I need everyone's opinion.

jrausch

Here's the deal,


I bid on this killer amp for **** and giggles and won. I don't expect the guy to sell me this amp for the price I won it at. He has a zero rating and no original pictures of the amp and will probably back out anyway. If for some reason he sells it to me for that, I don't want to send a check for 2k to someone who is willing to take such a loss on it. Let me know what you would do in this situation.

Here's alink to the auction.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=14973&item=1943656444&rd=1


Here's a link to the amp's website
http://www.psaudio.com/products/classic250.asp

F1nut

First off, good deal! That's a nice amp.

This link www.escrow.com is the only way to safely do this transaction. If the seller refuses to do the deal that way, I'd walk away. I've used them and it works. If you have any questions about it I'd be glad to help.

F1nut

DarqueKnight

I second the escrow idea. Two grand is just too much cash to be sending to a total stranger, especially one with no feedback. If he balks at using an escrow service, just walk away.

Scams are not as commonplace on Ebay as they were during Ebay's early days, but the con artists are still around.

I think it's odd that this fellow can afford to buy $5,000 amplifiers but can't buy a cheap digital camera and put a few pics in his ad.

Proceed with caution.;)

gidrah

If he won't do an escrow,

1) Somebody on this site lives near the seller
2) That person would offer to do a 3rd party pick-up & ship.
3) You're comfortable with that person

Other than that I too say walk away.

madmax

The Escrow service is the safe way to do it. Remember that I said that.

I have purchased quite a few things for $500 to $2000 which sold for less than 40% of list. That is not that unusual if you really look around. Sure, you will never find something specific that you are looking for for that price but stuff is out there.

Why would he sell it so cheap? People have money. Not everyone is like you and I. Who knows, maybe this week his friends are all talking about Hummers or BMW's or something and he wants one of those now and no longer cares about the amp. Maybe his wife yelled at him and he said "f*** it. Maybe someone told him if it doesn't say "Mark Levinson" on it then it is not the best. Maybe he got a bunch of equipment and ended up with 4 of them and found out he only needed 3.

Zero feedback and no good pic? Too lazy to take a pic because his batteries are dead and there is already a good pic on the website. Never used ebay before and figures that people will pay what it is really worth. Knows the economy is down and doesn't mind giving a good deal to someone...

In any case I would take it as a serious deal. Don't be one of those people who think if it is cheaper than what everyone else is paying that something must be wrong with it. I have a lot of equipment purchased this way. I've even gone the extra step and bought stuff from those people who e-mail you after you loose the bid on a like item and say "Gee, I have the same thing I'll sell you for what you bid". Talk about dangerous. It has always paid off though.

madmax

madmax

Forgot to mention one thing. The latest statistic on bad ebay deals is 1 in 300,000 go bad. Do ya feel lucky punk? Seriously though, you made a deal, he should sell you the amp for what you bid and it should be as described. When he went into this he expected to sell it for whatever he could get. Now he has. So far everything is positive in his mind. Don't forget the "self fullfilling prophacy" thing where you can be the one to make the deal go bad. Sorry to go on.
madmax

jrausch

The guy sent me a reply stating he wants to sell me the item using Western union and that he would pay for the process and ship the unit as soon as the money was confirmed. He says his address is in Bay Shore NY. I assume this is a huge playground for the corporate yuppies. Do you think this would be a worthy risk? He said he's selling because he's making a major payment on something and needs to geneate some cash by selling off some of his equipment.

F1nut

If I were you, I'd only do the deal thru escrow. He shouldn't have a problem with it if he's on the level. You send the funds to the escrow folks, they confirm the money and tell the seller to ship. He ships and when you get it you tell the escrow folks to release the funds to the seller if everything is ok. If it's a bad deal you tell the escrow folks not to release the funds and you have to pay to ship it back to the seller. The fee charged is between 3 to 6% of the transaction price and can be split between you and him. This way nobody gets ripped off. Good Luck!

hoosier21

BEWARE of Western Union transfers, Everytime I read of a rip off, the poor buyer sent the funds Western Union. I have never looked into it myself, but WU must have not have a safety net for the send of funds?? I am making some large assumptions there, but like I said when I read " I got ripped off" it usually has the tale of using WU. I don't mean to scare you, but man be carefull, do the smart thing and use an Escrow service.

