dicked by ebay/paypal/some fukker in santa cruz, CA -- help a brother out.

[Mustonen]

Bought a new fork ($450, brand new fox talas RLC) for my bike on ebay 3 weeks ago. contact w/ the seller was great until i actually made payment -- since then, not a word.

after 3 or 4 days w/ nothing i called up his user info on ebay, got the phone number and all -- phone's disconnected.

Sit around in frustration for a couple days, fire off a few more emails to the seller, still nothing.

So i do the whole complaint resolution rigamarole w/ paypal and ebay, they finally get back to me; say "sorry, looks like you got fukked, and the seller's at fault, but nothing we can do."

I also contacted the person he most recently did business w/ (just before me) to see if they can help me out. guy forwarded an email to his work address for me, but no response. the guy takes pity, gives me some more beta -- the seller works for Santa Cruz bicycles, lives in santa cruz (or aptos?)....and he gave me the seller's work email.

Went to the bank today, told them the story, and that I want my money back (done as an ACH through paypal, not w/ a CC, dumbass that I am. thank god i got "verified.") they started some kind of form and told me they'd try to get my money back (from paypal -- pigfukkers).

What other options do I have here? should i sue the seller? head out to CA and kick his ass? notify the police? what would maggots do?

[Alkasquawlik]

Me: 6'3", 205 lbs. Residence: Santa Cruz, CA. What can I do for you?

[Castro's]

Wow, that really sucks. I can't be of much help, but I had a situation somewhat similar where a dude sent me a damaged guitar that was supposed to be mint when I received it. I paid through Paypal with my Visa, but the Paypal dispute process seemed like a pain so I sent my contract I had with the dude to Visa and their claims department took care of everything for me. Paypal then suspended my account for not using their dispute process. Its just too bad we have to find out the hard way that Paypal's dispute process is a crock of shit. Good Luck man.

p.s. If I were you and had free time on my hands, I would go to Santa Cruz, scare the shit out of the guy either legally or otherwise and get my money back.

[Trackhead]

I'm on my way...........



http://www.snipershide.com/photoshoo...swatsniper.jpg

[3o3]

If the guy works for SC bikes and is selling new SC components on EBay, I'd be contacting somebody at the top of SC bikes and letting them know that you got screwed. The guy's probably jacking components and selling them. Maybe SC will help you out and then fire this creep.

[Mulletizer]

Originally posted by Mustonen
what would maggots do?

Can't help with your situation, sorry. It sounds as if it really sucks for you. I would, however, recommend to all who buy expensive stuff on ebay to either ensure they can pick it up in person or fork out the extra for COD. There are so many scam sellers on ebay, especially for premium bike parts.

[DaveTV]

I always use CC for PayPal - but I would contact his employer if u have his name - it is possible that he had a car accident or something..

[L7]

I thought ebay and/or paypal insured transactions to a certain amount. Probably wouldn't cover everything but some's better than none. Covered me for part of a deal I got hosed one but they did use a technacality to get out of a bigger portion. That was a couple of years ago. I agree in contacting higher ups at SC bikes. They generally frown on their guys floggin' gear on ebay.

[Rascal King]

www.paypalsucks.com

[splat]

Lots of devoted sympathy here. If you get the CEO's phone number, whatya think he'll do after a thousand phone calls from maggots?

Don't any of you guys (Cody) go threatening anyone........ Cops love to come after people that do that shit and I believe they have added powers for prosecution these days (*post 9/11).
Cody, shoot me your phone number down there.

[Will]

Other folks have offered reasonable and well thought out suggestions (and/or beat-downs), so here's something that might make you feel better.

This fellow was selling a powerbook on e-bay and realized someone was trying to scam him. So he took the scammer for a ride instead. Some buds from (what I can only suppose is) a computer geek forum helped him out.

The story is told in pdf, download it here.

http://easynetworknyc.com/powerbook/images/Keys1.jpg

[Mulletizer]

Originally posted by Will
This fellow was selling a powerbook on e-bay and realized someone was trying to scam him. So he took the scammer for a ride instead. Some buds from (what I can only suppose is) a computer geek forum helped him out.[/img]

Just read that whole account. Frickin' hilarious. Almost tempted to head down there to get my hair cut for the fun of it.

[G]

Originally posted by Mulletizer
Just read that whole account. Frickin' hilarious. Almost tempted to head down there to get my hair cut for the fun of it.

Go check the screen savers, and if they've been changed, set them to p-p-p-powerbook again.

