My First eBay Adventure

Posted bykenneth 6 Comments on My First eBay Adventure


STEADICAM JR BRAND NEW (Fully Loaded)

Check out the other auctions, and I bet you won’t find one with ALL of the original parts.

Included with Auction:
– Steadicam JR with Black & White Monitor

– Two balancing weights
– Extra Plastic Pieces for Steadicam Frame
– ALL of the manuals
– 2 Camera Mounting Screws
– Short Video Cable
– Official Steadicam Training Tape Included (VHS)

Email me with any questions.
Please check my 100% Positive Feedback.
Item will be shipped promptly.

I am very prompt and courteous in the handling of all of my auction transactions.
I prefer to do business with those who pay promptly as well.
Please do not bid on this item if you are not able to pay for it upon completion of the auction.

S/H (flat fee): $25.00


Yay, I am now the proud owner of a Steadicam JR!  But the plot thickens…


—–Original Message via eBay—–
From: J
Sent: Saturday, April 22, 2006
To: Kenneth
Subject: Steadicam

Thanks for the quick payment, I will send it out first thing monday morning.

-J

—–Original Message—–

From: Kenneth
Sent: Thursday, April 27, 2006 3:46 PM
To: J
Subject: RE: Steadicam problem

J,

I actually just received the Steadicam with serial number 123110.  Thanks for the nice touches, like new batteries.

However, there’s actually a very big problem that I can’t overlook — the main housing is already cracked.  Since it’s the main arm (upper spar) that is damaged, it’s likely to just get worse with each use.  In the worst case, the counterweight arm may just break off and the camcorder will flip over violently, and the operator will most likely drop it on the ground.

In fact, looking back at your original post, it’s clear from your photo that the crack already existed, but you didn’t make any mention of it in your post, and I wouldn’t have thought to look for it since you said it was brand new.  I’ve attached some more photos to show you what I see.

Now, I’d like to give you the benefit of the doubt that you were not aware of this issue, but I’d also like to see this resolved more happily.  I’m potentially interested in getting this repaired, but that will probably cost $150 or more.  What do you suggest we do to resolve this?  I’d like to be able to leave some positive feedback, since this was an almost perfect transaction otherwise.  Please help me out here.  I’ll wait at least a day or two before I leave any feedback on eBay.

Thanks,
Kenneth

—–Original Message—–

From: Kenneth
Sent: Friday, April 28, 2006 4:14 PM
To: J
Subject: RE: Steadicam problem

J,
Just a reminder that I’d like to hear what you have to say about this matter before I leave any feedback on eBay or submit a dispute via PayPal.  As for a resolution, I’d be much happier to receive some money back so I can pay for the repairs than to have to return it and look for another unit.  I hope you are amenable to that.
Best,
Kenneth


—–Original Message via eBay—–

From: J
Sent: Tuesday, May 02, 2006
To: Kenneth
Subject: RE: Steadicam problem


That unit was not cracked when I sent it out. I never received any word about it. Please respond. I really don’t deserve the negative feedback. Please remove if possible.

-J

—–Original Message—–

From: J
Sent: Tuesday, May 02, 2006
To: Kenneth
Subject: RE: Steadicam problem

Hello,
This is the first I am hearing of this.  I have not looked at these emails until now.  If there was a problem, you should have contacted me through ebay.  I dont use this to coorespond with ebay people.  That unit was not cracked when it left my hands, I looked over the pictures with my wife and there is no sign of any cracking.  However, I am sorry it was dmaged along the way.

-J


—–Original Message—–
From: Kenneth
Sent: Tuesday, May 02, 2006 6:50 PM
To: J
Subject: RE: Steadicam problem

Hello J,
Thanks for writing back.  I’m sorry this is not the most convenient way to communicate.  I thought the eBay guidelines said that I should always try to discuss the matter with you directly before involving them.  Since I was provided with your email, it seemed the best way to get to you.  Otherwise, I would’ve been happy to communicate with you through ebay.  Again, I am not sure whether I should be sending this message to you by email or through ebay.  Please let me know by setting the example in the next correspondence.
Here is another photo comparison of your original pic vs. what I saw when I opened the box.  I know the crack is hard to see in your original photo because the photo is so small, but I believe it is quite clear when you know what you are looking for.  If this matter escalates, I am very confident that the arbitrators of this dispute will decide in my favor.


