Bloody ebay!

[RCMR]

I bid on and won an auction.

I went to PayPal and performed the payment.

The payment was listed as pending -- the seller needed to "claim" the funds.

A week later, and despite sending several messages to the seller, the payment was still "pending".

I waited a while longer and still the seller didn't respond or claim the funds.

I contacted ebay, they said just cancel the payment.

I did so.

Now the item was always sitting in my cart and appeared each time I went to check-out.

I emailed eBay and said "the seller defaulted (someone else had the exact same problem and also gave negative feedback), please remove this item from my purchases so it doesn't keep cluttering up my cart and the checkout.

eBay said "tough cheese, we can not/do not remove items from your purchase history".

But I didn't purchase the damned thing -- I *couldn't* purchase it because the seller seems to have done a runner and not even claimed the money.

So what the hell do you do?

It's a real pain having to delete this thing every time I want to by something -- only to have it resurface again.

Doesn't eBay care when a seller defaults?

What a shonky business!

[grumpydoc]

Ebay is notorious for random decisions by whichever customer services phone droid you happened to talk to. It might just be worth trying customer services again and seeing if you get someone with more clue/sympathy.

[benemorius]

It sounds like it will still be listed as a transaction waiting for payment. In this case, ebay requires the seller and buyer to agree to cancel the transaction. I assume you can initiate this process as the buyer, but I'm not sure what happens if the seller ignores that as well.

The ebay website is second-rate at best. It's really amazing to see such a big online presence that has such a terrible website.

[Chet T16]

Can't you mark it as being paid by chq/cash?

[Wuerstchenhund]

Try this:

Go to 'My Ebay' -> 'Purchase History', and in the list tick the box of the item you want disappear. Then go to the end of the list, where a button labelled 'Archive' should be located. Click it, and the item is pushed into archive, and should disappear from your Purchase History.

[Telequipment]

I remember buying a multimeter of e-bay a fluke 75, the seller said it worked the last time her husband used it, I don't think so, fuses missing, chard in one corner, anyway contacted e bay and they didn't really want to know, lesson learned.

[Fraser]

Just mark it as 'payment sent' and it will go away.

[bilko]

I remember buying a multimeter of e-bay a fluke 75, the seller said it worked the last time her husband used it, I don't think so, fuses missing, chard in one corner, anyway contacted e bay and they didn't really want to know, lesson learned.

I recently bought a GPS tracking device from a seller in China, needless to say it didn't work and didn't even contain any GPS capability whatsoever, again Ebay couldn't care less. They've really gone down the pan.

Buyer beware!!!

[lewis]

17 bucks for all that? I know GSM modems and GPS chipsets have come down in price, but clearly it's just a plastic box with nothing in it. Teardown?

[bilko]

A couple of pictures of the internals here.

Chips are
RF7168,
MT6223DA
AD6548(reject part) and K5L6631CAA.
None of these chips are capable of receiving a GPS signal.


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemVersion&view=all&item=130883356963&tid=780795081003&ssPageName=ADME:X:CPSSOSB:GB:1123

[Rasz]

add seller to ignore list, auction should vanish

I recently bought a GPS tracking device from a seller in China, needless to say it didn't work and didn't even contain any GPS capability whatsoever, again Ebay couldn't care less. They've really gone down the pan.

oh dear, you bought "GPS tracker" ( product name), not a tracker using GPS it clearly states in the auction that its using LBS (cell tower location service).
It goes thru chinese website where it reports name of the towers it can see, they correlate this data and estimate position. Just like Apple does with IPiecesofcrap and Wifi IDs.

[lewis]

Wow! There is something in it!

[bilko]

Erm...
Title says GPS Tracker
It has GPS emblazoned across the front.

Other items are that it says two way conversation, no earphone socket !!
Set and clear E-fence - no such facility
Instructions are for a totally different product.

This is just one example of Chinese SCAM operation, there are many more that Ebay chooses to ignore, but hey they don't pay their taxes either do they ?

[bilko]

Wow! There is something in it!

Yes, but it doesn't do anything except, sometimes flashes an LED.

I've a good mind to extract the firmware and check that it is not a covert surveillance device that the seller can access remotely.

[Rasz]

Nah it does what its supposed to do - gives you global (to some extend, it only works on GSM networks that support LBS) position
GPS is a brand name for this product, scammy? yes but it does provide position so its in the "should have read the small print" category.

btw in essence its this
http://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?p=3040

minus lcd and keyboard. All it does is log into GSM network, establish GPRS connection, send data to china (so it is spying on you ), chinese server sends back request for LBS info to that GSM network, and displays result on the WWW.

[bilko]

Nah it does what its supposed to do - gives you global (to some extend, it only works on GSM networks that support LBS) position
GPS is a brand name for this product, scammy? yes but it does provide position so its in the "should have read the small print" category.

btw in essence its this
http://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?p=3040

minus lcd and keyboard. All it does is log into GSM network, establish GPRS connection, send data to china (so it is spying on you ), chinese server sends back request for LBS info to that GSM network, and displays result on the WWW.

Sorry don't agree with you, its in the title "Real Time Mini GPS/GSM/GPRS Car Vehicle Tracker Tracking Device SMS/SOS"

I fully understand SMS position location, not much use other in a city location, rural, good for may be positional accuracy of 1000m 

Anyway, don't need to get protective about this device. You don't import/export them do you ? 

The thread is about Ebay and Ebay policy, Buyer Beware !
Lots of documented cases of Ebay's failure to regulate SCAM sales

[Rasz]

Sorry don't agree with you, its in the title "Real Time Mini GPS/GSM/GPRS Car Vehicle Tracker Tracking Device SMS/SOS"

I fully understand SMS position location, not much use other in a city location, rural, good for may be positional accuracy of 1000m 

Anyway, don't need to get protective about this device. You don't import/export them do you ? 

) I wish.
I just argue that the product is not a scam, Ebay seller that sold you this was scummy.
Btw real gps trackers with sirfstar receiver start at $30.

[SeanB]

Ebay and scam are often synonomous, but not all sellers are scammers. 

Just tonight collected a Sony camera from Gumtree. I actually do not really need another Sony camera, but it is a nice Cybershot DSC-W1. I wanted the accessories, 4 MS cards, 8M, 32M and 1G. Expensive to buy, and I needed a 32M for another camera. The rest is a bonus. Now have another 5mp camera, even though the display is slightly damaged. Cost $15 for the lot, just did not include the USB cable ( plenty around though) and included a pair of primary lithium AA cells in the camera.

[RCMR]

I recently bought a GPS tracking device from a seller in China, needless to say it didn't work and didn't even contain any GPS capability whatsoever, again Ebay couldn't care less. They've really gone down the pan.

Buyer beware!!!

EDIT:  after reading the next page of comments in this thread I see my reply (below) was redundant 

--

You have to be careful with these things -- sometimes they describe them as "GSM GPRS tracking devices" -- and with a casual glance you think "GPS" -- but it's not.

Apparently they can work in areas where triangulation is possible using the GSM signal but the accuracy (even if this does work) is crap.

Generally speaking, if it costs less than $40 then it's almost certainly going to be one of these GSM GPRS  *non* GPS trackers.