Ebay refractometer curse

[Fish]

In five years of buying and selling on Ebay I have never had a problem - until I go to buy a refractometer.

The first one I bought an expensive "heavy duty" model, the kind made out of a solid piece of aluminum. When it arrived, I found that it did not have a scale at all, and the view was partially obscurred. The seller in the States was awesome and instantly refunded my entire payment + 25%. I sent the defective unit back to him but didn't order from him again because I was a little leary and just wanted a good old blue refractometer like the one I used to have (just because I knew it worked). I found and bought one from China, and after three weeks of waiting, I open the mail to find my new black "Brix meter" (for measuring sugar) instead of the blue "salinity refractometer" that I bid on. Arrrrrgh! This new seller apologized on behalf of their logistics department, then instruted me to mail the brix meter back to them (three weeks). They said that when they receive it, they will send me the correct item (another three weeks). I am tearing my hair out here.

So, as happy as I have been with shopping on Ebay... if you need a refractometer... buy local.

- Chad

[Richy44]

Purchased mine on eBay from Hong Kong on a Thursday afternoon, sent PayPal immediately and it showed up Tuesday morning.........lol was I surprised.

Yes it was a....get this.....a " REFAKTOMETER " :lol: :lol: Printed right on the case.. Direct translation I guess..

Rich..........

[Fish]

Actually I'm pretty sure that it's just my luck... no one else needs to worry.

Anyone know where I can get a good refaktometer?
Haha, I'm glad that it worked out that well for you.

- Chad

[Richy44]

Pm sent

Rich........

[Cameron]

Pay with credit cards on ebay and just make a charge back.

[Fish]

Rich,
Thanks for the info, I will keep that in mind for if I ever get this mess straightened out.

Cameron,
Does that still work if you use a credit card to make your paypal payment? Or only if it is directly to the seller? Is there a credit card company that is better for that sort of thing?
The reason I ask is, I contacted president's choice mastercard after the first bad refractometer and they gave me the runaround about how they have a warranty that would have covered the item if I broke it within the first 90 days; however, because it was defective from the seller, it was not eligible for that. I could not believe how backwards that seemed. They told me that if it was fraudulent or something I could do a charge back, but recommended that I work it out with the person I bought it from (fortunately the seller was awesome to deal with - but I was still very disappointed with the card company. I always assumed it provided more protection than that).

As a customer, I don't feel like I should be inconvenienced any further for a mistake that the seller is responsible for. I sent them a nasty email reminding them that we had entered into a contract. I paid for a salinity refractomer, and a salinity refractometer is what they are obligated to provide - regardless of whether or not they send me a brix meter or a shoe or a tennis racket or whatever, they still have to supply the item that the deal was for. I kinda drew my line in the sand and said I would send back their brix meter after I received the correct item and money for return shipping, or a full refund and money for return shipping. I am waiting to see what they decide but I am guessing that it will have to go through the paypal dispute process and I will end up being screwed out of the shipping cost or an administrative charge of some sort....

I would have been nice to be able to call the credit card company and be done with it.



- Chad

[Richy44]

That would make it FAR to easy for the Crooks out there. They could charge up anything on a credit card and do a charge back for no reason and poof.... “They got your stuff for free”. Unfortunate, but that is the way it is now.. Crooks make it very difficult in a lot of businesses. I am a Realtor and believe me, they are always thinking of an angle, that is what they do 24/7!

Rich..........

[Fish]

Rich,
You are right, I've met one or two crooks in my time and they do ruin it for the rest of us.
But I had heard stories before about how people reversed charges on their credit cards and was just wondering about what situations that would apply to.

- Chad

[Johnny Reefer]

... if you need a refractometer... buy local. ....
Just refractometers?....I don't know. ....Maybe I'm old and not with the times but I don't get this ebay thing. Maybe it works alot of the time, but sounds like it doesn't alot too. Wasn't there a limo issue lately with ebay also? Involved an expensive trip and all. I don't know. Call me old, but I usually like to see what I'm buying in front of me before I hand over the cash. JMO.

Cheers,

[Fish]

Mark,
Maybe it is karma coming back on me for not supporting local businesses as much as I should, but I do know that I have saved literally thousands of dollars over the years by shopping on the internet.
This refractometer debaucle has been a PITA, but it is not enough to change my mind about online shopping.

- Chad

[Richy44]

Ebay...now that is true international competition. I like that! Not some conjured up "forced" supply and demand BS that has become the norm here in Canada.

Yes the price is cheaper in the US, but if you add this that this that again plus this and that and this "It ends up the same anyways" So you may as well just buy it in Canada for double the price. .......................................bite lip.

Ok Rich...get off the soapbox.......Cheers

Richy............

[Delphinus]

I would guess the vast majority of ebayyers are a fairly honest bunch. The few times I've bought or sold on ebay it's been perfectly straightforward.

I have a few rants though..

1) Particularly more so lately than when it first came up, it's just hard to bid on an item anymore. With people sniping auctions or online agents or what. I'll think I'm happily at the top bid on an item for like a week or two, then suddenly get outbid in the last 30 seconds. Not cool.

