I could use some group experience here. I bought a set of 16" stock 5-stars on eBay to use for winter wheels. They were advertised as "nearly new with less than seven miles on them." So they arrived today. Well, my 17" bullets with 3,000 miles on them are in far better shape than these "like new" 16" wheels with "7 miles on them!" My bullets have no nicks, no scrapes, no curb rash. Zero.

Every one one of these 16" wheels has a variety of nicks and scratches. One has some minor curb rash. One has blue paint scrapes! I'm not saying the wheels are trashed, but they in no way approach what I would consider "nearly new with less than seven miles on them."

This is my first significant eBay purchase and I'm a bit upset. Do I need cosmetically perfect wheels for winter? No. But I thought I bid on "like new" wheels and so expected to receive "like new" wheels.

For those of you who have actually seen takeoff (i.e. "7 miles on them") wheels, should I expect an assortment of bumps and bruises? And if not, do I have any recourse? I did email the seller to voice my complaints. Am I being unreasonable, or did I get hosed?

Not a pleasant first-time eBay buying experience for me...

 

to refund a significant amount of the price you paid... If you paid via paypal you should have the ability to dispute the purchase as not fitting the description the way the seller stated....

Don't settle for this - else they will get away with it, and screw someone else down the road.

Do not leave any feedback until you have this resolved to your satisfaction - you can not change the feedback after you offer it - you can only mutually retract feedback IF the seller also wants to retract it.

Go get them... 7 miles - Ha ! Sounds like a Dishonsest Seller

Good Luck

 

Unfortunatly it sounds like you got hosed, welcome to the club. You need to pay close attention to the descriptions. Saying they have only 7 miles on them implies they are like new but doesn't mean they are. If it doesnt specifically describe the condition such as mint, or pointing out all the flaws I would stay away from it.

Try getting you money back, you never know.

 

Yeah, unfortunately having paid $140 for shipping, I can't really ship them back and ask for a refund...

 

To me "like new" with "7 Miles on them" would mean in the same shape as when they rolled off the show room floor. Did they have pics of the wheels in the auction? Sometimes you have to look at pics of the items closely. Sorry to say it but it sounds like you got hosed.

 

7 miles....of autocrossing?

 

The actual description said, and I quote, "They are nearly new with less than seven miles on them." To me that means they should be as good or better than my 3,000 mile bullets, no?

 

Yes, there were photos, but your typical low-res eBay fare. No 6 megapixel raw files to blow up and examine, that's for sure. Though you'd think the blue paint would have shown up in the photos. Perhaps they weren't the actual wheels in the photos at all?

 

May have been photos of when the wheels really were "like new" with "only 7 miles on them"

 

Come on man !!! Do it - my last post here ....

Contact Pay Pal, your credit card whomever... lodge a complaint - contact the seller and tell them you are mad, dont tell us.

(Sorry it sounds that way) They need to know they purpetrated a fraud... Yes it looks like 7 miles of autocross and learning how to parallel park next to a curb...

Good Luck - Go get 'em, shipping and all !!!

 

Response from seller was essentially "sorry about that, I bought them from someone who told me they had 7 miles on them." Which of course doesn't absolve him from the fact their description was inaccurate when I purchased them. Anyone should be able to look at these wheels and realize they're not "nearly new" and that they obviously have far more mileage on them than 7 miles (which as Bumble78 pointed out, should be showroom floor condition). I guess I'll have to contact PayPal to examine my options unless the seller offers a partial refund.

I think this is the last high-shipping-cost item I'll purchase from eBay.

 

Sorry to hear ur purchase on ebay went wrong..

he probably got into an accident right off his dealer's lot
crashing, chipping, nicking, curbing his 4 wheels..
7 Miles eh?

 

Who was the seller? I bought a set of v-spokes a few months ago and went through the same thing. The description indicated the rims were nearly perfect with no curb rash and when I got them, they had curb rash out the wazoo.

However, I wasn't looking for a set of mint rims since I plan on sandblasting them and powdercoating them black anyway. I got them for a very good price, and since they served my purposes, I decided to let it go. Perhaps I should have fought it and given him negative feedback at least.

