ebay junk

I have been buying on ebay since 1997. I have NEVER had to return anything in 1000's of purchases, until I started buying computer related items. Not one item of the 18 or so items I have bought lately was as pictured (except rubber keyboard) yet they never disclosed that it was not the actual pic or item. After the first batch of disapointments I started asking for more pics and more questions and still I get junk and lies and all of these people have excelent feedback. Rant off.....


buyers of ebay junk beware!!

 

Ebay is safe... You need to take your time and read the feedbacks and see what people purchased from them. I have seen sellers that sell and buy knik knats and small things for a few dollars just to build up great feedback then they hit some poor un suspecting bidder with a laptop or big ticket item only to find out it is a scam or the goods are damaged. Take time and read the feeback. Pray and ask God should you deal with the seller.

 

Horse traders are like the sellers you describe. It seems to be a buyer beware culture; and a lie is common when the truth would be better.

The way we solved it when dealing with horses is to give a trial period, (2-3 weeks is common) and an ironclad, money back guarantee. The only caveat is that the animal is returned undamaged.

If the sellers can't or won't police themselves; maybe it's time for professional inspections and funds held in limbo until the buyer and seller either release the hold or the agreed upon time period expires.

There are slime in all types of business dealings, but there are far more decent folks who do the right thing even if it's not to their advantage.

The other side of the coin is that we all have a tendency to let our expectations exceed reality. When the items don't match that expectation, realistic or not, we are dissappointed.

I think that the answer is to ask questions, get the photos, and check out the vendor's communications. That, and the feedback, might save all of us some heartaches.

 

Beleive me when I say, I never have high expectations. ALL of the sellers I'm referring to only sell computer related items, some have feedback in the 1000's and I'm not a picky guy.

1 example, picture of a nice looking dock with the base and nowhere in the description does it say not actual item or photo is only a representation.

I got a dock with holes drilled in it and a dent and is non functioning to boot.
He will refund only the purchase price.

Another one "tested, working, guaranteed not doa" got it. No possible way to test it because the power plug has been ripped out. this guy has over 5k feedback with 98% positive.

anyway, I'm just saying that I don't have this problem with the other areas of my ebay bidding. Only this computer junk.

 

FleaBay is working on fixing the whole feedback mess it has created. The current feedback tool is broken and they know it. The way it works now is sellers wait for you the buyer to leave feedback before they give you feedback. This is so if the buyer gives the seller a negative for say, misrepresentation the seller can retaliate and in turn give the buyer a retaliatory negative.

Ebay has finally realized that the responsibility of service and customer satisfaction, i.e. representing products and services honestly and fairly, lies with the seller, just like it does with a store. The future feedback process will be buyer based. In other words sellers will no longer be able to rate buyers, except in special cases like dead beat bidders.

Face it, as a buyer you have an easy job, you send money and expect the product to arrive as described/pictured. There's no reason to rate a buyer unless they don't pay. The sellers of misrepresented junk will be exposed in short order and if all goes as planned eBay will once again be a reputable place to buy. Now eBay just has to man up and throw the switch on this system.

 

Ahhh sweet Jesus... More Dell people... So now I need to PRAY on it? I guess I am doomed! I don't pray...

Anyway... Yes... I have noticed it. It is only getting worse too! I have been on ebay now for 9 years. Back in the day there were pretty much NO scammers. I NEVER got took for anything. In the past year I have been scammed several times.

Here is the ONLY way to deal on ebay and be safe as I see it...

1. Yes... read the feedback. Make sure they have sold before what you want to buy from them. Make sure they have 100% satisfaction on that. I stay away from powersellers (even though I am one) who have their count up in the 10k range... You are just a number and will never be seen or answered if something goes wrong. Just like the line YOU are in is always the slowest... If you deal with a 95%'er then YOU will be that 5% who gets the shaft!

2. Deal with those that you have dealt with in the past. Deal with a pro! Where do you think you will get the better laptop??? They guy who wants to dump his because he just got the next best flavor or the pro who sells them for a living? Yes... You might have to pay for it (Still below retail usually) but you will usually get what you want. The cheap way out usually starts that way... But then you have to fix this or add that and you end up spending more than if you would have just ponied up the ducketts in the first place!

