why i hate e-bay

if only i has asked the right questions before i took the leap of faith!
thanks for all the 'feedback' and i will swear to check in future if i
decide to throw my money away again.Yes, moon, it was around that time but
prior to and i had won the bid way before Charley but WAS hoping to have it
in time to keep things cool here! in the meantime, anybody know where i can
get a indoor-outdoor generator( actually battery pack with converter) that
can put out over 400 watts and run silently, charge and run 110 or 12 volt
for less than 200$ see item # 4314487936 for clarification. ;) m

"Moonraker" wrote in message
...

" On Sun, 22 Aug 2004 00:54:18 GMT, Michele Blank
wrote:

so end of rant. got burned my first time out of the starting gate and
thought i should share as i never hear the downside of e-bay being
bandied
about! m

Sorry you got hooked. Maybe it's temporary, in that some of the advice
you
got was pretty good about getting the cops involved, etc.

Just as a thought...this was right about the time that Hurricane Charley
was
ashore, right? Anytime there is something that is in demand due to the
season (eg. kid's hot toys for Xmas) or a natural disaster, etc., you can
be sure the rip-off artists are gonna be out there.

That's why when I sell...it's only to US citizens, to a verified address,
and only payment from a direct debit from their bank account by PayPal,
and
I require an adult signature for the UPS delivery. I refuse to ship via
USPS or FedEx because of the problems I've had previously. When I buy, I
look at the feedback, but more importantly, at the length of time they
have
been registered with eBay. I rarely will buy from newbies...unless it is
a
cheapo item and then I'll ask them some inane question in order to see if
the reply comes from the same email address that eBay has. I absolutely
WILL NOT pay for anything unless I use PayPal, and if I am even slightly
bit edgy about the transaction, I'll spend the extra $$ for the eBay's
guaranteed money back if not satisfied program. (Forgot what it is
called).
I bought some beveling machinery from a guy in Brooklyn and I was a bit
nervous about him...you know how those New Yorkers can be. ;) So I
spent
the money to get the "insurance" from eBay....and the guy shipped the next
day, and the stuff was better than the photos. But better safe than
sorry
on a big $ transaction. No way am I gonna mail a check (a good one, BTW)
and run the risk that they can "wash" it and fill in a different amount.
And I have too much to do to be messing around looking for a place to get
a
money order. Legit people have checking accounts and therefore, access to
PayPal. People who won't accept PayPal, and with low feedback usually get
passed over as far as I am concerned when I'm bidding.

"Michele Blank" wrote in message
...
if only i has asked the right questions before i took the leap of faith!
thanks for all the 'feedback' and i will swear to check in future if i
decide to throw my money away again.Yes, moon, it was around that time but
prior to and i had won the bid way before Charley but WAS hoping to have
it
in time to keep things cool here! in the meantime, anybody know where i
can
get a indoor-outdoor generator( actually battery pack with converter) that
can put out over 400 watts and run silently, charge and run 110 or 12 volt
for less than 200$ see item # 4314487936 for clarification. ;) m

Is "this the specific auction" which is in contention? He's sold several of
these battery packs and apparently delivered them OK. I probably would have
bid on the item, too, given that he had a 87 feedback and the two negs he
had were from buyers with 1 and 2 feedbacks, respectively. I usually
discount the negative feedbacks from Newbies. If a buyer with 25 to
whatever feedback begins to howl, usually there's something amiss.

Heh...did you look at Harbor Freight? :)

GO DOWN!


"Michele Blank" wrote in message
...
well, i used a bank MO and as soon as i figured this out i checked with
the
bank and it was already cashed. I tried to e-mail the sellers but their
e-mail was non-responsive (as in disconnected). Their supplied phone
number
also disconnected and i did a search for their home addy and phone and
again, phone disconnected. i filed with e-bay for non-compliance but they
told me outright that i would not be given any results of their inquiry as
it would go against their privacy deal.
so i guess i pretty much need to kiss that money by-by! m


Just like the sound of that!

You have a situation, but if go thru ebay and file things thru them, they
will tell you the name and phone number of the other person, without you
having to do a search, which may have given you false results.
They still have other things listed for sale as of today. Hmmm , how they
going to do that if they don't respond? from Detroit area too? Maybe the
mail didn't come to you as fast as yours went to them, the guy has been
selling for a year, there is no incentive for them to do that for such a
small sum.

