Another crappy ebay deal
mmadden28
Posts: 4,283
OK I'm working on my 2nd poor dealing so far on ebay in the same few months...I'll post the other in another thread-I already posted about the bad Agon deal. Is it just me or is this a rampant problem?
Am I just too demanding? Or what? You tell me.
Summary: Crappy packaging, almost nonexistent communications early on, dirty and non-working speaker Slow to ship.
I was just browsing late at night and came across a single Wharfdale Rubiance rb-25 speaker (single speaker), on auction and it was ending soon (like in 10 minutes)-No bids yet with a starting bid of $30.
The speaker is listed as "This speaker is in perfect working and cosmetic condition"
The seller has a 100% 42 feedback rating.
I figured why the heck not-I could play with it and just use it for DIY. It was really an impule buy.
Of course Shipping would be $35 via UPS Ground. I really expected some snipers to come out, but it never happened.
Oct 12th-I bid and won. I paid immediately.
No communications
Oct17th -I sent a kind eBay message asking for tracking # or shipping ETA.
No response
Nov 3rd-again kindly requested via eBay message a shipping status and reminded the seller of the auction close date.
No Response
Again, I'm suspecting this is another one of those deals where the seller didn't expect it to sell so low adn was trying to avoid me.
Nov 4th the speaker arrived. And boy was the shipping box in horrible shape. It would be hard to believe this was caused in transit.
Look at the water damage to the boxes.
And in this shot you can see a hole in the box, yet the tape covering it was not pierced-so this tells me the hole was preexisting (of coure I'm assuming that tape was put on by the seller.
After I peeled off the nasty outer box, the inner boxes were in better shape, and seems to be packed well at that point. So I felt a little better.
Nice to see what one of the inner boxes was once used for-somehow I was not surprised:
Well to my surprise - no apparent damage to the speaker-and no water damage either.
The speaker was however dirty-esp on the front-caked on dirt--Couldn't just wipe it off with windex. I had to use a Magic eraser. The grill was dusty as well. Yuck. :mad:
OK I spend about 10-15 minutes cleaning it thoroughly to the point I would expect it to have been before it was shipped to me. I noticed a couple of the screws holding the tweeter in were lose. These are wood screws in wood, and they were not easy to turn-they did NOT work loose in transit.
Then I hooked it up to find the woofer was not working-Only the tweeter. :eek::mad:
Nov 4th-I sent an eBay message indicating that I received the speaker and that I was disappointed in the condition (dirty) and that the woofer wasn't working. And mostly disappointed in the complete lack of communications. I mentioned the shipping label indicated that it wasn't even shipped until Oct 28th-16 days after the auction. This certainly did not match the listing description. I left the message 'at that' since I still hadn't received a reply.
I pulled the XO and found the low freq binding posts has actually broken conductors to the XO board. I am not sure if this can happen in transit. I am thinking that its not likely. The high freq posts were fine. It looked as though somebody was probably trying to take the XO out and couldn't figure out how to do it because the leads to the drivers were real tight.
As you can see the upper freq conductors are fine, but the low freqs' are broken. And the broken tabs were not in their holes but bent up already.
Anyway I was able to pull enough slack to pull the XO out enough to repair. I managed to solder the broken connectors and put it all back together again. Now the whole speaker works again. :cool::rolleyes:
Nov 5th-I finally received a response :eek:.
Nov 6th-I send another eBay message and mentioned the broken XO that I found and that I cleaned the speaker and repaired the XO.
I honestly did not feel like dealing with shipping this back if I didn't have to. I got it working now to the point I would have expected it to be to begin with. So essentially I now have what i expected. Even though the seller offered to pay return shipping, I'm sure he wouldn't have refunded my original shipping. So to be the nice guy that I am
I offered to either ship the unit back at the seller's expense as he offered (so he could have an opportunity to resell) or I would simply keep the unit and as consolation request half of the original shipping costs as refund for my frustration. So he could resolve this by simply refunding me $17. This would immediately save the seller from having to pay much more just in the return shipping costs.
