[WAB74]

I've had a bit of a nightmare with a few items (not guitars)

just wondering how often things go wrong. You guys who buy a lot must have some tales to tell. What stories have you got, and most importantly how did they get resolved

[jules]

Hi wab

i've had a few incidents.... but I have to say most have been fine.

So far my tally is

1 bass never turned up (never sent) - I complained to ebay too late, by which time the seller had closed their account and kept my money

1 broken headstock - the bass was insured, but the seller (as the person who bought the insurance) was the only one allowed to make the claim. Perhaps they claimed, but they fobbed me off for a year never paying me anything. They are still selling on ebay....

1 snapped neck (this was my black EB3L that I restored completely) - as I recall I got some of my money back

1 bass with damaged switches (Victory Artist) - took a couple of years to find the original parts - seller gave me a partial refund to cover it

... plus a couple of undisclosed faults... generally if you request some money back you'll get it.

30 or so with no problems

I have to say all of these issues were a few years back, when I was new to ebay. Nothing has gone wrong recently

Basic things to do (in addition to the usual ebay things, like checking feedback, asking questions etc):

1) Tell the seller how you want it packed. Pay extra for them to get a gig bag if it has no case. It may seem patronising to spell it out, but I wish I had done so more in the past.

2) Paypal will accept claims for things that don't arrive within a certain time period (60 days?) If it hasn't arrived (whatever the seller says) on the 59th day -make a claim. If it then turns up you can cancel the claim. As long as the seller has proof of postage (I always remind posters to keep this) they will not be liable.

[Bobbyramone]

I bought a Korean Hamer, when I got it, there was neck damage, & cracks due to improper packing... But I did manage to get my paypal reembursed, ..

[DeGecko]

I used to play Magic: The Gathering in competition. When I bought cards over eBay I had 1 that didn't turn up and some (not much) with too much wear or even water damage...

Now with buying guitars I had 1 with excessive wear on 2 (of 24) frets and some with disconnected pots or things like that. All of things weren't told to me, but I never asked for 'em either...
All and all nothing very bad. Our technician did connect / replace pots so it cost me nothing and I have a friend who also is a great technician that fixed the fretwear (buzz) problem so I have not much to complain about actually

[jules]

Originally Posted by DeGecko

Now with buying guitars I had 1 with excessive wear on 2 (of 24) frets and some with disconnected pots or things like that. All of things weren't told to me, but I never asked for 'em either...

I usually expect the item to be a little worse than described and bid accordingly. But then I can usually sort out little problems. Buying vintage guitars (or vintage anything, except maybe wine!) isn't for people that can't tinker a little.

[DeGecko]

Originally Posted by jules

I usually expect the item to be a little worse than described and bid accordingly. But then I can usually sort out little problems. Buying vintage guitars (or vintage anything, except maybe wine!) isn't for people that can't tinker a little.

You're completely right on that.
I don't ask for such little things because I kind of expect 'em...
Of course a broken neck or headstock is a bit serious, but poorly wired pots...

[mrbass]

Is it true paypal are covering everything now? I suppose it remains to be tested, but it can only be a good thing

Ricky

[VOXguy]

My ebay experience:

2 - items never showed up, both sent USPS,

1 - paid Paypal, amount charged to my credit card, Paypal would not pay seller or give refund to me, seller would not ship, 4 weeks to resolve.
By the way PayPal is owned by eBay.

1 - wrong item shipped,

1- UPS charged me $125 COD "brokerage" fee on a 100% prepaid shipment,

1 - won bidding for item, seller had same item listed several times and sold it to someone who later bid higher, and this was after I had paid for the item! Took 3 weeks to get credit. eBay said double listings were "impossible". Duh! This was a vintage guitar with the serial number listed.

4 - number of times price has increased AFTER my winning bid was posted,

3 - times eBay customer service (all eBay "Power Sellers) has told me "they can do anything they want, and there is nothing I can do about it"

20 - approximate number of times I have paid a seller by check or money order for an item so that eBay and PayPay don't get a cut.

eBay = Scum