The Bad Shopping Experience Thread

[Bud]

Here it is, just got it two days ago, it was a Chinese item transaction:

'======
Dear friend,

Thanks for your purchase.
Have you received your item? Are you satisfied with it?
I'm writing to you because sometimes items may arrive ealier than usual.
And I'd like to tell you that if you have any problem, please feel free to contact us.
If you have received the item and satisfied with the product,we hope that you can leave 5 star for us.
If there is a little delay or you have any dissatisfaction, please feel free to contact us in advance before you left any feedback for us.

Actual delivery time can only be estimated but not guaranteed. We will try our best to find good solution for your problems.
Thanks very much for your understanding and cooperation in advance.

Best wishes and have a nice day!

Sincerely

Azure
Azure, Customer Support
'======

[Kjelt]

Ok, I couldn't resist to buy from Aliexpress again (some old retro computing 6581 SID chips). This time the chips arrived, but 1/3 of them where not working,

That is normall with very old ic,s the process was not very good in the old days and the chips are rotting from inside. You can,t expect the seller to test the ics because how could he?

[salfter]

Ok, I couldn't resist to buy from Aliexpress again (some old retro computing 6581 SID chips). This time the chips arrived, but 1/3 of them where not working,

That is normall with very old ic,s the process was not very good in the old days and the chips are rotting from inside. You can,t expect the seller to test the ics because how could he?

Huh? If that were the case, wouldn't devices built around those chips have mostly conked out by now? Usually when an old computer (for instance) isn't working, reseating socketed chips and/or replacing electrolytic capacitors will bring it back to life.

When designing an adapter to stick a Raspberry Pi into an Apple II, I almost went with a new-production WDC 6551 until someone posted to warn of some deviation in its behavior from older parts. I ended up using a NOS Rockwell 6551, obtained from some random US-based eBay seller...no issues after over 30 years on a shelf. If NOS parts are failing in large percentages, I'd suspect they weren't stored properly.

[flolic]

Another thumb down for "swle2000" ebay seller.

I bought some RJP4301 and RJP5001 IGBT transistors from him and they are fake.
Those transistors are used in photo flashes, they cut discharge current through xenon tube. Current is in a range of 150+ amps and original transistor is pushing the limits, not to mention fake ones...

Anyway, fake transistors lasted for only two flashes and then shorted out 
Original on the left (16mm2 silicon die), fake on the right (8mm2 silicon die)

[Porto]

I only buy from Ebay sellers, mostly from China/Hongkong and Taiwan. I search for the specific product and order from the cheapest
available with at least a few thousand positive feedback; so, if I order 10 things, it can be from 10 different sellers, I NEVER order everyting
from the same seller because he will pack it in one package and because of that I have more risk in paying tax duties. With 10 little
packages (box or bubblewrap envelope) I don't have that risk at all.

A package from these countries were never opened at customs. I once ordered for 20 bucks in the US and OFCOURSE they opened up the
package and taxed me for another 25 bucks! NEVER again!

Sometimes I don't receive an order in which case I file a complaint with the seller and they pay me back, in all of these cases the
refund was swift and 100% satisfactory.

In short, Ebay IS my (and your) best friend!

[Refrigerator]

I once ordered 10pcs 10x7 cm FR4 copper clad boards after about two months of patient waiting i started an eBay case, the seller, surprisingly, urged to give my money back  , really, two days after starting the case i had my money back, and after two more weeks my boards arrived ( yay ), being a good guy i refunded their refund back to them.
Just noticed this message from lotsgoods88 :

Dear "my name here",

Base on our radar system, our pigeon reported to us that he has already covered 50% of its journey of your item:

(400467549785 x2) 5 pair Amplifier Terminal Connector Binding Post Banana Plug Jack Mount LS4G


to your address:

"my adress here"

Should it not turn up on 2014-09-09, kindly give another 5 days, as occasional postal delay is possible.

And, if you still do not receive it by 2014-09-14, please let us know immediately, we will have to report to our Post Office and ensure you receive what you have paid for. Your patience is deeply appreciated.
(Notice: Since the air cargo capacity of China Post has been impacted due to a high volume of items, there might be a delayed shipment of some items.
So if unfortunately you haven't received the item within the expected time, please be patient and wait for some more days. Thanks for your kind understanding.)

If you have received your items:
Kindly ignore this email, our pigeon must have worked really hard to get your products delivered.

And it would be much appreciated if you could leave us Positive feedback for this transaction and we will do the same for your kindly supporting.

Should you receive a survey in 'My Messages' on eBay with 'How do you rate your experience with this seller', it would be much appreciated if you rate us a 9 or 10 if you feel it is deserved.