3. Report your feedback honestly! This is something that I have just started doing... and it has netted me my first negative feedback in 800+ transactions. I didn't used to want to rock the boat fearing that if I post neutral or negative feedback on a bad transaction that they would do the same to me. So be it! It hurt when I saw that I was no longer at 100% positive but the guy I bought a motherboard from totally ripped me off! Broken parts, blown fuses... Spraypaint all over it! And he says, "I'm not sure if it works... I just wanted the touchpad!" Yeah... Right.... Ya moron!

4. Be careful and look before you leap. Slow down and don't be too eager to jump in the shallow end. READ the entire auction... Even the fine print! Sometimes stuff is hidden there! If it sounds too good to be true it probably is. Wait until another one comes along from someone more respectable.

5. Roll the dice and buy.... You've done your homework now buy what you want. If you have any problems... be nice and try to resolve the issue without threatening anyone. If you threaten someone in your first email they will assume that you are going to leave negative feedback anyway and they will tell you to bugger off.

Buying from the same people has paid off in spades for me. I just got a call from a county out west who used to sell their stuff on ebay... Now they call me instead! I just bought 6 CF-28s for $630! Two 800s in great shape, two 600s in bad shape and 1 800 that won't fire up. (I have an idea what's wrong) All have the emissive keyboards! Plus... They are throwing in a box of 47 keyboards! Yes... 47... A few are rubber but most are regular... Some have keys missing. But I just lowballed the bid and won it. (I don't bid against anyone and I always win anyway!) I have been trying to work with several of the sellers on ebay that I have had good experiences with to see if I can work with them off of ebay. Many have said "YES"... It saves us both money!

Anyway... enough of me babbling...

 

To boil it down; sounds like "don't let greed overcome caution and common sense when dealing with someone you don't know"

 

Hi.

I won a titanium knife on ebay, then the seller contacted me a said that he was out of stock??

I though this was an auction site!

regards

John.

 

Pretty lame excuse! My horror story is that I won the bid on a computer, and paid the guy the same night with paypal. The guy strung me along for a week without shipping; then told me that he mistakenly sent it to another guy.

I was lucky in two regards; one he sent my money back, and two, he didn't leave negative feedback for me, even though I did for him.

You think having a heart to heart telephone conversation with him in a manner that only a Marine Drill Instructor is capable of, had anything to do with his kindness and consideration?

 

I guess even a scammer knows better than to cross a Marine - good job.

 

I don't pray. That's why I got these done.

(The left one is actually straight, but my skin distorted when I had my left arm up holding the shirt).

Grim Reaper is coming to the blank space soon.

Now... eBay.

I've been burned a few times. Mostly people not using the actual item for sale as the image, but sometimes because they lied about other things.
I either haven't learned my lesson or I haven't gotten burned too badly, because I'm still using eBay.

 

That a Drill Instructor would ever have anything but kind and thoughtful words for someone that has upset him

I know when I was at Parris Island, (I Co, 3rd Bn) we all( ) were nothing but kind, thoughtful, and soft spoken....


I've had one bad experience with an ebay seller... And I did call him... Left him bad feedback too..No bad feedback was recieved from him...

All of the advise here is on the mark..


73
Semper Fi
Ed

 

SWEETNESS AND ENLIGHTENMENT ED; SWEETNESS AND ENLIGHTENMENT!

 

Don't get me started on this. "The future feedback process will be buyer based" is letting the inmates run the asylum. There needs to be some sort of balance in the process. Its bad enough that when you do give a buyer a negative, it doesn't affect their livelihood the way it does to a seller.. I can't imagine what life will be like once the buyers know they can make any sort of demand they want and totally get away with it!

I agree that things are worse with computers than with some other categories. I think the problem isn't just computers though.. it is with "average consumers" buying and selling consumer goods. I used to buy and sell only industrial controls. For the most part, that group is highly professional and reasonable in their expectations. Once you start getting into ordinary household goods however, you expose yourself to the dregs of humanity it seems. I could give you example after example of low-lifes that i've run into that are crooked, ignorant, or just plain devoid of common sense. The way it is now, at least I get a little closure by being able to report my side of the story in the buyer's feedback. When that is no longer possible.. Let's just say I think I'll go back to the Business and Industrial section and stay there.

You buyers that think ebay is looking out for you and life will be so much better once the changes have been fully implemented.. Let's wait and see.

 

Gravitar,
I'm with you. The system needs input from buyers and sellers. I think that the issue begins with ebay. they seem to want no involvement but to offer a service and collect the fees.

What's needed IMHO; is an abitration committee formed of seasoned vendors and buyers who issue a reasoned response to disputes.

I've always been told that there are three sides to every story; your version, my version, and the truth.

