Sorry to bitch here but I've been trying to complete a transaction through eBay with a guy in Salinas CA - I bought a set of 4 big wheels for my nephews 4x4 - the guy sent 3 - claims that one was damaged in shipping and USPS sent it back to him instead of to me. Normally I wouldn't worry too much and just go through Paypal and eBay to get my money but he's dragged it on so long now it's too late to file a claim with either. This guy won't return my calls or e-mails, I've left messages, talked to a relative that lives with him - I'm gettin really pissed! The wheels are very unique, I've never seen any like them before - they don't have any manufacturer markings either so I can't even find a replacement by going to the maker. I'm gonna get grief from you all when I tell you they are 24" wheels - like I said, they're for my nephew's 4x4 (8 lug on 6.5" GM pattern). I checked with USPS online in their fraud department - it said they primarily deal with businesses who defraud not individuals and really only investigate if there is evidence of repeat or ongoing fraud. Any suggestions? Should I try the Salinas PD? Being that I'm one of those no-good foreigners I wasn't sure if I should go that route or not. I do have copies of all the correspondence, the original auction details, my Paypal payment records and pics of the 3 wheels sent. Frustrated and semi-broke (till that damned4th wheel arrives and I can get paid) in Canada, Steve
go to the guys house and give him a good ole ass whoopin, then get your money back and the other wheel.
Epay and Paypal will not help you....Check around with someone that lives locally and put the pressure on......I sold some roadster parts a while back and after 91 days (aka"paypals limit)....the guy never received the said item, til' I called a buddy that I went to H.S. with and is kinda' a "chopper" guy now and he went over amd knocked on the door and next thing I know..........he received the parts from Epay and he was very kind on his emails. Just a thought. The PD will not do anything (the are buried with meth-heads and traffic people). Chris Nelson Kansas
I have the same type shit going on also. I bought a new set of plug wires. He sent 7 plug wires with no boots or connectors for any of them. The chicken shit won't answer his phone or respond to emails. Its not the money I just hate getting screwed by an idiot.
Im sorry to hear you got screwed, BUT BEFORE the whole "ebay sucks" brigade comes on, what did the guys feedback look like? How many feedbacks did he have? How long had he been on ebay? How were his pictures? how was the description? Ive purchased hundreds of items on ebay, and havnt been screwed over for years now. If you know what to look for, its pretty easy to avoid situations like this in the future. Its not too hard to spot a bad seller just by looking at a few key points. The problem is, too many people fail to educate themselves on how to spot a bad seller/bad deal before they start bidding, and thats where all of the ebay haters come from.
Guess I'll add me recent e-bay grief. Won an auction on "Nice trim from 54 Buick 2 door hardtop, both doors and both 1/4 panel side trim. After more then a month of e-mail hassling he sent the trim. He is right, it's in really nice shape. To bad it was all 4 door trim off of a 4 door sedan. Of course now I can get no resonse from him. Anyone need any door trim from a four door?
Anybody in Salinas wanna go help the man out...Hey I'm not talkin kickin ass or anything, But a real person askin questions seems to get some guys off of their ass!!!!
Would be cool - I had another Hamber suggest starting another thread - "Do another post asking if there are any HAMBers in Salinas to help in a non-delivery deal. Not eveyone reads every thread." Thanks again guys, Steve
I actaually have had pretty good luck with eBay intil recently and I did check on this guy - 100% feedback - only 32 as a rating but I've dealt with others who had far less with no problems. I guess there's always one asshole to ruin things for others. Steve
Give it a shot....The thought of Ebayrz screwin people just sucks....I been luck so far, So I hope your luck gets better!!!! Doug
Wow, I guess misery loves company. I just got boned on... not one, but two separate deals on eGay recently. Both guys had fairly good feedback. The one just got some bad feedback after the auction I won - but had a pretty good record at the time I bid. Problem is that I'm in Seattle, and the one guy is in Wisconsin. Hard to justify flying out there for a $226 purchase. A good price for a set of Webers, but too much to fucked out of. The other guy is in Florida, and may or may not be yanking my chain. Half the stuff got here; the other is still AWOL in the USPS system. I talked to him on the phone, and he doesn't seem like a lying shithook. So I'm guessing he's probably on the level. Put in a claim in with paypal this morning against the one asshole; we'll see if I ever get a penny back. Hope that the fourth wheel shows up! -bill
that does suck for sure! i am about 3 hours away from salinas, perhaps someone closer could go knock on this guys door? on a side note, (non e-bay deal) i shipped a radiator out to florida thru the postal service on feb 2nd....still not arrived. post office says wait another week then file an insurance claim. the buyer is obviously pissed, and i am too because it looks bad on me as a seller. bottom line (what i'm trying to get at) is UPS issues a tracking number, what does it say when you run it thru thier system? i go with UPS now just for that reason.