If it's the same seller, I'm sorry. I probably could have warned you about him.

 

Of course you should have left negative feedback! When would you do so, if not in that situation? Buyers are going to keep getting burned unless sellers are held accountable for screwing people.

 

I don't want to post the seller's name with the possibility he may try to make things right. Perhaps you could PM the name of your seller so I can see if it is indeed the same person. Thanks.

Before making the PayPal transfer, I emailed the seller and asked "since these wheels are "nearly new," I assume there is no curb rash, correct?" He didn't respond. Which legally means consent, no?

 

Certainly not. That doesn't matter though. By that point, you'd already agreed to buy them and shouldn't have been asking questions anyway.

Next time, ask for detailed pictures before buying. Yes, it sounds like the seller blatantly lied. File a dispute with paypal immediately. If you paid via credit card (as you should have) then call them to dispute the charge immediately after notifying paypal (even though paypal will tell you otherwise). When it's all over with, leave negative feedback for the seller.

 

There is a question of semantics here, I mean an '06 car that falls off the train is "nearly new". However it is not "like new"! That said I hope you can get some satisfaction from this seller.

 

By "make things right" you mean refund your money and go trolling for some other sucker with less knowledge or persistence? This person is a scam artist, even if he does scramble and backpedal when someone calls his bluff.

 

Sorry to hear about your problem, but how about posting a link to the eBay listing so we may all see the description and pictures that you saw? Maybe then we can all come to our own conclusions without you revealing the seller?

 

Well, no, that's not really the ideal solution I had in mind...

 

Since shipping them back makes little sense due to cost, what kind of discount would you ask of the seller? I paid $450 for the set shipped. Thoughts?

I want to try to work it out with the seller before filing a complaint with PayPal and going through that process. A full refund (with me returning the wheels) would cost the seller about $250 in total shipping costs.

 

A good idea, but the listing shows the seller's name. Here's an exact copy of the item description:
Which was accompanied with 5 photos (each 400x300 pixels), 4 wheels front straight view, 4 wheels front angle view, one wheel front straight view, one wheel back straight view, one closeup of stamped wheel specs.

The photos are too small and low-res to show minor cosmetic defects.

 

Ask the seller to pay for return shipping and ship it back. I got "hosed" before and I never buy used wheels without detailed pictures.

 

Not having seen the wheels and just based on your post. It does sound like you got a bad deal. But maybe the seller was telling you what he thought was true at the time. Some sellers do sell on behalf of other people. This is a sad situation and I'm sorry you're going thru all this.

Since shipping was very expensive and Paypay/Ebay is not going to force the seller to reimburse you the cost of shipping (even if you get a refund for wheels). That only leaves you with few options. 1) Ask seller to give you some money back due to item being in poor condition. 2) If you and seller can‘t come to an agreement… then file a fraud complaint with Paypal/Ebay and request there intervention into the matter.

Well, I did not see it mentioned anywhere that the wheels were in perfect condition, excellent condition or mint condition. It looks like you drew your own conclusions when you read “They are nearly new with less than seven miles”. Now don’t shoot the messenger! I’m only mentioning this because it will come up in the dispute if the seller doesn’t want to give you a decent refund. Not seeing the wheels and just going on your description I’d ask for 25-50% refund. But you’re the only one who’s actually seen the wheels so only you can answer that question. If shipping wan't so $$$ I'd say send them back without question

 

Yeah, the high shipping cost is what really complicates this issue.

The seller did not state the condition of the wheels in a traditional manner ("mint," "perfect," "fair," etc.). But I think it's reasonable for any buyer to assume that "almost new - 7 miles" means mint condition or nearly so.

As Squirlz says, a car could fall off a train and technically be called "almost new - 7 miles." But to sell the car in that state using that description would certainly be fraudulent.

When I bought my MINI new, it probably had 7 miles on the clock, and the wheels were "mint," "perfect," "almost new" (and, honestly, still are at 3000 miles). I expected the same (or reasonably close to it) from these eBay wheels and feel justified in doing so. Argh.