Heads up: Ebay seller to avoid

Paladin · April 14, 2009, 11:39:07 PM

I don't normally go around badmouthing people but since some in here likely have or may deal with this person I wanted to give a heads up.

The seller name is Dofabrice and seller store "fishing n marine".

Point A: I purchased a couple of Paneltronics items from this seller and although the auctions say that he combines shipping he didn't combine and didn't reply to my reminders that I made at the time of purchase. I let that slide.

Point B: I purchased another item, a Paneltronics AC 10 position panel with analog meters. Cost was $270.04 plus shipping.
My items were shipped in a timely enough manner so no problems there. The problems were that they arrived very poorly packaged. The AC panel mentioned was shipped in a box roughly double the size of the panel which was wrapped in a plastic bag and then had two small sheets of small bubble wrap thrown around it which didn't nearly cover the panel let alone protect from being tossed around within the box.
The box had obviously been dropped as per usual in UPS handling which is to be expected BUT with no proper packing the panel was allowed to get banged up. The left edge was slightly damaged at the corners , just scuffed at the edges and they won't show when mounted. The main problem was that the main breaker toggle was chipped and broken and is sharp and deformed. It's obvious in defect and also affects function, it jammed when I tried to move it since apparently a small part of the plastic toggle jammed inside.
I've emailed the seller multiple times and my first email was replied to three days later saying they'd get back to me and file a claim with UPS. Since then I've sent five more emails if memory serves and only one was replied to and UPS never came for the box. This last reply was on Sunday afternoon saying that their "returns person" was hospitalized and the person answering would personally look into it and get back to me with a resolution by Monday night at the latest.
Well, it's now Wednesday and I've heard nothing at all even after more emails.

I last told them that now, three weeks later I'll file a complaint with Ebay and a claim with Paypal tomorrow but I didn't want to send back the panel for fear that I'd never see anything again, a panel with a broken breaker is better than nothing at all which is what it looks like I'd get. I offered instead for them to send me a replacement breaker which they also sell ($40.00) and I'd return the damaged one to them and I'd be fine with the cosmetic scrapes. This is the fourth time I made that offer. I also plan to call the person tomorrow to see what he'll say about working it out.

So there it is, I'm not sure how this will end up but even if they made it right after all of this I think it would be prudent for anyone to think twice before buying from this person. I've got a feedback rating of 889, all positive and I've never dealt with such a mess before, maybe I'm just lucky. As a seller I've had things go wrong and I've gone out of my way even to the point of losing money to make things right for my buyers, it's not their fault.
Is it so wrong to ask for this seller to make this right with me? Haven't I tried enough?

Anyway, deal with this seller at your own risk. As I said, I hate to bad mouth anyone but maybe it'll save someone here some grief.

-Dave

bottomacher · April 15, 2009, 05:04:51 AM

When an item arrives damaged, it's important to notify the seller immediately IN WRITING about the damage. Don't offer to do anything but await his response, and keep all packing materials. The shipper hires the shipping carrier, and it's HIS responsibility to contact the shipping carrier and handle damage claims. The carrier has no responsibility to talk to you, since you didn't hire him and have no contract with him. If the seller won't handle the claim within a reasonable time (like 48 hours or less) notify ebay and tell them all the details. If you use paypal, it's a good idea nowadays to pay by credit card, which gives you double protection for unsatisfactory products or service. You don't have to be confrontational, but being a nice guy in these situations is usually an invitation to get walked on by some sellers. It's unfortunate, but a fact of life.

gumpy · April 15, 2009, 05:25:37 AM

File a claim with Paypal, and refute the charges on your credit card.

If the seller gets notice that he's not going to be paid for the charge, it'll get his attention.

At this point, I would not settle. I'd force him to refund your money, and have the item picked up at his expense.
He can then send you an undamaged unit, or you can buy it from someone else.

Dallas · April 15, 2009, 05:33:32 AM

Dave,

It looks as if the seller is stalling in order to get past the Paypal 30 day limit.

If you wait beyond 30 days, I believe Paypal won't refund your money. They will consider the sale closed and complete.

My advice is to institute the Paypal claim Now, just as Gumpy said.

