justin_tx_16 Posted January 18, 2003 Share Posted January 18, 2003 Seller beware Internet site allows buyers of misrepresented goods on eBay to vent, embarrass vendors By Hugh R. Morley The Bergen County Record HACKENSACK, N.J. - It wasn't the $60 that Stephen Klink paid for the wireless-based speakers that really stuck in his craw. Nor was it just the ratty packaging, the power cable that looked like a dog had chewed on it or the dirty, used appearance of the system that was described as "brand-new" when it was offered for sale on the eBay Internet site. It was the gall of the Canadian seller -- a complete stranger -- using the San Jose, Calif.-based auction site to sell what Klink considered a rip-off deal that incensed him. "I was aggravated that he could send me junk knowing it was junk and then deny it," said Klink, a Paramus, N.J., police officer who lives in Hillsdale, N.J. "And I started to speak to people that used eBay, and everybody I spoke to had a bad experience." Klink's revenge is www.Ebayersthatsuck.com, a Web site that hearkens to the days gone by when thieves and vagabonds were sentenced to public humiliation by being chained up in the village square. The Web site offers a platform on which people who believe that they have been scammed in an eBay deal can post details of the deal and point fingers. The aim is to warn others to steer clear of the alleged scammers, and it's spiced up with a little public embarrassment, Klink said. "I want them to go there and use it to browse, to look around, to see all the scams that are going on," he said. "To open their eyes a little bit more and realize that there is a lot of fraud and deception going on." He said he has nothing against eBay; in fact, he thinks it's a wonderful invention, and he buys and sells things through the auction site all the time. He said he just wants to improve the system by deterring people from committing fraud. "The way I see it is, a lot of people go to eBay to look for deals -- people who don't have money," he said. "And if they get screwed like this, it could be devastating." So far, he has found more than a few like-minded souls. Since the site went up in August, it has received about 100 postings from angry people who believe that they have been cheated in an eBay purchase or sale. Klink charges nothing to post a complaint on the site, although buyers and sellers who trade frequently on eBay can pay $3 a month to appear on his list of "good eBayers." Klink hopes to attract banner ads in the future to help pay for the site. Helped by a couple of news reports, the number of visitors to the site has slowly increased. On a recent Tuesday, there were 3,000 hits; by 10 a.m. Wednesday, 400 people had been to the site. These days, he spends three to four hours daily putting e-mails of deals on the site by hand. And he hopes soon to upgrade so that the postings are done almost automatically. The site is a rich pageant of anger. One disgruntled eBay customer says he spent $14,000 buying a Range Rover from an Arizona car dealership that delivered a vehicle with a water leak, a rotten exhaust system and a faulty suspension that cost $2,000 to fix. Another posting complains of spending $41 on a pair of Coach loafers advertised as "like new" that turned out to have been well-worn and reeked of a "foul foot odor." Several vendors had their accounts suspended by eBay after the details of a deal gone bad were publicized, Klink said. EBay spokesman Kevin Purseglove said similar Web sites have been created in the past, and it is not the company's policy to give an opinion on them. He noted, however, that a dissatisfied buyer or seller can seek redress through several existing eBay features. They include a discussion board and a customer support team that sometimes conducts investigations into bad deals. "Fraud is a relatively rare occurrence on eBay, when you consider that there are about 12 million items listed on the site every day," he said. Klink checks each posting to ensure that the deal took place and compares the claim of fraud against the past record of the alleged fraudster through an eBay feature in which buyers and sellers comment on whether they are satisfied with deals with a particular person. So what happens if someone uses the site as a way to attack a foe by making an erroneous -- and slanderous -- accusation? Klink and his attorney, Richard L. Ravin of Paramus, say he is protected by the Common Decency Act. That law says that Web site operators are not responsible for postings, providing that they are repeating someone else's allegations. It's "just like the phone company is not responsible for defamatory statements carried over their wires," Ravin said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sj993 Posted January 18, 2003 Share Posted January 18, 2003 Wow...that's quite interesting. Of course it is also up to the buyer to be aware of what he is buying and to be consious of the possiblity that it could be a fraud. I have yet to buy anything on ebay myself so I don't really know, but that is just my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted January 18, 2003 Share Posted January 18, 2003 It is interesting... To