[splat]

Buyers

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You must be willing to provide information during the investigation process. If we are unable to obtain the necessary information, your case may be cancelled without a refund.

[snowrider]

hahahahaha....computer nerds are cool!!

[powpig]

I got burned by an eBay seller back in January. Won an auction for the complete Monty Python 14 DVD set and next thing I knew, the seller was "no longer a registered user" and was ignoring my emails. I paid with a MO so no PayPal recourse for me.
I filed all the eBay fraud stuff and ended up getting my bid price minus $25 back. Far from satisfying, but better than nothing.

[DaveTV]

How long has it been since the auction closed. I have run into peeps who had a personal prob arise and things were made right eventually.

[FNG]

Yeah, you never know when you might need an emergancy vasectomy...

[bad_roo]

brownmonkey almost got burned with a Powerbook buy on ebay. He won the auction and agreed to pick up the laptop as it was only an hour or so away from him.

When he arrived, the guy selling seemed a very respectable family sort with a nice house and so on. No cause for alarm. Anyway, when monkey gets the Poewerbook home, he's sitting there fiddling with it, and being a nosy git, he decides to see what's in the recycle bin.

There are a few files of no interest and one spreadsheet titled 'Burglary'. He opens the spreadsheet and finds the Powerbookj listed among a bunch of domestic items 'stolen' in an apparent burglary.

He rings me up and asks for advice and I let him know that it sound like a fraudulent insurance claim. This could mean that he has no legal title to the Powerbook (it being the property of the insurance company). Being an evil bastard, all sorts of blackmail possibilities loom befiore my eyes, but monkey is a much nicer guy than me. He asks the advice of the police without getting too specific. They say that if the computer was never actually stolen, then he has legal title. If it was stolen and recovered, it's not his.

So he kept it. Apparently there are no ergisters of serial numbers of stolen Powerbooks if you need it serviced or anything like that. I'd still feel slightly dodgy about paying top market rate for a computer that had been reported stolen...

[dipstik]

Originally posted by Will
Other folks have offered reasonable and well thought out suggestions (and/or beat-downs), so here's something that might make you feel better.

This fellow was selling a powerbook on e-bay and realized someone was trying to scam him. So he took the scammer for a ride instead. Some buds from (what I can only suppose is) a computer geek forum helped him out.

The story is told in pdf, download it here.

http://easynetworknyc.com/powerbook/images/Keys1.jpg

Hilarious. I was kinda hoping for more of a climactic ending though....

[Arnold Babar]

Originally posted by 3o3
If the guy works for SC bikes and is selling new SC components on EBay, I'd be contacting somebody at the top of SC bikes and letting them know that you got screwed. The guy's probably jacking components and selling them. Maybe SC will help you out and then fire this creep.

I think there might be trouble at Santa Cruz. My friend ordered a Bullit months ago, still no delivery. I see SC bikes all over the place. The Bullit has become the ford f150 of mt. bikes, and this company still can't get it's stuff together Now I hear this?

[altagirl]

Months and months of wait time on Santa Cruz bikes has been pretty much standard for a long time now. It's insane.

My brother in law ordered one about a year and a half ago - the shop required that he pay when he placed the order. Said it would be 2 months. Then another month. A few more weeks... After waiting 5 months, we found him an identical bike sitting at a shop here in UT and said he should get his money back and we'd grab this one for him. Shop wouldn't give him his money back and just made him wait another month. It's a great bike, and now that he has it he's totally satisfied, but it blows me away how long people wait for them - after paying in advance, no less.

Great bikes though. I wanted a Heckler, but knowing their lack of reliability about delivery times ruled out ordering one - I'm not that patient. And as it turns out, my Yeti is awesome, and I got to deal with my favorite shop, so I have no regrets.

[snowsprite]

At least go in and give him a crap rating on the ebay. I did this when I guy scammed me and it was so funny...he came back and got all defensive. Ended up looking like a jack-hole. It aggravated him, but that's all it did. I never got what I ordered, or my money back.
Hope it works out better for ya!
Sprite

[Arnold Babar]

Originally posted by altagirl
Months and months of wait time on Santa Cruz bikes has been pretty much standard for a long time now. It's insane.

Lucky for my friend, I have a blown out knee, and he has my Balfa. it is outrageous how long he has been waiting.

[SLCFreshies]

I'd recommend the same. Either get a SC bike in stock, or get something else.

It's not the long delivery times that are most frustrating. It's that they're not honest about the wait. They always say "2 weeks," even though it could be from 2 weeks to 3 months.