Good Luck,

Dallas

Sojourner · April 15, 2009, 06:07:59 AM

Quote from: bottomacher on April 15, 2009, 05:04:51 AM
When an item arrives damaged, it's important to notify the seller immediately IN WRITING about the damage. Don't offer to do anything but await his response, and keep all packing materials. The shipper hires the shipping carrier, and it's HIS responsibility to contact the shipping carrier and handle damage claims. The carrier has no responsibility to talk to you, since you didn't hire him and have no contract with him. If the seller won't handle the claim within a reasonable time (like 48 hours or less) notify ebay and tell them all the details. If you use paypal, it's a good idea nowadays to pay by credit card, which gives you double protection for unsatisfactory products or service. You don't have to be confrontational, but being a nice guy in these situations is usually an invitation to get walked on by some sellers. It's unfortunate, but a fact of life.

Amen!

After all...It always a risk that it can be damage whenever one package being shipped by either US mail, UPS or FedX beside how it was packed by the seller.

Whenever you or anyone wants good results...It's ALWAYS better to check the seller's rating first. If it 98 % or higher, you will (usually) get any problems taking care of by the seller. However, it's still a buyer risk whenever and whatever taken place between the sellers and until you open the shipment.

It always hurt to hear or read about someone's name mention on the public board. After all, you or I could have sent a shipment with good intention to be delivered without damage.

About parts replacement for the damage switch. Again we are in risk for buying from a seller who only sells the complete assembly. He may not have parts replacement. He is not obligated to replace one part of the whole assembly but return the assembly or refund.

About the risk of damaged shipment...it always good idea to have insurance included.

We can all learn from mistakes. Mistakes come with a price and gain a new experiences that nobody can take it away from you.

FWIW

Sojourn for Christ, Gerald

Paladin · April 15, 2009, 09:03:10 AM

Let me clarify, the first thing I did do was write him and tell him of the damage leaving it at that. He finally replied stating that the item was out of stock and he'd had UPS come pick this one up and that he'd send me another when another one came or give a refund. He didn't say when any of this would occur and that was where all his communication ended until Sunday. I asked him when it would be that UPS would come and when another would ship multiple times with no reply and so I finally suggested that he just send me a breaker and so on. The cosmetic damages is slight and won't be visible when mounted even though it bugged me that the thing was so poorly packaged, what else might be damaged? I've tested everything now. The master switch however is toast and unsafe even if you got past the sharp jagged edges of the toggle.

Well, obviously nothing so far has helped so I got his contact info last night and I'm about to call him after I simmer down. Interesting that his Ebay location says East Coast but his contact info comes back to Mankato, Mn.
Craig, Brian, you wanna go beat on him for me? Just $284.00 worth, the rest is up to you.

I also opened a Paypal dispute, any other suggestions?

Like has been said, if you try being nice you often can get stepped on. I was trying to be nice and trying to be patient, the guy had a feedback rating of 99.4% (though it's only out of 343 total feedback) so I thought he'd probably be honest with me. I see some other schmuck just left him another neggie. I'll probably hit him with 3 more for mine, the two items he didn't combine shipping on and this panel. It sounds like he doesn't really care anymore though.
I wonder if he's buying freight damaged goods and selling them?

-Dave

Singing Land Cruiser · April 15, 2009, 09:46:45 AM

Thanks for the heads up Dave

, M&C

Lee Bradley · April 15, 2009, 09:55:14 AM

Good information for all of us doing business on-line but it is OT.

boogiethecat · April 15, 2009, 10:05:48 AM

My experience with this is that ebay won't do anything for you as they don't have any "teeth" in the matter. Paypal on the other hand will go to bat for you quite effectively as long as you don't mess up the timing. You've filed the dispute in time, but now you have to "escalate" it to a claim. Read the dispute fine print and just make sure you don't miss any dates. I also call them on larger $ items just to make sure.

I recently had a problem with a seller from whom I bought a capacitive discharge spot welder.. the ad made it look like a really nice unit but when it arrived I realized that what the seller had done was taken a lot of well posed photos to make a $20 home-made piece of crap look like the $300 welder that he described. It didn't work to spec and it was a total scam.
The seller basically returned my email and told me "haha too bad" and he evidently convinced Paypal not to give me a refund too... but with a few more phone calls to paypal and some real-world data showing that the thing could in no way live up to it's ad, Paypal finally gave me a refund. The way they do it is that you send the item directly to them, they refund you and then they deal with the seller and if he coughs up, they return it to him.

