Why I've never trusted ebay

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"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them."-John Wayne

I've never used ebay either.

Of course, ebay isn't the only way a guy could get ripped off.

Be careful out there.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

As an Ebay buyer and seller myself (albeit not a "Power Seller") I do have to say that as with anything, this really comes down to having some idea of what you are doing. I will be the first to admit that there are many shady folks around on Ebay who will scam folks just to make a buck BUT that is by no means limited strictly to Ebay. In the case of musical instruments for example, I've known people who've gotten scammed out of their hard earned money by more "traditional" music stores simply because they had no idea what they were doing, what they were buying or how much the item was actually worth and the sales person took advantage of it. Happens with those "Mom & Pop" music stores all the time...it's how they make their money. "Little Johnny" wants to learn how to play guitar so Dad goes to a local "music store" and buys Johnny a guitar. The guitar itself is some cheap, no-name $100 knock off and Dad ends up paying $250 or more for it. Of course if it's an electric, then Johnny also needs an amp so Dad spends $300 for a $70 "Gorilla" amp or something...you see my point.

I would also add that this same thing applies to "real" auctions as well. For example I was at a car auction a few years back and there was a Cadillac there that I was looking at....something like an '80 Coupe DeVille or something. Naturally, there were a number of "old men" all hunkered around this car and you could tell that each and every one of them was thinkin' "I'm gonna get me a Cady!". Well, on a very small piece of paper stuck to the back window there were some details that included that this car had a cracked engine block and of course, most of those old men never even looked at the info. In the auction, that car went for -over- $12,000...and it couldn't even be driven off the lot!!! Someone there got screwed BIG TIME! In this case, I'm sure the guy that won the auction probably tried to blame the auction house and everything else but what it came down to was his own simple greed and ingnorance...not that he EVER would have admitted that. Very simply people just don't like to take responsibility for their own actions.

Ebay (and other on line auction houses) can be a wonderful resource...I've gotten many really great deals over the years and in all of my transactions (both as a buyer and a seller) I've only gotten burned twice...once for a sound card for my PC (which was really my fault for not checking the sellers feedback which was virtually all negative) and once for a mixing board...and Ebay backed me up completely on that one so I got a full refund. Sure, it's easy to blame Ebay or the sellers, but that's not really the issue. The resources are there to ask questions and ask for more information (and or pictures) and it's not hard to check how reputable a given seller is by checking their feedback (not full proof, but very worthwhile).

Very simply here it's worth knowing what it is your buying. Know what is it worth and in the case of something like a used electric guitar, ask for pictures and/or verification and documentation. In the case of the OP's incident, he (she) could have asked for more pictures..The OP could have asked for pictures of the body, neck cavity and other things that would have provided specific Fender stamps & markings to indicate the authenticity of the instrument. Instead the OP assumed it was the genuine article, assumed the seller was honest and/or knew what they were selling (and many Ebay seller's often have no clue at all what they are selling...not everyone is an expert!) and as such, got burned. A potential buyer not doing the research or simply not knowing what they are buying is -NOT- the fault of Ebay. If a person doesn't do their homework in regards to something like this, the only person they really have to blame is their self.

Anyways, again as an Ebay buyer and seller, this was an issue I wanted to bring up. It's not really a matter of "trusting Ebay", it's simply a matter of being an intelligent and informed consumer.

Just my $.02 worth as always,
Jim

Naturally the European Union and United States have "reciprocity".

I rather suspect extradition is unlikely in this case, however...

- C

I suppose if it was a major operation and it was having a negative financial impact on Fender, then the seller would be in the poop..

Its like those knock off designer glasses you can buy from the stalls in certain touristy places in Italy- its illegal to buy I think but in all honesty- not much gets done about it..

In my country we have had a major nationwide music retailer (cd's and stuff) go under, illegal downloading had played a key part to the company's demise as read in the business section of the newspaper.. they were previously a monopoly untill 5 years ago. Now we have one music chain thats crap, and the rest is taken up by a chain similar to tesco or walmart- where they dont categorise their stuff at all. The key player now is itunes these days..

Now the government is working with ISP's here to put a stop to that by blocking illegal download sites as the industry is hurting from it.. I think its a good thing. A similar operation is underway in Queensland, Australia where they have blocked certain x-rated sites too..

I guess with this particular guitar- its just a case of buyer beware these days

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