Nasty experiance on Ebay

[migette]

I feel I must let you know what happened after bidding and winning a Belgium 'gurder' phone. Granted I made 2 bids, the first to ensure that it could not be put up as Buy Now and the second, made a matter of a few seconds, and at a much higher reserve to ensure winning unless another had left a higher bid. When time up I had won, cost 17.22 pounds and a second bid behind failed to win it, even after a last second bid. As normal I paid through good old Paypal straight away, and retired to bed feeling pleased with myself.

That was just prior to Easter, and one day later I checked my Hotmail and had a message saying that the seller was refunding my money as her son had broken the phone and the handset was broken and the top of the bell was missing. I was taken aback and sent her a message saying that this was very unusual  as these phones are very strong. To cut a long story short I telephoned the seller and asked what had happened, and could could I have the bits as much could be used or spares, she was more interested how i got her phone number and was not helpful at all, when asked wether she could take a photo of the bits she became bad tempered and swore at me and refused to take photos. It was obvious she sold it to a higher bidder and I lost out. This has never happened before and EBay was informed who told me that I should have been sent the item whether broken or not and that I was completely in the right and that the seller was at fault. Unfortunately I lost out but the seller from Chelmsford Essex now has a red feedback the first and hopefully last that I will give. Item no 290557123918 under vintage phones on UK EBay please be wary there are people out there who do not play by the rules

[Dave F]

This story is, unfortunately, not unique.  The very same thing has happened to me more than once, and is a sad commentary on the integrity we find all too often in the world.  It's really amazing just how many sturdy old phones manage to get "broken" after we pay for them but before they are packed and shipped.  When contacted, some sellers will apologize profusely for being so clumsy, and others (like the one you dealt with) will get irate for questioning their "honesty".  The bottom line is that it's simply a rough-and-tumble world out there, and not everything works the way it should.  We need to keep it all in perspective, treasure the honest friends we have made, and try hard not to let the rotten ones infect our lives.

[LarryInMichigan]

I had a similar experience.  Very shortly after paying for a phone (Kellogg Red bar), the seller refunded my money, telling me that the phone was broken.  I asked how badly broken it was, and with each email message, the phone was more broken than before.  In his last message, the seller told me that he became angry and smashed the phone into thousands of pieces.  The happy part of the story was that very shortly afterward, I won another Red bar on ebay for even less than the "smashed" one, and it arrived intact.

Larry

[wds]

I've never had that type of experience, but I've been burned as a seller.  I'm normally just an EBay buyer, but recently I sold a few spare phones/parts on ebay.  I sold an WE candlestick hook arm, and only charged $2 for standard shipping, 7 days, with an option for priority mail.  The buyer chose the cheaper shipping, then after 4 days started complaining that the part hadn't arrived yet.  On the 7th day, he filed a complaint with Paypal, and demanded a full refund.  So, he stole my part, got a full refund, and still left me negative feedback.  I'm just glad I hadn't sold that thief one of my expensive phones.

[Dave F]

I've never had that type of experience, but I've been burned as a seller.....

Oh yes, I forgot to remind everybody that there are plenty of disreputable buyers out there as well.  I had one jerk complain to eBay that he never received his package.  Fortunately for me (and as the idiot obviously didn't realize) I had sent it with Delivery Confirmation.  When eBay determined that the package had in fact been delivered, they ruled in my favor.  Score one for the good guys.

[Greg G.]

I've never had that type of experience, but I've been burned as a seller.....

Oh yes, I forgot to remind everybody that there are plenty of disreputable buyers out there as well.  I had one jerk complain to eBay that he never received his package.  Fortunately for me (and as the idiot obviously didn't realize) I had sent it with Delivery Confirmation.  When eBay determined that the package had in fact been delivered, they ruled in my favor.  Score one for the good guys.

Does Delivery Confirmation say exactly who it was delivered to?  Or only that it was "delivered" somewhere?  I ask because one time I won a collectible (non-phone) artifact on ebay.  It was a small item and I totally forgot about it until it arrived in my mailbox a month later.  It had been opened, taped shut, with a note on the outside that the PO delivered it to the wrong address. 

I always take a chance when ordering something from a seller or merchant that only uses UPS.  I hate UPS.  I work odd hours and it's a pita to chase down UPS for them to collect a signature, so I always give instructions to skip the autograph and just leave in the mailbox area, doorstep, or with apt. manager.  Fortunately I live in a very secure building and haven't had any problems yet.

[Dennis Markham]

Briny, the only way they know who got it is if it was sent with "Signature Confirmation".  I have heard horror stories where sellers have used signature confirmation, the buyer signed for it then claimed the box was empty.  PayPal returned the money to the buyer.  So he had his/her cake and ate it too.