Now, if this still doesn’t make the truth of it clear, then please tell me what would help.  Really, J, I am not interested in ripping you off.  But I feel very disappointed that nobody realized this unit was damaged and shouldn’t have been marked as brand new.  I have a critical video project this weekend, and could really use a Steadicam for my work.
I will be straight up with you — I already got the unit repaired on my own because you were not responding to my emails, and I was getting desperate.  It has cost me a lot of time and effort to get this back into a usable shape.  So I am not all that interested in returning the unit to you for a full refund unless that is the only thing you are willing to do to resolve the issue.  I would prefer to be compensated for the time and effort I have spent, and since this was a specialty repair job, I think the $125 partial refund request I made through my PayPal claim is very reasonable.
I am also confused why eBay seems to be asking for me to pay for the unit all over again.  Did you reverse the charge?  I still have the email receipt which says the item was paid for.
J, I apologize if this is difficult for you also.  I did not anticipate any of this when I first bid for your item.  I promise you that if this resolves happily, I will be more than glad to withdraw the negative rating if I am allowed.  However, according to the eBay policies, I believe the comment remains permanently.  If this is not the case, I would also be happy to withdraw that if we can agree about a partial refund or some other satisfactory resolution.
Thanks,
Kenneth

Dear readers: Any tips from a seasoned eBay user about what went wrong with this transaction, and what’s the best I can do to resolve the issue?


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6 Comments

  1. Kenneth, I think you were put into a situation that was really affected by your time constraint to finish your video project.  The best thing would have been to not fix the steadicam and have the seller commit to refunding you a full amount.  It does seem like he was avoiding you for the most part and that would have worked into your favor to having ebay or paypal resolve your issue.  The pictures also clearly indicate the crack was there prior to the seller shipping the item out to you (he obviously lied).  I really hope that you get compensated for the time and money that you spent having the steadicam fixed.

  2. Sheesh.  This definitely sucks.  Everything on eBay I buy is a commodity (books, games, CD/DVDs, etc.)  I wouldn’t trust eBay with higher end stuff like your Steadicam for precisely the kind of interaction you mentioned – there’s so much variation in quality for these kinds of goods.

    Your case looks pretty straightforward, though, in terms of mis-advertising the product.  I’m interested in seeing how eBay resolves the situation for you ( and whether they’ll resolve it at all!)

  3. wow i am impressed by your negotiation skills and photo evidence…

    anyway my camera is an olympus c750uz. bought it summer 2003… kind of bulky (well not compared to really equipped cameras) but has 10x optical zoom.

  4. hey kenneth,

    sorry to hear about your ebay situation. it’s been over a month since you posted, so i’m assume that this got resolved already. if not, definitely email the guy and say that you are leaving negative feedback and initiating an investigation with Ebay. i recently had a seller through a different website send me incorrect items, and fortunately he was communicative. however, it wasn’t until i threatened with negative feedback, photoevidence, and a chargeback on my credit card that he finally agreed to return my money.

    anyway, i hope the issue has been resolved already and that it’s no longer on your mind. sorry about the difficulties you faced on ebay!

  5. Update to my first eBay adventure: The seller countered my claim, saying the unit was fine when it left his hands, even though the photos seem to indicate otherwise to me. PayPal gave me 10 days to provide more adequate evidence that the unit was in fact damaged (because a photo of a giant crack doesn’t quite cut it). Within those 10 days, I was unable to find a local repair shop that would even consider giving me an estimate for fixing a Steadicam. My claim was denied, the case was closed, and I dropped out of film school. Oh well. =[ Thanks to everyone who cared.

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