Just a head's up so you know what to expect. Don't give up even if Paypal says no the first time.....

Cheers

bobofthenorth · April 15, 2009, 10:17:25 AM

Quote from: boogiethecat on April 15, 2009, 10:05:48 AM
Just a head's up so you know what to expect. Don't give up even if Paypal says no the first time.....

Each to his own but its a lot simpler, quicker and more effective to just go directly to your credit card company and put the item in dispute.

boogiethecat · April 15, 2009, 03:15:11 PM

I guess that's possible Bob, but I'm talking about users like me who have cash in the Paypal account and don't use credit cards.

If you're using a credit card yes starting a chargeback is one way to do it... in that case, why would you bother using paypal anyway?

Well, if you do use your credit card thru paypal, if you have a hassle you'll get your money back faster thru them. Credit card companies are slooooooooow to do almost anything.
Paypal gets hit with a fee for chargebacks when outside credit cards are used (and it's amazing that they don't pass it on to you) and so they have a real incentive to close the case quickly. With ebay, Paypal is the better choice in my humble opinion...for both payment and dispute resolution. I've been buying and selling a lot on ebay for almost 10 years now, and I've been thru it all...

gumpy · April 15, 2009, 05:45:23 PM

Quote from: Paladin on April 15, 2009, 09:03:10 AM

Well, obviously nothing so far has helped so I got his contact info last night and I'm about to call him after I simmer down. Interesting that his Ebay location says East Coast but his contact info comes back to Mankato, Mn.
Craig, Brian, you wanna go beat on him for me? Just $284.00 worth, the rest is up to you.

I would, but this would be kind of like gambling, and I have a real hard time stopping once I start feeding the slot machines.... if you get my drift...

pvcces · April 15, 2009, 11:01:54 PM

For what it's worth, Bank of America told us that they couldn't help us if we didn't return our purchase to the seller. I don't know if the other credit card outfits take the same approach.

Tom Caffrey

bobofthenorth · April 17, 2009, 07:29:50 AM

Quote from: boogiethecat on April 15, 2009, 03:15:11 PM
Well, if you do use your credit card thru paypal, if you have a hassle you'll get your money back faster thru them. Credit card companies are slooooooooow to do almost anything.

Apparently that is your experience. Its not been mine. Go online - file the dispute - Mastercard refunds my account within 2 days & contacts the seller - they ignore Mastercard - I keep my money. Couldn't be simpler. Maybe you need a new credit card supplier.

Quote
Paypal gets hit with a fee for chargebacks when outside credit cards are used (and it's amazing that they don't pass it on to you) and so they have a real incentive to close the case quickly. With ebay, Paypal is the better choice in my humble opinion...for both payment and dispute resolution. I've been buying and selling a lot on ebay for almost 10 years now, and I've been thru it all...

Newsflash - you're not the only guy in North America with experience buying & selling on ebay. Your way may work for you but its easier & quicker my way. Suit yourself. Paypal & ebay are one and the same - Paypal looks out for sleazebay. If you have a real problem you need to take charge and working within the so-called "dispute" mechanism leaves the control with ebay.

ktmossman · April 17, 2009, 10:35:29 AM

I haven't used PayPal (or eBay much) since they ripped me off.

About two years ago, I sold something on eBay for just over $300 and the buyer payed through Paypal. When I went to use the money, it was gone!

I contacted PayPal and they told me that they had taken the money to pay off a debt from another PayPal card. ?!?!? The gist of it was this:

Until about six months before that time, my sister had been living with us for a year and a half while she was undergoing cancer treatment. During that time she did some stupid stuff on eBay/PayPal and ran up several hundred $$ in PayPal debt that she decided to ignore.

So, PayPal, it its' infinite wisdom, decided that, since the home address on her PayPal account was the same as the home address on my PayPal account, her account was really just a bogus shill account for me, so they "linked" the accounts and took my money to pay her debt.

I hit the roof and talked to all kinds of people at eBay. Their ultimate position was that, if I thought they were wrong, I could sue them and prove it. Of course, they knew that it wasn't worth it to sue them over $300.

That was the last time PayPal saw a dime from me...