Topic: Am I being an eBay A-hole?

[B.O.X.N.I.F.E.]

I'll make this quick. This may be useful for anyone that requests a partial refund in the future. I just bought this bike on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140304082384&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWNX%3AIT&viewitem=

Auction described it as having no problems other than torn seat & missing luggage rack bolt (who cares??).

I asked detailed questions, if the bike had any other minor issues that would need attention before getting it ready to ride this summer. The answers was no, ready to hit the street. I saw the same picutres you're seeing. I expected a dirty bike that needed a carb rebuild and had been sitting for a while - faded paint, general gimeyness.

I get there and the first thing he lays on me is 'The front caliper is bad so I drained the fluid, you'll just need to rebuild it.' Ok, fine whatever. His shop is in a muddy field, and it's dark. I can't really do anything other than give it quick lookover and it looked mostly like I expected. Loaded up and left.

Get to a gas station, take a closer look. Only key is bent & cracked, and the tank is missing the rear rubber mount, so it flops around. Horn doesn't work (not a big deal).

I get home, and request a 61$ refund - 29$ for a caliper rebuild kit (I'll have to buy fluid too, not a biggie) 12$ for rear rubber, and 20$ for the last key in Little Rock (I called EVERYWHERE).

He rejected it and escelated the dispute to claim, says the bike was fine when it left his property. Is this considered minor stuff not worth mentioning in an auction? I thought I was being pretty reasonable, but you know what they say, 'buyer beware'.

[Duke McDukiedook]

That is why you don't want to mess with ebay if you don't have to.
Auction is a good way to dump crap on people.
With bikes of this age anything could be wrong with it, don't make this mistake in the future.

[B.O.X.N.I.F.E.]

Coming from a guy in Kansas, you lucky goons! I watched the papers here in Arkansas for 4 months and saw one early 70's 500 that was a parts bike at best. Slim pickins' down here!

[Slayer]

I would take it as a $61 learning experiment. It could have cost you much more but you are right, that is bull#$%*. I would only dispute if I had extra time on my hands and if he is an A hole.

[Duke McDukiedook]

Just lurk on Craigslist, you'll find some stuff but you'll have to do some driving.
Ebay can be a real joke.

[FunJimmy]

You've got a valid complaint!

His auction states "Everything on this bike works".

Your request for a partial refund isn't high enough in my opinion.
And that's coming from an ebayer with a 252 possitive feedback rating.

FJ

[73hutch]

if you're going to drop $1000  you should see it first. i know this might not have been an option.  i would buy a parts bike unseen. at the same time he should have obliged your request. leave him negative feedback. if the bike runs then your stoked, and that's the main thing...

[FunJimmy]

if you're going to drop $1000  you should see it first. i know this might not have been an option. 

It's not always an option. I purchased my bike 800 miles away from the Craigslist ad and pictures.
Had the bike shipped to my house and was lucky. You really trust these vendors, and some will get burned.

[UJM]

The seller did not represent the item as it was, I would report it to eBay at a minimum.

How about the rest of the bike?

Pretty good shape?

I've been burned before, I'll be burned again, it's all a part of what makes up who we are.

I hope I never stop trusting people......

Some have made that really really hard.

[Gordon]

I think your only real options are to return the bike for a full refund, or accept it as is.  You saw the bike before taking delivery, and you accepted it.  I'm not saying that the seller is right for not disclosing all the problems, but the correct thing to do would have been to refuse the sale completely when you saw the bike with the issues that were not previously noted.  Now that you've paid for it and accepted it, the burden is on you to prove that you are owed anything by the seller. 

[754]

I assume it was sold as is, correct me if that is not the case.

See, if you can get it running, worry more if the main part is good, easy to fix the little stuff, if you have a good runner, it has to be worth something..

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Just remember this..

 Ebay stuff never looks as good when you get it in your hands, as when you bid on it ...true at least 97% of the time..

[masonryman]

The part that gets me is the statement, everything works, when it obviously did not. The front brakes had no fluid in them, so they did not work.

It is not right, but if you are buy sight unseen you have to expect the worst and hope for the best, know what your limits are when you get there and be ready to walk away

mark

[Gordon]

The part that gets me is the statement, everything works, when it obviously did not. The front brakes had no fluid in them, so they did not work.

It is not right, but if you are buy sight unseen you have to expect the worst and hope for the best, know what your limits are when you get there and be ready to walk away

mark

But it wasn't "sight unseen".  He saw it, noticed unlisted problems, and still took it. 

Like I said before, I am in no way defending the actions of the seller, but as the customer, you're the one with the power to decide if it's a good deal or not before making it final. 

[754]

He may have paid for it or gave a deposit, before he got to see it.

it DID have brakefuid in it, the said he let it out, might have been to let it roll easier..