Thank you so much in advance.

If unfortunately you receive defective or wrong product(s):
Take it easy, simply write to us via 'eBay Message' and we will be glad to help you.

It would be much appreciated if you don't leave us any negative/neutral feedback or open a dispute on eBay/Paypal since we'll try the best to assist you to resolve the challenges.

Once again, thank you for giving us the opportunity to share with you our products. We strongly believe that quality, blended with excellent service, is the foundation for successful business.

Yours Faithfully Seller,
lotsgoods88

- lotsgoods88

Seems nice, surprising lack of chinglish to say the least.   

[Arlen moulton]

I had a terrible experience at maplin electronics I bought a mini drill and a box of bits and asked if the bits would fit the drill they didn't know so I asked if it was returnable but it was returnable in the original shrink rap I mean they don't even know whether their own stock will work and how are you supposed to try it if you can't return it without shrink rap and for all those Americans I don't think you can buy it over here

[jucole]

(Beware of polida2008 of ebay.  Still having 99.1%. )

I've bought stuff from polida 10 times or so and never had any problem.

I've bought some 40 or so items from Polida, and even requested some non listed items which were sourced and paid-for outside of Ebay with no problems.

[IO390]

eBay seller to watch out for...

Ordered this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/191261668159?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

a week and a half ago. Got a dispatch notice the next day with a tracking number. Tracking number was 19 digit, starting with JJD but no courier specified. I know those tracking numbers are for DHL/Yodel, tried both but nothing. So called them today and they couldn't find it anywhere on the system. Guess it's just a made up number, no reply from the seller... But that's ebay I guess 

[riverrat373]

I only buy from sellers that take Paypal and are located in the United States. 

[Richard Crowley]

I only buy from sellers that take Paypal and are located in the United States. 

That doesn't prevent them from lying and drop-shipping from some other part of the planet.

[mswhin63]

That doesn't prevent them from lying and drop-shipping from some other part of the planet.

Agreed, but at least there is an estimated shipping time which I use to formulate a refund if it is not adhered to. I also usually try to avoid wherever possible with sales that enormously long trading conditions. These are the one that can drop-ship.

[riverrat373]

I only buy from sellers that take Paypal and are located in the United States. 

That doesn't prevent them from lying and drop-shipping from some other part of the planet.

That's true, but if I don't get my money back for a defective part or a non-shipment, Paypal will refund my money and suspend the account of the no-account seller! 

[hopeANDhope]

Hello,

i ordered a hakko fx888d soldering station from ebay from a top rated seller, it arrived damaged the bottom(the base which is black colour)  of the product itself and the box (interior and exterior!)

I would like some advice how to handle it. I do not know what is the best series of actions , i want a soldering station but an undamaged one.

I have very little experience with ebay. Actions that  i took up to now:
1)I went to ebay website- > purchase history->contact seller->bla bla-> item is damaged.
2) I logged in to my email account and sent an email to the seller with photos of the damaged product and a letter of complaints. I asked a refund or if they could send me a new unit.

 I am waiting for seller's reply. I  think i will have to return the product since it is useless. But that will make my purchase process a lot more expensive, because  i will have to pay shipping costs. Shipping costs are around 26 british pounds (product price 76).That will defeat the purpose of buying at a reasonable price. It will make my whole purchase price: 76+26= 102 pounds. That is crazy expensive. Then i will have to rebuy a new unit from somebody ,let's say it costs 80 pounds, so i will end up paying for a stupid iron machine 102+80=182 pounds! That blows my budget. omg 

[PlainName]

Your location is set as Greece (didn't know anyone there could afford anything right now  ) but you talk in UKP. Your real location (as in delivery address) could be a big factor in this so maybe you could clear that up.

You are doing the right thing so far in contacting the seller, sending him photos and suggesting suitable courses for resolution. The sticky point is what to do with the old item - you will need to send that back regardless of whether the seller refunds or sends you a new one, and the issue is shipping cost.

If you were UK based then that's a non-issue since the seller would have to carry the can. The seller is also no doubt a business (I think you need to be one to become top-rated) so distance selling regulations come into play. However, if you are in Greece then I don't know the local regulations or how Ebay.gr look at it.

Now you wait for the seller, but not for too long. There is a timeout for escalating things which is around 30 days in the UK, maybe different for you. Ebay help pages will tell you what it is, though. Either the seller will resolve things to your satisfaction or you will approach this deadline without getting anywhere. In the latter case, which includes everything from the seller ignoring you to negotiations not producing fruit, you must escalate to Ebay before the deadline. Go to the resolution centre on Ebay and start a dispute.