Years ago I sold a Jaguar to a guy and we agreed on monthly payments. After a while he fell behind and then quite altogether. I made the 300 mile trip, then called a judge (family friend) and he told me I had three options, have the car impounded by police (court order required and this is a weekend), have the car ceased (sp) and I would have to be bonded for twice what the car was worth...OR go steal the car. I did just that. On the way home I was thinking that he would call the police but I got away with it and for what he paid me it was cheap car rental. Does the guy who sold you the rims have a car with wheels on it? Hmmmmm!
For what its worth!!. . . Hope there is a H.A.M.B'r that can help out Hemisteve. I bought some Halibrand rims from Steve about 3 years ago. He sold them to me via E:bay. Let me say. Steve is a rightous guy and deserves some help. If I was closer, I'd do it for ya. HellRaiser
HemiSteve, did you by any chance use a credit card to make the PayPal payment? If so, you can still dispute it with the credit card company, they will stick it to PayPal.
AlbuqF-1 Beat me to it. Never buy a large purchase without putting it on your credit card. YOu never know what might happen. Again NEVER buy something big unless you use your credit card to make the purchase. I know not all like to deal with credit cards and I understand but I had to go that route. eBay didn't care, Paypal wouldn't help, Paypals message states that they are secure and there is no need to put the purchase on your credit card. They LIE!! Paypal even fought the charge back. I got my money back.
I 'd take him to small claims court, you might see what options you have in Canada to take him to court, or contact a local lawyer in the Salinas area. A hit in the pocket book, that includes, court and lawyer fees might at least make you fill a little better. My 3 cents 36RRC
damn, i know a girl in salinas, me and 51ratt actually WENT there a few years ago. hmm maybe i can ask her if she knows any big tuff guys willing to help.
I bought an item off a guy and never got it. He dragged it out past the ebay/paypal claim time. I now file a claim on both before that time is up no matter the excuse...no exceptions. I did track down the guys cell number and I harrassed him. I also went on a buying spree and bought every item he sells and did a no pay on them and left him negative feedback on every item with the comment of complete transaction so and so and I will stop this. Mine and his ebay accounts were locked over this but it is easy enough to start a new ebay account.
My bet is that he placed the insurance (for the total coverage of all 4 wheels) onto one of the 3 boxes that made it to you, thereby leaving the damaged box uninsured. Now he doesn't want to eat the loss for his oversight of this possible scenario. Whenever I split up a shipment into multiple packages, I make sure that each package is fully insured for the full brand-new replacement cost of the contents of each box. And if one lost/damaged package will kill the value of the rest of the items (such as being part of a set that can't be replaced with a quick credit-card order), then I insure each of the boxes for the full refund cost of the entire shipment, just in case the deal gets destroyed by a lost/damaged package. I try to cover all my bases, and believe me, it cuts down on the problems. Please note-- carriers also do not pay out insurance on anything they deem to have been improperly packaged, so, it is wise to pack things WELL. Sadly, whenever purchasing from someone else, items are often received with poor packaging even though I've specify exact instructions for the safe packing of those items. Seems like you still wind up at the mercy of someone else.
Steve, I'm 20 minutes from Salinas. What's the name, address, phone number, and a description/pic/ebay listing of the wheel? I pm'd you, pm back if you don't want to post the info here. Lance
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