Nov 6th. I got yet another response:
OK, now for my rant:
Ya know here we go again. Once again with the BS excuses. This is the part that really aggravates me. The guy could have just accepted or declined my resolution, he didn't have to reply with some caca-mainy(sp?) excuse.
First of all if you're selling something-and obviously not new at selling on eBay, you have an obligation to follow through on your sales. If you're not able to do so don't put the auction up. Worst case-you find an internet connection and send an eBay message or something. Handing the responsibility off to a neighbor girl and blaming her for not getting the job done, is really not my problem and shows poor business sense (IMHO). I don't need to know that-Just man up and apologize for delays beyond your control and leave it at that-don't try to throw a guilt trip on me. I don't know what to think about the working condition of the speaker-is it possible it broke in transit-maybe-but I still highly doubt it based on the high frew conductors being supportive. That also doesn't explain the condition-dirty is dirty.
But then to try another guilt trip and feed me the sob story about how much "he" had to pay for shipping and how "he" was in the hole on money because of multiple listing fee nonsense. First of all I paid for shipping. Second of all it was supposed to ship UPS Ground, not Fed-Ex.
I want to just reiterate my offer to have him refund me $17, but would I be asking too much? Should I just leave it as is? Did his guilt trip get to me?
What should I put for feedback? I'd hate to be the one to kill a 100% feedback-Maybe he's an honest seller and just screwed up-and really is that bad off that he had to use scrap water damaged cardboard and that in his opinion the speaker was in perfect condition??? he did offer to take it back...yes that's the 'see the best in people and that people are not infallible' side of me talking there. I am a very forgiving person and don't hold grudges.
Thoughts?
Am I just too demanding? Or what? You tell me.
Summary: Crappy packaging, almost nonexistent communications early on, dirty and non-working speaker Slow to ship.
I was just browsing late at night and came across a single Wharfdale Rubiance rb-25 speaker (single speaker), on auction and it was ending soon (like in 10 minutes)-No bids yet with a starting bid of $30.
The speaker is listed as "This speaker is in perfect working and cosmetic condition"
The seller has a 100% 42 feedback rating.
I figured why the heck not-I could play with it and just use it for DIY. It was really an impule buy.
Of course Shipping would be $35 via UPS Ground. I really expected some snipers to come out, but it never happened.
Oct 12th-I bid and won. I paid immediately.
No communications
Oct17th -I sent a kind eBay message asking for tracking # or shipping ETA.
No response
Nov 3rd-again kindly requested via eBay message a shipping status and reminded the seller of the auction close date.
No Response
Again, I'm suspecting this is another one of those deals where the seller didn't expect it to sell so low adn was trying to avoid me.
Nov 4th the speaker arrived. And boy was the shipping box in horrible shape. It would be hard to believe this was caused in transit.
Look at the water damage to the boxes.
And in this shot you can see a hole in the box, yet the tape covering it was not pierced-so this tells me the hole was preexisting (of coure I'm assuming that tape was put on by the seller.
After I peeled off the nasty outer box, the inner boxes were in better shape, and seems to be packed well at that point. So I felt a little better.
Nice to see what one of the inner boxes was once used for-somehow I was not surprised:
Well to my surprise - no apparent damage to the speaker-and no water damage either.
The speaker was however dirty-esp on the front-caked on dirt--Couldn't just wipe it off with windex. I had to use a Magic eraser. The grill was dusty as well. Yuck. :mad:
OK I spend about 10-15 minutes cleaning it thoroughly to the point I would expect it to have been before it was shipped to me. I noticed a couple of the screws holding the tweeter in were lose.
These are wood screws in wood, and they were not easy to turn-they did NOT work loose in transit.Then I hooked it up to find the woofer was not working-Only the tweeter. :eek::mad:
Nov 4th-I sent an eBay message indicating that I received the speaker and that I was disappointed in the condition (dirty) and that the woofer wasn't working. And mostly disappointed in the complete lack of communications. I mentioned the shipping label indicated that it wasn't even shipped until Oct 28th-16 days after the auction. This certainly did not match the listing description. I left the message 'at that' since I still hadn't received a reply.
