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Little eBay trouble...

M

morf

Inactive
Feb 17, 2006
10,374
11
#1
Hey peeps,

So I won an auction for a G&K head amplifier on the bay, for about 1/3rd less than the original price. The seller agreed to talk to his mother about opening a PayPal account so that I could safely pay him (he is from Hungary I think?). Anyway it has now been over a week since his last email telling me he would contact me the next day so that I can pay him, I've since then sent him a few emails asking what was up, no answer.

The thing is I have a gig beginning January for which I need this amplifier. I was going to buy it new but at the last moment found this one used on eBay so I jumped on the occasion.

My problem, as you already probably guessed, is that I need the amp ASAP and my seller is AWOL.

What should I do? I haven't paid anything yet, so I could buy the amp new like I was planning to, but what happens if a week later the seller emails me for his money? Is it possible to "cancel" an auction, maybe paying him back the 2-3 euros it cost him to put it up on eBay?

For the record the auction was won almost 2 weeks before christmas and the seller had told me I would get my amp by then...

Any suggestion/advice appreciated
 
#2
Fart in his general direction, that always seems to work for you guys...

:D I jest.

I think there's an Ebay policy somewhere about this type of thing, something like the auction is void after 30 days of no contact or some such. I could be really wrong about that though.
 
#3
Yeah, problem is that I can't afford to wait that long, I have no way of getting another amp until then, and I can't afford to rent one.

I'm just saying, if I pay him back the ebay fees for his auction so he can put it back up for no cost, can he still legally make me pay his amp if he contacts me before the 30 days of no contact?
 
#6
The worst you'll get is a negative feedback if he comes looking for his money later. No one is going to "force you" to pay for the amp, or take you to court over it.

Advise eBay of the issues you had contacing the seller, and be prepared to show proof. You can also contact eBay, and they will give you the sellers phone number. Perhaps a phone call will expedite the transaction.

-Mike
 
#7
santucci218 said:
ill let you borrow my gk head if you let me borrow the conklin.
Click to expand...

But I need my Conklin for the gig :p

MJ5150 said:
The worst you'll get is a negative feedback if he comes looking for his money later. No one is going to "force you" to pay for the amp, or take you to court over it.

Advise eBay of the issues you had contacing the seller, and be prepared to show proof. You can also contact eBay, and they will give you the sellers phone number. Perhaps a phone call will expedite the transaction.

-Mike
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's a good idea I think I'll give him a call. I hope he speaks understandable English :ninja: He seemed young.
 
#11
I would contact Ebay customer support immediately and describe the situation. Leave out stuff that doesn't matter to them such as your January gig- just focus on the fact that the seller has failed to respond to multiple emails over a two-week period, and therefore you cannot complete the transaction.
 
#13
OK, thanks peeps I think I will wait it out till Friday just in case and place the order for the amp. Thomann's always gotten my stuff to me really quickly so I have a few extra days to spare.
 
#14
If he flakes out too bad I would probably just not pay him and risk the negative feedback for non-payment. That's about the worst that will happen. It's better than losing the $ if he flakes out on sending the amp.

Also +1 for contacting ebay. I think they have live support via phone and through live chat (AIM type interface) I would run it by them and document that you tried to contact him.
 
#20
Contact him one more time, explaining, you must have the amp by X date. If he doesn't get the ball rolling, then he loses out, and you bail on the auction because he was untimely and irresponsible. And keep record of your correspondences with him.


Oh, and I'd never rely on Ebay for something I "need". Something I want, sure of course, cuz if I get screwed I don't have my gigs affected by it. And if it comes broken with no time to get it repaired before your gig, you're really screwed.


However... if you want a backup guarantee.... does your store have a 30-day return policy? Buy the amp, and use it for the gig if the Ebay amp doesn't come in time.
 

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