2) Paypal. Man everything is just paypal this or paypal that these days. Argh! As a former victim of identity theft (hoo yeah, nothing like having collection agencies call you at 2 in the morning to verbally abuse you .. "Do you LIKE being negligent on your bills?" "For crying out loud it's 2AM AND YOU HAVE THE WRONG PEOPLE!" "Oh yeah right" .. :rolleyes:), I *refuse* to hand over my banking info over to a company that's based in a different country than where I live. And their little extortion tactic to force to me do so (ie. $1000 spending limit, doesn't matter if I pay the bills, it just goes down and down), is just incomprehensibly vile and offensive to me. It used to be the case that Canadians could get their coveted "validated" status by using a codeword on a CC statement, but not anymore. Well ... They can rot, if it was good enough for my friends to get validated that way, but not for me nowadays .. then they can take their service and stuff it. I just wish there was another way... I figure I'll have to sign up for a disposable bank account and sign over the info to that one to get my status. I just have to .. well you know .. actually go and do that some day.

Oh well. I do enjoy looking at some of the junk that goes up for sale on that site. Lots of cool stuff there.


Have you thought about checking J&L or Ocean Aquatics for a refractometer?

[Fish]

Tony,

I haven't had a problem with paypal yet but I guess that may change, depending on how they deal with this issue.
I have a lead right now on a new refractometer from a canreef member - that will probably be the safest way to go. I can feel Rich's frustration though - I too have seen drygoods before at the LFS or a Canadian site that were twice as much as what the same item cost online in the States. I don't know why it's that way, but I suspect there are legitimate reasons for it. I was tempted into the ebay purchases by the fact that I could get a refractometer from China, and after shipping it here and paying exchange, it was still way cheaper than buying a refractometer locally.
I know that supporting local business is important but I was never one to throw away money just for the sake of doing that. Maybe that's hurting myself in the end though; if all our LFS's dissapeared, it would be real tough to get livestock... I sure miss being able to stop at Big Als here in the South.

- Chad

[Richy44]

I just set up a separate visa and bank account strictly for Ebay purchases and the like. If they can scam my 1k go ahead but that is all they get...They dont get rich and doesnt break me. Havent had a problen yet...tap.tap. If I need more than 1K, I just tell the bank to up my limit for this one transaction only. Works great for me. Yes as a whole, it has been a very good experience for me.

Delphinus...do you play cards? You show your hand to early.:cry:

Figure what you want to pay and bid in the last 30 seconds..simple..thats it! That is the way it is done!

Snip a few of your own!:lol: :lol:

Rich..............

[Johnny Reefer]

.... Have you thought about checking J&L or Ocean Aquatics for a refractometer?
There ya go.

... by shopping on the internet.
I'm not against shopping on the internet. Heck, the first (and only, admittingly) time I shopped online was for a small clock from Mountain Equipment Co-op. I placed the order on a SATURDAY and the following Monday morning there was a knock on my door with said item. And this was before MEC was in Victoria and the closest outlet was Vancouver. Maybe this is small potatoes, but I was truly impressed and am surprised that I haven't shopped online since, ....although I intend to..., BUT...from reputable companies/vendors I trust. I'm not keen on giving out information when I'm not really sure who is getting that information or what they intend to do with it. Not sure it's worth it. JMO.

EDIT: I just don't understand the sophistication of the whole cyberspace/web thing and am reluctant to take risks as a result, which isn't such a bad thing, I suppose.

Cheers,

[Richy44]

You should never give your information to any vendor you dont know. That is why PayPal was created so Vendors dont have acess to your information. Most purchases through paypal and with your credit card are mostly insured anyways..

Rich........

[Johnny Reefer]

.... Most purchases through paypal and with your credit card are mostly insured anyways..
Key words being "Most" and "mostly" as opposed to "all". Enough to keep this skeptic skeptical. I suppose it's all relative, however. I mean,... given a choice between paying $49.99 to Johnny PawnBroker for a used corded 1/2" drill and $69.99 to Home Depot for a brand new one, well....I think I'd wish Johnny a good day and move on. There's risk everywhere. Just gotta use judgement :smile:.

Cheers,

[Richy44]

I like your attitude..:biggrin:

Rich.......

[Joe Reefer]

There's risk everywhere. Just gotta use judgement :smile:.

Cheers,

Right on the money! :smile:

[Fish]

Mark I agree totally. Risk management is the very reason that I use Paypal... first of all, it is the internet equivalent of your 'home depot' example. Secondly, it allows me to keep all my info in one place, shielded from any other buyer I deal with. If I could, I would use Paypal to pay for every real life purchase that I made too. It is not the "business" that is going to fraudulantly use your credit card info, it is the "person" behind the till. Everytime I eat at a restaurant, I lose sight of my card when the waitress takes it away. I don't usually know what that person's background is, how long they've worked there, if their disgruntled etc. I'd expect that paypal has stricter security controls than your average retailer because their reputation for security is what is worth the most to them. Even if they had the opportunity to steal a million dollars from me, that is a paltry sum to them and would not be worth the damage to their reputation.

- Chad

[Johnny Reefer]

Mark I agree totally. Risk management is the very reason that I use Paypal... first of all, it is the internet equivalent of your 'home depot' example. Secondly, it allows me to keep all my info in one place, shielded from any other buyer I deal with. If I could, I would use Paypal to pay for every real life purchase that I made too. It is not the "business" that is going to fraudulantly use your credit card info, it is the "person" behind the till. Everytime I eat at a restaurant, I lose sight of my card when the waitress takes it away. I don't usually know what that person's background is, how long they've worked there, if their disgruntled etc. I'd expect that paypal has stricter security controls than your average retailer because their reputation for security is what is worth the most to them. Even if they had the opportunity to steal a million dollars from me, that is a paltry sum to them and would not be worth the damage to their reputation.

- Chad
Well put, Chad. Makes sense.

Cheers,