I pulled the XO and found the low freq binding posts has actually broken conductors to the XO board. I am not sure if this can happen in transit. I am thinking that its not likely. The high freq posts were fine. It looked as though somebody was probably trying to take the XO out and couldn't figure out how to do it because the leads to the drivers were real tight.
As you can see the upper freq conductors are fine, but the low freqs' are broken. And the broken tabs were not in their holes but bent up already.
Anyway I was able to pull enough slack to pull the XO out enough to repair. I managed to solder the broken connectors and put it all back together again. Now the whole speaker works again. :cool::rolleyes:
Nov 5th-I finally received a response :eek:.
Well I don't understand why the woofer is not working,the unit worked fine before shipping and was tested. I will refund your money and pay for the return shipping cost. Let me know if this will work for you....
Nov 6th-I send another eBay message and mentioned the broken XO that I found and that I cleaned the speaker and repaired the XO.
I honestly did not feel like dealing with shipping this back if I didn't have to. I got it working now to the point I would have expected it to be to begin with. So essentially I now have what i expected. Even though the seller offered to pay return shipping, I'm sure he wouldn't have refunded my original shipping. So to be the nice guy that I am
I offered to either ship the unit back at the seller's expense as he offered (so he could have an opportunity to resell) or I would simply keep the unit and as consolation request half of the original shipping costs as refund for my frustration. So he could resolve this by simply refunding me $17. This would immediately save the seller from having to pay much more just in the return shipping costs.Nov 6th. I got yet another response:
I am sorry about the lack of comunications,I had to be out of town for awhile after you won the speaker and had my neighbor girl who helps me take care of the ebay stuff take care of it while I was gone but found out nothing got done and did not find out untill I got back. Thats why the big delay on the shipping. I have had the unit for a few years and was hoping to find a match but never found one and have so much stuff that I decided to just sell it. The unit worked great and used it for a sort time has a center channel on a system I had in another room and it;s allways worked fine and checked it again before shipping it to you. The unit was probbly droped in shipping and that board was broke,I have never had the unit apart because their was no reason to. I have had lots of stuff over the years get strangely damaged in shipping with no real explanation. They throw stuff like footballs in the tranfer stations and internal parts get destroyed but theirs no way to prove it to do a claim,thats why I doubble box and try to pack stuff for a safe trip. My shipping cost was $42.50 from Fedex to ship the speaker to you and have lost money on listing the the unit because it has been listed about 4 or 5 times,with all the listing fees and shipping cost lost I would have been better off to just give it away to someone. I will do what ever you want because I am so in the hole now it does not make any diffenence. It,s not you fault just telling you my side of it. Let me know what you want.
OK, now for my rant:
Ya know here we go again. Once again with the BS excuses. This is the part that really aggravates me. The guy could have just accepted or declined my resolution, he didn't have to reply with some caca-mainy(sp?) excuse.
First of all if you're selling something-and obviously not new at selling on eBay, you have an obligation to follow through on your sales. If you're not able to do so don't put the auction up. Worst case-you find an internet connection and send an eBay message or something. Handing the responsibility off to a neighbor girl and blaming her for not getting the job done, is really not my problem and shows poor business sense (IMHO). I don't need to know that-Just man up and apologize for delays beyond your control and leave it at that-don't try to throw a guilt trip on me. I don't know what to think about the working condition of the speaker-is it possible it broke in transit-maybe-but I still highly doubt it based on the high frew conductors being supportive. That also doesn't explain the condition-dirty is dirty.
But then to try another guilt trip and feed me the sob story about how much "he" had to pay for shipping and how "he" was in the hole on money because of multiple listing fee nonsense. First of all I paid for shipping. Second of all it was supposed to ship UPS Ground, not Fed-Ex.
I want to just reiterate my offer to have him refund me $17, but would I be asking too much? Should I just leave it as is? Did his guilt trip get to me?
What should I put for feedback? I'd hate to be the one to kill a 100% feedback-Maybe he's an honest seller and just screwed up-and really is that bad off that he had to use scrap water damaged cardboard and that in his opinion the speaker was in perfect condition??? he did offer to take it back...yes that's the 'see the best in people and that people are not infallible' side of me talking there. I am a very forgiving person and don't hold grudges.
Thoughts?