But he did leave you positive feedback, and you can post a reply and
feedback of your own, if you are sure you aren't jumping the gun. But that
was almost 30 days ago.

Hmmmm. you could post his name and address on a Newsgroup. maybe somebody
near Detroit could mail them a video tape.... a knarly one...a hint.

"Michele Blank" wrote in message
...
if only i has asked the right questions before i took the leap of faith!
thanks for all the 'feedback' and i will swear to check in future if i
decide to throw my money away again.Yes, moon, it was around that time but
prior to and i had won the bid way before Charley but WAS hoping to have
it
in time to keep things cool here! in the meantime, anybody know where i
can
get a indoor-outdoor generator( actually battery pack with converter) that
can put out over 400 watts and run silently, charge and run 110 or 12 volt
for less than 200$ see item # 4314487936 for clarification. ;) m

If this is the actual auction item you won.....

I have some connections in the Motown area. Maybe a couple of scary looking
characters standing on the seller's front porch would convince him to
produce either a generator or your money? These guys probably wouldn't want
much more than a couple of autographed photos of a certain thong-clad glass
artist. :)

Good grief, the thing weighs 47 pounds and will run a 200 watt appliance
(power drill) for about 30 minutes.
--
Mike Firth
Hot Glass Bits Furnace Working Website
http://users.ticnet.com/mikefirth/hotbit46.htm Latest notes

"Michele Blank" wrote in message
...
if only i has asked the right questions before i took the leap of faith!
thanks for all the 'feedback' and i will swear to check in future if i
decide to throw my money away again.Yes, moon, it was around that time but
prior to and i had won the bid way before Charley but WAS hoping to have
it
in time to keep things cool here! in the meantime, anybody know where i
can
get a indoor-outdoor generator( actually battery pack with converter) that
can put out over 400 watts and run silently, charge and run 110 or 12 volt
for less than 200$ see item # 4314487936 for clarification. ;) m

Well
This listing on Amazon is for $189.99 new
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...11065?v=glance
And this site says the 600 is out of date
http://www.4lots.com/index.asp?PageA...S&Category=206

--
Mike Firth
Hot Glass Bits Furnace Working Website
http://users.ticnet.com/mikefirth/hotbit46.htm Latest notes

"Mike Firth" wrote in message
...
Good grief, the thing weighs 47 pounds and will run a 200 watt appliance
(power drill) for about 30 minutes.
--
Mike Firth
Hot Glass Bits Furnace Working Website
http://users.ticnet.com/mikefirth/hotbit46.htm Latest notes

"Michele Blank" wrote in message
...
if only i has asked the right questions before i took the leap of faith!
thanks for all the 'feedback' and i will swear to check in future if i
decide to throw my money away again.Yes, moon, it was around that time
but
prior to and i had won the bid way before Charley but WAS hoping to have
it
in time to keep things cool here! in the meantime, anybody know where i
can
get a indoor-outdoor generator( actually battery pack with converter)
that
can put out over 400 watts and run silently, charge and run 110 or 12
volt
for less than 200$ see item # 4314487936 for clarification. ;) m

Greetings and Salutations...

On Tue, 24 Aug 2004 00:38:22 GMT, "Michele Blank"
wrote:

if only i has asked the right questions before i took the leap of faith!
thanks for all the 'feedback' and i will swear to check in future if i

Yea, well, you are getting the benefit of a lot of hard
won experience in this thread, that is for sure! But then...if you
had known to ask all these questions and such, you would not have
posted...and would not have gotten such a wealth of information!
All things work for good....

decide to throw my money away again.Yes, moon, it was around that time but
prior to and i had won the bid way before Charley but WAS hoping to have it
in time to keep things cool here! in the meantime, anybody know where i can
get a indoor-outdoor generator( actually battery pack with converter) that
can put out over 400 watts and run silently, charge and run 110 or 12 volt
for less than 200$ see item # 4314487936 for clarification. ;) m

