hey everyone...hope everyone's having a nice day, enjoying their cars and taking pride in their fine mercedes automobiles...if you want to continue having nice days, then BEWARE when purchasing mercedes rims off of ebay or yahoo auctions..sorry for the sarcasm, but the same al that phil aka amgkid that sold him the wheels has taken the same course of action with me...

in a previous post, i had shared my story of how i bidded on a set of four Antera type 123's 17" on ebay during the BEGINNING of march of this year...having waited neraly a month, i finally received the wheels early april only to discover that i paid for a set of decrepid wheels...the auction was for a "MINT silver finish 17x8 Antera type 123 wheels"..however, to my dismay upon opening the tattered boxes, i discovered that the seller (whose name was dsal527123@aol.com on eBay) had sent me a set of four 17x8.5 CHROME Anteras...i mean, chrome anteras on a 300e would look nice...however, these chrome wheels were flaking in more than one spot, and the interior of two wheels was so severely flaking from the chrome that i had chrome chips scattered on my carpet. moreover, there was brake dust on the wheels! what kind of "mint" wheels have brakedust, flaking chrome, and dings and dents on the lip? i dont know about you guys, but MINT in my opinion means something else...

sorry for the long melodrama...just maybe thought it would give you guys a second thought when dealing with dsal527123@aol.com on ebay...in addition, he has changed his name as his seller id on ebay, and i THINK (but not postively sure) that his auction.yahoo.com id is mercedestech...i dont mean to mess up his reputation, just wanted to give all my fellow mercedes enthusiasts a fair warning. i believe the experiences of amgkid as well as mine thus far speak for themselves...

well, al had offered me to refinish the wheels back in silver...i sent them back in mid april and to this day i have not received them! he told me that the chrome had attacked the alloy and that refinishing them was taking longer than expected..( a problem easily avoided if he had sent me the silver Anteras described in the auction to begin with...a set of silver Anteras he later admitted that he never had available) he emailed me last week indicating that the wheels were completed and awaiting UPS ground trac pickup last saturday...well, it's a week and so later and NO tracking numbers, NO Anteras I paid for, and NO email response indicating what is going on...

SO everybody please beware when purchasing on Ebay for mercedes wheels, or anything for that matter....be especially cautious for dsal527123@aol.com...i cant say he defrauded me, but THREE MONTHS and STILL waiting for a set of rims is a little far fetched in my opinion..what do you guys think?

Ben Ng aka edict

[Edited by Webmaster on 04-15-2001 at 01:55 PM]

To be honest, I have had worse experiences with buyers and sellers on eBay. If this guy makes the deal right in the end, consider yourself having gotten away lucky. I have had deadbeat sellers and buyers galore in my 2 years on eBay.

Mostly, I have gotten good products at cheap prices. Sometimes you get cheap products, however. Don't ever assume that someone's description is accurate - I have found that most people either underdescribe what they are selling to cover errors or so grossly overdescribe the "flaws" that they cut their final price way too low. I guess being a merchant is not easy.


------------------
John J. Meadows
'85 190E 2.3L 99k mi.
My first M-B, not my last.

Absolutely do not deal with on ebay. He had change his id because of all the negative comments on his previous id. Check out his current auction, he hides the bidder with a private sale so we can't warn the bidder of his troubles, and he hides his rating (what legitamate seller would hide a good rating??) I've purchase some stuff from him before but luckily I got mine but without a lot of hassle, others who have purchased from him contacted me as they have received fake AMG, the seller said he grinded away the AMG etching on the wheels as it looked better then polished the wheels, what a bunch of BS, he was in fact selling aftermarket wheels that looked like AMG to unsuspecting people (you can those wheels at bekkers.com. Most of the buyers do not meet the bid so he will contact them afterward and make a deal then, this way eBay is out of it as it becomes a private transaction. The buyers who were duped has joined together to start a legal process against or his previous email address.

[Edited by Webmaster on 04-15-2001 at 01:55 PM]

netdw,
please let all of us know exactly what kind of legal proceedings have been begun againt this seller on ebay...i want to know of any action i can take in addition to the ones i have on hand if i do in fact do not get my wheels...i checked if Al has read my emails, as i can through AOL, and he has...however no response...i will contact the attorney general of new jersey and the police if no action is taken..i no this sounds "extreme" but it is infact a legitimate means of litigation..and the police do help..trust me, i've been ripped off for wheels before on ebay...just wished i knew better..from now on, i understand why tirerack "seems" to cost more..the premium is well worth the freedom from hassles, and dishonest sellers...

ben

edict: I will dig through my old mail to find email addresses of others and forward them to you if you want. You can email me at airtimecellular@hotmail.com

hey netdw
count me in too
i would like to know about any legalities which may affect my imcomplete purchase

thanks

Phil (aka: amgkid) --

What's the latest update on your eBay ordeal?

Brian

Al said he has received them
Haven't got them yet
Been an entire month since he got them back
Thinking about next step of action if he doesn't follow through...

Yeah, so i don't know



------------------
Phil Ly

1987 300E Midnight Blue
Remus Sport Exhaust
European headlights
Clear corners
AMG 17in Monoblock IIs (hopefully soon)
Eibach Lowering Springs

opy of email sent to me yesterday Monday June 6:

"hi benedict i will have your tracking numbers tomorrow by 4pm , i will also have the photos of the finished product and photos of the packaging before they were shipped also the tracking numbers ,i will not be in before then so i will take care of this as soon as i walk in.

thank you"

well it is now 7pm my time and 8pm in new jersey. yep, no reply.

ben

I can't for the life of me figure out why anyone would buy anything expensive or substantial on ebay, anyway. You are dealing with sellers you'll never meet, who can't be tracked easily, and who take your money before you ever see the merchandise. Not to be nasty, but in my opinion, if you get screwed in one of these transactions, you all but asked for it. Why not purchase used stuff from M-B club members or ads in local "auto trader" type publications where you at least know the seller's name and address and can hopefully look over the merchandise before buying? Maybe being a lawyer had made me jaded, but I view ANYTHING I read on ebay with extreme skepticism. Just my $0.02 worth.

Buy from Luke@tirerack

Just kidding around

Good Luck

------------------
Luke Pavlick
Performance Specialist (ASE Certified Master Tech)
Please, call me to place orders (800-428-8355 ext. 362)
or mention my name for on-line orders
(click banner at top of the page
to visit Tire Rack web site)

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Luke@tirerack:
Buy from Luke@tirerack

Just kidding around

Good Luck
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Serious Luke, there's truth in your statement. Stick to reputable dealers, or vendors where you can view the merchandise before purchasing. If you can't be there in person, maybe get a local MB Club member to inspect/evaluate the mechandise for you. As for eBayers and the like, why do you think they'd *auction* a run-of-the-mill item vs. just *selling* it outright? Because the item is being represented as something it's NOT, and you (the bidder) are not there to verify the validity of the auctioner's claims. The advantage is ALL the auctioner's. Bottom line: stick to the reputable companies like Tirerack and the Parts Shop. The incremental price you pay is MORE than outweighed by the customer service you'll recieve. And if something's wrong, they'll strive to make it right -- their reputations and business DEPEND on it.

My 2-cents.

Brian

luke,
actually thats exactly what i had in mind. =) hopefully tirerack will carry brabus in the next couple of years.

ben