____________________
This post is a natural product. The slight variations in spelling and grammar enhance its individual character and beauty and in no way are to be considered flaws or defects.
HT:Onkyo 805, Emotiva XPA-5, Mitsu 52" 1080p DLP / polkaudio RTi12, CSIa6, FXi3, uPro4K
2-chnl : Pio DV-46AV (SACD), Dodd ELP, Emotiva XPA-1s, XPA-2, Odyssey Khartago, LSi9, SDA-SRS 2 :cool:, SB Duet, MSB & Monarchy DACs, Yamaha PX3 TT, SAE Tuner...
Pool: Atrium 60's/45's
This post is a natural product. The slight variations in spelling and grammar enhance its individual character and beauty and in no way are to be considered flaws or defects.
HT:Onkyo 805, Emotiva XPA-5, Mitsu 52" 1080p DLP / polkaudio RTi12, CSIa6, FXi3, uPro4K
2-chnl : Pio DV-46AV (SACD), Dodd ELP, Emotiva XPA-1s, XPA-2, Odyssey Khartago, LSi9, SDA-SRS 2 :cool:, SB Duet, MSB & Monarchy DACs, Yamaha PX3 TT, SAE Tuner...
Pool: Atrium 60's/45's
Post edited by mmadden28 on
Comments
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I won a deal that I wasn't even planning on going for. I just wanted to watch. Well I won silly cheap, and it was some planer speakers with a bad sub, and a missing volume control puck. Well the ting shows up. It's real heavy. The Sats are in the peanuts loose as is the sub. The grill is smashed in, and the sub is full of peanuts. Now I have to take apart the satellites, and the sub. These are planers so that will be interesting:mad:Please. Please contact me a ben62670 @ yahoo.com. Make sure to include who you are, and you are from Polk so I don't delete your email. Also I am now physically unable to work on any projects. If you need help let these guys know. There are many people who will help if you let them know where you are.
Thanks
Ben -
Mmadden28 don't accept this bullsh*t. Okay first thing - The packing was HORRIBLE, you should have refused it and requested a refund. Secondly, He shipped it in a box that was a Commode Specimen Collector - Strike two! Third, Seller didn't communicate, didn't ship using the carrier he stated on the auction - Strike three!. Fourth, the piece of **** didn't even have the common courtesy to clean off the speaker before shipping - Strike four! Fifth, If he had used it so often and tested it and everything was fine - how did the Speaker look the second you unwrapped it? Is that really happened to it? The shipping broke it? Is that how you'd send your items? Is that how you'd do business? - Strike Five! I say give this guy a negative rating. He'll try and respond with a "I offered him a refund" so, you have to state the facts clearly so they are irrefutable. No communication for 2 weeks after sale. Horrible Packing in Medical Waste Box. Used different shipper than stated on auction. Item was "Caked" with dirt and Defective/Broken.
That's what I'd do. If you reward this guy's bad behavior with positive/neutral feedback, he'll do it again. In my opinion, this guy should be Banned from Ebay....
Do The Right Thing,
FBHarman Kardon HK 3490
Stanton STR8-100
Polk SDA SRS 2.3TL (Proud newbie owner!) -
...The packing was HORRIBLE, you should have refused it and requested a refund. ...
I had it shipped to work, so the receptionist signs for everything. I probably would have refused it had I seen it first. Dang it was gross.
I really wish you could put more characters in a feedback rating.
____________________
This post is a natural product. The slight variations in spelling and grammar enhance its individual character and beauty and in no way are to be considered flaws or defects.
HT:Onkyo 805, Emotiva XPA-5, Mitsu 52" 1080p DLP / polkaudio RTi12, CSIa6, FXi3, uPro4K
2-chnl : Pio DV-46AV (SACD), Dodd ELP, Emotiva XPA-1s, XPA-2, Odyssey Khartago, LSi9, SDA-SRS 2 :cool:, SB Duet, MSB & Monarchy DACs, Yamaha PX3 TT, SAE Tuner...
Pool: Atrium 60's/45's -
Hey at least you have the where-with-all to be able to solder and fix things. I have to take my car to the mechanic to have the turn signal fluid changed...
