Perhaps I should have, but I got four wheels for $102, plus $125 shipping. I was willing to pay up to $300-$400 not including shipping. So, when the rims arrived and didn't appear to be in as good condition as described, I wasn't willing to make a big deal out of it, since I plan to strip the surface anyway.

 

Oh, I almost forgot. I sent you a PM, LagunaSol.

 

Response from the seller. Would you accept?

I am irritated at the implication that it's merely my "view" and "evaluation" that the wheels aren't "almost new" with "7 miles on them." As well as the implication that he's faultless because his seller misled him. As if that should have anything to do with me.

A few minutes with a digital camera would certainly dispel the notion that these wheels are as he described. But do I want to go through all the grief of disputing it? And is it true that regardless of the outcome with eBay/PayPal, that I can kiss my shipping charges goodbye anyway?

 

Talk to paypal. I've delt with sellers that said they have been "scammed" by buyers that complain to paypal that the item was not as described. The buyer received some/all the money back from paypal and kept the item. I'm not 100% sure that story was true, but it's worth a call to Paypal, right?

 

why is the shipping so high anyways? is it wheels AND tires?
I once sent a set of wheels/tire from coast to coast and it was around $80

 

Wheels only. I paid $25 extra for insurance.

 

I'd still try to get full refund + Shipping.. try fedex ground they are cheapest and shouldn't cost more than $50 unless you're shipping across borders.

 

I saw go after him with both barrels after you first tell him your intended actions. Give him 24 hours to make it right.

Officially lodge a dispute with him with eBay and PayPal - it's not hard to do and is a very straightforward process. If you used a credit card on PayPal suspend the payment. Post his eBay name a profile here and also give him searing negative feedback. At this point, you have nothing to lose - you have his wheels. He, on the other hand, is assuming some risk since you still ultimately control his payment and his reputation on eBay

I can be very mean when I feel I've been cheated!

 

Thanks to everyone for riding this one out with me. It helps a lot.

I contacted PayPal. They told me I could file a dispute, which could take 30 days or more to resolve, not to mention all my time in providing them the necessary information. And they said shipping charges are typically not covered. So I'd eat the $140 I spent to get them to me, plus another $100+ to ship them back to the seller (if that's what it came to). I'd be out $250 and have no wheels, just for the principle of the thing.

I could request a larger refund from the seller ($100 would seem fair), but if he says "forget it," I'm back to the expensive disputation option.

What a mess.

 

That's exactly what you should have done. You can also report them to eBay as selling something that was "significantly not as described."

 

well other than the seller could be telling the truth and have some very bad driving habbits on the way home from the dealer, i think you will prolly have to eat this one i have bougt plenty of stuff of ebay and if they do not have ultra detailed pics i dont buy, just like buying a car my freind bought a car had it shiped from california to michigan and the thing was a bondo box even pictures lie but they at least help



ive also lost big on the net as well
ebay sais it refunds up to a certain point but was suprised at a full refund
they make you expect the worst sometimes but you get it back in full sometimes to so it could go either way, sorry i know i wasnt any help just wanted to share

later
chris

 

I would assume any new MINI on the showroom floor would have at least 3-4 miles on it. I think mine had 6 or 7 when I picked it up. So unless he drove through a gravel pit on the way home, which could have only been a couple of miles away, the "7 miles" claim is fraudulent.

The wheels aren't hammered, but by looking at them I'd guess they had a good 20k miles on them at least. And you can bet that my current wheels are going to look a lot better at 20k miles than these eBay wheels I bought...

 

If you file and they find the seller at fault, you shouldn't have to pay return shipping. He should or it ought to be part of the settlement. If you've got the time, go for it.

On the feedback issue, be warned if he hasn't left feedback for you yet, he probably will drop negative on you if you do it first. It's a little chancey but you can figure out when the last day you can put feedback in for the sale and wait until then. I say it's chancey because depending on how close you cut it you might lose your window of opportunity. (you can only leave feedback up to 60 days after the sale, I believe)

 

This reminds me of the days of buying Hotwheels on Ebay. The first thing you learn is mint is a matter of opinion. The problem with Ebay is if you leave negative feedback they will do it back to you so buyers just takes it up the *** so they can preserve the precious feedback rating. If Ebay gave you the option of fully describing the problem instead of one line it would give the person who got jipped a chance to fully describe what happened.

 

Yeah, I'm worried about the feedback thing because I don't do a lot of selling or buying. One bad review would be a major drop.

It would be one thing if our difference of opinion spanned from "excellent condition" to "very good condition," or "mint" to "excellent." But "nearly new with 7 miles" to "good condition with many thousands of miles" are hardly a simple difference in opinion.

Still not sure how to proceed...

 

Assuming all that you state, is accurate...

If the seller really had honor, he or she would offer to have them shipped back and refund your money, and at the very least, split the cost of shipping.