Hum...It looks like what you are needing is not a generator
(which implies a gasoline powered engine hooked up to an alternator
and some electronics), but, rather what we in the computer field call
an Uninterruptable Power Supply, or an Inverter.
There are a couple of ways to go about this. First off, you
can do an Ebay search for "APC UPS" (With the quotes), and pick one
that has big numbers. Most of them do have an alarm, but, it is easy
enough to disable it so it will not chirp annoyingly. By finding an
APC 2000 UPS (With bad batteries) on Ebay, and taking advantage of
the replacement batteries sold on Ebay for it, I was able to put
together a UPS that will run a 100 watt lamp for close to five hours.
Total cost: around $190. Now..for about another $80 I could put
together a second battery box that would up the run time to 9+
hours.
It would also be possible to put together the same sort of
thing for not too much money. For example...
Here is the inverter to pump out the 110V.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=5716393699
a decent car battery to run it will cost about $50 or so,
and, a charger to build it back up can range from a solar
cell unit for $50 to a box that plugs into the wall for $65 or
so. That brings you in under $200, and, would not really require
any "technical" ability to put together. Just remember that red
goes to the "+" terminal and black to the "-" terminal..and NEVER
reverse them. With a bit of fabrication, though, it would be
possible to cobble together a box on wheels with plugs that
would ensure this would not be a problem.
On the other hand, even at retail that might not
be a bad deal. Also, I note that they carefully do NOT
mention how LONG the unit will pump out 600 watts. Just
as a guess, it would probably run that kind of load for
about five minutes. Of course, 100 watts would go for
half an hour or so...
Hope this does not muddy the waters TOO much....
Regards
Dave Mundt

3) While the bank may credit your account for the amount
of the funds immediately, the money is typically "on hold" because
the money is actually still in the account of the check writer.
4) At some point, usually within the next 24 hours,
the computer at your bank communicates with the computer at the
bank of the writer. At that point, that computer debits the
rater's account for the amount of the check, and, YOUR computer
marks the funds in your account as being "confirmed" and freed up.


If you have enough money in your account to cover the check the bank will
not hold it, or investigate it. They simply put it on you and take no
responsibility for it. If it's a bad check, it comes out of your account.

They definitely should have waited for the check to clear before shipping.

Randy Hansen
SC Glass Tech.
Scam Diego, Comi-fornia







"Dave Mundt" wrote in message
.. .
Greetings and Salutations...

On Sun, 22 Aug 2004 09:31:05 -0500, Mike Beede wrote:

In article , Dave Mundt
wrote:

Caveat Emptor is the rule, especially on Ebay.
I also hope that from now on, your buddy will wait
for the check to clear before sending any of their own
money out.

Waiting for the check to clear isn't sufficient, either. If the
check bounces later due to NSF, the bank will take the money
back from you. Hard to believe--you'd think that's what the
bank is getting paid for--but I've heard it happening a number
of times. The most common version of this scam is to send too
large a check, which clears, get the seller to send a Western
Union wire for the balance, then cancel the check.

Mike Beede
Hum...perhaps I am confused then. My understanding of
the "check clearing" process is this:
1) SOmeone sends you a check.
2) You take it to the bank and deposit it.
3) While the bank may credit your account for the amount
of the funds immediately, the money is typically "on hold" because
the money is actually still in the account of the check writer.
4) At some point, usually within the next 24 hours,
the computer at your bank communicates with the computer at the
bank of the writer. At that point, that computer debits the
writer's account for the amount of the check, and, YOUR computer
marks the funds in your account as being "confirmed" and freed up.
5) The endorsed check is sent to the writer's bank, where
it is filed away and used as an audit check that the correct amount
has been removed from the account..

In the case of foreign banks, it is the same basic steps,
but, may take a bit longer due to the need to exchange more data
before the appropriate accounts are debited and credited.

Now...in my world view...the check has not "cleared" until
step 4 has finished up, and at that point in time, the writer cannot
"cancel" the check, as they don't have control of the funds any more.
That is why a lot of folks put a ten day hold on sending
stuff out from Ebay when paid for by personal check...to give all
these steps plenty of time to work through.

In any case, my immmediate inclination upon receiving a check
for too much money would be to contact the sender, return it via
trackable post (or have them void it and I will destroy it), and
request a check for the exact amount of the transaction. I am not
a store and don't make change.
Regards
Dave Mundt

Greetings and Salutations....

On Mon, 23 Aug 2004 21:14:35 -0700, "Randy H."
wrote:


3) While the bank may credit your account for the amount
of the funds immediately, the money is typically "on hold" because
the money is actually still in the account of the check writer.
4) At some point, usually within the next 24 hours,
the computer at your bank communicates with the computer at the
bank of the writer. At that point, that computer debits the
rater's account for the amount of the check, and, YOUR computer
marks the funds in your account as being "confirmed" and freed up.


If you have enough money in your account to cover the check the bank will
not hold it, or investigate it. They simply put it on you and take no
responsibility for it. If it's a bad check, it comes out of your account.