 I would worry more that it is not knocking, or burning lots of oil, that the little stuff..

[masonryman]

Yea, that is what I meant when I typed, "know what your limits are when you get there and be ready to walk away"

I bought a 1983 900 seca that was completely misrepresented, the owner said the bike had never been down and stuck to his story even when I called him out on it. two pieces  of the fairing had holes ground clear through and some pretty rough rash on the pipes.

I took the bike anyway I figured you don't get much for $500 and it was ridable.
I left no feed back, I still hav it if anyone wants a 1983 900 seca that has never been down but has no gauges or plastic

Mark

[Gordon]

He may have paid for it or gave a deposit, before he got to see it.

it DID have brakefuid in it, the said he let it out, might have been to let it roll easier..

 I would worry more that it is not knocking, or burning lots of oil, that the little stuff..

Regardless, it's still a helluva lot easier, and cheaper, for the customer to get a refund of his payment if he never accepts the merchandise to begin with. 

[stresssolutions]

I grew up about 40 miles from there, near Bedford.  Sidney had a fine rodeo.

Sorry you're having such problems

[B.O.X.N.I.F.E.]

I understand both sides you guys are making, but I especially did not like that he had messed with the bike after I paid for it (I paid in full through PayPal). He told me he had just bled them out so the brakes wouldn't lock. Refusing the bike wasn't an option, I had just driven 570 miles and rented a trailer. There was no way to see that or the missing tank rubbers from the pictures, even if they had been large.

It's not a 1K bike. But I can't curse him for it. He put up small pictures with little detail. That's my problem, not his. Buyer beware! But he said everything works, reassured me via email BEFORE I bid on the bike. He knew I was travelling a long distance, of course I wouldn't just say nevermind when I saw it. A lot of older folks I know wouldn't buy a darn thing off ebay and it makes sense, but younger guys like me have grown up with the internet and it's a legitimate market place. Shouldn't I expect the bike to be as promised, whether I got it out of the paper or through ebay? Either way he and I are going to meet face to face at some point.

The good news is it isn't junk. It runs rough (carbs are being reworked Tuesday), there's no serious oil leaks and the clutch isn't thrashed. The side covers are cherry too, which suprised me cause the tank is pretty tired. It has electronic ignition, which he didn't even seem to know about. The title was clear and so far there are no electrical gremlins of any kind. It's a solid 950$ bike, and would have cost more locally because there just aren't bikes like this around here. Trust me, I looked.

and honestly I trust Craigslist even less. At least I have some kind of recourse through PayPal, even if they deny my claim. That's more than I'd get with a handshake.

[754]

I will trade a brake problem( pretty well count on it needing a kit anyway).. for a thrown in electronic ignition...

any month of the year.. 

[Gordon]

and honestly I trust Craigslist even less. At least I have some kind of recourse through PayPal, even if they deny my claim. That's more than I'd get with a handshake.

At least with Craigslist it's typically a local sale, and you have cash in hand.  If you don't like what you see, you leave with the cash still in your hand, and the only thing you lost was your time.  Buying anything on ebay is a risk.  That risk increases with the amount you pay and the distance you travel. 

You absolutely should be able to expect what you were promised, but that doesn't change the fact that you should never take a salesman at his word.  It's always up to you to make sure you're getting a good deal. 

[Gordon]

I will trade a brake problem( pretty well count on it needing a kit anyway).. for a thrown in electronic ignition...

any month of the year.. 

+1

[eurban]

One observation here, and I think 754 is sort of saying the same thing. . . .You have purchased a 30+ year old bike that hasn't been restored or meticulously maintained.  Frankly it would be foolish to expect that the bike would be ready and safe for daily use.  Sooner or later every system on the bike will need to be checked over . . .nuts and bolts and cotter pins, tune up items, compression, carbs cleaned/rebuilt/adjusted, chain, tires, battery, steering head, swingarm, brakes, electrical system (contacts cleaned) etc etc.  You do not want to trust other peoples work and promises on a 30 year old machine.  To me it seems a bit naive to be worried about missing tank rubbers and a locked up front brakes and their associated costs when it is quite likely you will be spending a considerable amount of time and money working on areas you haven't yet imagined.  I am not saying that the seller shouldn't have been more honest and that he shouldn't be reprimanded, but that you really should consider the amount work and money  that your "new" machine will likely require . . .

[754]

+1

To me , running condition, on an old, has been sitting bike means it starts, and hopefully can be run a season without rebuild.
 The rest.. well you will have to go thorough it all, and you WILL have to spend money..

[bryanj]

OK my 2 cents, He stated a missing bolt thats neither hear nor there but neglected an unserviceable brake and unsafe gas tank. That to me is deliberate and needs hamering if poss, The Key is a nomater as nearly all keys that age would be cracked

[Duke McDukiedook]

Post negative feedback and beware the ebay.