Well this is the second time this has happened and this is the reason I am leaving E-prey and never going back.
I listed a pair of NOS tubes. They sell. The buyer contacts me and says they test weak and wants to return them. I accept the return.
What I get back is a TOTALLY different pair of tubes, of the same brand that are DEAD.
The scoundrel switched his dead tubes for my NOS tubes and straight up scammed me.
After the first time someone tried this scam I started marking all of my tubes with UV ink before shipping them. What a surprise when the tubes I received as a return did not have the marks on them.....
What does Fleabay do?
Absolutely F@%$#*& nothing.
The buyer is always right. So I am out a pair of expensive tubes and ebay still makes money either way. I have really lost my faith in people.
Anyone else get screwed selling tubes on this crooked auction site?
Please share...
I listed a pair of NOS tubes. They sell. The buyer contacts me and says they test weak and wants to return them. I accept the return.
What I get back is a TOTALLY different pair of tubes, of the same brand that are DEAD.
The scoundrel switched his dead tubes for my NOS tubes and straight up scammed me.
After the first time someone tried this scam I started marking all of my tubes with UV ink before shipping them. What a surprise when the tubes I received as a return did not have the marks on them.....
What does Fleabay do?
Absolutely F@%$#*& nothing.
The buyer is always right. So I am out a pair of expensive tubes and ebay still makes money either way. I have really lost my faith in people.
Anyone else get screwed selling tubes on this crooked auction site?
Please share...
Did you check the buyer's feedback?
I recently sold 5 fully tested GEC kt88's, 2 matched pairs and a single. I was worried about what happened to you so I used a needle file to scratch a tiny witness mark on a chosen pin. Fortunately a dealer purchased all 5, he was happy and I was happy to have offloaded the tubes I had lost interest in 30 years ago and forgot I had them.
I recently sold 5 fully tested GEC kt88's, 2 matched pairs and a single. I was worried about what happened to you so I used a needle file to scratch a tiny witness mark on a chosen pin. Fortunately a dealer purchased all 5, he was happy and I was happy to have offloaded the tubes I had lost interest in 30 years ago and forgot I had them.
I've never sold anything on eBay. I remember the first time I bought anything on eBay I was ripped off, I was naive. I haven't had any problems since when buying stuff that haven't been rectified by the seller. After my initial bad experience I researched about buying on eBay and somewhere, I can't remember where, was advised that if the sellers rating was below about 99.6% then they would be best avoided.
Is there some advised minimum rating for buyers?
Is there some advised minimum rating for buyers?
Member
Joined 2009
Paid Member
I think many of us have had bad experiences. My lesson learned was never ship anything of value without tracking or it will be lost. And never sell anything of low value, it's not worth your time and effort. There are many scams out there, one I remember being popular was sellers listing an item for a high $x fixed price and then offering the same product by auction - the fixed price creates the illusion of a bargain price when you are bidding and causes people to over-bid.
Never get screwed so far, but realize the risk. I'm not an eBay fan (they're in there for the money of course), but selling stuff to anyone in whatever way runs the same risk.
How would eBay fix your particular case? You say you send good tubes, the buyer says he got bad tubes. I don't see anything here that can be done to help resolve the situation.
We have a place called 'Marketplace' here in the Netherlands (owned by eBay btw) where your money goes into escrow at the company, and is released to the seller only after you say you got the goods and are happy. That seems to work reasonably well.
Jan
How would eBay fix your particular case? You say you send good tubes, the buyer says he got bad tubes. I don't see anything here that can be done to help resolve the situation.
We have a place called 'Marketplace' here in the Netherlands (owned by eBay btw) where your money goes into escrow at the company, and is released to the seller only after you say you got the goods and are happy. That seems to work reasonably well.
Jan
Yes, ebay, or the people participating, changed a lot. Been avid ebay member for decades. Closed my account few times disappointed, came back. It used to be better. Not only honesty, that went out of the window. But the deals. Now people ask hundreds of dollars for broken stuff not worth shipping. Not to mention Chinese selling fake parts, with the smile! Yet ebay does not care about it. Crooks!
I sent a pair of obscure radios to a scammer in the U.K.
First, he wanted me to falsify the postal forms. Uh, no, the tax structure in your jurisdiction is not my problem.
He claimed he did not receive them, in spite of tracking information, and e mails he sent me confirming satisfactory operation. Claiming non receipt would relieve him of the obligation to return them.
PayPal ( some service center in Europe ) appeared to be going to let him get away with this scam, except he ran into bad luck - an operational issue in the radios showed up during the course of the claim. I knew how to solve it. So, he had to drop the claim in exchange for being given the fix.
I briefly considered not giving him the information even after he had withdrawn the claim, but decided two wrongs did not make a right. Even though he deserved it.
I sent some perfect NOS ( real ) Svetlana 6550's to some guy who whined and moaned that the tubes he got were no good in his ARC ( whatever that is ) so, being an honest guy, I said just send them back and I sent him back his money before I got the tubes back.
You can guess the rest. Thank goodness I did not send him GE 6550's or Tung Sol 6550's.
Some people are just crooks. Some are better at it than others. From time to time, I've sold other tubes on ebay without issue, but all I ever say is they tested at "X" on my TV-7/D and I believe they are new and unused, but no guarantee of anything, no returns. Take it or leave it. Only the one guy has ever been an issue.
Still, given how far PayPal and eBay bend over backwards for buyers - which I like because I buy a lot on eBay - I probably wouldn't sell anything on ebay or via PayPal I was not willing to take a complete loss on.
Win W5JAG
First, he wanted me to falsify the postal forms. Uh, no, the tax structure in your jurisdiction is not my problem.
He claimed he did not receive them, in spite of tracking information, and e mails he sent me confirming satisfactory operation. Claiming non receipt would relieve him of the obligation to return them.
PayPal ( some service center in Europe ) appeared to be going to let him get away with this scam, except he ran into bad luck - an operational issue in the radios showed up during the course of the claim. I knew how to solve it. So, he had to drop the claim in exchange for being given the fix.
I briefly considered not giving him the information even after he had withdrawn the claim, but decided two wrongs did not make a right. Even though he deserved it.
I sent some perfect NOS ( real ) Svetlana 6550's to some guy who whined and moaned that the tubes he got were no good in his ARC ( whatever that is ) so, being an honest guy, I said just send them back and I sent him back his money before I got the tubes back.
You can guess the rest. Thank goodness I did not send him GE 6550's or Tung Sol 6550's.
Some people are just crooks. Some are better at it than others. From time to time, I've sold other tubes on ebay without issue, but all I ever say is they tested at "X" on my TV-7/D and I believe they are new and unused, but no guarantee of anything, no returns. Take it or leave it. Only the one guy has ever been an issue.
Still, given how far PayPal and eBay bend over backwards for buyers - which I like because I buy a lot on eBay - I probably wouldn't sell anything on ebay or via PayPal I was not willing to take a complete loss on.
Win W5JAG
Well I have to say thats pretty ballsy asking for help to fix some radios he "didnt receive"!!
What has happened to people?? What happened to honesty and doing the right thing? I would NEVER try to screw someone over who sent me something.
I have to say, most of my problems have been with asian buyers (NOT Japanese) and they often try to say they didnt understand part of the auction. But their english was perfect up until they claimed there was a problem..... I am not trying to generalize, just saying....
As a side note, I have had nothing but good experiences here on Diyaudio. I guess we are a community of honorable people for the most part. It is refreshing to say the least.
What has happened to people?? What happened to honesty and doing the right thing? I would NEVER try to screw someone over who sent me something.
I have to say, most of my problems have been with asian buyers (NOT Japanese) and they often try to say they didnt understand part of the auction. But their english was perfect up until they claimed there was a problem..... I am not trying to generalize, just saying....
As a side note, I have had nothing but good experiences here on Diyaudio. I guess we are a community of honorable people for the most part. It is refreshing to say the least.
I've bought quite a lot from eBay over the last decade, the seller protection is great, and what is attractive to buyers.
Recently I've started selling off bits and bobs I have acquired and then never ended up using - I've not had a bad sale yet, though I've had some buyers trying to offer half the asking price for items I've already priced to sell (cheaply), even though after a few questions, they agree that the price is a bargain. I figure some folk are just cheap, think they can pick up an absolute steal from a seller they believe knows nothing about the item, or is desperate for cash.
I sold some speakers and thought the buyer was unhappy, offered a return and full refund, only to find the buyer was happy after all....
I've had a rare vinyl I thought almost worthless go for far more than I thought it was worth, but again a very happy customer.
Little wonder then, that the fakers and con artists are so prevalent, given the cheapskate market they often serve.
Recently I've started selling off bits and bobs I have acquired and then never ended up using - I've not had a bad sale yet, though I've had some buyers trying to offer half the asking price for items I've already priced to sell (cheaply), even though after a few questions, they agree that the price is a bargain. I figure some folk are just cheap, think they can pick up an absolute steal from a seller they believe knows nothing about the item, or is desperate for cash.
I sold some speakers and thought the buyer was unhappy, offered a return and full refund, only to find the buyer was happy after all....
I've had a rare vinyl I thought almost worthless go for far more than I thought it was worth, but again a very happy customer.
Little wonder then, that the fakers and con artists are so prevalent, given the cheapskate market they often serve.
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I've been on eBay over 20 years. A few problems, but none serious. I remember the very first thing I sold was some expensive video editing software. There was no PayPal back then, so it was check or money order. (remember that?). I deposited the check, mailed the software and the bank lost the check. Just gone. Nothing I could do about it and they didn't care. So I emailed the buyer and told him. He sent another check minus the stop-check fee!
Not everyone is evil.
Not everyone is evil.
I've been scammed once or twice, never a big deal. I decided some years ago that I would no longer sell my cast offs on eBay, my local friends have benefited greatly in some cases.
Most of my current buying is surplus mil spec from former Iron Curtain countries and I have never had a problem with a seller even when goods got lost or damaged - they have always made good.
Most of my current buying is surplus mil spec from former Iron Curtain countries and I have never had a problem with a seller even when goods got lost or damaged - they have always made good.
I sold my first item online around 1989-90, a Blaupunkt head unit from a Porsche, sold through usenet rec.audio.car. The buyer gave me his address and I put it in the mail, fully trusting him to make payment when received. I received a check in the mail about two days later, he had sent payment before receiving the product fully trusting me to send the product as I had promised.
My, how things have changed.
My, how things have changed.
Member
Joined 2009
Paid Member
As a seller, perhaps there's a sweet spot, i.e. sell things only in a price range where the return on effort is high enough (e.g. >$50) but would not feel completely bent out of shape if scammed (<$200) ?
I've found eBay less and less useful due to Canada Post not wanting to handle shipments from China that are so inexpensive that they essentially end up losing money. Can't blame them.
I've found eBay less and less useful due to Canada Post not wanting to handle shipments from China that are so inexpensive that they essentially end up losing money. Can't blame them.
So I emailed the buyer and told him. He sent another check minus the
stop-check fee! Not everyone is evil.
A guy in England wanted to send me a $100 bill in an envelope for some parts.
I asked what would happen if it didn't arrive, he said he'd send another.
It arrived fine. But this was maybe 20 years ago.
I've been using ebay for as long as I can remember and have had a few crappy dealings.
The most irritating I think was a head unit for a Holden (Vauxhall). I bought the thing in 'full working' condition and paid about $100.
Thing turns up, I plug in in and ..nothing..
I open the case up and it looked like a toddler had been loose with a screwdriver inside. The PCB had pretty much been mauled to death.
So I sent a 'item not as described' case through ebay with pics, which they accepted. Ebay said 'post it back to the seller with tracking and we'll issue the refund'.
So I sent it back at $20+ postage cost, with tracking. Tracking said it had arrived. Seller said 'Nah, mate, didn't turn up'. Ebay said to me 'tough luck, no refund for you', Aus Post said 'it was delivered as per tracking, no insurance claim for you'.
So old mate is there with $100 of my money and gets to post that same stereo back on ebay a month later.
I think the appropriate Aussie descriptor for that guy is 'C U next Tuesday'...
The most irritating I think was a head unit for a Holden (Vauxhall). I bought the thing in 'full working' condition and paid about $100.
Thing turns up, I plug in in and ..nothing..
I open the case up and it looked like a toddler had been loose with a screwdriver inside. The PCB had pretty much been mauled to death.
So I sent a 'item not as described' case through ebay with pics, which they accepted. Ebay said 'post it back to the seller with tracking and we'll issue the refund'.
So I sent it back at $20+ postage cost, with tracking. Tracking said it had arrived. Seller said 'Nah, mate, didn't turn up'. Ebay said to me 'tough luck, no refund for you', Aus Post said 'it was delivered as per tracking, no insurance claim for you'.
So old mate is there with $100 of my money and gets to post that same stereo back on ebay a month later.
I think the appropriate Aussie descriptor for that guy is 'C U next Tuesday'...
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