Re: When eBay transactions go awry
- From: Nil <rednoise+news@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 07 Aug 2006 14:16:27 -0500
On 07 Aug 2006, eDog <eDog@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in
news:Xns981876F652C5CeDognowherenet@xxxxxxxxxxxxx:
What's your worst eBay horror story?
I keep telling this story, because it still burns me when I'm reminded
of it...
A few years ago, I bought a bass amp from a guy in Pennsylvania for a
very low price. Feedbacks were few, but positive. Seller claimed the
amp had supposedly had been recently gone over by a local shop, he had
just tested it, and it worked perfectly. The guy asked me to pay
immediately, which I would have done anyway. Then he didn't send it,
and wouldn't respond to emails for over a week, then claimed to be
sending it "that day" (he didn't). Finally, over 2 weeks later, the amp
shows up. I plug it in, and it doesn't work. Dead, no light, no sound,
nothing. Then I notice that there is no fuse in the socket. Hmmmm... if
he just tested, he had to have had a fuse, right? So I bought a new
fuse, and it blew immediately. Wrote him an email saying it did not
work, and I would like to either return it or have him pay for a
repair. While I waited for for his response, I popped the cover off the
amp to see if anything was obviously loose or toasted... I found the
fuse compartment cover with a burnt fuse still in it, taped to the
inside of the case. The amp had obviously been blowing fuses before he
sent it to me, and he could not have tested it because the fuse was not
plugged in! He knowingly sent me a broken amp. Fraud!
The guy writes me back and starts claiming that I broke the amp by
putting in the wrong fuse (I didn't). Then he says I "voided the
warranty" by taking the cover off. He refused to take it back.
So, I pulled his contact info off Ebay, and it turns out that he was
using a bogus account, one that belonged to his friend's dad, who
didn't know it was being used. Turns out that the seller had had his
previous account terminated by Ebay for fraud. Also turned out that the
guy had, since selling me the amp, moved from Pennsylvania to join some
cult in Utah. I was able to cross reference his various email addresses
and aliases, and I found that he used to post to some Mormon usenet
groups, and he believed he was Jesus, that he could read minds, and
control the weather!
Paypal was completely uncooperative. They will only get involved in
cases of non-delivery - if it's a matter of Significantly Not as
Described, they will decline your claim. Neither will Ebay act. So I
initiated a chargeback on my credit card. About 6 months later I
finally got my refund.
There were a lot more gyrations that I won't bore you with, but suffice
it to say, when Ebay goes wrong, it can be a nightmare. With the
benefit of experience, I can see some red flags in that transaction,
but even if you're scrupulously careful, you can still get burned. It's
always a gamble.
.
- References:
- When eBay transactions go awry
- From: eDog
- When eBay transactions go awry
- Prev by Date: Re: When eBay transactions go awry
- Next by Date: Re: When eBay transactions go awry
- Previous by thread: Re: When eBay transactions go awry
- Next by thread: Re: When eBay transactions go awry
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
Loading