I look for:
Good feedback
non-NY of NJ sellers (sorry those of you from NY and NJ, but it is true)
Are they selling $imilar $tuff, do they buy $imilar $tuff?

I avoid:
0-5 feedback ratings
email address XXXX@yahoo.com or similar
Deals that are to freaking good to be true


That all being said, you might have snagged a great deal, just be careful.

audionutt

I have bought a couple items on ebay,but i made sure that the item i was interested in was withen driving distence from me.i know that is not posible all the time but it helps out alot.no need to worry about shipping damage or getting ****.

joe

madmax

I've done it many times but it is not safe. On the other hand, you did bid on it. My last transaction was $1150 for a preamp from Hawaii from a guy with no feedback on Audiogon. I would ask him if he would accept a US postal money order. They always check ID when cashing money orders. A would be theif doesn't want to chance it with the post office. (Just tell him that is how you always pay). I personally wouldn't get too bent about it because I've always been lucky in the past. I have often put down the cash and took my chances for a killer deal like that. I wouldn't tell YOU what to do though because it is your money.
madmax

jrausch

I sent him a reply stating, I would feel more comfortable using the Escrow service and if he knew of any similar services I would be very open to any suggestions. I just let him know that his low e-bay rating was the only concern and that if was higher i would have no issues in sending him the funds through WU.


We'll see. It would be a great amp to replace my Adcom 5802.

madmax

Best of luck!
madmax

danger boy

i've had two problems with people on ebay myself. one the buyer claimed the item never got to his house.. sure it's possible.. but with insurance and delivery confirmation. it was delivered.. luckily in that case.. the shipping company paid for the "loss". I didn't have to shell out anything.

Second was a low end Pioneer receiver i wanted to part with.. so the buyer said the receiver arrived with corner damage.. highly unlikely.. i double boxed it.. used styrofoam and had the shipping company professionally pack it up. he wanted half of his money back.. when I wouldn't do it. he threatened to leave negative feedback for me on ebay.. long story short.. he never filed a claim for the damages... and he never left negative feedback on me.

Lots and lots of scams out there from both buyers and sellers. proceed with caution.

I would agree with the other guys who suggested and escrow for items worth this much.

polkatese

a quote from audioweb, just fyi... in case you are dealing with this guy..

There have been a number of recent cases of individuals commiting fraud on high end audio websites. Two in particular are of a seller advertising audio equipment at low prices and insisting on international payment, usually to Spain. The other is a person supposedly in West Virginia doing business under the name Randy Bogess of Randy's Stereo Outlet. More information including action against this person is available here. Both go by many different names and insist on payment by Western Union or wire transfer. They also try a scheme where they have unsuspecting buyers send money to another name claiming this is "safe". They have stolen from many unsuspecting buyers. Always exercise caution and be very leary of paying for any transaction by bank check, wire transfer or other payment method that has no recourse. If you must pay by these methods, always use a third party escrow service.

madmax

Just wondering,
How many other polksters own an amp retailing for $5000? You may end up being in a very elite crowd!

Oh yea, I bought my '99 Chevy Blazer ZR-2 sight unseen on ebay. $11,000 back in 2000 with 29K miles. Used retail would have been over $30K. Yea, it had been salvaged but so far I'm up to 51K miles without a problem other than needing a new 4WD controller for $600. (it was broken when I got it) No one could tell it was used, let alone totalled. The savings all went towards audio purchases!
madmax

brettw22

This post has be wondering what, if any, recourse there is by using PayPal or C2it where the seller flakes out and takes off after taking the money. Anyone know what protection either of those sites offers for such a situation?

jrausch

Paypal now offers insurance in case you get stiffed on the transfer. It costs the sender a percentage of the purchase price.

gidrah

Ask him about other things audio. If he knows what he's talking about that's one thing. If he's selling this to buy a new Lifestyle, you know somethin's up.

jrausch

This one has scam written all over it. the buyer is insisting I use Western Union and never specified this in his auction. He gives his name and address, but no phone number. There's no way for me to even confirm he lives at the address he gave and there's no reference in the phone book to his name. When I sent him the alternate escrow payment option he told me he was a god fearing christian and that he would'nt think of such a thing and still insisted I pay this way or he would like to sell it to someone else. He says he needs the cash imediatly to make a past due payment. I offered to send him a cashier's check Fed-Ex'd next day so there's at least a paper trail and he has'nt returned my e-mail. You guys are right about Western Union. This makes it too easy to grab the cash and run. Caveat Emptor

Thanks for everyone's input and advice.

