Why you never sell a broken laptop on ebay...

Former Member · May 2006

the buyer may do this to you..

http://www.amirtofangsazan.blogspot.com/

Former Member · May 2006

idiot

Skive · May 2006

I liked that.

Former Member · May 2006

Oh my god, thats is so embarrassing!

littlemissy · May 2006

Whoopsie.

I wonder how true it is though :chin:

Former Member · May 2006

I'd say it isn't true. If it is, then the guy deserves to have both his legs broken. Selling dodgy stuff on eBay is a bad idea - someone sold a poorly-repaired amplifier to my best friend. It died within an hour of use.

If it had been sold to me, I'd have gone to the sellers house and either got my money back, or got my moneys worth. As it wasn't sold to me, and my friend didn't want any nasty comebacks, I sent a nicely phrased email to the seller. Our communications:-

Hi name,

My friend purchased the above item from you around a week ago - many thanks, it looks to be a nice bit of kit!

Unfortunately, we seem to have found a problem. Everything worked correctly for around 3 minutes, then the unit stopped producing sound. The error LED has not illuminated, and the unit has been wired up correctly. We've tried powering down the unit and starting it up, but we've had no success. Upon trying a replacement amplifier, the rest of his install appears to be working 100% correctly.

No fuses have blown on the amplifier, and the 20A inline fuse on the power cable has not blown. We've read through the instruction manual but have failed to find anything helpful on the matter. We've tried all obvious settings - the level of the bass and treble, the subwoofer switch, the input level gain - none of it makes any difference. The amplifier generates no heat at all - it appears to be powering on and nothing else.

Do you have any suggestions? Do we have a faulty unit here? If so, what are the options available to us regarding repair/replacement? I know Will is happy enough with the amplifier, if only it worked!

I must comment that I am a little concerned about the condition of the item - it doesn't appear to be new! There are considerable markings on the purple heatsink, a screw is missing from the lower casing of the amplifier, and several other screwheads appear to have been disturbed by a screwdriver at some point during the units life.

The amplifier was clearly described on eBay as being new - is it possible that a refurbished or 'new-old-stock' unit has been mistakenly sold to my friend, rather than the new one he had bid on?

Cheers,

Me

From the seller:-

ok i wil try to be calm but i do not lie i have sold numerous of these amps and it was sold new it has never been used and there has never been any screws missing unless you have taken them out or tried to get into the unit
the unit was showed before money was handed over if you have a problem with it i suggest you get in touch with cosmic as im sorry it looks like you have tampered with it i buy all my car accessories from cosmic automotive
i really dont like what you are implying
i am not a young kid who has sold you a dodgy amp i have been in business for a number of years
if it is a fault then cosmic will replace it but only if you have not tampered with it first
i was not born yesterday

My first reply:-

Seller,

Try to remain calm? If I was trying to fleece you here, I'd have already done so. The unit has _NOT_ been opened by us. The unit is, quite blatantly, _NOT_ new. The condition is absolutely not that of a new unit. The unit failed within a handful of minutes use - which is generally not the behaviour of a new product.

We will not be getting in touch with Cosmic - the item was purchased from yourself. Any problems with the unit and the customer should get in touch with his supplier - our supplier is _YOU_, nobody else. Was it demonstrated to friend before he purchased it? Was it sold to him loose, or in the original box with all documentation and a warranty registration card?

I wasn't born yesterday either. I have tried to be informative and courteous in my initial contact with you. From the tone of your response, I must say that I am a little disappointed. Friend purchased the amplifier in good faith, as a result of my recommendation - as such, I feel a personal responsibility to him for his purchase.

Speak to me in that tone again and I will buy the amplifier from him and take it up with you personally. I came here with the best of intentions and hoping that you would be able to offer some advice regarding the amplifier - instead, I have unfounded accusations of tampering with the goods and attempting to deceive you.

Hardly the actions of a trustworthy seller, in my eyes.

Regards,

Me

We had no response, the seller lived too far away to justify any further effort on the part of my friend, so I sent another:-

Name

Luckily, one of us is a decent human being who takes care of other people.

