FleaBay and Dishonest Sellers

ck101
ck101 Posts: 222
edited May 2013 in Road general
Hi

Last week I bought an expensive carbon stem off ebay and was amazed to find that the seller sent me a cracked one. It was deeply scraped along the top and seemed to have been in a crash. This placed pressure along the steerer bolts and there is a hairline crack running between them.

It was a private sale sold virtually as new with 600kms ridden. I paid via PayPal so expect full buyer protection.

A google search showed that the rider was an accomplished club rider and a member of a credible military related UK based CC no less.

The fact a seasoned rider would sell a crucial item such as this in unsafe condition just shows the type of nutcases out there.

He is contesting vigorously a refund from the outset and is claiming I have switched the stems. If he was reasonable this would not be the case.

What do you guys think my chance is of getting a refund under an eBay dispute?

Thanks,

Ck.

Welcome!

It looks like you're new here. Sign in or register to get started.

Comments

  • Grill
    Grill Posts: 5,610
    Call his boss. :D
    English Cycles V3 | Cervelo P5 | Cervelo T4 | Trek Domane Koppenberg
  • MountainMonster
    MountainMonster Posts: 7,423
    Was it sent insured? If it was, get him to claim through that. If he is an accomplished rider it could have been damaged in transit. I've had plenty of things break in transit.
  • danlikesbikes
    danlikesbikes Posts: 3,898
    Playing devils advocate, but did the photos of the stem show any damage? If not could the damage have been done during postage out to you?

    To answer your question, yes you should get a refund via Ebay.
    Pain hurts much less if its topped off with beating your mates to top of a climb.
  • Ebay in dishonest seller shock.
    I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles
  • lotus49
    lotus49 Posts: 763
    Generally speaking eBay tends to side with the buyer rather than the seller so you will probably be OK. Unless he has detailed close up photographs of his stem to prove it was in perfect condition, you should probably be successful in making a claim against him.

    As SloppySchleckonds implies, there is no shortage of dishonest sellers - it's just a risk you have to accept when transacting on eBay. Most of the time sellers are honest, particularly private sellers in my experience, so it may well be the case that it was damaged in transit. Nevertheless, it's not your responsibility to wrap it up properly.

    I have to say that the fact that the seller is chucking around accusations of dishonesty so readily does make me wonder whether this one is acting in good faith but all you can do is raise a case with eBay and see the process through.
  • ck101
    ck101 Posts: 222
    I have decided to take the eBay sellers club name out of my original post as I do not want this dickheads actions to reflect on the rest of the clubs no doubt decent members.

    After an extensive exchange of messages in the resolution centre where the seller levelled a number of accusations including stem installation on a incorrect sized steerer Ebay intervened to grant a full refund.

    While claiming to be an Engineer with specific expertise in Tensile carbon the seller neglected to send a Shim that he had listed in his ad as being included. He also tripped himself up by more or less accepting the stem was scratched while his ad stated it was like new.

    As I have said his guy seemed to be an accomplished club rider and has a mid level rank in the military. What posses people to engage in behaviour like this is beyond me. I'm nearly tempted to name him here.

    I suppose its the scenario where the cost of crash damaged good in combination with the replacment cost spur these fruitcakes into trying to get some unsuspecting eBay punter to "share the cost".
  • gaddster
    gaddster Posts: 401
    Name him or at least his eBay id so we can all avoid him.
    ARTHUR
    "Hello oh great one"
    LARRY
    "Are you talking to me or my ass?"
  • ck101
    ck101 Posts: 222
    Ebay said theymhave made a mistake and have not cleared a refund, they had even sent me a prepaid postage label also.
    They are now considering my case, could take another 36 hrs.

    Ebay, I don't know? This is the second time I've be stung with this type of thing.
  • lotus49
    lotus49 Posts: 763
    Over the years I have saved a lot of money using eBay but sometimes transactions do go wrong and I have ended up out of pocket. Sometimes it has only been a few pence but occasionally a lot more. On balance, eBay has worked well but you do have to accept that it is riskier than using a reputable shop or web retailer. If you aren't prepared to take that risk, you shouldn't use eBay. I would also never buy anything expensive unless I could examine it properly in person before I parted with my money.

    Caveat emptor.

Welcome!

It looks like you're new here. Sign in or register to get started.