 

The only negative I have ever gotten was revenge feedback from a lousy seller and when I tired to do the right thing, he slammed me!

That being said, I don't think the new system is going to work in the long run. I was kind of happy to hear about it at first, but man, the buyers are going to have field day....

 

Guys...

I'm not defending eBay here, cuz I'm disgusted with what they once WERE when I started with them over 10 years ago, and what they ARE NOW, which is essentially the biggest blind flea market in the world.

But the reality is... how in the hell do you police a site that has at any one time (according to their own statistics) over 110 million listings at any one time? A quick guess would say that means that around 10 million auction closings/sales a day... It's not a matter of being insensitive to a member's needs; it's a matter of it's just TOO F-ING BIG A MACHINE.

My aggravation is with eBay not permitting ENOUGH room to tell the whole story & let the reader decide; a lying turd who uses the same story over & over will be very easy to recognize; however, with the tiny place you have to post, you just about have enuf room to say "hi - this guy sucks" without explaining why. Again, we have the issue of 10 million of these a day... think how fast YOUR servers would clog if YOU had to keep that data for even a month...

mnem
eBay was a nice place when it was just us GEEKS...

 

Maybe the answer is.. you don't? Let's face it, when ebay/paypal steps in to play judge/jury/executioner, they screw up and make the wrong decision a good deal of the time anyway.

 

Grav -

My point bizzackly. You CAN'T. But then we have the whole segment of our population composed of whiny selfish ret@rds who feel that SOMEHOW it's our obligation as NON-RET@RDS to protect them from their own stupidity; they b!tch and moan until eBay is FORCED to do SOMETHING in their own defense. Unless they hire a bazillion legal aides to police the auctions, they really don't HAVE a proper course of action. Of course, if they did THAT, then the ret@rds would b!tch that the new eBay fees were just too high...

On a related note... I just finally got (after 3 weeks) a judgement in my favor from PayPal on an auction for a counterfeit Sony Memory Stick Pro; I'll have to see what happens when I post negative feedback on his skeevy @ss.

Word of warning... DO NOT BUY ANY Memory Stick or Sandisk memory product from eBay; over 95% of it (LITERALLY - 95%) is counterfeit. Be certain that if it comes from China or Tiawan or Malaysia it is counterfeit; and if it is advertised as "OEM" or "Bulk" it is also, as NEITHER manufacturer sells ANY product that is NOT retail blister-packaged, not ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.

mnem
*CRAAAAACK!* Here... have a little pain... Oooy, Renaldo... and on a flesh wound! That's gotta hoit."

 

I have bought for over 10 years without a single problem. I was buying, guns and related items, watches, pens, vintage cameras, high end audio, vehicles, rare books, military equipment, high end exploration equipment, specialty furniture, images, antique western stuff and soo much else.

Before the TB came along I bought all of my computer gear from one guy locally and never had to use ebay. Well he is out of the hardware end so I turned to ebay to find all of the needed extras. So for me the problems are isolated to this computer stuff.

I used to sell on ebay periodically. On my sales account I had around 2500 feedback when I closed it. I had around 18 negatives. Of those 18 negatives only 2 were deserved, all of the others were either retaliation or from wall-mart shoppers, which there seem to many more of these days!

I quit selling on ebay because of paypal. Ebay has made paypal the payment method of choice and it is so flawed that it just wasn't worth it anymore. As a seller I would hate to take paypal but as a buyer I love it for it's convince.

As already pointed out, it has just become too big, with too much junk which attracts the wal-mart shoppers and their buying wanders into actual products which creates problems for the good sellers so they end leaving which makes room for the crooks to make it.

In rare books there are a few sites that have taken off and done well, leaving amazon for the junk. I'm noticing this trend with other items as well. high end audio as an example. Pre ebay it was sold in stores and on rec. and a couple of other sites. Then ebay gets popular and most of shifted to ebay. Well, these days it has shiffted back to non auction sites. Sure there is still junk being sold on ebay but the good sellers and customers have left. I would love to see this forum have a trading area that's full of good panny buyers and sellers.

 

Paypal is a huge rip off for the seller. If only the scammers didn't make every other escrow service seem fishy so nobody wanted to use them... (Maybe Paypal was behind that!).

But sadly, you've got few options to pay for stuff online without it being a hassle.

