Not all sellers of wheels on E-Bay are FOS.

I sold my set of S-Lites on there and they WERE perfect! IMHO, the buyer got a hell of a deal for these. I even scrubbed the heck out of them so that no grease was on there when he got them (spent 1/2 - 1 hour on each wheel) <KRUD KUTTER is a miracle drug, btw!!!!>


But, look at the description of the seller. If they have ANY neg feedback, call them on it! And ask, ask, ask... any sort of question. If they don't come back for a few days, or even at all, that's a red flag.

The clue here is "7 miles"... who can even remember what they were doing with a new vehicle at "7" miles? Dealer or owner?

I've also bought a new set of wheels and tyres on there. Ended up with exactly what I needed So, use at your discretion

 

took a look at the auction... can't really tell if there is damage to the wheels or not and you can bet that the wheel shown by itself is the best of the four. take some pictures of the wheels you recieved and be prepared to produce them when and if you have to dispute the transaction.

so what's your plan?

 

Not sure what my next step is. I'm awaiting a response from eBay - I emailed their problem resolution dept. and basically told them that the transaction is disputable, but I don't know if it's in my best interests to do so because of the high shipping costs. I'll see how they respond.

I should take photos of all the flaws on the wheels and post them to see if you all feel I'm overreacting or am justified in my complaint.

I imagine I could take them to my local MINI dealer and have them take a look at the wheels and give me their opinion on the "nearly new - 7 miles" claim, just to have an uninvolved party's view. I'd love for the seller to see the bullets that are on my car now - which have 3,000 miles and are cosmetically perfect.

What a huge waste of time. Shoulda just gone with some cheap aftermarket wheels from TireRack for winter. This is what I get for wanting to stick with a factory look.

Again, thanks for all your feedback and expertise in dealing with this issue. I'll certainly not buy anything from eBay again that costs so much to ship.

 

you don't need to not buy stuff on eBay, just ask questions and cover your a$$. you'll be fine. thousands of people buy stuff on eBay every day without incident. we all make mistakes... chin-up!

 

Thats the problem right there. Your too afraid of a bad mark just like everyone else. The reason you got hosed it because the people that bid on his stuff before you did the same thing which made him appear to be a good seller. Now your going to do the same thing . It not so much the 100% that counts its whats in the comments that tells the story. If your not willing to do your part then I guess you got what you deserved and the seller will keep on ripping people off in a creative way.


As far as I'm concerned the only negative feedback that is of any concern is if they recieved payment but did not ship, improper description of item, or non paying bidder. Whats the worst he can say about you? Think about it.

 

I hate to say this, but I don't think the seller tried to scam you. One man's MINT is anothers SO SO ... sounds like some young kid.

What I would do .... take the $50 from the seller ... consider it a learning lesson ... and if you really don't want to use the wheels, relist them on eBay and try to get your money back that way (appropriate listing and good photos) ... and probably you will make some money off the shipping this way also.

And leave appropriate feedback to the original seller.

It's just too much of a loss to send the wheels back at your expense.

 

Mint means perfect, no flaws and its not a matter of opinion.

 

the seller did not actually say "mint" in his listing ... but you'd be surprised about the various meanings of the word ... especially on eBay.

when making major purchases there, always send some private messages to the seller inquiring further about their products.

 

The guy knows he's wrong and offers $50, I think you should make a counter offer.


His excuse of that's how they were described to him is very lame.

I would fight and leave bad feedback.


Paul

 

Thats what I'm saying, Ebay sellers seem to think mint is a gray area and is open to opinion. When they hose you and you complain then they say its your fault for not asking questions. Funny, I thought that was what the description was for. It all comes down to this. If you don't want to get hosed make sure the description is black and white with absolutly no possible implications. If something is used then it usually has some flaws which honest sellers point out up front.

LangunaSol, didn't you know that your supposed to ask the seller if there was any blue paint on them? Come on, 7 miles on them is a dead give away that your supposed to ask that. Just messing with ya, hope things work out.

 

I've had good and bad times with eBay, but the REALLY great one was last Fall when I was looking for some 15" wheels and tires for winter use. I picked up a brand new set of Continentals with the Panasport wheels for $235 total, shipped to my front door. They look so nice and ride so well that I found it real hard to take them off in the early summer and put the 16" runflats and wheels back on. The seller was not happy to get rid of them, but had switched out for 17" wheels and tires and his wife wanted the smaller set sold to get some much-needed garage space. His loss was TRULY my gain!

 

I've got mixed feelings after seeing the auction. Yes, he said they had 7 miles - which may or may not be true. He didn't make any claims as to the condition of the wheels though. He did post pictures, and the poor quality of them would have probably lead me to ask for either higher res images, or a statement of condition from the buyer.

I do see how one would assume they were in good condition. Technically though, they could have 7 miles and have been beaten up sitting around a garage. Things would be more clear-cut if he'd claimed they were mint or "like new".

I hope you can get this resolved to your satisfaction.

 

Bottom line is the guy says he bought them for his MR2 and they didn't fit. Which in my eyes means he viewed the product up close, and is not just reselling them to make a buck. If he wasn't out to screw someone, he would have modified the description from the original seller to reflect the true condition of the product (yes, I see it doesn't say anything that is clear to begin with). I would not bite the bullet as others suggest, that just encourages him to do it to someone else. You've gone this far what is an extra 50 or 100 dollar loss. And I definitely would post negative feedback with details.

 

OK folks, one more thing I ask in helping me evaluate this situation.

Have a look at photos I took of the wheels tonight. They are sitting right inside my front door where they were delivered. I haven't moved them, stacked them, etc. They are as they arrived. They were packed two to a box, stacked, with cardboard in between. It doesn't appear any of these defects are shipping-related.

