Bad online purchasing experiences?

anyone here come across a dishonest sale after having made a verbal agreement on a purchase of an item between you and the seller? i myself have been recently conned into making a purchase with the seller over a set, which was supposedly "available" to buy, to which i then proceeded to make the final arrangements for purchase. i flew out to East Malaysia (Kuching) in hopes that i will finally get to see what i wanted to bought, only to realise that the 'available' set was sold off to another customer - a week before my arrival. To add insult to injury, this "person" never had the balls to face me in person after having betrayed my trust.

Sorry to hear that. Did you lost any money such as deposit, except for the air ticket?

Wow .. thats some bad shit.

Trust is really hard to quantify between unknown persons especially thru the Internet.

Actually, there is virtually no trust at all between unknown people thru the Internet. It's actually based on luck. That is why buyer and seller must take steps to protect themselves.

runemaster wrote:Actually, there is virtually no trust at all between unknown people thru the Internet. It's actually based on luck. That is why buyer and seller must take steps to protect themselves.

Yes Bro,

I recently bought a subby (subwoofer) posted here based on 'trust' unfortunately just found out that the power on/off switch just 'pop out' of the housing/casing. So have to carefully assemble the delicate parts each time to switch on. , and just downright annoying.

I accept the fact that this part and parcel of online trading but I believe as fellow hobbyist, should have highlighted this to each other. May not cost much to fix eventually but it is just annoying to enjoy a purchase then finding out these glitches.

Another occasion was getting a KCAG (Kimber) with the paper labels inserted in plastic sleeve instead of proper imprint on plastic sleeve/inserts on the cable. Classic backyard handiwork, unfortunately, once u have dispensed with your hard-earned RM, it's painful.

Understood there were some complaints on him and has not been posting here and banned from another online service.

Anyway, hope we get less and less of these characters and enjoy our hi-fi/life

Cheers,

zeebee

I came to know of a case right here too. Buyer paid deposit for the item, half a day later, seller ungentlemanly and unethically gostan on the deal saying its supposed to be sold to someone else and insist on returning the deposit. Just prior or coincidentally on that day, by the buyer to view the item and decide purchase, the item advertised have no indication whatsoever that its reserved or else. Looking at the advert that very day, anyone can assume its still available. The advert was checked just an hour before the buyer went to meet the dealer.
Unethical seller!.. Deal concluded, deposit taken, and now seller goes back on his word...UNETHICAL!

Dear Alex,
Very sorry to hear of your bad experience, I hope you flew in to Kuching with other things to do & not just to get the set. I had similar experience but with local chap. At the promised time, he is not in, did not bother to let me know he is not in, when contacted, I was a bit annoyed naturally, he refuse to give another appointment, refuse to reserve the item (which I felt out of courtesy he should). The problem with internet contact is that these people gets away with not keeping their words... & there is no recourse for us... Having said that most other people meet & contacted thro the site are not only decent they are pleasant, except for the few who are otherwise.... Will you share details of your bad experience thro pm ? Hope we all could be more cautious in the future.

Very sorry to hear that Alex...what a waste on your Airfare and
Hotel Accomodation, and not counting your weekend off......

Hi Alex....

I sympathise the predicatment that you had to go through. We need to take extra caution when we go through this sort of deals.

My brother purchased some records from a local chap and when he received the items he was totally wrecked. THe advert indicated original "DECCA" records and what he received were some local pressed records.

Seller vaporised into thin air.

Cheers

drife wrote:zee: Classic backyard handiwork...totally agree. i just spotted a pair of speakers at another site. wow, the stickers look authentic n vintage, even more vintage than the cabinets.
clue: tall, yellow, dented tweeters...
anyone care to guess which speakers i'm referring to?

don't know...so which speakers?

But unlikely a floostanders would turn out to be a pair of bookshelves or vice-versa here right ?



But then again, "Made in U.S." could mean Made in United States, or Made in Ulu Selangor.

Is there a way to label these 'black sheep' here?

At the very minimum, it gives us an idea of who we are dealing with.

I don't mean the five star rating that ebay gives but maybe something simpler along those lines

Cheers

On another note, a positive rating should also be given for those sellers who are credible and can be trusted.

Something along the lines of of what "AudioGon" sites requires all seller and purchaser to input thier experience about each other during and after a transaction.

cheers

Also same goes with echo loft-buy / sell (singapore).
They will ask any member to report anything " out of the ordinary " (Deal gone bad) and from time to time, we will see people reporting
on the site of, beware of a certain Dealer or person (They will use
premise or street address as clue so as not to name the person or Dealer directly.

