What's the worst thing you've bought from that auction site?

PS... if any forum member in Poland recognises this receiver as one they used to own, please get in touch - the UK police still have an open file  (and I still have a few choice words to impart to whoever shipped it to me)  

I do not use that site myself but and this is not about worst buy but rather worst sell ...

After upgrading my headphones I asked my son to put my old Grado RS-1 up for sale on that site and he got a buyer from Portugal.

Because he had done quite a lot of selling/buying he was able to send the well-packaged headphones via a central distribution hub in the UK for onwardtransport to the buyer.

All ok but then came a claim from the buyer that he had been misold ... he included a picture with our packaging but containing a cheap (i.e.£5) pair of plastic phones.

To keep a long story short, no idea who perpetrated this fraud but there was a hiatus where my son's PayPal account was frozen and debited with the amount paid ... but then the buyer didn't do something process-wise quite right and the claim failed.

So don't just beware of buying, beware of selling too.

Allan

rjstaines posted:

PS... if any forum member in Poland recognises this receiver as one they used to own, please get in touch - the UK police still have an open file  (and I still have a few choice words to impart to whoever shipped it to me)  

Roger - do you know the name of the person that sold it to you? I can have a look at the Polish auction site, to see if he's lurking somewhere....

Not too long ago I bought a NAT01 for £1000 which arrived looking a little ropey.  On examination the frequency controller appeared loose but the biggest concern was when I connected it up and turned it on a smoke came out of the PS.  The dealer refunded me but I was very concerned for a period of time not least because it was a 50th birthday present off my wife.  Put me of vintage gear for life and I got a NAT05XS instead

Adam Zielinski posted:

rjstaines posted:

PS... if any forum member in Poland recognises this receiver as one they used to own, please get in touch - the UK police still have an open file  (and I still have a few choice words to impart to whoever shipped it to me)  

Roger - do you know the name of the person that sold it to you? I can have a look at the Polish auction site, to see if he's lurking somewhere....

Thanks for your offer Adam.  After a nail-biting wait and Paypal talking to the UK police, my £800 was refunded and this gentleman's account was closed down... this all happened back in 2010, just before Christmas.  He may be back online, scamming folks, but I doubt using the same name.  Besides that, however, naming someone on a public forum could cause problems under UK law, since no legal case was ever brought so at the moment he's innocent (£800, it seems, is not enough to warrent an international investigation... well I see their point, I have to admit.)  

It's as a reult of this experience that I no longer offer any auction items outside the UK - you just have to be so careful these days, as Allan mentions.

rjstaines posted:

Adam Zielinski posted:

rjstaines posted:

PS... if any forum member in Poland recognises this receiver as one they used to own, please get in touch - the UK police still have an open file  (and I still have a few choice words to impart to whoever shipped it to me)  

Roger - do you know the name of the person that sold it to you? I can have a look at the Polish auction site, to see if he's lurking somewhere....

Thanks for your offer Adam.  After a nail-biting wait and Paypal talking to the UK police, my £800 was refunded and this gentleman's account was closed down... this all happened back in 2010, just before Christmas.  He may be back online, scamming folks, but I doubt using the same name.  Besides that, however, naming someone on a public forum could cause problems under UK law, since no legal case was ever brought so at the moment he's innocent (£800, it seems, is not enough to warrent an international investigation... well I see their point, I have to admit.)  

It's as a reult of this experience that I no longer offer any auction items outside the UK - you just have to be so careful these days, as Allan mentions.

Certainly. Glad you got your money back.

On a side note: starting my tests now with multiple 555PS. First in line is CDX2.2 + 555PS (non-DR).... will take a while to conclude this test.

Adam Zielinski 

 

On a side note: starting my tests now with multiple 555PS. First in line is CDX2.2 + 555PS (non-DR).... will take a while to conclude this test.

Adam, suggest you start a thread and post results,  in the meantime enjoy the process.. 

wenger2015 posted:

Adam Zielinski 

 

On a side note: starting my tests now with multiple 555PS. First in line is CDX2.2 + 555PS (non-DR).... will take a while to conclude this test.

Adam, suggest you start a thread and post results,  in the meantime enjoy the process.. 

That's the plan. Should be ready in a week or two.

Since we're on the subject of buying gear from online sites, there is a nice pair of SL2's on a well-known US site for sale that appear to be in excellent condition,  asking $5k USD. A demo would be unlikely because of distance and I've never heard a pair sing. Is there a price range one would expect on the UK market for a comparable pair? SL2's are hard to come by in the States and I would expect the price to be higher. I'm presently using a pair of Harbeth and was wondering how different would the SL2s sound as I could also upgrade to a larger Harbeth for around the same price...

aznblue posted:

Since we're on the subject of buying gear from online sites, there is a nice pair of SL2's on a well-known US site for sale that appear to be in excellent condition,  asking $5k USD. A demo would be unlikely because of distance and I've never heard a pair sing. Is there a price range one would expect on the UK market for a comparable pair? SL2's are hard to come by in the States and I would expect the price to be higher. I'm presently using a pair of Harbeth and was wondering how different would the SL2s sound as I could also upgrade to a larger Harbeth for around the same price...

