Category: Drivetrain
Price: $0
Private or Vendor Listing: Private Listing
Location (Region): NorthEast
Item Condition: Used

So, I've never had an issue with any online seller or buyer before, ever. Not in over 15 years. I'm new to NAM, but I've been a big part of buying and selling parts on the Mr2 forums and eBay in the past, all with great feedback and great transactions. I have over 500+ feedback through eBay and other forums combined. I've never "ratted" out a bad seller before, but I think this is worth mentioning, any feedback would be appreciated. With that said, here is my story.......

I made a posting in the First Gen for sale forum looking for a Aftermarket R53 Exhaust system, here is the link;

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...w-exhaust.html

Within the first few days I had a couple responses, all were through PM on NAM. If you look on the thread you'll see that I posted my phone number for quicker response via text or call. One seller did not send me a PM on NAM, but sent me a text message via phone telling me that he had a Borla Catback for sale.
To make a long story short, after about 30 min of texting back and forth and agreeing on a price for the catback, I went ahead and sent payment via paypal gift. I specifically asked if there was any damage with the system (rust, dents, corrosion, etc) and the seller said no its in great shape. The seller also said it was a complete catback system bought from Turner Motorsports. And that all hardware, etc is included. He even sent me 2 videos of the car running so I could hear the exhaust.
Within 2 weeks or so I got the exhaust in the mail via fedex. Upon opening the package I found the whole system was covered in road salt from the northeast. After cleaning it up I realized that one of the mufflers had a significant crease (dent) in the bottom side of the muffler. The package was also missing 4 clamps (requires 6 total, the two that he did sent were only sent because they were rusted to the pipes, requiring me to cut them off rendering them useless) and the front pipe section that mounts to the header or manifold itself. I contacted the seller who advised me that the system was not dented once he shipped it and that it must of happened during shipping. This was a believable story because it was poorly packaged and loose in the box.
I also advised him that it was missing the front pipe section and the 4 clamps. We went back and forth for a while and he claims that he sent the whole system and that his didn't have that front pipe section. After hours of research I've found that nobody sells that borla kit without that pipe, so I know it was part of the full kit.
After about 3-4 days of not hearing anything from the seller I asked him if he had heard anything from the shipping company in regards to getting the insurance payment from the damage to the package. He said that the shipping company would not refund the shipping cost or the insurance cost (insurance coverage was only $100 because thats the minimum that fedex puts on a package, the seller did not add any extra insurance to the package). He said that the shipping company packaged the exhaust and shipped it for him and that they said theres no way that muffler could've got dented during shipping. I bought it for a couple days, then I called the shipping company, who's phone number was on the return address of the package. I described the situation to the store owner who knew exactly what I was talking about. He advised me that the seller was fully refunded the $70 shipping cost and the $100 insurance on the spot!!!!!! So the seller completely lied to me when he got paid for the exhaust from me and now pocketed another $170 on tpo of that. All I wanted was $100 to cover the cost of the borla exhaust clamps ($62 direct from Borla, just ordered them yesterday) and the cost to make a new front pipe ($45 made by my local fabricator) So I had to spend an additional $107 to make this exhaust work, and I still have a dented system.

Since the seller contacted me through text and not NAM, I don't have his account name to post, But I do however have his Name, Phone number and paypal address, which is;

BEWARE OF THIS SELLER, since I sent payment via gift I can't even file a claim with paypal either. I've called and texted him numerous times with no response. He has ignored me since 1/13/14

All I want is a partial refund to cover the cost of the missing parts that should've come in the package. I'm not even arguing about the dent in the muffler, I guess I can live with that. Am I in the wrong here?!? Any input is greatly appreciated. All I can say is, I'm never paying or accepting payment anymore via gift, its worth paying the 3.5%. And I'm not posting my phone number anymore either, because anyone could had claimed to have an exhaust and have me send them money via gift and I could of never gotten anything!

I have screen shots from my phone of every text back and forth to back up my story. And I have pics of the rusted clamps, and dented muffler.