I once tried to buy a pair of speakers sellin for 2+K. The seller wanted me to bank in 50% first yet refused to give his address!! When i told him i'll pay full when collect the items he requested 10% booking fee and will only reveal his address after banking in ... naturally i refused.. and he's a regular in the forum..

maybe someone should provide some practise or steps to follow so that buyers and sellers can protect themselves.

Anyone?

Have purchased quite a fiar amount of HiFi equipment from the WEB and "touch wood" everything went perfect.

Even one seller requested me to audition his equipment before I purchase it. If it did not sound up to my expectations, no worries. A true gentleman.

Suppose we follow a simple rule of thumb - audition / view product at site before plonking the cash. Buyer / Seller happy that transaction did not go sore.

cheers

Any seller that insists on deposit before viewing should be avoided like the plague.

Whatever I have sold I always insist that the buyer audition it first. Because that's how I want it to be too if I was buying. That way, everyone is happy.

what if the product is somewhere you can;t be and you want that product? Viewing and auditioning will seem unlikely, right?

Assuming that the units are 2nd hand speakers or CDPs or amplifiers or TTs.
If the unit is at oversea, it is a huge problem because we cannot audit the actual unit on our own.
If there is any problem or damage after you receive the unit, it is extremely difficult for you to claim from the seller.
Thus, buying such 2nd hand things online from oversea seller is very risky.

Just my opinion.

Hmmmm...that's a tricky one.

The basic guide that i follow is something along these lines:

1. Get things from reputable site.
2. Buyer may want to read the feedback column of the seller.
3. A bit of snooping - email to buyers that have left a feedback about the seller. ( that being the positive & negative feedback )
4. View product online. ex photos / a short recording
5. Follow your instinct / gut feel. If something smells fishy drop the whole idea.
6. The last which is out of our control would be "LUCK".

cheers

cheelun wrote:Is there a way to label these 'black sheep' here?

At the very minimum, it gives us an idea of who we are dealing with.

I don't mean the five star rating that ebay gives but maybe something simpler along those lines

Cheers

i agree. we should come together as hi-fi enthusiasts and strike down at these crooks before other unsuspecting customers fall into that same trap. an idea: create a forum where we can post up names and phone numbers of the "criminals" who have done us wrong in the past. should i add that these "criminals" are very much still active here? it's about time we put a stop to this. All we want is that we protect ourselves and others from these low-life bastards and enjoy the fruits of our labor. Any ideas on how we should go about doing this?

alex_kff wrote:

cheelun wrote:Is there a way to label these 'black sheep' here?

At the very minimum, it gives us an idea of who we are dealing with.

I don't mean the five star rating that ebay gives but maybe something simpler along those lines

Cheers

i agree. we should come together as hi-fi enthusiasts and strike down at these crooks before other unsuspecting customers fall into that same trap. an idea: create a forum where we can post up names and phone numbers of the "criminals" who have done us wrong in the past. should i add that these "criminals" are very much still active here? it's about time we put a stop to this. All we want is that we protect ourselves and others from these low-life bastards and enjoy the fruits of our labor. Any ideas on how we should go about doing this?

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. Maybe you should lodge an official complain to the administrator of the platform that fella advertised to sell the item.

wingman wrote:Hmmmm...that's a tricky one.

The basic guide that i follow is something along these lines:

1. Get things from reputable site.
2. Buyer may want to read the feedback column of the seller.
3. A bit of snooping - email to buyers that have left a feedback about the seller. ( that being the positive & negative feedback )
4. View product online. ex photos / a short recording
5. Follow your instinct / gut feel. If something smells fishy drop the whole idea.
6. The last which is out of our control would be "LUCK".

cheers

Agreed on the number 6. Luck is indeed needed, no matter how much you can check on the guy, it doesn;t mean much as the person can always change and run away with your money

alex_kff wrote:

cheelun wrote:Is there a way to label these 'black sheep' here?

At the very minimum, it gives us an idea of who we are dealing with.

I don't mean the five star rating that ebay gives but maybe something simpler along those lines

Cheers

i agree. we should come together as hi-fi enthusiasts and strike down at these crooks before other unsuspecting customers fall into that same trap. an idea: create a forum where we can post up names and phone numbers of the "criminals" who have done us wrong in the past. should i add that these "criminals" are very much still active here? it's about time we put a stop to this. All we want is that we protect ourselves and others from these low-life bastards and enjoy the fruits of our labor. Any ideas on how we should go about doing this?

Sorry to hear that alex_kff. Deal went sour? Care to share? Interested to know who is that "active" member/s so that others can be warned...

I would like to highlight my experient with a problem i faced.

many month ago, there was this guy henry posted the Tannoy M4 speaker for sales. I called up and offer RMX amount, he said put me in the reserve list. almost 2 weeks later he sms me asked if i am still interested and I agreed at the price RMX+50m, then we fit a date to collect.

