[pk_volt]

I recently purchased a 280$ phone on ebay. The seller had really good reviews, though there were some negative ones. The phone said it was brand new in box.. blah blah blah.

I received it, and I could tell it was slightly used such as, a recorded video the phone, and various finger prints under the clear protective sticker. And most of all, it didn't come with the headphone jack, and the box was not even for the phone.

However, it worked fairly well for the first 2 weeks until last night, I charged up the phone for 12 hours, and to find out the screen goes blank when I try to turn it on.

It's a samsung blackjack II.

Right now, looking at the ebay feedbacks, it more or less looks like they were random generated and the feedback seemed to be circulatory.

I'm pretty sure I got fucked over, though the ebay ad did say it has warranty, but i have no clue how it's going to work.

What are your experiences?

[Chainblade]

ebay sucks. it's so easy to get scammed now. and ebay is just too difficult to get in contact with and they don't seem to care or it takes forever to even help you if they do. I will only use ebay now if I HAVE to.

craigslist ftw. the scammers are there but it's a lot easier since you are doing it locally.

you did get screwed though. it said it was new and it wasn't. contact the seller and see what they say. i'm sure they won't do anything as it is obvious it wasn't new. then try to contact ebay to get the process rolling on that. if you used paypal, you can contact them too (although they are an ebay company as well). maybe even report it to your credit card/bank that it's not a valid charge.

how much did you pay for that blackjack II?

[pk_volt]

i paid 280$ cnd + 35$ duty on it.

The ebay seller did offer a refund without the shipping charges, but I figured it wasn't worth the effort, mostly due to the duty, and it was partly my fault for being an idiot. The phone was pretty good though, though it was slightly used, but overall, it was ok, and considering the price was a lot cheaper than buying a fully new phone unlocked and whatnot.

as mentioned, the ebay ad did mention warranty, i have no clue how this is going to turn on, guess I'll try to file another dispute.

[mistawiskas]

Ebay, what better way to sell seconds and returned items?

[ivwshane]

Of the 30 or so transaction I have had on ebay (both as a seller and a buyer) since 99, I've had two bad transactions. The first one was when I was selling new ps2's and a bidder never paid (nothing was lost though). The second time was more recent, I was selling a phone (htc tilt 8925) and the winning bidder didn't pay and I ended up having to re-list it and sold it for less than the first auction. I couldn't give the buyer negative feedback but I did dispute it which suspended their account. The buyer later contacted me and we made an agreement to remove the stike if he paid the difference between what he won it for and what I eventually sold it for.
After removing the strike ebay charged me for the auction as if I sold it again! I was able to contact them and get it fully resolved. So again nothing lost.

I recently bought a new laptop battery as well from a good seller and it turned out to be defective, I contacted the seller looking for an exchange, none was available so they refunded me the money and said to keep the battery.

Just like craigs list you just have to be smart and really do your research on the sellers (not only looking at their feedback but also their previous listings).

Pk, if you have at&t then call this number to do a warranty exchange, 8008011101, as long as it's under a year they will send you out a refurb at no charge (refurbs look just like new phones in my experience).

[86mcss]

69 transactions since 2000 and not one problem. I have been really lucky when it comes to ebay.

[Scooby]

I try to avoid buying things like cell phones and other electronics that have a pretty high possibility of going bad from ebay as after a month or so it's unlikely they'll be helping you out with faulty products.

[Sparky]

I've only had one negative ebay transaction since 2003 and that was admittedly on a purchase that was sketchy to begin with. About 3 months ago I purchased potassium permanganate (don't ask ) in the form of fish tank cleaner. I originally ordered 2 bottles because it was a relatively good deal. Shipping took about two weeks and only one bottle arrived. I messaged the ebay store requesting a refund of the difference and they insisted on sending out another bottle against my request.

I received neither a refund or a second bottle and the store mysteriously vanished in a few days. At least it was only a $7 lesson. Hell, I bought a phone two years ago and I had no problems. I guess eBay is hit or miss.

[ivwshane]

If you are looking to buy electronics with a warranty then ebay probably isn't the best place to go.

[Juballharshaw]

Originally Posted by ivwshane

Pk, if you have at&t then call this number to do a warranty exchange, 8008011101, as long as it's under a year they will send you out a refurb at no charge (refurbs look just like new phones in my experience).