Dave that's a shame what happened to you on that transaction.  I just think that "every dog has his day" and some day they'll get what's coming to them.  You just might not have the satisfaction of knowing about it.

[teka-bb]

Hi Migette,

If you want I can have a look if I have one of these phones to spare.

[Dave F]

Does Delivery Confirmation say exactly who it was delivered to?....

No, Delivery Confirmation only says that it was delivered.  However, eBay does apparently agree that if the package was delivered to the correct address, the seller's responsibility has been fulfilled.  Whoever at the address actually received it is (as it should be) the responsibility of the buyer.

About the idea that a buyer can receive a full box and then say it was empty:  For every conceivable situation involving interaction between people there will always be some who will figure out how to cheat and steal to get ahead.  After all, our highly evolved large brains are capable of many marvelous things!  If everybody played that way, civilization would collapse.  Fortunately, enough of us are just honest enough to allow things to work most of the time.

[Dave F]

.....Dave that's a shame what happened to you on that transaction.  I just think that "every dog has his day" and some day they'll get what's coming to them.  You just might not have the satisfaction of knowing about it.

Dennis,

You MUST be referring to that old auction for the WE 500 with the AE 80 dial and the red G5 handset and red ringer box (heh,heh).  According to that seller, ALL of the items were destroyed beyond redemption (how convenient).  Now, that was a great example of exactly the kind of dishonesty we are talking about here.  He may someday get what's coming to him, but I sure would like to know about it when it happens.  As Dr. Strangelove told the Soviet Ambassador:  "A Doomsday Machine is no good if you keep it a secret.  Why didn't you tell the world!!"

Dave

[gpo706]

Both for me,

Bought a (non-phone) item back in February, never arrived, went through the paypal process, and the seller stated it had been delivered "xx Feb" despite having no tracking number or even being posted tracked in the post office system.

After PP had advised me the seller hadn't responded to PP's request for delivery confirmation and had no response, I got my money back.

Before that i bought a test set, and the seller refunded my money immediately after payment, saying he had droped it and it was "broken", fair enough he realised the true value and pulled the rug under me for a higher bidder.

How can you break a linesmans set, maybe he had a  a rouge steamroller that ran over it?

The last one is a 713, poorly packed, handset on cradle and arrived with a chunk knocked out of the case, the seller now wants a picture of it.

Given my computer is on its last legs and I cant download pics from my mobile on it, I have asked the seller to give me his mobile number and I will send the pics from my phone.

What an effing palaver, eh?

[Ed D]

Does Delivery Confirmation say exactly who it was delivered to?....

No, Delivery Confirmation only says that it was delivered.  However, eBay does apparently agree that if the package was delivered to the correct address, the seller's responsibility has been fulfilled.  Whoever at the address actually received it is (as it should be) the responsibility of the buyer.

Sadly, Delivery Confirmation is even more vague than that.  Here is a quote from the USPS website:

"Delivery Confirmation   

Know when it got there with Delivery Confirmation™. 

Verify delivery with Delivery Confirmation. Our low cost Delivery Confirmation service gives you the date, ZIP Code™ and time your article was delivered. If delivery was attempted you will get the date and time of attempted delivery."

So the package could be delivered to ANY address within the ZIP Code for the delivery address, but not necessarily the correct address.

[Dave F]

Sadly, Delivery Confirmation is even more vague than that.  Here is a quote from the USPS website:

"Delivery Confirmation   

Know when it got there with Delivery Confirmation™. 

Verify delivery with Delivery Confirmation. Our low cost Delivery Confirmation service gives you the date, ZIP Code™ and time your article was delivered. If delivery was attempted you will get the date and time of attempted delivery."

So the package could be delivered to ANY address within the ZIP Code for the delivery address, but not necessarily the correct address.

True, but your receipt from the post office has (or should have) the address and the clerk's stamp of authenticity.  If necessary, you could send a picture of that to eBay to verify you mailed the package to the right place.  In my case, eBay did not require any more proof than just the Delivery Confirmation number, which I provided.  Of course, none of this is written in stone.  We know how arbitrary eBay can be and "past results are not necessarily an indication of future results".  That is, your mileage may vary!

[AE_Collector]

GPO: Aren't there pictures of your busted phone right here on the forum? Send him a link to the thread and he can read all about it!

Terry

[gpo706]

My comp doesn't speak to my moby, I emailed the guy asking for his moby so I could send a pic to him and he said his moby isn't as advanced to receive pics!

Nevr mind I will buy a lead and connect the useless comp and email the bloke.