rant about dealing with a-holes on eBay...

[BLinux]

so, had a really really long day... like 13-14 hour day... i've had longer, but getting old and long days don't go well together; can't work around the clock like i use to when i was a kid. anyway, that's the context...

been selling off excess/unneeded server hardware on eBay. guy in AL buys an HBA card off me back in early October. Sent it out to him 2-day priority and he gets it. A week after delivery, I sent him a friendly reminder to pls leave feedback. Tells me he'll do so once he tests it out. Okay. a couple weeks later, I send him another reminder, he tells me to f*ck off. Alright.. whatever.

now, over a month and a half later, he contacts me telling me the HBA card is dead. I'm hesitant, but I agree to take the return and replace it. now, i'm already bummed... 'cause i personally tested the card before I sent it out, so I know i sent out a good working one. i don't know what happened to it, OR, if this guy screwed up and did something bad to it... whatever, i'll replace it for him anyway since I have a few more. I paid and sent him shipping label late last night.

started work early this morning, and just now finally getting off work and trying to relax. when to check ebay this a-hole sends me a message saying why i haven't shipped the replacement yet and that he's all pissed and had certain expectations, he's done his part, why haven't I, yada yada, etc. really pisses me off... I've had a long day, and i know that doesn't mean anything to him, but geez... anyway, i don't want to do business with this dude.... i told him i'll send him a refund and he can get a replacement elsewhere....

now i'm out shipping the damn thing both ways, and supposedly i'll be receiving the hba card that this dude probably broke, and i won't be surprised if he tries to ding me on ebay feedback... just great...

/end rant

 

[Evan]

One of the reasons selling stuff except to people known as easy to deal with is just a pain.

 

[BLinux]

so, i just received the unit this guy sent back to me. haven't plugged it in yet, but I think he sent me one of his own defective ones claiming mine was defective.... i sell my HBAs with a vented bracket, and that bracket was clearly removed and re-installed since one of the screws isn't threaded all the way in and cross threaded; i'm meticulous about such things and I would *never* cross thread and leave the screw loose.

examination of the board shows a capacitor missing for port B, which probably means one of the ports doesn't work. the guy claimed it wouldn't even turn on... it's possible that the cap got knocked off in shipping, but i packed them well so unless a car drove over the box it's not likely... anyway, this would NOT have passed my testing of all SAS lanes with that cap missing.

feel like i'm getting scammed here... but eBay almost always sides with the buyer so I'm screwed either way...

 

[marcoi]

Did you take pictures of the serial number? That could help provide that you got a swap.

 

[BLinux]

Did you take pictures of the serial number? That could help provide that you got a swap.

unfortunately not. i did record SAS addresses, and I've yet to power it on to see what firmware is on it. I didn't record which SAS address i sent this guy... but i guess if it has a SAS address that's not on my list...

 

[pricklypunter]

I once sold an audio mixer on ebay to a guy, that claimed, I had sent him one that was splattered with red paint instead of the one in the listing. Despite the photo's of the actual item being on the listing clearly showing it's condition. I asked him for a photo of it and the packaging and he sent me this crappy out of focus thing, in poor light from his phone, of the mixer minus the packaging. I couldn't make out much detail in the photo other than the box was the right shape, size and general colour and that the knobs looked pretty much identical, however it did indeed look like it was splattered with red spots. I was so frustrated that I asked the guy if he thought that it got painted in the post by the postman, despite being in pristine condition when it left my care. In the end, I offered the guy his money back, upon him returning the equipment that he was sent. I never heard from him again. I contacted ebay and was told that they were dealing with him over a number of cases, that he had a habit of such behaviour and that any feedback he left me would be removed by them.

It was a win for me as it turned out, but a stressful week of back and forth slanging for nothing. I do wonder though, how the red spots got on it, if indeed it was the same mixer. My best guess was that he got it, used it at a gig somewhere, it got damaged and he tried to blame me for it

 

[Aestr]

Did you take pictures of the serial number? That could help provide that you got a swap.

This x1000. Whether I'm selling here or ebay I always take notes and pictures of the serial numbers. I haven't needed to use them so far, but it's one of the few things a seller can do to protect themselves in this age of ebay and paypal defaulting to the buyer's side.

 

[seang86s]

I started leaving an inconspicuous mark with an ultraviolet marker and document it with a video for larger ticket items. This is on top of the standard documenting of serial numbers, pictures, etc.

 

[Evan]

I started leaving an inconspicuous mark with an ultraviolet marker and document it with a video for larger ticket items. This is on top of the standard documenting of serial numbers, pictures, etc.

That's a good idea ! Sneaky but clearly required sometimes. Have you had a despite with eBay and had to use this as evidence ?

 

[BLinux]

This x1000. Whether I'm selling here or ebay I always take notes and pictures of the serial numbers. I haven't needed to use them so far, but it's one of the few things a seller can do to protect themselves in this age of ebay and paypal defaulting to the buyer's side.

I started leaving an inconspicuous mark with an ultraviolet marker and document it with a video for larger ticket items. This is on top of the standard documenting of serial numbers, pictures, etc.

That's a good idea ! Sneaky but clearly required sometimes. Have you had a despite with eBay and had to use this as evidence ?

I guess I'm going to have to start doing something along these lines or just accept the occasional loss to dirt bags like this guy.

 

[nbritton]

I guess I'm going to have to start doing something along these lines or just accept the occasional loss to dirt bags like this guy.

It's the cost of doing business. I've sold hundreds of items on eBay, most of the transactions go smoothly, but occasionally I get someone who is probably taking advantage of me. eBay will usually side with the buyer, there is little you can do about it. I've learn to just accept it and move on to the next sale. I'm getting out of the equipment sales games all together, as soon as I clear out my inventory I'm done. It just takes too much time and effort for the little return I get. I was doing it on the side and it was fun for a while, but now it just eats up all my time and energy. I'm overwhelmed with the amount of inventory I have and the effort required to sell it and still make a profit. It's impacted my relationship with my girlfriend. Not worth it.