FBHarman Kardon HK 3490
Stanton STR8-100
Polk SDA SRS 2.3TL (Proud newbie owner!) -
do you have a picture of the speaker?
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The damage probably happened in transit. If you've got the speaker, and it is now working fine (after a small repair), and there is no real cabinet damage, then just leave honest neg feedback regarding the slow shipping and lack of communication. After that, move on. He cannot leave a retaliatory neg feedback. Don't worry about destroying his 100% feedback. If his rating is only 42, then he's not a big time seller and the hit will encourage him to work harder to satisfy next time.For rig details, see my profile. Nothing here anymore...
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Sounds like it was a bad transaction all the way. I think the feedback thing is a good idea if done truthfully.
It's one of the protections to a buyer AND seller. You said yourself you looked at his 100% feedback and it was part of the determining factors (outside of being real cheap) in your purchase.
If you had read a negative feedback:"shipped in toilet box weeks late, nasty, not working, no communcations" Would you have bid and bought? This is the feedack purpose. Who knows what he will do to the next buyer.
I'm an Ebay buyer and seller and don't want to do business like that.
I also look to see if the seller specializes in electronics before I make the buying decision. If the guy sells comic books or ball caps I might expect shipping issues on electronics in which case I'll contact seller with concerns of proper packaging and offer my advice and suggestions in packaging. IMHO, just "tag him and bag him" and let it go. Be honest on feedback. it's what it's for.
Glad you got it working.
Harry -
Thanks for the comments all.
I decided to leave a Neutral with honest feedback. I only did not do a negative because in the end, I have the product that I bid on, ultimately in the condition I expected it to be in, even if I had to clean and repair it to get it that way. Water under the bridge. I know we're talking peanuts here-but its the principle.
Also the seller did offer to take it back (even though I got a guilt trip about it). I suspect that they would have followed through with the return, but I would have likely lost out on shipping and packing, so I didn't follow thru with that option.
I believe in being honest yet understanding. I understand the reason for the feedback system, and I personally think it needs a lot of improvement to be better, but I also believe that buyers need to be aware. I would hope that somebody won't rely on "100%" but would actually look at the actual feedback comments.
As HB27 said
Had there been a feedback on this seller like that, I may not have placed a bid....
If you had read a negative feedback:"shipped in toilet box weeks late, nasty, not working, no communications" Would you have bid and bought? This is the feedback purpose. Who knows what he will do to the next buyer....
Thanks-now moving on to my next (third) dispute--bought a NIB sub, received an obviously not NIB sub. Higher volume Seller asked me to ship back for full refund. I did-it was received on 10/23 and I am getting no responses for any of my communication requests nor have I received a refund yet. Its been 20 days with no response now. I filed a dispute with PayPal last night. We'll see how this turns out. I bought two other items from this same seller and everything was NIB and fine.
If only people would frickin' communicate and respond ya know. I feel like there is a big giant "DO NOT RESPOND" label on all of my communications with these people. Most frustrating.
I'm gonna go take a pill now and perhaps renew my faith and buy something from a Polkie
:D ____________________
This post is a natural product. The slight variations in spelling and grammar enhance its individual character and beauty and in no way are to be considered flaws or defects.
HT:Onkyo 805, Emotiva XPA-5, Mitsu 52" 1080p DLP / polkaudio RTi12, CSIa6, FXi3, uPro4K
2-chnl : Pio DV-46AV (SACD), Dodd ELP, Emotiva XPA-1s, XPA-2, Odyssey Khartago, LSi9, SDA-SRS 2 :cool:, SB Duet, MSB & Monarchy DACs, Yamaha PX3 TT, SAE Tuner...
Pool: Atrium 60's/45's -
Maybe you need to consider quitting Ebay. I've had a few recent bad experiences too. I was almost ready to give up, but then I had one nice, perfect transaction recently, where I received a product that was exactly as expected, quickly, with tracking #s forwarded, and it was half the average retail price.
I've got a Tuna on its way now. Hopefully it works out to be a pleasant transaction. If so, it will restore my faith. If not, I'll probably quit Ebay too.For rig details, see my profile. Nothing here anymore... -
My wife would be delighted if I did that.
