Let The Buyer Beware!
 

I have enjoyed this forum for about a year, both as a buyer and as a seller. Only once have I been taken advantage of--and I thought others should hear about it to be forewarned.

There is a vendor here named Donkey from Edina, MN. I bought a rear bumper for my 1979 300TD from him in November. When it arrived, I discovered several problems that had not been mentioned in his description. I contacted him via this board, because he had not given me either his e-mail address or his phone number initially. To make a long story short, after a bitter exchange, he agreed to give me my money back if I would return the bumper. This I did, and he confirmed that he received it December 5. Since then, I have received nothing from him. At one point in our exchange, he did give me a phone number, but I tried many times and receieved only voice mail. I left messages each time, asking for my money or for him to phone me.

The price for the bumper was $120. If one considers the shipping costs I have paid, the total I am out is $214. Donkey, or whatever his name is, has his bumper and my money.

If he makes prompt payment, I will return to this board and say so. If he does not, I would advise others to steer clear of this person.

Should you be curious about the details of the problems I had with the bumper he sent, e-mail me or phone me.

Joe Bauers
bauersjo@soltec.net
217-359-4640
404 N. Willis Avenue
Champaign, IL 61821

for what it's worth... a lot of people here at this site followed what was happening. based on the fact that this person NEVER did what he said he would speaks VOLUMES about [at least]his business ethic.

please don't let one "donkey's ass" keep you away from this site.

these people are everywhere.

too bad there wasn't any way to stop payment.

don't go joe.

peter

Thanks, Peter. I do not in any way blame mercedesshop.com. You're right--people like this are everywhere. I'm just going to be very very careful in the future.

Joe Bauers

It's really disappointing. I bought a small part from donkey and now more then a month later it's still not here. At least I'm only out 20 canuck bucks.

I am sad to hear this as he was saying that he would return the $, etc.

The worse thing is that people can easily change identities and come right back.

Thanks for your thoughts, guys. Sorry to hear that others are being scammed too. I'll keep you posted if there are any changes in the situation.

Joe Bauers

We live, we learn...
 

One tip for everybody on this forum, if the advertiser is fairly new member at Mercedesshop, I would think twice before doing business with him (her), no matter how good the deal is.
Obviously, it does not work all the time but, unfortunately, that is the bad side of the internet...you never know who is at the other side of your screen.
It would be very difficult for a TRUE MB fan steal from another "Mercedesshop-per".
Peace!

What can I say? Our moderator said it all.

Until now, I had never known a grown man who needed several weeks to write a check and mail it.
By the way, my only "threat" was to do exactly what I have done--warn others so that what has happened to me does not happen to them.

Joe Bauers
404 N. Willis Avenue
Champaign, IL 61821
217-359-4640
bauersjo@soltec.net

I have read every message about this and here are my opinions:

1. Joseph Bauers did not threat.

2. Joseph Bauers only complained.

I wouldn't give anything back, the guy sounds like he's looking for a perfect 20 year old bumper for a cheap price, your not gonna find it, so just take the loss and buy another bumper, you'll probably find out the first one was in better shape, your not buying new parts, defects big or small is a the buyer's risk, and the buyer should be aware of the risk, maybe you should of looked at the part closer to you so you can go assess how much it was worth, no picture could display every defect, the seller should not pay, go to any salvage yard, they will not replace something like that

yo Donkey, any word on those black leather seats? I'm still looking, I hate the Euro cloth stuff

In Donkey's Defense, he did get me the mirror I bought from him fairly quick (yes, it took a week for him to send).


On the other hand, I do see how Joseph feels. If I order a part I expect it to be in the condition that the seller says it is and for it to be installable. Also, when I send back the part, I would expect a pretty quick response. Be it in the form of a refund or at least a reply via email or the telephone. Luckly for me, I was able to reach Donkey when I called.

okay this is getting a bit out of context, so lets just go on with our regular business, its the new year, I've had problems with many of the parts I've bought but for the price I bought them for, I'm not surprised, like those seats I might purchase, those are worth over $1000, and we agreed on on $375 maybe a bit more with the high shipping prices these days, so if they got a fade or a rip here and their, I'm okay with it

so everyone, lets just get along

OK. Just return the money so you can have your reputation back and we can stop this thread and save some bandwidth.

Again, I have to say that TXBill has summed up the issues perfectly. I NEVER expected a perfect bumper; on the contrary, I was aware of the flaws in the bumper that Donkey was willing to divulge, such as holes that had been drilled in the bottom to accommodate a hitch, and hairline scratches in the surface of the bumper. These were acceptable to me. What was NOT acceptable was the fact that the back-up lights mounting brackets had rotted off, or the fact that there was a rust hole clear through the bumper. The whole point was that I was looking for a bumper that would be an improvement over what was on the car. Clearly, Donkey misrepresented the condition of what he had to sell, and to compound things, he has--so far--failed to return the money he promised. To me, a man ought to live up to his promises. Maybe others think differently, but they live in a different world from the one that I inhabit.

As for "threats" left on his voice mail--I did say, with some frustration, that I wanted the money he promised. I repeatedly gave him my phone number and e-mail address so he could contact me privately if there was some problem that was causing the delay. And I gave him a full week's notice before I went on this board to warn others about his behavior. I have nothing to apologize for.

Joe Bauers
404 N. Willis Avenue
Champaign, IL 61821
217-359-4640
bauersjo@soltec.net