It's pretty clear that the seller is not honorable.

Ask them to explain the blue scratches. Or the myriad of other scratches.

Somehow I think the request will fall on deaf ears. Which leaves you with the offical dispute resolution options mentioned before in this thread.

Just as an FYI, I have bought everything from die cast cars, to actual cars on Ebay, and have had no problems.

 

interesting read ... having been involved with eBay for a long time (8000+ feedbacks) , I can chime in with some advice ... but would love to see some pics of those wheels first and the original listing ... you can PM me if you wish.

 

After reading through this thread, some of the discussion seems to be about how the seller of the wheels could've damaged them in "7 miles" or how hard he must've driven them.

But if you read through the comments posted from the seller, it sure sounds like he bought them as a third party and was just reselling them. He sounds like someone who might troll for "deals" and then post them at a mark-up (why else would he say he wouldn't even break even if he gave a $50 discount - these don't sound like add-on wheels, but OEM stock/no add'l cost wheels).

What I'm getting at - I wonder if he had another set of wheels that he took pics of and posted, and then sent another set that he was trying to unload? And I'd be he's done this before and he'd do it again. Can you search eBay to see all items a seller has sold before or has currently available? It'd be interesting if he used the SAME pics for another sale of those wheels.

Just my $.02 - I can be cynical at times

 

it doesn't matter if shipping was $1000 or free... the money is spent and you can only do what you can do to get as much back as possible... it's as simple as this:

step 1: explain your issue to the seller and offer a fair solution (ie % refund)
step 2: if seller refuses, dispute the charge with paypal and follow the procedure.
step 3: ask more questions on your next purchase on eBay.

i've traded on eBay since 1998 and out of over 750 transactions have had one issue like yours. you can't get hosed if you remember these two simple words: buyer beware. don't waste your time trying to find someone to lay blame upon for this problem... just follow the procedure that is in place for issues such as this and all will be solved.

worse comes to worse, sell the wheels and recoup as much as you can and chalk the rest up to a learning experience.

 

My opinion remains the same. File the dispute with paypal immediately. This doesn't preclude you from settling the matter outside of their system if the buyer offers you enough money. You can cancel the claim at any time.

A liar cannot ever be trusted - and this guy's shown his colors clearly. The longer you wait, the less likely you are to get a satisfactory outcome. Take the offensive.

BTW, despite your fears, my opinion is that you should leave a negative feedback for the guy regardless. He lied about the product. The only thing worse is not sending it at all. If the previous person he screwed over had left feedback you might not be in this situation now.

 

...and DEFINITELY leave appropriate feedback for this seller once all the dust settles. that's the only way that eBay will ever continue to work.

It would be great if you could post a link or the item number so we could all make an accurate assessment... i know you say you don't want to mess with this seller if he/she comes through with an amicable solution but if the seller makes good with you, it won't matter. if the seller doesn't make good, he/she gets what they deserve.

 

I'd definitely be interested in seeing the auction as well.

 

Here's the item number if anyone would like to look it up:

7999814560

The seller is not a heavy eBay-er, so I don't believe he's in the practice of buying items and flipping them.

He told me he bought the wheels for his MR-2 and they didn't fit.

And that the item description matches what he was told by the seller who sold them to him. Which to me is irrelevant: number one, because "this is what the guy I bought them from told me" doesn't absolve him from his responsibilities as a seller, and number two, anyone with any sense at all should be able to look at these wheels and recognize that they aren't "nearly new" and obviously have far more than 7 miles on them.

I don't know the seller's original intentions, but bottom line, what I received does not match the description of what I purchased.

 

I second that. Don't be worried about retaliatory feedback, it has been proven that those interested in your feedback rating will most likely look at the feedback given to both the seller and you and make a qualified decision based on all the facts they see. You can post a reply to the feedback that can give more info if their feedback is "hurtful." Just remember not to get emotional, give a factual response, don't berate the seller.

 

EBAY and PAYPAL typically side with the BUYER. As a SELLER, myself, I often get burned by shady buyers who are making false claims of item not recieved or fraudulent charges, etc. PAYPAL gives them back their money ASAP (including Shipping) and then tries to resolve the dispute. I have only once one such a battle and even then the guy had closed his account and so I could not get the money back that they had already taken from me and returned to this guy. He had my item and his money in FULL.

He has only sold a few items, so the threat of feedback and bad publicity most likely will not affect this guy. Some sellers, like myself need god feedback to maintain sales to "feed the family".

My advice, give him one last communication and opportunity to make good (No threats). Then go to Paypal and Ebay they have buyer protection policies. This guy will loose his account if he continues his ways and most importantly you should be able to reach a good resolution for yourself.

Not all Ebay sellers are scum. But this guy has only 2 feedbacks from buyers. That screams risk for such a high dollar item.

Good Luck.