Your product and service is an absolute fucking joke. This amplifier is absolutely nothing like new - it was originally sold in 1995/1996 - this unit has been repaired(I use the term very, VERY loosely) at some point in the past, quite possibly by someone in their abode at the local zoo. I believe the fee for such work is around the 3 to 4 banana bracket, but you may have found a better deal. Possibly one of them is on the 'New Deal' program, and prefers the nutritional goodness of peanuts rather than bananas?

Three of the mosfets have been replaced, all on the PCB have had the joints reflowed. There is a distinct lack of heat transfer compound between them and the aluminium heatsink - prolonged use would have resulted in a rather spectacular failure due to overheating. One of them is sheared in half - if this happened after three minutes of use, then I worry about the units that don't fail so quickly.

A various assortment of screws were used to piece the unit together. I've counted at least five different types, rather than the standard two. Threads have been bodged and are now stripped. One was wedged underneath the PCB itself - underneath the toroidal inductor. This is a rather high-current part of the PCB, and with the screw shorting the stems it represents a very real fire risk.

This amplifier will be repaired within the next couple of days. Luckily, I've been an IBM field service engineer for the last 7 years and am fairly handy with a soldering iron. I pity your customers who are not quite so well endowed, as if their products are so poorly manufactured they are risking their lives using such equipment.

In many ways I wish the unit had not failed. I'd have enjoyed seeing my friend take you to court, following the fire in his fibreglass car started by your FAULTY and BODGED goods after the unit overheats during a motorway run. It is absolutely inexcusable in this day and age to sell such low-quality workmanship as new, or even as working.

You are far from anonymous on eBay, beware the 6'2 ex plant-mechanic who pops by your little stall at the 'sellers wifes business in location. If you'd done this to me, I'd have been banging on your door(which, incidentally you purchased last June for the sum of £70,000, with a little house attached to it), followed by the occupants. Makes no odds if someone rips me off to the tune of £20 or £800, I'll get what is owed to me one way or another.

Mate had the misfortune of dealing with you. You had the fortune of not dealing with me.

I wish you the best of luck in the market of pink steering-wheel covers, neon lights, and portable in-car fires. I sincerely hope it provides you with a glowing sense of achievement, honour and self-worth at the end of the day.

My name

I'm always fair and just on eBay. My first ever transaction was a bad one - I bought a laptop, and it wasn't at all as described. Ever since then, I've picked up my expensive goods personally.

I can't wait for the day someone really does try to rip me off again. I'd batter them.

Teh_Gerbil · May 2006

How owned.

Thing is, not only do you get dishonest sellers... you DO get dishonest buyers too.

Former Member · May 2006

Personally I think you'd want your head looking at to buy a laptop off Ebay, it's one of the worst items for scamming.

That wasn't aimed at you personally Click, you wouldn't know that if it was your first transaction.

Former Member · May 2006

Do you remember that bloke who was selling a shiny metal kettle on ebay, only he took the photo of it while he was naked?

Former Member · May 2006

i remember seeing that

Former Member · May 2006

lol yes

Former Member · May 2006

Miffy wrote:

Personally I think you'd want your head looking at to buy a laptop off Ebay, it's one of the worst items for scamming.

That wasn't aimed at you personally Click, you wouldn't know that if it was your first transaction.

I've bought and sold probably close to 100 laptops since then, without issue. The guy I bought it off had loads of good feedback - it's just one of those things

.

eBay is ace - I've bought and sold quite a few expensive items on there. I even had a chap fly over from NI to collect my Peugeot 205. So long as things are as advertised, then everyone is happy. When people start lying, then people end up getting beaten up

.

Heh, the place is still trading today - laptopbits.co.uk. Not sure if they're still on eBay or not...

Former Member · May 2006

haha made me chuckle!

Former Member · May 2006

Click to see more wrote:

I've bought and sold probably close to 100 laptops since then, without issue. The guy I bought it off had loads of good feedback - it's just one of those things .

Fair enough, I wouldn't risk it personally though! As for the feedback thing, accounts can be hijacked.... well, glad you've had good experiences anyway.

Why you never sell a broken laptop on ebay...

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