Nah, I can't blame eBay-just the crappy sellers. I've had issues at Best Buy and Circuit City too. But you can't rate them, just not buy from them. Its just poor CS. Its rampant.
I try to be picky on eBay I just have to be more so now, I like Polkdirect
:cool: ____________________
This post is a natural product. The slight variations in spelling and grammar enhance its individual character and beauty and in no way are to be considered flaws or defects.
HT:Onkyo 805, Emotiva XPA-5, Mitsu 52" 1080p DLP / polkaudio RTi12, CSIa6, FXi3, uPro4K
2-chnl : Pio DV-46AV (SACD), Dodd ELP, Emotiva XPA-1s, XPA-2, Odyssey Khartago, LSi9, SDA-SRS 2 :cool:, SB Duet, MSB & Monarchy DACs, Yamaha PX3 TT, SAE Tuner...
Pool: Atrium 60's/45's -
The damage probably happened in transit. If you've got the speaker, and it is now working fine (after a small repair), and there is no real cabinet damage, then just leave honest neg feedback regarding the slow shipping and lack of communication. After that, move on. He cannot leave a retaliatory neg feedback. Don't worry about destroying his 100% feedback. If his rating is only 42, then he's not a big time seller and the hit will encourage him to work harder to satisfy next time.
I find it hard to believe that all that damage happened during shipping...the tape over the hole????the condition of the shipping boxes....the water damage on the boxes...i would leave negitive feedback and explain all...
I do read feedback and if I read what you should leave I would not buy from that seller.and the fact he doesnt really want to square things with you says even more about him/her -
I find it hard to believe that all that damage happened during shipping...the tape over the hole????the condition of the shipping boxes....the water damage on the boxes...i would leave negitive feedback and explain all...
I do read feedback and if I read what you should leave I would not buy from that seller.and the fact he doesnt really want to square things with you says even more about him/her
I was talking strictly about the damage to the crossover connections.
The shape of the outer box is really irrelevant. It was double boxed and there was no external cosmetic damage to the speaker. The water stains and a small hole taped over did not cause the damage to the speaker.For rig details, see my profile. Nothing here anymore... -
....
Thanks-now moving on to my next (third) dispute--bought a NIB sub, received an obviously not NIB sub. Higher volume Seller asked me to ship back for full refund. I did-it was received on 10/23 and I am getting no responses for any of my communication requests nor have I received a refund yet. Its been 20 days with no response now. I filed a dispute with PayPal last night. We'll see how this turns out. I bought two other items from this same seller and everything was NIB and fine.
If only people would frickin' communicate and respond ya know. I feel like there is a big giant "DO NOT RESPOND" label on all of my communications with these people. Most frustrating.
I'm gonna go take a pill now and perhaps renew my faith and buy something from a Polkie:D
Just an update on this issue:
So, in recap- I was forced to file a Paypal dispute (Nov 11th) since the seller of the sub had not respond to my requests (in 20 days at the time) to see if they recieved the sub or the status of my refund. I left a very detailed timeline of the events. Magically a day later I got a reponse. The seller acted like he didn't know what I was talking about, that he would be happy to provide a refund but that I would have to send the sub back. It's like he didn't even read the dispute text.
After I briefly explained it again, and more time had passed, on Nov 18th (7 days later) the dispute was finally resolved and the seller fully refunded my money including the original shipping charges (not the return shipping charges though but I guess I'm OK with that).
I never had to make the PP dispute into a claim.
So I'm happy on that front. ____________________
This post is a natural product. The slight variations in spelling and grammar enhance its individual character and beauty and in no way are to be considered flaws or defects.
HT:Onkyo 805, Emotiva XPA-5, Mitsu 52" 1080p DLP / polkaudio RTi12, CSIa6, FXi3, uPro4K
2-chnl : Pio DV-46AV (SACD), Dodd ELP, Emotiva XPA-1s, XPA-2, Odyssey Khartago, LSi9, SDA-SRS 2 :cool:, SB Duet, MSB & Monarchy DACs, Yamaha PX3 TT, SAE Tuner...
Pool: Atrium 60's/45's
