J. Maynard Gelinas wrote:
> I've never sold, but I have bought. I must admit, even after
> _asking the seller very nicely_ to package the goods carefully, he
> still just threw the item (an Atari 800) in a big box with newspaper;
> It arrived a mess of broken plastic. He currently claims to be
> working with UPS to refund my money instead of taking responsibility
> of it himself.
Hope this ISN'T me!! Nope, I've never had an Atari 800
> I'm less than enthusiastic about ebay because of this. OTOH, I
> bought from someone else and he shipped the items wrapped in bubble
> wrap, boxed in peanut packing material... they arrived in beautiful
> condidtion and I sent off a thank you letter immeiately. I would say
> that you're taking a much worse risk buying through the auction houses
> because you have no idea what kind of person you're buying from. Here
> you may not meet the person, but we're a fairly close knit community.
> I feel much safer buying from the folks here.
I sure hope this IS me. I think it was anyway.
To others that are reading this I want to say that USPS has never broken or lost an
item I've sent but twice now UPS in various metro areas has dropped them and
irregardless of the packing involved has managed to ruin them and took FOREVER to
settle. You might even read the contract/shipping reciept as many UPS items go
through a handling service that routes items to UPS and charges a hefty fee on top
of that. If you read their fine print you'll see that certain ones do not insure
items such as monitors, computers, etc even though they show a certain amount of
insurance whether the automatic $100 or you pay for additional.
Also be aware that I've sent items to close relatives and they've sent me items,
properly wrapped and able to withstand all sorts of shock but yet some older items
still manage to arrive in a different working order than when they left. The
reciever (in very few cases) may also mess things up and then blame the seller for
selling junk. Anyone in retail sales has seen this many times, whether it's meant
as a con-job or just sheer stupidity of the reciever.
Anyone that sells should be as honest as possible and anyone that buys should also
be wary that these items are used and in an AS-IS state and legally carry no
warranty unless the seller sends the buyer a printed copy of such a warranty. I'm
glad to help people in the collector and hobby sector of computers get items that
would otherwise fill the dumps and that they trust me enough to send prepayment for
shipping and the items (when applicable). I also thank anyone that has sent me
items for being honest and sending me what I expected. It's this 'commradary' of
all involved in this type of computer hobby that makes things go so smoothly. As
Maynard has noted, Ebay has some sellers with other objectives than helping each
other, just helping themselves - to your money. Don't get me wrong, most sales are
legitimate and good. The few that slam items loosely into boxes and send them just
to complete a transaction are surely the few that make the others look bad. I
personally stay away from Ebay and other auctions due to the fact that many items
are so wanted by people that they get stupid sometimes and offer way over what an
item should cost in any condition because they think they're going to get a "last
of a dying machine" for their collection.
Well that was my opinion...they say that "opinions are like assholes, everyone has
one and they usually stink" (excuse the profanity but it makes the whole thing work
better - in my opinion)
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Russ Blakeman
RB Custom Services / Rt. 1 Box 62E / Harned, KY USA 40144
Phone: (502) 756-1749 Data/Fax:(502) 756-6991
Email: rhblake_at_bbtel.com or rhblake_at_bigfoot.com
Website:
http://members.tripod.com/~RHBLAKE/
ICQ # 1714857
* Parts/Service/Upgrades and more for MOST Computers*
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Received on Wed Apr 08 1998 - 20:01:13 BST