eBay advice

[marino]

Edited for adding a warning:

This is an update to a four-month old thread (check the dates). The update is the last (current) post, dated January 23th, 2005.

 

------------------------------------------------

 

A bit OT perhaps - but I think I need a bit of advice.

 

I've bought several things from the USA on eBay in the last two or three years (only one major purchase, the SE-1 ). I've never encountered serious problems: Just a couple of mishaps and mail delays that were discussed and resolved with good email communication.

 

Well, last june I bid on an Alesis Wedge reverb, and I won it for a mere $42, more or less. My Quadraverb is starting to act funny, so I thought, even with another $30 for shipping, a few taxes and a new power supply (I usually build them myself), it's still a lot less than the price for an used one in Europe.

The guys I bought it from are a large organization, specializing in reselling used gear. They seemed to know what they're doing, so I went for it.

 

First disappointment was, they stated in the auction that they would accept PayPal, but *after* I won the auction, they said that they weren't going to accept PayPal from abroad. Not very correct. But I joined BidPay (for this sole purpose) and paid them; I just wanted to conclude the thing so I acted 'good guy' and tried to avoid problems.

 

Also, they sent it with US Postal Service, and gave me no choice. I would gladily have paid a few more bucks to use FedEx or UPS and have a tracking number - but no way; "this is the way we do it." OK....

 

After one month, nothing had arrived, except an email from them, asking to "please leave positive feedback"... I wrote back, explaining that the reverb was not in my hands yet, and suggesting to wait a bit more before worrying; state postal services can be *very* slow.

 

Another month, and still nothing. I write them. They write back saying they are sorry... but with no tracking number, there's little I can do. I beg the post office and the customs - no way. No tracking number, no help.

 

Three more weeks, and we are at yesterday. They write me a very short message, saying that my Alesis Wedge has returned back to them, with the indication "Incorrect Address". They ask me for the "correct" address, and say there will be additional shipping fees to pay for them to send it again.

 

I checked all email corrispondence I had with them - I wrote my address correctly *every time*.

 

So after all this, I'm reluctant to send more money to these guys; after all, *they* screwed up, not me. On the other hand, these things can happen, and I don't want to act like a jerk.

During the whole thing, they did respond to most of my emails, but always in a very sketchy manner, not always on point, and in general giving the impession to be tough guys.

 

SO what would you do? Sending them more money for resending the Wedge to me, or saying "Just give me my stuff, 'cause it's your fault, and I did everything right"?

 

Thanks a lot in advance!

[Tusker]

Carlo,

 

I think you've delivered 95% of what you promised. The cash. They can verify that.

 

To deliver the rest (the +ve feedback) would be to lie. It's also contrary to Ebay policy. Finally, if you give them this, you have absolutely nothing that they need from you.

 

They may have shipped the item to you, or it could be a scam. You are unable to verify that, at this point.

 

I'd try to find a way of verifying.

 

Here is some Ebay material on "dispute resolution" that may help you.

 

http://pages.ebay.com/help/confidence/questions/dispute -resolution.html?fromFeature=My%20eBay&ssPageName=STRK:MERLC:005

 

Protect yourself. Inform the seller of your options in escalating this issue. Tell that you are considering what to do.

 

I'm curious. What is the seller's history like on Ebay? (volume, feedback, etc.)

 

Best,

 

Jerry

[Dave Bryce]

If you submitted your address to them correctly on multiple occasions, then the fault is theirs, and you should not pay any more shipping.

 

If you want to see if they're telling the truth, if it was returned stamped Undeliverable it should be no problem for them to take a digital picture of the box with the incorrect address and the stamp saying it was undeliverable - I'm thinking it'd be pretty difficult for them to fake one of those from Italy...

 

Even then, it's still be their fault, since you say you gave them the correct address...

 

Additionally, the fact that they refuse to use UPS/FedEx makes no sense, unless it's precisely so they can do something like this.

 

I'd insist that they send it to you immediately via a trackable shipper and at their expense, or that they refund all of your money. If they do not comply, I suggest that you report them to eBay and give them a detailed negative rating there. You might also remind them that using the US mail to defraud someone is a federal crime. You should also consider reminding them that you'll be happy to tell this tale on as many forums as you can locate.

 

Perhaps they will feel sufficiently motivated to ensure that you are satisfied.

 

dB

[daBowsa]

Its time to get fierce.

 

DEMAND that they either refund your money OR ship you the item via a tracking numbered shipment. If not, you will immeditately leave strongly worded negative feedback and report them to ebay/bidpay to begin the process of forcing a refund out of them.

 

Nothing goes up my ass more than an ebay seller you ignores the buyer's emails. You're trading money for a product, and giving them more money for the service (ie, their profit). That service includes: emailing and shipping promptly. They've done neither. Grrr!!!

[Dak Lander]

Also contact the BidPay folks. They may be able to help you either resolve the issue or get a refund.