In looking at the photos, please give me your personal opinion on 3 things:

1) would you consider these wheels to be in the condition of "nearly new with 7 miles on them" as described in the original eBay auction

2) if not, are they far enough away from "nearly new with 7 miles on them" to agree I have a legitimate dispute with the buyer

3) if yes to #2, is the dispute severe enough that I should pursue it, or should I just let it go.

Just trying to get a feel for whether I'm being overly demanding of this sale. I paid $439 for the wheels (shipped) if that has any impact.

Here's my flickr album:

Photos of wheels

(The bandwith limit may fill up fast...) It's hard to capture the flaws with a camera, but the photos should give you a pretty good idea of what I'm seeing.

Thanks again for all your assistance!

 

I didn't have that many scratches on my 2.5 year old S Lites when they were removed from my car.

They look to be poorly stored, moved around, and left unprotected in a shop for more than a couple years...

Or they were daily driver wheels (for FAR more than 7 miles...more like tens of thousands), nicely cleaned for a sale.

1. no

2. yes

3 yes, OR you could sell them yourself "as-is", and recoup as much as you would trying to get your money back minus the shipping... then leave appropriate feedback.

After reviewing the profile, the seller was not afraid to leave negative feedback in some other purchases that seller completed, nor should you.

 

Agree - it doesn't look like normal street usage. I think the 7 miles might be accurate. Unfortunately it looks like they were uncovered in a garage and someone moved them around quite a bit and perhaps even stored things like mitre saws on top of them...???

 

I think this issue is real simple. Someone who describes their wheels as having 7 miles on them is saying that they are like new, period. This means that the seller was either hoping that you would not notice or that he was negligent. He is at fault either way. So, what to do now?

Forget the full refund or getting your shipping money back. Your best bet is to negotiate a partial refund. You want to come across to the seller as being fair and reasonable. Do not get emotional. Stick with facts. I suggest citing other sales on NAM of like wheels (ones that are clearly used) as a bench mark for pricing purposes. Point out to the seller that his failure to be reasonable is in effect the same as selling his reputation for (X$). Does he value his reputation so cheaply? His willingness to refund something indicates that he views himself as being, at least, partially responsible. I think something around $125 to $150 is reasonable, but that is just a guess.
I would not be fazed by the threat of retaliation to a bad review. Most people on ebay can see through the dynamics of situations like this and realized that you were a victim. Remember, you can support your view, but the seller cannot support his.
Go for it.

 

<bump> Just trying to get some feedback on the condition of the wheels shown in the photos before approaching the seller again:

Photos of wheels

 

They look mint to me...I wouldn't pursue this. I would expect some scratches getting tires off.


I guess there is two sides to all stories. I would suggest you take this as a learning experience and since your standards are high request big pics before you buy anything. That way language doesn't paint a different pic for you.


Just my .02 cents.


Paul

 

They certainly don't look like they have only 7 miles to me. I would've also expected perfectly new wheels, not something with nicks, scratches and scuffs. I don't use e-bay so not sure about what you should do. However, I think you were hosed. The wheels are not as described.

 

i have the same wheels and from what i'm told, because there's no lip, it's difficult to mount or remove tires from them especially the runflats. some of the scratches look like they might have come from inexperienced removal of the previous tires. they certainly aren't mint.

that being said, i'm not convinced that you have much to argue since in the original auction he said they were 'nearly new' and mint was never mentioned.

here's a thought... if the seller actually thought he might be 'under-describing' the actual condition he might be responsive to an e-mail explaining your disatisfaction and offer of a %age refund. he might come clean and pay up... alternatively, if he thought 'nearly new' was actually accurate he might not bite. i think it's worth a try. just be diplomatic, non-emotional and, as it has been said before, stick to the facts.

 

I sold mine via Ebay after I put on about 150 and they looked spectacular with no nicks or scratches of any sort.
My car already had a couple miles on it as most new cars do, so 7 miles would sound to me like that is how he got them from the dealer. Either way, I would be annoyed too about all these nicks and scratches, and the seller should have pointed these nicks out in the auction. That is what is expected on ebay.
As for you situation, I would ride them as they are and leave him bad feedback. He should have left you positive feedback already since you paid quite some time back. But I think he knew what he was doing and is holding your feedback hostage to make you give him positive feedback.
If you are disillusioned about ebay because of this, (which you should not) why would you care about his feedback for you?
Go out and motor them and now you know you already have a few nicks.
H

 

1. NO!
2. Yes
3. Yes


There is absolutely any reason that you should accept this. I bought some 15" 7-hole wheels with over 1,000 miles on them and they were perfect and are still spotless, no nicks or curb rash and now have approximately 12,000 miles on them.

I think the sellor figured that you would not want to send them back due to the cost of shipping. Do whatever you can to get your money back, or at least a good portion of it back.

"Caveat emptor" The pictures of the wheels show them to be spotless, even the backs of the wheels were shinny and clean. The only closeup photo is of the back of the wheel showing nice shinny paint. In hindsight he obviously had the capacity to do closeups and chose not to n order to deceive. I would go thru the federal govt. for mail fraud and mis-representation.

Definitely leave honest comments as to the mis-representation of the condition of the wheels. Notice that he didn't have the ebay purchase of the wheels among the items listed in his recently purchased list.

 

I second this comment. About the wheel pics. I too bought a set of Holies w/ at least 500 miles on them. They were perfect w/ only one small scratch on one of the covers. I did a small stint at Sears and if the wheels were that messed up taking the tires off the owner should have had the shop pay to repair or relplace. I also think most of the marks look like poor storage w/ lots of stacking/moving around w/ a small mix of curbs. Just my .02, Paypal and Ebay both have dispute consoles, do both just to cover your ****.