They definitely should have waited for the check to clear before shipping.

Randy Hansen
SC Glass Tech.
Scam Diego, Comi-fornia



Ok...I have to post a small correction. I have
a friend who used to be an auditor for a bank, and, ran
my view of reality by him.
In general, it is accurate, but, actually, the
banks send ALL checks to central clearing houses, where
they get sorted out and sent along to the appropriate
destinations (based on the routing numbers printed at
the bottom edge of the check). So...it can take 3-5
days to get to the clearing house, and, 3-5 days to
get to the SOURCE bank, and about 30 seconds after
that for either a non-sufficient funds message to
come back, or an electronic funds transfer to be
set up between the banks.
So...the further the check has to go from you...
the LONGER you should wait before assuming the money
is yours. Of course, you can also make it a point to
call your bank after a few days and see if the check
has, indeed, cleared, and, the funds been deposited
in your account "for real". They will know this,
of course, and, may well have a good estimate for
how long it will take for the cash to actually
GET there.
Alternatively, if it is a large check,
you can always contact the originating bank
and see if the check is good. For out of country
checks, it might end up costing $40 or so, but,
if this is for a couple thousand dollars profit,
it might be worth it.
In any case, alas, there are few ways to
keep from getting burned, as folks find out every
day. One can only do the best one can...trust but
Verify.
Regards
Dave Mundt

thanks Dave, i had an electripac previously which was a fancified
inverter/battery rig and while helpful, didn't have the staying power i
need. This little item has 4 to 6 times the wattage. I tried to buy another
item that was so cheap on Amazon and had much the same reaction, oh, sorry
we don't actually have that item now. This thing has been discontinued but
it was 289 regular price. The new one is much too heavy. I'm not sure how
they up the out-put wattage without getting any heavier but i really don't
want to do a home made one any way.

"Dave Mundt" wrote in message
...
Greetings and Salutations...

On Tue, 24 Aug 2004 00:38:22 GMT, "Michele Blank"
wrote:

if only i has asked the right questions before i took the leap of faith!
thanks for all the 'feedback' and i will swear to check in future if i

Yea, well, you are getting the benefit of a lot of hard
won experience in this thread, that is for sure! But then...if you
had known to ask all these questions and such, you would not have
posted...and would not have gotten such a wealth of information!
All things work for good....

decide to throw my money away again.Yes, moon, it was around that time
but
prior to and i had won the bid way before Charley but WAS hoping to have
it
in time to keep things cool here! in the meantime, anybody know where i
can
get a indoor-outdoor generator( actually battery pack with converter)
that
can put out over 400 watts and run silently, charge and run 110 or 12
volt
for less than 200$ see item # 4314487936 for clarification. ;) m

Hum...It looks like what you are needing is not a generator
(which implies a gasoline powered engine hooked up to an alternator
and some electronics), but, rather what we in the computer field call
an Uninterruptable Power Supply, or an Inverter.
There are a couple of ways to go about this. First off, you
can do an Ebay search for "APC UPS" (With the quotes), and pick one
that has big numbers. Most of them do have an alarm, but, it is easy
enough to disable it so it will not chirp annoyingly. By finding an
APC 2000 UPS (With bad batteries) on Ebay, and taking advantage of
the replacement batteries sold on Ebay for it, I was able to put
together a UPS that will run a 100 watt lamp for close to five hours.
Total cost: around $190. Now..for about another $80 I could put
together a second battery box that would up the run time to 9+
hours.
It would also be possible to put together the same sort of
thing for not too much money. For example...
Here is the inverter to pump out the 110V.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=5716393699
a decent car battery to run it will cost about $50 or so,
and, a charger to build it back up can range from a solar
cell unit for $50 to a box that plugs into the wall for $65 or
so. That brings you in under $200, and, would not really require
any "technical" ability to put together. Just remember that red
goes to the "+" terminal and black to the "-" terminal..and NEVER
reverse them. With a bit of fabrication, though, it would be
possible to cobble together a box on wheels with plugs that
would ensure this would not be a problem.
On the other hand, even at retail that might not
be a bad deal. Also, I note that they carefully do NOT
mention how LONG the unit will pump out 600 watts. Just
as a guess, it would probably run that kind of load for
about five minutes. Of course, 100 watts would go for
half an hour or so...
Hope this does not muddy the waters TOO much....
Regards
Dave Mundt