The "eBay Sketchy Seller Thread" - Buyer Beware!

[Arcane Analog]

I recently had an experience with an eBay seller that just wasted a whole bunch of my time. I am still in the process of trying to sort it out but this experience has reminded made me of several bad dealings with various sellers on eBay in which I wish I could have avoided dealing with those people and purchased elsewhere.

I though that this community might benefit from a thread that provided a 'buyer beware' service from less than stellar experiences using eBay. Whether it be a seller with fake ICs, product that never actually showed up or transistors that are not as described, I would certainly prefer to deal with sellers that are honest and have good customer service and avoid the sellers that are the opposite.



If this thread is inappropriate, please feel free to delete it.

[Govmnt_Lacky]

And YOUR problem seller IS??.......................

[Mark Hammer]

It is not that the thread is fundamentally inappropriate.  Rather, there is a lengthy history here of transactions which started out conflict-ridden, due to a variety of misunderstandings, lousy communication, or things beyond one or the other party's control, that were eventually ironed out.  For instance, the same way that innocent parties can end up trying to pass off countefeit bills they were handed, it is possible for someone to purchase a bigger lot of some component than they really needed, and try to sell off the remainder to help subsidize their original purchase for their own use, only to find the components were not what they thought they were buying.

My point is not to excuse anyone attempting unethical practices, and certainly not to prohibit people from bringing things of common interest to our collective attention - for surely there ARE unscrupulous dealers out there.  I would just hate to see a single thread be treated as the "Better Business Bureau" of who is legit or not, based on members' confused initial experiences, sometimes without any follow-up detailing the successful resolution and perhaps exemplary behaviour of a vendor who tries to make amends.

Bottom line, if EVERY concern was rigorously and immediately followed up and documented, I'd have no problem with what you suggest.  But there is SO much room for misunderstanding when it comes to e-bay transactions or small operations.  I don't want to see anyone tarred and feathered at one point in a cumulative thread, and then exonerated 15 pages later, since you can't guarantee that everyone who consults such a thread will look through every single post to verify.

I just think it's just too easy for innocents to be victimized with such a thread.  One man's view.  I'd rather see specific threads detailing transactions with a specific seller, in which others can respond and confirm, or say "I dealt with them and it was a rocky start, but it all worked out in the end to my satisfaction."  YMMV.

[defaced]

But there is SO much room for misunderstanding when it comes to e-bay transactions or small operations.

Agreed.  There are too many variables, primarily related to individual personalities/approaches, to really make a thread like this viable without a boat load of documentation.  And one must always remember, sometime stuff just happens. 

[nocentelli]

ebay feedback already gives a pretty decent idea about how reliable sellers are. Elsewhere, I've seen AVOID SELLER X threads, which prompted maybe a dozen people to chip in with their own experiences of complete satisfaction with the self-same seller. I thread that recommends sellers in light of positive buying experiences. As for the OP's shonky seller - Leave them a negative and warn others.

[Arcane Analog]

OKie Dokie.

[/Thread]

[Govmnt_Lacky]

My 2...

I am one of those old-school persons that believes the following:

- If you list it as looking like a duck, smelling like a duck, acting like a duck, and quacking like a duck..... then when I purchase it, shouldn't it be that duck?
- If you list something as shipping to me within 10-14 days. If it is day 16 and I have not seen it because the seller was late on shipment OR improperly estimated the shipping times... that is BAD business! Period! No excuses.

Example:

If I make a purchase of some MN3007 chips... that are listed on evilbay as MN3007 NOS authentic chips... with total shipping time of 1 week... and I ACTUALLY RECEIVE rebranded MN3207s in 10 days... although the seller attempts to make it right and sends me 2x the order overnight of REAL 3007s.... it is STILL BAD BUSINESS for the fact that it was MY time that was wasted and now I am behind because if it! Period!

When I sell things I pride myself on acurate descriptions, quality products, and timely deliveries. I expect the same or I have an issue with that seller. If the seller has problems in any way, then they NEED TO BE addressed BEFORE the sale... not after the sale with an attempt to make it up to me.