 

Whose idea was it to treat this payment as a gift?

 

Sorry about your loss. I have never used paypal gift system once.

 

That sucks! I've gotten burned on eBay before. Nothing you said sounds unreasonable. Hopefully things cool down and he'll send you the $100 and change. Shame on him if he pocketed the money from the shipper!

 

Fill in a Feedback score?Guess you can't cause he bypassed the FREE system here....
That way we could warn anybody if he uses the same username....and does it again...
one more reason that dealing with a user with some history here is safer...post a phone number....and bypassing the group of folks here that can help LIMIT risks...
But it sounds like they knew what they were doing....
Seller is also selling stuff...quick Google search...

 

Ouch sorry to hear man. I've given payments as gifts and requested that at times because it allows users to bypass the 3% charge. I understand why you did it and sorry it backfired on you. It can be scary at times and I've been burned before, but yeah, you should definitely not post your number up and go through the PM system as a bit of precaution.

 

Its unfortunate that this has happened. I have been gifted money from selling stuff here, and i have also gifted in return. Often we see this site as one big family and we try to help each other out. Its sad that someone took that trust and took advantage of us. I feel that karma will get him in the end.

I enjoy buying and selling here. I hope that people like that don't infect the system that has worked so good for so long.

Thanks to everyone who buys and sells here!

 

Here is one of our great members, and also Alpha Motoring, Joe is a great guy who always is top notch (and often sells some high end nice stuff)

 

Thank you! I think even if I tried to screw someone over I couldn't because I think I've meet enough people in person that I would never get away with it. I'm not that kinda person either.

 

NEVER PAY Paypal Gift unless the seller has excellent reputation here. I also don't buy from seller asking for 3% on top of price and asking for Paypal gift. Seller should include all fees in sale price and not do this shady crap.

Sorry for your loss.... I would still contact Paypal and let Paypal take notice of his account since he's trying to avoid fees that Paypal lose out on.

 

Here's some Pro-Buyer and Seller tips from over the years...

If the seller asks you to Gift the money to avoid the fee, refuse, unless you are confident of his/her worthiness.

What I do is send the funds with the "fee" added on top to offset the PayPal fee the seller may incur. I will only transfer funds for merchandise/goods.

Also, ask for detailed pictures if it is something unseen. You can even go as far to ask for a sheet of paper with their name, date and time included in the photo to authenticate the photo/item.

There are many scammers on many sites and some probably crossover looking to people to prey upon.

In a search, The email address and phone number drew this:


That phone number is.

 

Sorry I didn't clarify earlier. It was my idea to send payment as a gift, the seller didn't ask me to. I usually offer it to sellers to help us both out and I've never had an issue before. But the big picture here is that I shouldn't need to ask paypal for a refund and that the seller sold me a damaged incomplete item from what I was sold. And then he just disappeared and ignored me. Thanks for all your support, I'm sure this thread won't make him pay or anything to the affect, but at least we're getting his name out there.

 

Sorry to hear this happened. I assume it was this seller?

 

Sorry to hear this happened.

 

Look folks, while I can appreciate the position of the OP, there is some blame laid to rest with how this entire transaction was consummated.


Never IMO pay with paypal as a 'Gift". It leaves the buyer no recourse should a transaction go south. Paypal is set up not just for the protection of the buyer but also the seller by ensuring receipt of clear funds. THAT is the purpose of their taking a 3% cut. A seller can always incorporate the 3% into the final selling price if that's a concern and IMO a better practice to follow.


I would always encourage photographs of the item being purchased before sending your paypal. Purchasing sight unseen is not a savvy way to conduct business. And doing such all via text when it involves hundreds of US Dollars ?....well it could only complicate things as it did in this case. If communications are to be done outside of the usual PM or NAM email, then ask for a telephone number. Sometimes you can get a sense of who/what the seller is from old school conversation.


That said, these boards are not the proper forum for this sort issue. Seek legal counsel or just exercise better judgment in future purchases. Please do not post the personal data of our fellow members.


Thank you for your cooperation.


Dave