this day, I still have not been able to bring myself to trust buying anything off ebay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerSix Posted January 18, 2003 Share Posted January 18, 2003 Here's a bid on a 93 Lexus LS Final bid price: $5,100 The seller item description: Vehicle Description I DRIVE THIS CAR EVERY WEEK IT RUNS SWEET THERES NO MOTERTAPS OR SKWEAKS OVERALL THIS IS A STEAL OF A DEAL MY LOS IS YOUR GAIN HOWEVER THERE IS ONE PROBLEM THE INDACATOR LITE WHEN YOU HIT THE BRAKES IT LITES UP ON NUTRALL BUT IT STILL SHIFS NICLY SO I WENT TO A SHOP AND THAY SED IT WAS A SENSER ON THE TRANZ IT WAS GOING TO BE 250 SO I DIDNT GET IT DONE CAS THE CAR STILL DRIVES WITH NO PROBLEMS THE GOOD NUWS IS ITS NOT THE TRANZ . IT HAS PERFICT LEATHER INTEARIOR ON THE BUMPER THERE SCRACHES AS YOU WILL SEE IN THE PICS ANY WAY ALL THIS CAR REALY NEEDS IS A TUCH UP ON THE BUMPER A GOOD DETAIL AND A SENSOR MY POINT IS ITS A LEX FOR CHEEP HAPY BIDDING. AND PLEAS NO WISE CRAKS ON MY SPELLING IM VERRY MUCH AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> Vehicle condition VERRY NICE LEX Terms of Sale 10% IN 3 DAYS OF SALE AND PIC UP IN 10 DAYS UNLESS UTHER PLANS ARE MADE. I HAVE THE RITE TO CANSEL THE BIDDING AT ANY TIME AS I HAV THE CAR ADVERTIZED LOCALY Complaint : Sold car and did not delist. Would not complete transaction Response by yoklp1973 - toll you i had no car for sale it was a hack .ebay was told and ebay did nuthing ------------ ROTFLMAO caveat emptor folks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sj993 Posted January 18, 2003 Share Posted January 18, 2003 ahaha! I would never buy a car on ebay, ever! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skonopa Posted January 20, 2003 Share Posted January 20, 2003 ---------------- On 1/18/2003 2:32:34 PM m00n wrote: It is interesting... To this day, I still have not been able to bring myself to trust buying anything off ebay. ---------------- I have only bought something like three things on eBay and so far so good. The most expensive was $150 for a replacement amp to replace the one that went bad in my ProMedia V2.400s. All my transactions on eBay have fortunatly been very good, with the sellers being very friendly and helpful. All items have been recieved in excellent condition. The amp in my ProMedias is still working perfectly. There is a guy at work that is constantly buying things on eBay, mostly books and videos and other small things like that (He has over 2000 movies in his collection - both DVD and VHS - and he'll let me borrow any of them - who the hell needs BlockBuster when you have that available!). As far as I know, I don't think he has been screwed once. However, that being said, I'd still rather look locally before going to eBay, especially for things like cars. There are plenty of good cars and trucks for sale in the immediate area. I can actually look at the thing and take it for a drive. Hell, I scored a 1990 Mazda B2200 pickup-truck for dirt cheap that way a couple summers back. It could probably use a good tuneup, but other than that, it has been a dependable workhorse of a truck. I'll get it tuned up good in the springtime and it should last me a good long time, epsecially since I don't really put many miles on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted January 21, 2003 Share Posted January 21, 2003 eBay can be a very useful tool, and I've enjoyed making purchases and selling items on the auction site. Since I started browsing eBay in October of '99, I've won the bidding on quite a few vintage '30's to '50's vacuum tube radios, NOS tubes by Sovtek and JAN Philips, several Carver amps and preamps, two McIntosh amps, an AMC tube preamp, MIT interconnects, various car audio accessories, etc. I've sold various items as well...another McIntosh amp, a Carver amp, preamp and tuner, spare MIT interconnects, the same AMC preamp, more vacuum tubes, a 15" JL Audio subwoofer, a British chess set, a coin collection, a decorative vase, a camera bag, a Yamaha MIDI keyboard, and other miscellaneous goodies. I've been more fortunant than others in that I haven't been scammed yet, and that I've received every payment owed to me. I'm not recommending that eBay is for everyone, and enough poor eBay shoppers have been ripped off to warrant the above story. It's just that I've been one of the lucky few, and I hope that my luck continues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerSix Posted January 21, 2003 Share Posted January 21, 2003 eBay is a great source for things that normally are not available in the local area. For instance, I have an interest in collecting samurai / Japanese antiques. As you can imagine, it's kind of hard to acquire a rare 17th century samurai armor at WalMart. Anyway, I think you get my point. Just make sure one does their homework. Don't spend money on something that you wouldn't be afraid of saying goodbye to if things go sour. On more expensive items, try to limit your bids to strictly reputable folks or dealers. So far, knock on wood, I've had great success keeping those few principles in mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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