The biggest problems I see are people who purchase things that have a delivery of 2 weeks and are screaming their heads off after 3 days!

The only uncontrollable factor in these dealings is with the actual shipping. As stated in another thread, parcels can be lost, stolen, etc. In these cases it NEEDS to be worked out between participants however, when it comes to fake products, defective products, or overly late shipping due to the seller, there is really NO excuse.

Rant over! 

[defaced]

Buying some things from eBay is simply a matter of Russian Roulette regardless what the seller says.  Considering that right now, as an industry wide problem, semiconductors have a chance of being fake if they're not bought from reliable sellers, I do not buy any semis from eBay.  It's not worth the risk when there are trusted sources like Mouser/Digikey/Allied/Newark for current production stuff, and people like Steve from Smallbear have already taken up the risk on out of production stuff and offer up parts and service I can trust.

[Mark Hammer]

Agreed.  But there is sloppy business on the part of someone who is not really cut out for such things, and there is deliberate deception.

Case in point, one of our former members here, Peter Snow, left a basement stuffed to the gills with....stuff, after he passed on a little over 3 years ago.  I've been helping his widow dispose of stuff from time to time (sorry, gents, the MS-20 and the Casio MG-510 are gone), but there is an awful lot left.  We've been trying to avoid e-bay and deal locally or through other personal contact, but the time will come when we may have to sell off stuff via e-bay.  There is just a crapload of stuff (no Radio Shack was safe from Peter's lunchtime jaunts, and he had his own e-bay addiction), and listing it is bound to result in typos or somebody at this end packing up the wrong stuff or not knowing how to pack it up for shipping.  he may have bought a wad of some chip from someone, and we have no record of whether they tested good or not.  And as much of a good samaritan as I'd like to be, I'm not going to test them all, and neither is his widow (who knows precious little about Peter's hobbies).

But that's not a "business", and at the other end, the buyer may not be able to differentiate between that and a business, expecting the same level of service and accuracy they'd get from, say, a bricks and mortar dealer that also uses e-bay auctions for the nickel and dime stuff they don't feel like putting on display shelves.

[Electron Tornado]

A thread such as this could become a real can of worms for everyone. If you have misgivings about an ebay seller (or even a buyer), then research their feedback. Not just the numbers, but look at the comments. Sometimes a seller maybe less than honest, but I've seen some questionable buyers as well.

If you have questions, here are a couple of suggestions about how to get help from others here:

1. As an example, if you are interested in some Russian germanium transistors, simply ask, "Does anyone here have any experience with buying Russian germanium transistors on ebay?"

2. If you have a question about a specific seller, then ask, "Has anyone here ever bought xyz components from ebay seller ABC?"

Use either one of those BEFORE you buy. I've seen those two approaches used, and usually someone chimes in with some useful info.

[petey twofinger]

just before christmas i had ordered a bunch of parts for my kids present( a squier cyclone ) . the delivery driver pulled up , RAN into the building , i met him at the door ( security camera) he tossed this smashed up box , turned and RAN out of the building . the box had been opened , it had a shipping label identifying it from a music supply businesses , the receipt was balled up , inside was an empty carton where the dunlop strap locks i ordered should be . the odd thing was that the paperwork noted that it was " signature required " , the driver just ran , literally ran . one phone call , three days later i had received the package intact . point is , this happens . i am hoping the person who stole the parts was seasonal , cause i continue to order parts . the packaging had been forced open . it was very apparent they struggled to get the blister pack open , evebtually cracking it , when it was designed with pull tabs ... heh .

the customer service rep at AMS was very helpful , and i admit i felt like it was going to be contested , i felt ready to defend myself when i called . they were understanding , professional , and helpful ( they shipped it out as a rush ) .

when you get burned there is no way of knowing , but this type of theft does occur . i was a lil miffed about it , at the delivery service .

[Jdansti]

Bet it was this guy: