Grrr ... I've been mildly scammed on eBay

SquireJapan

I say mildly, as it's half my fault.

1. Pedal listed for £50, I offered £30. Won it! Woo
(that isn't unreasonable, as it's had the shit beaten out of it ... but hey, it's a Boss!)
2. Postage is £20 ... didn't notice, boo!
3. Thing turned up - woo!
4. Has a sticker on the back which says "faulty" - ??? Gahh!
5. Check the auction - eBay listing (drop down) says used, but working. The description says (in its entirity):

"Boss Hyper Fuzz FZ-2
Not repairable".

Now, I think I'd be justified in posting back, but I'd loose out on my £20 postage (it's a Boss pedal, so never in a million years is it £20 to ship). It does say "not repairable", and if I'd read that properly I wouldn't have bid ... it's also listed as:

"Used: An item that has been previously used. The item may have some signs of cosmetic wear, but is fully operational and functions as intended. This item may be a floor model or an item that has been returned to the seller after a period of use. See the seller’s listing for full details and description of any imperfections."

Grr.

Sporky

I'm not sure you've been scammed - while £20 is a ridiculous amount for postage it was right there on the auction, as was the not repairable bit.

english_bob

Bummer.

I'd check with eBay just how far from "fully operational and functions as intended" an item is allowed to be if it's listed as such. 

You might also want to find out from some of the electronics types around here whether someone can establish how "not repairable" this pedal really is.



Still, an object lesson in reasons why you should read the details on eBay auctions carefully before bidding.

SquireJapan

english_bob said:

Bummer.

I'd check with eBay just how far from "fully operational and functions as intended" an item is allowed to be if it's listed as such. 

You might also want to find out from some of the electronics types around here whether someone can establish how "not repairable" this pedal really is.



Still, an object lesson in reasons why you should read the details on eBay auctions carefully before bidding.

Sporky said:

I'm not sure you've been scammed - while £20 is a ridiculous amount for postage it was right there on the auction, as was the not repairable bit.

Exactly, you're both right of course - I'm annoyed at myself really. At least I have a boss enclosure for £50 and a lesson in paying attention

Johnnyseven

I would raise a case with ebay as there is conflicting info on the listing, in one place it says 'fully operational and functions as intended' and somewhere else 'not repairable'. You could also argue that 'not repairable' doesn't actually explicitly say it's faulty or broken. Seeing how ebay tends to side with the buyer I would say you have a good chance. I also think that it is against ebay rules to charge excessive postage costs, so you may win there too - when raising though say that you expected reasonable postage costs and didn't notice what they were until you'd paid.

It seems to me that with the postage costs and conflicting descriptions that this person has tried to catch someone out, hopefully ebay recognises this.

english_bob

Seriously though, have you tried plugging it in? You might get the last laugh if the guy who pronounced it "unrepairable" might have been a total muppet who doesn't know his arse from his elbow.

SquireJapan

english_bob said:

Seriously though, have you tried plugging it in? You might get the last laugh if the guy who pronounced it "unrepairable" might have been a total muppet who doesn't know his arse from his elbow.

'tis my hope. Need to get it home and try with a battery and PSU. I've had pedals that only worked on one of them and not the other. I'll also open the thing up and have a gander - maybe it's something obvious. 

It's had the shit beaten out of it though ...

Sassafras

That'll teach you to bid while stoned out of your tree.

xsheq

Open case. You'll win. Send it back. 

ICBM

How not repairable is it? It's a fairly simple analogue pedal, I'd be surprised if it wasn't fixable unless either the casing or the PCB is actually broken.

SquireJapan

ICBM said:

How not repairable is it? It's a fairly simple analogue pedal, I'd be surprised if it wasn't fixable unless either the casing or the PCB is actually broken.

It's a FZ-2 (which is a pedal I've wanted for a while) - presumably completely analog.

I'll open it up tonight and see if any of the smoke has escaped/magic white goo.

John_A

If the Ebay text said it was working then I'm sure they will refund your postage as well, just raise a claim and my bet is you'll get everything back

impmann

ICBM said:

How not repairable is it? It's a fairly simple analogue pedal, I'd be surprised if it wasn't fixable unless either the casing or the PCB is actually broken.

THIS.

Even if the board is broken, they can be fixed easily with some glue and some jumper cables. Its only a single layer board, so dead easy.

Oh and report his ass to ebay for the excessive postage - take pictures of the postage labels, as they will want to see that. You may even get that back.

DesVegas

Yeah, i'm not sure you've been scammed but i do think you made a mistake not reading the description correctly

ThePrettyDamned

Make a case for excessive postage. 

Ebay forced me to charge a max of 10.50 for a camera I sold that cost close to thirty quid to post - it's so fucked up. Posting a boss pedal special delivery is about 7 quid. Use a photo of the postage label. 

He also had conflicting information on the listing. Open a case. You'll probably win it. 

Learn a lesson, but it may teach the scammer a lesson too. 

Danny1969

You will get your money back as it wasn't listed as "for parts or not working"  .......... doesn't matter about the description, only that 

Dave_Mc

ThePrettyDamned said:

Learn a lesson, but it may teach the scammer a lesson too. 

Yeah. Hopefully you'll get your money back- I don't have much time for people who are basically trying it on but then claim you're to blame because of a technicality (and from the sounds of most of the posts in here you may actually be in the right, hopefully you are).

Heartfeltdawn

Plug it in first. I've had a lot of Boss pedals in the last few years that were broken/not working properly that were being used with the wrong power supplies.

As it stands, you could easily get a full refund for that as he's listed it incorrectly (should have been "for parts or not working"). Ebay will find in your favour. 

AxeWieldingBastard

Sassafras said:

That'll teach you to bid while stoned out of your tree.

Is there any other way? OP I can relate, i haven't done what u described, but it is the type of dumb shit i am prone to every so often.