 

You know, I've used PayPal as long as they've been around, & I never minded the fees they charge for their service. Maybe that's because I paid for a Visa Merchant Account myself for a while, and REALLY... their service was only a hair more expensive, and tons LESS hassle, especially compared to BidPay (Which PayPal shoved right down eBay's throat, thank heaven) & Escrow.com. I always felt it was the cost of doing business; they WERE providing a valuable service which they deserved to get paid for & the guys who set up a second account "just for non-credit-card-sales" to avoid merchant account fees were really being a pain in the ass for a few dollars. (Don't jump me for that - I know some of you sell items in the thousands of dollars & their percentage is more than just a "few dollars"; but try making the same sale on a Debit Card Merchant Account sometime.)

I dislike the way they can just reach into a bank account at will; however - I learned from warnings on other sites to tie PayPal to a card & account that is NOT my primary account, so I've had no issues.

mnem
Money is the means, not the end.

 

Update:

I've contacted an eBay rep via their live chat; he assured me that if I indeed have a resolution in my favor (which I do) for my counterfeit goods claim, that if the seller DOES place retaliatory negative feedback, I can have it reviewed & expunged without having to settle for mutual withdrawal. I explained to the Sony rep that this seller has an average of 300 Memory Stick products on sale at ANY time; ALL listed as "OEM" or "BULK", just like mine:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=160212571575&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=006

They are ALL counterfeit; as I mentioned earlier, Sony does not sell as such. Sony rep says they will investigate and litigate; of course if they try through US channels the best they will prolly manage is to get his current account banned from eBay - the little c@ckroach will be right back the next day with a new one. Of course Panasonic DOES have ties with the government in Hong Kong who could track him down & make an example; they have OTHER options (saltwater/jumper cables, screwgun/feet, hammer/digits, etc) at their disposal to ensure fair & equitable restitution from this waste of skin.
mnem
It's a good thing you can't eMail an @sskicking...

 

I too have been on EBAY about 10 years. I think EBAY was ruined when they set up ebay stores and let the commercial vendors on. You used to be able to get bargains, now in the last 2 years it's gotten so much worse, I've gotten ripped off more than the entire previous 10 years. i have some negative feedback from sellers all revenge feedback for me telling the truth about them. I'm glad they're doing something to address this problem. I don't care if it ultimately falls apart. I mostly buy on EBAY, and only sell when I need to dispose of excess stuff. All Hail The Buyers!

 

Just curious.. how could you tell it was fake? does it not work right? are there quality defects?

 

Do they make countertfeit 8GB sticks? I want ten at that price but do they work?

 

Mine was complete junk. Would not work at all in any of 4 Memory Stick compatible devices I own. This fact, coupled with the item being delivered in a plastic matchbox full of bubble wrap, gave me cause to suspect it... a quick google turned up this:

http://reviews.ebay.com/FAKE-Sony-M...Gate-Cards-Exposed_W0QQugidZ10000000001236041

and this:

http://esupport.sony.com/perl/news-item.pl?news_id=243&mdl=DSCW30

When I called the Sony Support number in that letter, they confirmed pretty much EVERYTHING in the buying guide above (particularly about the fact that they DO NOT SELL AS OEM or BULK, and how even these counterfeits that SEEM TO WORK still misrepresent their capacity & will not store more than a fraction of the advertised capacity); and while they were on the line, I dissected the one I had (A flick of my thumbnail was all it took - quality construction there) and confirmed the unmarked PCB & sub-generic RAM.

So in short - NO - DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT! THERE IS NO BARGAIN TO BE HAD HERE.

This guy doesn't care - he'll bury my legitimate negative feedback with bogus positive feedback from schill accounts & good feedback from other poor suckers who don't realize yet they've been hosed... and he's just one of literally thousands.

mnem
Just... DON'T.

 

Yet another reason that I buy from the US and Canada only... incase I need to "take care" of problems

 

I'm watching Death Wish V. Maybe we could hire "Charlie" to pay hese folks a visit.

"Pappy imagines Charles Bronson showing up at some degenerate vendor's door and enlightening the miscreant"

 

Oh lawdy, lawdy, Miss Clawdy... it just gets better & better with this wanker.

Now he's sending me a "mutual withdrawal" request & offering to refund my payment; evidently he's unaware the money has already been removed from his account by PayPal...

Maybe I SHOULD take him up on his offer. But then, it never was about the lousy $11... it was always about kicking him in the 'nads.

mnem
"When you're a kid and you wanna go whee, but you ain't got drugs yet... you hold on for your life... hold on to your little.. gonads... and strife... gonads and strife...gonads and strife..."