Why Ebay can sometimes totally SUCK!

[darkphantom]

Hello to all you ebayers out there, buyers and sellers alike, this one goes out to you.

Intro-story:

About a month ago, the A/C in my 2003 honda accord stopped working, i.e. just wouldn't turn on. This was strange since I had all my hardware recently replaced, i.e. new condensor,compressor, a/c lines...

So I figured it must be an electrical problem. I take it to get it checked out....damn mechanics charge an arm and a leg....it was $125....

He told me that it was the hold radio unit that has the A/C controls attached to it, aka the HVAC audio module, it wasn't getting ground as well as the A/C blower transistor. In short, the blower and the radio weren't getting ground signals...and the parts he was quoting me were for $60 and $360 respectively, total of $420 + labor he was going to charge me for 5 hours?! pfft.

I told him, i'll buy the parts and we'll see from there. I get the parts, and he's charging me an arm and a leg for the installation, so I tell him FUUUUUU.


Ebay part I

I go online, and find the two parts i'm looking for. I order the transistor, get it for $33, YES! saved $27 already!

Then I find the HVAC audio unit, $200! YES! This isn't just the module, but the whole audio unit! sweet I guessed. It was from a 2007 accord, and I made sure the unit was working via messaging the buyer, etc. He said yes, it is fully working bla bla bla. So I get it shipped and the transistor arrives first, followed subsequently by the Audio unit.

I get online to the honda forums (the internet is wonderful, really) and find the installation instructions for the HVAC unit as well as the Transistor.

Since the transistor is easier, I just plugged it in and tried to see if the A/C was working. OMFG....it worked....WTF!?!

I was really happy yet really upset at the same time. The fking mechanic gave me an incorrect analysis?? WTF....so I called up the manager to inform the dumbshit mechanic that I only needed one part bla bla bla....obviously no refund since it was the labor that I paid for.

Ebay part II

Fk it I said, I'm sure the guy will understand if I return the unit to him since I didn't use it. It will still packed. I message the Ebay guy and he says, "sorry man, It was a no refund deal. I just needed to sell it off, i'm sure you can do that." I figured....yeah sure, it doesn't make any difference to me if I can get what I paid for.

So I go ahead and list it, and sell it off a few days later for $240, sweet I thought, I don't even have to pay for shipping since I sold it more than I bought it for! I send it off.

A week later, the buyer informs me that the Unit's CD player is not working. I tell him its out of a like-new accord and is supposed to be working perfectly. He tells me it was installed via a honda tech and he says it isn't working. SHIT, I think....wtf, the guy said it was working.
Now I have a dispute on paypal with this new buyer "not as described"

I get on and message the previous seller and open a dispute with him for "not as described" and tell him the situation. HE accuses me or the other guy of messing with the unit and not knowing how to properly install it. I tell him I didn't even take the unit out of the original packaging and sent it off. He says the unit was 100% fully working and his intentions weren't to deceive, and neither was this buyer whom I had sold it to. So I was basically caught up in the middle.

Long story short, we basically exchanged messages back and forth between the buyer,seller and myself. Came to an agreement to send it back to the original seller, gave the buyer the address and sent him a partial refund *15$ less for shipping* he agreed to it.

and the seller gave me a full refund, so I was only $15 out of pocket, while the original seller was $30 and the buyer was $45 out of pocket. (I like to call this being a smart negotiator)

Ebay Conclusion

Make sure ANY electronics work when they arrive, regardless if you are going to use them or not!

[Scorpion]

Good thing you got everything worked out in the end. I've heard some stories like this, but some that don't end so nicely so I try to avoid using it unless what I'm looking for is really cheap. That's why I'm not getting my phone from there lol.

And some advice for everyone.

[Inspired]

LOL awesome story..

[choicez]

It's very risky to buy electronics from ebay, especially if they're used.

[darkphantom]

yeah, but good thing both, the seller and the buyer, were honest people with no wrongful intentions.

[ideliver]

This could have ended much worse...with you taking the refund and being refused by the original seller...glad it worked out...

i took a big gamble and purchased two JL audio amps of ebay...both are working perfectly...and I got a much better amp than what i would have paid new..

[Inspired]

Originally Posted by choicez

It's very risky to buy electronics from ebay, especially if they're used.

I agree with that. I remember back in the day my first time using ebay I bought a sega dreamcast. Seller said it is like new and works perfectly and when I received it, it was broken. Being a noob I was I didn't do shit and just tossed it out. $35 down the drain..