 

If the unit is worth it, and still a good deal for you, you may be able to compromise on splitting shipping costs, for TRACKABLE shipping through USPS Global Priority Mail, UPS, FedEx or DHL.

 

After this is resolved I would certainly not leave positive feedback. The best it would deserve would be a neutral score and as concise an explanation as possible. That would be predicated on how well this issue is resolved. At this point it looks like a very negative feedback would be in order. Won't help much but it may save someone else the hassle.

 

I've personally sold and shipped a few items overseas. I always quote several different options, time frames and costs and let the purchaser make that decision. Though it's a bit of a hassle to go through the customs paperwork it's often worth it for the completion of the sale, especially when the price by that purchaser pushed the sales price to a better figure.

I acutally prefer to ship via USPS Priority overseas. Their customs paperwork is simple and quick, unlike UPS & others, and I've found it to be at least as, and usually more, dependable and normally less expensive. All that depends on the size and weight however.

[Bartolomeo]

My advice would be to cut your losses. Don't send any more money. Tell them that if they resend it FedEx or some other service at their expense and give you the tracking number you'll post positive feedback, otherwise you'll post negative feedback.

 

Remember you only have a 90 day window for feedback.

 

I have bought sheet music from the UK and Canada on several occasions and had them shipped here without incident though some packages from the UK have taken as long as 6 weeks to arrive.

 

With eBay I figure I can usually spot the fraudsters. Leaving them aside the disorganized sellers are the biggest problem. I had a seller fail to ship an item (accordion) because they couldn't find a box the right size despite having sent me an email saying they had shipped. Another seller mixed up my shipment with someone else's so I got the wrong thing. On another occasion someone misrepresented the condition of an inexpensive item, and shipping costs for returning it would not have been worthwhile.

 

Usually you can catch this stuff in the feedback comments if you read them, it will not show up in the numeric summaries. When people get a "positive" but with comments like "took a while to get straightened out but now everything is OK" or "wrong item at first but seller was willing to fix" then you know you're dealing with someone who doesn't have their act together. That's one thing if they're local or at least in the same country but the problems just compound themselves for international shipments.

 

Bartolomeo

[marino]

Thanks a lot to everybody for your input! I'm not sending them any more money. I'll send them a detailed email asking to resend the Wedge with a trackable shipment. I'll keep you posted...

 

Thanks again.

[mildbill]

that sucks, marino. i've only bought a few things off ebay, but have had pretty good luck so far.

i don't have any advice except to say, you're on the right track and don't send them any more money.

from what you've said, it sounds like they just plain screwed up.

[JeffLearman]

If you're willing to gamble the money you've already posted for the unit, tell them it was their error and they must ship you the unit.

 

If you're tired of dealing with them, or if they refuse, contact your credit card company and refuse payment on the item. Contacting ebay's "conflict resolution" thing might be a good idea, too. Post negative feedback.

 

You get your money back. They get negative feedback, have wasted their time, and get nothing else.

 

In my limited experience, credit card companies are very good about denying payment. It's only happened to me for 3 items on 2 different cards, all at the same time. Note that they can't cancel payment after two months or something like that, so take care of it ASAP.

 

Jeff

[mdlestat]

There's absolutely no way I'd give them any more money--- even if it was a mistake, it was NOT YOUR FAULT, and you shouldn't have to pay another penny.

 

This is why competant sellers will require tracking for international orders---your sellers are probably not used to out-of-US selling.

 

I hope your email gets your issue solved---but no matter what they say, DO NOT back down---you were the one wronged here, don't lose sight of that...

 

[Dave The Rave]

Hey Marino, all the advice above is good and I think you're doing the right thing. I think you're going to end up demanding your money back from them via eBay/BidPay. However, you still don't have a reverb unit....right?

 

It so happens that I have a "spare" brand new TC Electronic M300 reverb unit that I won in one of the Keyboard Magazine giveaway prizedraws. I have no use for it (I already have a TC Electronic M-One unit which is all I need).

 

If you want it, it's yours..... PM me your address and I'll ship it to you FedEx at my expense right away. Consider it payback for all the free advice on playing that I have gotten from you in my time here so far.

 

Cheers,

:DTR

[waveterm]

Damn !

 

There´s hope for humanity !

 

Bravo Raver :-)

 

Best,

[Ski 1642606170]

Originally posted by Dave the Rave:

It so happens that I have a "spare" brand new TC Electronic M300 reverb unit that I won in one of the Keyboard Magazine giveaway prizedraws. I have no use for it (I already have a TC Electronic M-One unit which is all I need).

 

If you want it, it's yours..... PM me your address and I'll ship it to you FedEx at my expense right away. Consider it payback for all the free advice on playing that I have gotten from you in my time here so far.

Now there's some CLASS, not to mention generosity.

 

Marino, if you get anything other than *instant* 100% cooperation from these idiots, not only would I not send additional cash, I'd simply demand my money back - immediately. I wouldn't mess with them any more. Along with that, of course, follow all the other good advice above (leave *detailed* negative feedback, post the story in other forums, contact eBay, contact BidPay, and most importantly, contact your credit card company).

 

Best of luck to you.

[marino]

Dave The Rave - I PM'd you.

[JeffLearman]

Kudos, Dave! Er, ... anything I can help you with?

[MikeT156]

Totally awesome Dave the Rave, I'm proud of you. There's a lot of good solid information to be had here, and that's a nice gerture of appreciation. Kudos Dave!

 

Mike T.

[mildbill]

a 'tip of the hat' to you dave. a true generous gentleman.

[linwood]

Dave's restored my faith in men.

[Mark Zeger]

Dave should change his screen name to "Dave the Mensch", which would be a Yiddish equivalent of "You 'da MAN".

 

[MIDIdiot]

Shana Tova, Mark! Have an easy fast.

[Mark Zeger]

Originally posted by InTheDark:

Shana Tova, Mark! Have an easy fast.

You, too, Dark

[marino]

I stumbled into this old thread while saerching for something else, so I thought to bump it in order to give you some update.

 

The sellers of the Alesis wedge did send me some scanned pictures of the package, as it was returned to them. They claimed to have used the *correct* address, but there's *no way* to check this from the scans!!

 

Anyway, the images showed stickers which were, presumably, Italian, so I thought, maybe this is an Italian job after all, and decided to play the nice guy to the extreme - I suggested to share the expenses for a new shipment. Yes, boy and girls, I actually sent some more money to them! My faith in mankind is only matched by my stupidity...

BTW I made clear that I would only accept a trackable shipment. They agreed.

 

After a couple of weeks, I got a very sketchy email, like, "Where were we at with this matter?"

The email quoted most of the previous email we exchanged, *except the last two or three ones*.

This is plain bad faith in my book. I wrote back with the complete story and threatening to sue, and they said OK, it will be shipped next week.

 

After about another week, I still had not received a tracking number. I asked, and they sent me a number, *without specifying the shipping company!*!! BTW, with some common sense and some help, I figured out it was USPS (again?!), but the tracking number DID NOT WORK.

 

I was going thru several simultaneous troubles in those days, so I just decided that for the moment, I had spent too much of my time with those clowns, and stopped thinking about the whole thing for a while.

 

After ages (another two or three weeks), surprise: The Alesis Wedge arrived!! It was the worst package I have see seen in my life; just a light carboard box and 'a few crumpled magazine pages' inside to "protect" it! Unbelievable.

The unit itself was in sorry shape. Two slider caps were missing, it had scratches everywhere, etc.

 

I didn't give up. I changed the power supply and tried to connect it and guess what... IT DOESN'T WORK. I've tried everything - not a peep. I get some life from the display, but that's all. I've opened it, but nothing looks wrong to the eye. I suppose it died during shipping, mainly because of the awful packaging.

 

Well, end of story. I've given the Wedge to a friend who's technically inclined, so he could use it for spare parts, etc. Obviously, I've written eBay about this, but it didn't seem to affect the guys, who keep their big eBay activity. I have the suspect that complaints from outside the USA toward American companies are taken a bit lightly...

 

But now, the bare minimum I can do is advising against buying from them. Throughout this whole affair, they showed minimum cooperation, they constantly answered my email with monosyllabic and sometimes cryptic messages, and generally didn't show any respect for the buyer.

Plus, I have the suspect that they intentionally tried to cheat me, at least from a certain point in time. I have no proof, though. They did lie to me on a couple of occasions for sure.

 

Anyway, here's my warning: Don't buy anything from AJ&L Pawn Exchange.

 

Who knows me a little bit also knows that I won't go public on this kind of thing lightly, but this time I feel it's totally deserved.

 

Carlo

[dementia13]

Sorry about your experience, and thanks for the warning. Here's my consumer warning: avoid Homelite chainsaws. (Burned up on first use, and they refused warranty service, falsely claiming that I'd used straight gasoline instead of gas/oil mixture.)

[RABid]

Thanks for the warning Marino? Do you have an eBay id number for the seller? I did a search but did not get an exact match. It is possible thehy changed their name.

 

Robert

[clusterchord]

you really had bad luck. i think those e-bay mega-sellers should more or less all be avoided at all cost;

 

i had a similar experience with another one (i dont recall the name) - i've sent money by PayPal, they needed two weeks to send me a EHX Small STone. it came in non working condition. the PCB was broken and rattling inside.

 

First they refused to pay, but since it was payed by my brothers VISA , who is a US citizen, he threatened to sue - so they gave full refund, for shipping back as well. i was lucky.

 

i'd also like to know AJ&L username on Evil-Bay. Marino?

[marino]

Thanks Robert and Tomislav for your sympathy.

 

Originally posted by clusterchord:

i'd also like to know AJ&L username on Evil-Bay. Marino?

ajlpawnexchange