A pair recently sold in the UK on a well known auction site for £1895

aznblue posted:

Since we're on the subject of buying gear from online sites, there is a nice pair of SL2's on a well-known US site for sale that appear to be in excellent condition,  asking $5k USD. A demo would be unlikely because of distance and I've never heard a pair sing. Is there a price range one would expect on the UK market for a comparable pair? SL2's are hard to come by in the States and I would expect the price to be higher. I'm presently using a pair of Harbeth and was wondering how different would the SL2s sound as I could also upgrade to a larger Harbeth for around the same price...

The SL2s are legit.  They are owned and offered by one of the owners of AVOptions - the only factory-authorized Naim repair and upgrade provider in the United States.  A search for "AVOptions" on the forum will show you how highly regarded the business is by US-based Naim owners. 

yep, the SL2 seller is indeed legit. a good guy to deal with.

aznblue posted:

Since we're on the subject of buying gear from online sites, there is a nice pair of SL2's on a well-known US site for sale that appear to be in excellent condition,  asking $5k USD. A demo would be unlikely because of distance and I've never heard a pair sing. Is there a price range one would expect on the UK market for a comparable pair? SL2's are hard to come by in the States and I would expect the price to be higher. I'm presently using a pair of Harbeth and was wondering how different would the SL2s sound as I could also upgrade to a larger Harbeth for around the same price...

Those are on Audiogon right. The owner is one of the co-owners of AVOptions the company that does upgrades and warrantee repair in the US for NAIM so it is very trustworthy source. I found them interesting, I just wonder if the SL2's still hold up with speakers currently on the market. I was looking in that price range and was leaning towards the SALK veracity HT2-TL transmission line speakers - but have to admit the SL2 are very tempting. It's too bad NAIM left the speaker business, they did have some interesting engineering and compelling sounding speakers over the years.

The SL2 is miles better than most current speakers, so long as you like their sound of course. I bought mine last year from a Naim dealer for £2,100 and they are nearly mint condition. 

I sold a previous pair on eBay once, and then the same pair reappeared three times over the following few months in scam auctions. People were posting on the Forum about it, and I'd have to contact eBay and get the auctions taken down. The scams did look most convincing and it's only by luck that someone wasn't taken in. 

I've sold lots on eBay other than the speakers, including a 252 and various power supplies. I'd never accept PayPal for a big item though, only cash on collection or a bank transfer if it's being posted, as dodgy buyers can do a PayPal charge back. I bought a 552 off eBay once, and paid for it with £8,000 of cash from a lovely guy who was selling his big system. All totally legit. 

I've bought and sold lots of various things on there over the years, you just have to be very careful.  Study the photo's carefully, ask lots of questions, check the language and grammar within the description etc.  It sounds silly, but if it's terribly written I avoid.  I also google the item and see if they've stolen the photos as there are several numpties who simply 'lift' photo's off other peoples adverts, and use them to sell their item when it's not in fact in the same condition.  That actually really annoys me.

Generally you can tell if the seller is respectable.  There are a lot of good sellers who provide excellent hifi gear as well as service, their adverts are professionally written, their photo's are nice and clear etc.  Personally i'd only buy hifi equipment off people like that especially if spending a lot of money.  I'd also ask a lot of questions before placing any bids. 

I did buy a hicap a while ago from a private seller and it arrived looking ok, but when I opened it up to inspect the internals (as I always do) there was signs of overheating by the plug and the wiring looks like it had been tinkered with.  I sent it back for a refund recommending that it be serviced by a pro.  It appeared a week later being sold by a different person, exactly the same item.  I emailed him and explained my previous findings and recommended the same work be carried out as I feared it could pose an electrical hazard.  Was it ever done?  Who knows.  

I have my eyes on a CDS3 XPS2 combo for under 1500 pounds on Craigslist. I must admit I don't have a solid feeling about this one, so I'm probably not buying this. I've tried to get the seller to send me a video of the gear working, but he doesn't want to do that.  Any advice here?

tef posted:

 Any advice here?

Yes. You have doubts so walk away.

C.

I was hoping someone might know the guy, or be the guy ;-)

tef posted:

I have my eyes on a CDS3 XPS2 combo for under 1500 pounds on Craigslist. I must admit I don't have a solid feeling about this one, so I'm probably not buying this. I've tried to get the seller to send me a video of the gear working, but he doesn't want to do that.  Any advice here?

 

Too cheap. Walk away.

tef posted:

I was hoping someone might know the guy, or be the guy ;-)

I paid Naim dealer price for used CDS3 and supply, for peace of mind. Easy. Wonderful sound too, from what I'm told may be Naim's best player.

C.

I bought some "beard oil" as a bit of a joke present for a friend.
It was described as "100ml oil, complete with a beard comb and pot of beard wax in an exclusive storage pouch".

Well, it arrived in a tiny little fake velvet pouch, had a microscopic comb, the 100ml which I was expecting was actually 10ml (I'd miss-read the description) and the beard wax probably about 10ml too... Still, it made the joke even funnier!