Bad E-bay experience.

[phantoms]

I bid on a set of fog light assemblies on E-bay located at http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7924118207 to replace a cracked lens of my daughter's 240D. The description stated:

"Up for auction is a pair of used headlamp assemblies removed from a 1981 Mercedes-Benz 240D. The Bosch foglamps appear to have the normal inside water damage to the reflectors but the yellow glass is in good condition on both lamps."

I could have lived with pitting from water damage, but when I received the lights, the fogs are completely rusted through. Not rusted, but rusted through. I contacted the seller and even sent pictures so he could see the damage himself. He replied with:

"I regret your disappointment with the item. I
described the assemblies based on visual inspection
without dismantling the units. I did note damage to
the reflectors in the description though the extent
was not known. All my items are sold 'as is' and I
have a no return policy.
Mark"

Here are 3 pictures of the first one I took out:

[tomm9298]

I hope you used a credit card or PayPal!!!

[Larry Delor]

Sorry to hear that you had a bad experience. The guy could've at least offered to do something for you. Now his 100% feedback is tarnished. Maybe he cares, maybe he won't give a darn.

Looking at the pictures on the auction, the parts almost look like the entire part was submerged. Was this car pulled out of a lake??

[boneheaddoctor]

I had something like that with a pair of "Very Clean" set of car seats. Where the foam rubber had turned to mush the consistancy of oatmeal, and the seats were caked in grease.

Ebay wouldn't help........they said I bought seats they shipped me seat.....jerks...... Same with paypal, I paid for seats I got a pair of seats.........jerks.

Thank god for credit card payments.....My credit card company listened to my fraud claim, got my moneyback even if the crooks at ebay and paypal didn't care.

However they recomended I keep the worthless pieces of junk for a year in case they try to sue........as proof of fraud. Now they are taking up precious space in my garage collecting dust.

[turbodiesel]

You left him his first negitive. Good job!

[phantoms]

I waited until I contacted him and gave him every chance before leaving it. I don't know what I really expected, an offer to refund (at least some) of the money or perhaps something else. Heck, even a little concern would have been nice.

[JimmyL]

Nice job on the CD from Ebay. Description sounded great. Was car as described? Very nice.
JL

[Eskimo]

I'm also sorry to hear that you had a bad experience.

This seller doesn't smell like a rip-off artist to me. I'm basing this off of the (admittedly limited) information available in his eBay profile:

1) Feedback left for him seems to be very favorable. I see lots of specific statements that the packaging was good, items were as described, shipping was prompt, etc. This isn't the sort of feedback I tend to associate with "just barely satisfied" or "vaguely disgruntled" buyers. (When I'm a seller, I appreciate that sort of specific feedback much more than a generic "item rec'd OK" or "good transaction" - it's a pat on the back, and it tells other prospective buyers what to expect.)

2) Looking over some of his recent transactions, it appears that he fairly routinely leaves positive feedback first, without waiting for positive feedback from the buyer. This is behavior that I respect, and don't typically associate with shady sellers. Many of them (and, sadly, too many of the reputable sellers) flatly refuse to leave feedback until they've "gotten theirs" first, some even stating so (as a not-so-veiled threat) in their auction listings. That's a pet peeve of mine, but I will forcibly step away from that particular soapbox at the moment...

I'm inclined to think that there might have been no intentional deception on the part of the seller. He might have described the condition as he saw it, put it up on eBay with a $9.99 starting bid, and let it go at that.

The place where, in my opinion, the seller really fell down is when he chose to rigidly stick to a policy of, "as-is, no returns". Many legitimate sellers find that to be a reasonable general policy, and that's fine with me. A really stand-up seller, though, should be willing to acknowledge that sometimes situations arise that aren't handled well by such a general policy. In those cases, more flexibility is needed. This is just such a case, and I'm really struck by the inflexibility of the seller.

Again, sorry to hear of your bad experience. If I had read that description, and then received those goods, then I would have been disappointed, too.

[FrankM]

Sometimes a sticky situation can develop between a buyer and seller.
I find that a phone call conversation about the problem usually solves it..

In your case, I would call the seller and state your feelings in a nice way....Worth a try..

[cscmc1]

Phantoms -- I may be able to send you some lights. I am selling my 300TD for parts; I'll ask the buyer if he minds losing the lights, which are in good shape. Let me know if you still need a set; I'd be glad to help out a fellow mercedesshopper!

Chris

[phantoms]

Thanks for looking out for me. I've already picked up a set of amber fogs and installed them in my daughter's car.

If the car you're seelling for parts has a good piece of wood trim around the ACC unit, I do need that. I posted a wanted add in the parts forum with a picture of what I need. You can see that post here. If it has the trim I need I'd be interested in buying it.