DarqueKnight

Lemme get this straight: This is a guy who can afford to buy a $5000 amp, then sell it at a loss, then he has to have you send him over 2 grand because he "needs to make a past due payment"?

Scam-o-rama for sure!:supermad:

Tell him you can pay immediately, but it has to be Monopoly money.

madmax

"he told me he was a god fearing christian"

The second I hear something like that, forget it. Scam for sure. It's funny how talking christianity during a business transaction lulls a lot of people in but it is a definite signal.

Damn, what a shame. Be sure to email him nicely about ending the transaction and try to avoid any bad feedback. Spreading bad feedback back and forth hurts you more than him.

madmax

jrausch

He just sent me another message wanting me to send the western union payment and hold on to the transfer number and he would send me a UPS shipping number, then he wanted me to release the money to him. I told him I would have to pass and he would have to sell it to someone else. My obligation as a buyer was only to make the payment and I would send him a cashier's check. This was one of the payments he had on the auction. There was nothing in the auction that mentioned anything about using Western Union only. I told him to look at my previous feedback and they all mention a fast reliable payment. This one just gave me a bad taste, even though it was a killer deal.

polkatese

ups shipping number doesn't hold water...it's cancellable by the sender. just be cautious....

DarqueKnight

Originally posted by jrausch
My obligation as a buyer was only to make the payment and I would send him a cashier's check. This was one of the payments he had on the auction. There was nothing in the auction that mentioned anything about using Western Union only.

Seems to me you've tried to close the deal in good faith. It is the seller who REFUSED PAYMENT. If the guy is legit, why whould he refuse a cahier's check sent overnight? Makes no sense whatsoever.

You might want to notify Ebay customer service and let them know what is going on in case the seller tries to stick you with negative feedback. I'm glad you didn't get scammed.

madmax

I take it you don't want it? I've been looking at this model in amusicdirect.com for a while now. I just sent him an e-mail asking what he thought about it. I hope you don't mind. I'm not ready to buy now but I was hoping he could tell me a little about it...
madmax

jrausch

Personally I thought it was a young kid (13-16) trying to pull a scam and that there was never any amp. This person avoided every option I tried to give him and insistently went right back to trying to get me to send the money on WU. The clincher for me was the over nighted cashier's check. He acted as if it was not an option and said "I promised to send the money through WU" in a previous e-mail. The only people that talk like that are kids not some audiophile. If you get an e-mail from him, post it and I'll post my responses from him. That PS audio was the type of amp a kid would pick out any way, just because of the way it looks. 2k buys allot of skateboards and smokes.

MxStYlEpOlKmAn

Originally posted by jrausch
Personally I thought it was a young kid (13-16) trying to pull a scam and that there was never any amp.

Do kids do everything? A child is only as good as the parent, IMO - that is what is wrong with 'KIDS' these days, im a kid - and i know this, everyone else should to. You can come up with any excuse you want, but a child is only as good as it is raised and brought up. If i was in charge with the rules, id put prayer and woopings back in schools. I would take away the child labor laws. I think I and every other teenager should be disciplined, because personally i look at things very differently if you havnt noticed and its annoying...so, please answer my question of why does everyone think kid's do everything wrong. I mean when your driving and someone pulls out infront of you. what is your first reaction? I bet it is: THOSE DANG TEENAGERS! THEY DONT KNOW HOW TO DRIVE! right? lol!
-MX-

DarqueKnight

I just sent him an email asking if he has any other high-end audio gear he's looking to sell.;)

MxStYlEpOlKmAn

yes yes, sometimes 'good' parenting tends to make a child 'spoiled' and rude...aha! LOL!
'bad' parents sometimes makes the child learn from their mistakes and become a better person, but a parent should treat their child right down the middle. if u get what i mean -- lol...

I hope i never come down your street when i get my car...aha!

scottvamp

I take it you don't want it? I've been looking at this model in amusicdirect.com for a while now. I just sent him an e-mail asking what he thought about it. I hope you don't mind. I'm not ready to buy now but I was hoping he could tell me a little about it...

WTF....... No disrespect but we are pretty much in agreeance that this is a scan.
Hello----McFly!!!!!