Suppose you have to carry the cost of shipping this item back... that's one of the problems of international commerce, I'm afraid. But also one of the benefits of using Ebay (for the buyer). I believe that the default stance for many areas is, or will be changing to, the seller having to cover the cost of returns where it is his fault (and bad shipping is his fault). But that may not have rolled out for you yet, or may never (particularly if you get booted out of the EU!).

[cosmicray]

@ hopeANDhope

What country was the seller/shipper located in ?

[hopeANDhope]

@cosmicray

Hongkong

[hopeANDhope]

.... (particularly if you get booted out of the EU!).

1)Thanks for your feedback for ebay options. There is no such thing as ebay.gr as far as i know. I bought it from ebay.com.

2)No country will be kicked out...it would be hell for entire Europe would that happened. Thus, that's TV brainwashing...it sells, that's why it is in circulation on the media. It helps also some stock exchange gamblers recycling that rumour for profit. I wish i had a few millions to gamble as well 

[cosmicray]

I only buy from sellers that take Paypal and are located in the United States. 

That doesn't prevent them from lying and drop-shipping from some other part of the planet.

The item listing on eBay will clearly say "Item location". Many US sellers put "United States" in there rather than a specific city. Those I tend to avoid.

On another site, there is a seller selling electronic equipment/parts. He claims to be in Iceland. I believe he really is located there. Some percentage of his feedback indicates the item actually shipped from HK. Drop-shipping is something that none of the sites want to talk about.

[neslekkim]

Yeah, regarding USA..
http://www.ebay.com/itm/151441967747

Bought this book (lost mine years ago), and the dhl tracking i got says it's shipped from India.. wonder what I'm going to get.. damn.

[Richard Crowley]

I just got hornswaggled by Amazon, so it isn't just Ebay.
I bought two different small digital audio adapters.
I bought one analog to digital converter (SPDIF/TOSLINK)
And I also bought a couple of the other direction (digital to analog).
The two items were nearly identical, but the D/A gadget showed up in 2 days,
while the A/D gadgets will take 21 days from China.
Amazon never mentioned shipping from China, and even had the usual "click here to get delivery in 2 days" option.
I didn't use the "2 day" option because I didn't need it in 2 days, but I was expecting better than 21 days.

In fact exactly the same thing happened when I bought my Hakko soldering station (at the recommendation of people on this forum)
The station itself was delivered in 2-3 days as promised.
But I also ordered an assortment of "genuine Hakko" tips, including the ones recommended for SMD work.
Alas, the tip collection came from a vendor in China and it was essentially 21 day delivery.
No mention on the Amazon web page what comes from the other side of the planet and will take several weeks.
Of course, you could make the argument that even 21 days direct purchase from a Chinese vendor is orders of magniitude better than a decade ago, etc.
Back then unless you were a big-time importer you didn't even have access to any 3rd world vendors, or any kind of convenient ordering, etc.

[elgonzo]

I just got hornswaggled by Amazon, so it isn't just Ebay.
I bought two different small digital audio adapters.
I bought one analog to digital converter (SPDIF/TOSLINK)
And I also bought a couple of the other direction (digital to analog).
The two items were nearly identical, but the D/A gadget showed up in 2 days,
while the A/D gadgets will take 21 days from China.
Amazon never mentioned shipping from China, and even had the usual "click here to get delivery in 2 days" option.
I didn't use the "2 day" option because I didn't need it in 2 days, but I was expecting better than 21 days.

I don't know, but it sounds to me that you ordered from a seller in the Amazon Marketplace. Did you really order directly from Amazon?

[Richard Crowley]

I don't know, but it sounds to me that you ordered from a seller in the Amazon Marketplace. Did you really order directly from Amazon?

It says:  Eligible for Prime
"Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available."
"Want it tomorrow, Feb. 5? Order within 38 mins and choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details"

Does that sound like "Amazon Marketplace" to you?
Maybe I don't know what "Amazon Marketplace" means?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005DIRI6I/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[elgonzo]

It says:  Eligible for Prime
"Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available."
"Want it tomorrow, Feb. 5? Order within 38 mins and choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details"

Does that sound like "Amazon Marketplace" to you?
Maybe I don't know what "Amazon Marketplace" means?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005DIRI6I/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Holy shit. If it is eligible for Amazon Prime, it should indeed be directly from Amazon. Wow. That's bad...

[Kjelt]

Yeah you have to be carefull with amazon these days, always ordered from amazon Uk and got the stuff within a week no extra costs since it is europe.
Last december I ordered a bluray box for around €110 and it didn't arrive within a week. Looked again to see what is going on and it had to come from Australia. 
So I had to wait 30 days before getting it, then there was this "nice" customs declaration form I had to pay an additional €40 in duties