaint on the website where I bought it (a complaint can be opened only up to 15 days from receiving the product).
He would argue: what do I care about the website’s rules? I bought a product from you, assuming it was in working order.
I would argue: you should have checked whether the product was working properly. Time has passed, and its value has dropped (the warranty expired; a product without a warranty is worth less).
What is the ruling?
Answer
I really don’t know. Once you are a private individual selling him a product, he cannot expect a warranty from you. It is obvious to him that you are neither the manufacturer nor the supplier, and you have no ability to give him a warranty. On the other hand, the claim that you should have told him that the manufacturer’s warranty period had passed is a valid one. That is not something he should be expected to know on his own. But that is only indirect causation, and for indirect causation one is at most obligated to satisfy one’s duty in the eyes of Heaven.
On the other hand, did he know the background—that you had bought the product online? If so, then he should have understood that he needed to try it immediately in order to still be within the warranty period.
Therefore, if he knew the background, I think you are exempt. If he did not know, there is room to obligate you in the eyes of Heaven.