Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Just thought I'd share an E-Bay nightmare....

My wife purchased this bass for me as a Anniversary gift...she just filled me in last night.....

She won this bass with a BUY IT NOW...
Right from the beginning, the excuse letters started...4 DAYS after paying for the bass....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7384939218&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT

"I apologize for not writing sooner but I just logged on to check emails.
I have been sick in bed since last night with what seems to be the flu.
Therefore I wasn't able to attend to eBay business today.

I will update you after the weekend to let you know when I expect to ship the bass.

Thank you again,
I will be in touch.
Jan"

Well, four days later, after inquiring just when she thought she could ship my bass....

"Thanks for your email.
Actually I was in bed for the past four days.

I do have an update for you.
I was selling this bass for my friend...at any rate, yesterday he was here to assist me with shipping. When he inspected it, a problem was noticed. As he explained it to me, the truss rod on the treble side IS NOT working, thus the neck has developed a "twist". The treble side is back-bowed and the bass side is forward bowed.
Because of this problem, the bass is not sellable.
It is not as originally described.

I am going to refund your Paypal payment immediately.
I can update you once he has found out what repair work can be done, and what the outcome is.

I apologize, but I can't ship you a damaged bass.
Thanks again and sorry!
Jan"

I would bet my bottom dollar that someone offered her more for the bass.....Sellers Remorse?

Funny thing is, I THOUGHT I found another V63 that I put a deposit on at a GC earlier last week and it turned out to be a 4003! It was a phone transaction, the guy didn't know what he had...

Anyway, at long last, she thought she had my V63, it just slipped through our fingers.............

The seller had over 450 Positive feedbacks and is a "POWER SELLER".

I sent her one final e-mail asking why she didn't even inquire if I still wanted the bass...still no response....

The refund is PENDING from Paypal...Lets see where this one goes.....

VERY, VERY FRUSTRATING.....

I like the bit that says "all sales are final", they forgot to say "unless I change my mind that is".

That bass is mint, there was nothing wrong with the truss.... bummer...

I didn't like that auction when I saw it. How can a bass be mint when it's been modded?I hope you get the refund.

Dang! I hope you get your money back, Tony... and find the bass you wanna have, too...
That's frustrating, indeed...
No, that's not a flu. I know how it's called... but won't name it on a public forum...
UPD: oh yeah... and feedback is "Private" now...

Hey Sheena,


"No, that's not a flu. I know how it's called... but won't name it on a public forum..."

Thanks for the laugh, I needed that, I really did!
Thank you too for the well wishes. I'm sure I'll nail that V-63 yet! I guess it just wasn't my time yet!

The refund is listed as "PENDING" in my Paypal account, so at least I know a REFUND was or is being attempted.

I guess I'll have a chance to test out that Paypal "BUYERS PROTECTION" policy. This should be an exercise in frustration. The other thing I hope is to our advantage, is that plastic was used for the purchase. The credit card company has already been notified and I have hopes this will work out ok.

You know, this isn't something that I would NOT normally post on a public forum, but I thought it was worth telling to warn everyone what can go wrong on E-Bay, even with an experienced seller with lots of good feedback!

That was a deal Tony at $1,299, and you can bet the guy she was selling the bass for realized he could get more. Her auction even listed a refund if you where not satisfied. You should have pointed that out and said let me be the judge of the condition of the bass, and if it's not repairable I'll send it back.
Knock on wood, I have never had a bad experience on eBay to date, but I hear of horror stories like yours all the time.
Good luck my friend, I hope it all shakes out for you!

I've had plenty of ebay nightmares over the years, the worst, not counting the ones who just run with your money, was opening the case to find a brick it it (to keep the weight up) the seller claimed that it had left with a guitar in and that the customs must have swapped it. Yeah, Right!

Rule number one:- unless you 100% trust the seller pay by credit card (through Paypal if you want) and claim back from CC company if there is a dispute, your legal contract of supply is with CCC not Paypay or the seller - don't rely on Paypal if you have a dispute and don't take any notice of any threats that Paypal throw at you regarding claiming from CCC.

Bummer Tony!

I hope it works out for you.

My first V63 was listed on eBay. I had been in contact with the seller for a couple days asking questions and getting pictures. The pictures he sent didn't match the picture in the ad (?). Then the day before the auction was scheduled to end, it disappeared! No one had bid, and I was the only one interested. I sent him an email, and he said there was a problem with the truss rods, and he was going to have it repaired! My brother lived about an hour from him in Florida, and I got the seller talked into letting him look at it before some repairman "fixed" it. It turned out that the bass was perfect, and my brother bought it for me on the spot.
I'm about a week away from getting my second one now. I'll tell that story after it gets here.

It is too bad that it didn't work out, and hopefully you'll get your refund. She must have gotten another offer.

That bass has had the horns sanded down, which would mean that there has been a refinish or a stripped finish, I would think. For the money, it may be for the better, unless you wanted it with the horns sanded down.

Thanks everyone,

I'll let you know how this all turns out.

Hey Kevin, if you get tired of having TWO V-63's, drop me a line! I'd be more than happy to help you out with that crowding problem!

The frustrating part is that she isn't returning e-mails. I did ask to let me be the judge of the condition, that I have a local guy who has fixed that very problem for me in the past, but NO RESPONSE. I think it's obvious she had another offer off of E-bay.

What ever happened to the E-bay "your bid is a binding contract" bit? I can't find it anywhere anymore!

Thanks to you too Peter, thanks for the "heads up" with the CCC. I've never done this before.

Man, imagine the horror of opening up your guitar case only to find a brick in it.
I wouldn't know wether to laugh or cry.
I can feel my blood boiling just thinking about it.

Andrew:

I didn't actually know about this bass until last night.

My wife Janey, thought she found the find of a lifetime. She knew I've been looking for a V-63 for a long time. It was to be my surprise 24th Anniversary gift! We're married 24 years on Feb 20th.

EDITED....I thought better of that comment....

It is truly a shame, Tony. With her feedback rating, though, it may work out that you get a refund. Keep on her, contact ebay and report her, and do the same with PayPal. With her receiving emails from these sources, she may expedite the process. Good luck!

Also, I'm sorry if my above post sounded harsh. It wasn't intended to, but looking back it may have been. I was judgmental, which was inappropriate. I apologize.

Aha! I recently dealt with the very same seller on a "red burst" Hofner Beatle Bass (between 50 and 100 were done in this limited color). It was up for a private BIN at $1495, but nobody bit on it. After the "auction" disappeared, I messaged the seller and offered $1050 plus shipping ($65) for it. She accepted after a few days, claiming to be down with the flu. I asked for a phone number, got it, and called her. She seemed to be up front about everything. She explained she was selling this for a friend who didn't have experience with eBay. A few days later, she e-mailed me saying she was hoping to get someone to help her ship the bass. Then a couple days later, I get a message from her via PayPal that she was refunding the money (and she did) and that the binding on the base had cracked and lifted and the seller didn't want to sell it in that condition. OK, so I asked for her to give my contact info to the seller if he would consider a lower offer to take it as is (I figure I can get the binding fixed for a couple hun). No joy since then. I got the money back, but I wish I had the red Hofner.

I saw the sanded V63 and noted to myself it was from the same seller. The explanation was "I'm selling my bass collection . . . " and wonder what others he may have. But it certainly seems as though he's changed his mind. Assuming she is honest, this can't be helping her previously stellar eBay rating.

Tony, if you don't get your refund in the next couple of days, e-mail me and I'll give you her phone number.