I can second the refurb phone bit. I bought a refurb Slvr in 05 that still works today as well as any phone that's been dropped at least once a day, soaked in coffee and dropped in a urinal would. (Plus, I think TheDarkSeed's Slvr was a refurb too and he didn't have any issues iirc.)

[mistawiskas]

"Refurbs" are a crap shoot. Sometimes, all they are is an open box item, sometimes just a small scratch and other times a RMA bad deal. So much is lumped under the "refurb" umbrella. Those monitors you guys send back because of a bad pixel or two? Yup....they end up as refurbs at a lower price and less warranty with a less than perfect expectation of the customers who buy them. That stuff has to get sold somehow. There are those companies that purposely sell off the lemons that way. stuff that should be scrapped or destroyed gets sold because there is a percentage of people who will not ask for a refund or do something that can be claimed as a warranty voiding act.

[ivwshane]

While that's true of stuff you buy on ebay my point was that at&t's refurbs aren't bad at all.

[TheDarkSeed]

Originally Posted by Juballharshaw

I can second the refurb phone bit. I bought a refurb Slvr in 05 that still works today as well as any phone that's been dropped at least once a day, soaked in coffee and dropped in a urinal would. (Plus, I think TheDarkSeed's Slvr was a refurb too and he didn't have any issues iirc.)

It was and it still works to this day, only issue I had with it was the mini usb port was getting a loose connection from using it more as an ipod than a phone.

[Ranger]

Originally Posted by pk_volt

i paid 280$ cnd + 35$ duty on it.

The ebay seller did offer a refund without the shipping charges, but I figured it wasn't worth the effort, mostly due to the duty, and it was partly my fault for being an idiot. The phone was pretty good though, though it was slightly used, but overall, it was ok, and considering the price was a lot cheaper than buying a fully new phone unlocked and whatnot.

as mentioned, the ebay ad did mention warranty, i have no clue how this is going to turn on, guess I'll try to file another dispute.

you act like you did something wrong, or that you deserve to take it up the ass for some reason

the contract was 280 for a new phone. if he didnt honor that, fuck him. get pay pal to refund your money, and if the guy is lucky maybe send back his phone.

you have every right to be pissed about the situation, and its in no way 'your fault' or any of that shit

[mistawiskas]

Originally Posted by Ranger

you act like you did something wrong, or that you deserve to take it up the ass for some reason

the contract was 280 for a new phone. if he didnt honor that, fuck him. get pay pal to refund your money, and if the guy is lucky maybe send back his phone.

you have every right to be pissed about the situation, and its in no way 'your fault' or any of that shit

I agree!

[Torx]

ive had nothing but good results from ebay buying.
i think ive had 30+ transactions so far, not much though.

[Jishory]

ive had about a hundred transactions with only a couple problems, im buying some stuff right now on there, even though its getting worse all the time there really isnt another place like it

[Bear]

As a seller, I've heard too many bullshit excuses like "Family emergency and I can't pay, sorry" or "Miscalculated my funds". I used to leave those assholes negative feedback for backing out. Now I simply label each auction as a serious bidder only and buyers that back-out will be reported and left with negative feedback.

As a buyer, I keep my purchases below a certain amount. I would say if it's $200 or more, I'll buy it somewhere reputable.

[pk_volt]

Well, they had a 7 day policy to refund your item. Today is the 7th day, and it happens to crap out on me!

I will file another dispute on paypal and see what will happen? What are your thoughts? The point is that something fucked up on the 6th day of use.

Could someone give me some insight as to what initiatives to take here? I'm really not good at this whole social engineering scheme.

[pk_volt]

well thought I'd give you my shitty update.

Seller decided that it'd be OK to ship the phone back to them and they would ship me a replacement phone. All said and done, I decided to go this route.

I spent 13$ to ship the item back to the seller without tracking information just so I could save 2$. Now I figure that the seller could potentially totally scam me saying they never received the phone in the first place. Even worst is that even if I escalate the dispute to paypal, they require a tracking number, which I can't even provide.

I just hate myself for being so fuck'n stupid. I really hope there are still some good people left in this world as I've tried my best in my part to do the same.