45 mins hour before I reached his house, he sms me said that he decided to sell to his friend. How can he did that, for a deal that is about to take place?

now, he posted the same speaker for sale again. here
https://www.hifi4sale.net/audio-video-equipment-for-sale-f1/tannoy-m4-speakers-used-t4116.htm

ERN2 wrote:I would like to highlight my experient with a problem i faced.

many month ago, there was this guy henry posted the Tannoy M4 speaker for sales. I called up and offer RMX amount, he said put me in the reserve list. almost 2 weeks later he sms me asked if i am still interested and I agreed at the price RMX+50m, then we fit a date to collect.

45 mins hour before I reached his house, he sms me said that he decided to sell to his friend. How can he did that, for a deal that is about to take place?

now, he posted the same speaker for sale again. here
https://www.hifi4sale.net/audio-video-equipment-for-sale-f1/tannoy-m4-speakers-used-t4116.htm

Did you put in any deposit? If no, then at least you didn;t lose anything.

runemaster wrote:

ERN2 wrote:I would like to highlight my experient with a problem i faced.

many month ago, there was this guy henry posted the Tannoy M4 speaker for sales. I called up and offer RMX amount, he said put me in the reserve list. almost 2 weeks later he sms me asked if i am still interested and I agreed at the price RMX+50m, then we fit a date to collect.

45 mins hour before I reached his house, he sms me said that he decided to sell to his friend. How can he did that, for a deal that is about to take place?

now, he posted the same speaker for sale again. here
https://www.hifi4sale.net/audio-video-equipment-for-sale-f1/tannoy-m4-speakers-used-t4116.htm

Did you put in any deposit? If no, then at least you didn;t lose anything.

I do not believe in paying deposits and collect the good later.
I only trust COD.
so in this case, ya I did not lost anything but the time and petrol on the car.

I have bought 3 items from hifi4sale, 1 AV amp, 1 CDP, 1 RCA interconnect and just last suturday a pair of whaferdale EVO2-30 spks.
Many items from lowyat and mudah.com, all together 14 2nd hand items worth more than RM10K mostly AV items, and all COD. Non have any problems with the seller.

only this tannoy m4 seller FFK.

Sorry to pour cold water, but if there's no deposit paid, technically, the seller can ffk last minute.

cheelun wrote:Sorry to pour cold water, but if there's no deposit paid, technically, the seller can ffk last minute.

practically he can, but it is inmoral.
trustworthyness?

if all the sellers act like him, and it happen to you?

I met a very good seller, he declined the 2nd potential buyer with higher price. He honored the lower price that he already agreed with the first buyer even the 1st buyer did not pay any deposit.

anyway, the ffk seller met his kamar.
He posted again the item mean his friend ffk lor. He ffk me and he got ffk by his friend.

maybe the story of his friend want to buy the item is just an execuse but want a higher price. who know.

To reneged on an agreement, technically does not put one on higher moral ground.

Very likely he wanted a higher price.

But in my opinion, to get a bad reputation for extra few hundred ringgit is not worth it lar ....

Who knows we might need to sell again to upgrade, if got bad reputation, the only way to sell is to trade in to dealer at a much lower price.

Classic case of penny wise, pound foolish

I am new here, still learning what is home HiFi.
I almost got my full set of equipment from here. I would say my luck so far is very good. All the people I deal with are gentlemen and honest people. A few thing I practice most of the time:
1. If the equipment is local, insist for an audit.
2. If it is from outstation or oversea, look back at his pass record and post. Newly join I wouldn't buy.
3. Ask for handphone all the time. Call and talk to him.
4. Ask for repair record if possible.
5. Pray hard to have lucky god on your side.

A minimum deposit to avoid a FFK issue from buyer is ok. Sometime, it is not easy being a seller too. Just speaking from seller's POV.

I had encountered few cases whereby the buyers actually try to get more discount out of the agreed price. Some of them thought that they have the upper hand in the deal since I drove all the way to meet them with the goods. I would not budge as it is akin to 'daylight robbery'.

There is a cse whereby the buyer lives abt 95km from my place. He insisted for COD and that he is very keen to buy the display panel. To cut story short, he FFK at the very last minute and did not turn up. He even switched off his hp. Sigh...

Sympathize the predicatment, either a buyer or seller.

Well, there are are people with similar charateristics from both sides if the "DIVIDE". It leaves a bad taste in the mouth but its a learning curve . Watch out for the tell tale signs.

OR is it a case of what you are buying / selling is much cheaper elsewhere.

A similar situation that i have encountered, a passive item was quoted 60% higher than what I bought from a "run of the mill shop".

It boils down to sheer luck, after you have taken all the precautions needed.

cheers