It's not obvious to me what the concern is - 18TB drives have only existed for two years so even if the labels are completely fake they are not that old. On the other hand, going and buying a drive in a bag from a random guy on eBay and expecting it to actually be new is kind of silly, they are only $299 overnighted on Amazon so if you actually care about your data just eat the extra 60 bucks. $240 seems in line with "I found these at work, I don't think anyone used them, take your chances" - I'd put my media on them, but not my actual data.
Untrustworthy seller: [Ebay-US] New 18TB WD Ultrastar DC HC655 - $239.95/ea + free shipping
- Thread starter Cheddar Poster
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IMO $240 + tax is too high for any red flags to be tolerable. If it was $150, then the 30-day warranty of the ebay return period might be an acceptable risk for some people.
For me, it's not about New or Used. The principle of a seller playing games trying to post-sale social engineer buyers into accepting a lesser condition than what he's advertising makes it a nonstarter. "Can I open and test it" -- GTFO. That 18TB have only existed 2 years is really irrelevant.
This is wrong advice. If you refuse delivery the seller has MORE leverage with restocking fees. In fact the seller doesn't even have to refund you if they don't accept returns. But in this case seller does accept returns so he will have to refund you but he can deduct his shipping expenses because you never took delivery of the item.
Best course of action is to receive the item, test them and if they are not what the seller promised then start a SNAD case so you could get a free return label. They can as a top rated seller deduct up to 50% of the purchase price if they don't receive back what they sent you or with user damage or even if they lie about it. You on the other hand can escalate the case if they don't give you full refund and ebay will decide the outcome.
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You do you, but you may not be aware of the openings you create for an unscrupulous seller by accepting delivery rather than refusing it, and to elaborate on all the variations I've seen and dealt with would just bore everyone and mostly go off topic.
I'd rather appeal a shipping charge deduction than have to appeal a 50% restock, since seller can do the latter easily with bogus pics, or upload a google image of a rock in a box and claim buyer returned that. I always factor the energy that would be required to deal with a worst-case-scenario.
My thoughts exactly. They would have no proof the items were even delivered to you and end of story.
Interesting. If they play that game, I get the cc company involved and call it fraud since I never got anything from them. Case closed.
You clearly have very limited experience with ebay because buyers have so much leverage with ebay that it is not even funny. A seller will not win if a buyer receives a rock instead of your hdd but in the other hand if a buyer lies saying that they received a rock ebay will side with the buyer 99% of the time.
Also I don't know why you guys scared of a top rated seller. It is really hard to please a lot of idiots online and to make TRS takes dedication. The only blemishes I see with that seller is that he has 8 revised feedback and that means he got neg/neutral and then had to work with the buyers to resolve the issue and reverse the feedback.
Source: I'm a top rated seller and have bought and sold probably more than a million dollars on ebay in +15 years.
The seller can claim whatever he wants when they receive the returned item but you still have the option to escalate the case with ebay and they will refund you. But if a lot of sellers claim that you have defrauded them then ebay might ban your account but this is very rare, scammers are rampant with high value items like cellphones. If a seller scam too many people they will get canned faster than a buyer scamming people.
I feel a lot safer buying from eBay than I do buying direct from a company. eBay offers a level of protection you won't find anywhere else.
All good. The concern isn't about literally getting scammed out of money, but potential for being scammed out of time and energy. That buyers have an edge in disputes in the overall doesn't really change what I said.
In case you missed earlier part of the thread, the seller had contacted buyers post-purchase trying to talk them into accepting a different condition than what was advertised. Putting aside the "Manufactured Aug 2022 but no warranty" weirdness, the post-sale message alone would make me exit the transaction on principle, because in my experience there's a disproportionately high chance its going to cost me additional time and energy later, dealing with return-bullshit or having to scrutinize the item received for any other shenanigans.
Even if this is the case, more than one of us here has gotten screwed by ebay sellers so it's not always in the buyers favor.
You know, we should have a thread about all the current ebay scams and games being played--so subscribed
Glad you've been able to make a business model that works as that's not an easy feat these days, especially to have longevity like that.
Ebay doesn't do jack. I had everything documented with a seller, follow up messages, and still ebay didn't do anything even after I talked with them twice on the phone after escalations. I even did the cc chargeback method and think I still got screwed. The only reason I even work with ebay is because I've gained more than I've lost if I aggregate everything, but I hate the company for sure and their allowing such shadiness, but that's why it's akin to a flea market, aka fleabay--there's a reason they got that name.
Glad you've been able to make a business model that works as that's not an easy feat these days, especially to have longevity like that.
I actually feel the opposite. I will purposely buy direct from a company vs any 'marketplace' where there's a middle man involved. I actually even try to avoid retailers because there's so many fake goods now in the pipeline too.
This had a happy ending for me (aside from the wasted time) because I got a full refund. I accepted the package and returned it via eBay. Seller complained in messages and texts to me but didn't dispute the return.
Thanks for the input and advice. Hope the thread provided some entertainment value even if it didn't end up being a great deal.
Did anyone here end up buying and using these drives? It looks like 92 have sold now.
Thanks for the input and advice. Hope the thread provided some entertainment value even if it didn't end up being a great deal.
Did anyone here end up buying and using these drives? It looks like 92 have sold now.
When you buy direct from a company you're at their mercy. caveat emptor.
Agreed
Ive been scammed more ordering from bestbuy.com then ebay
I think all we need to do here is accept the package and open a return as the item delivered is not new and sealed; different than listed. Ebay will support buyer if there is a dispute.
I must say that $240 is pretty low price for these drives to come as new and manufacturer warranty.
I must say that $240 is pretty low price for these drives to come as new and manufacturer warranty.
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That is what I did, and the return was processed without any issues.
True, but then you have the credit card company directly on your side without a middleman that may play games to make sure a chargeback doesn't happen.