Ebay users.

Caveat emptor. Be wary when buying big ticket items on Craisglist, ebay, etc....

Recourse? Probably not. Not in the way you might have if buying off a third party hosted on Amazon. Great condition is a very subjective term. You can't qualify it with numbers and compare what you think would be great condition to what another person does.

You might have recourse if... the seller stole money from you (multiple billings; stolen identity; etc...). You can try to get ebay involved. But it would likely be pulling your own teeth out for the next few weeks, onwards... if you want a satisfactory turn out on your complaint.

Thank you.

I have time to cancel. But I really want that vacuum. I have the exact same vacuum, but the motor is burning up. The company that makes the vacuum is out of business, and so I can't find a motor to replace the old one. It's a very expensive machine, and it's a shame to have to trash it because the motor has run its course. I should have purchased a couple motors at the time I bought the machine. It's a Water-matic Filter-magic.

Chai2 knows eBay. Maybe send her a PM.

Once in a while I'll shop for something on Ebay.

If it says in great condition and it isn't, the only recourse is to give the seller a bad review. I always check out their reviews before buying anything.

Look at the Sellers credentials.

Does he/she have good reviews? Customers satisfaction on products?

If this seller specializes in appliances, most likely you can rely on an accurate condition report.

Take note on shipping reviews. I once got a vase shipped in a box wrapped in a paper bag. Needless to say, it arrived in shards.

I am not certain, but I believe in some circumstances you may have some recourses. I suggest that you contact Ebay customer service department for more information. Ebay customer service has a toll free phone number where you can ask your question.

Ebay will guarantee things that are clearly not as advertised if you can't get satisfaction from the seller. Sellers are also very aware of their ratings and get very upset if someone gives them a negative comment. If your seller has a good rating from many users, you are probably fine. I buy on Ebay occasionally and have generally had good results.

Thanks everyone. The vacuum is no longer being manufactured. It's a Watermatic Filter Magic. They were quite expensive in their day. In the last few days, I've called so many places and people trying to hunt down a motor for it without success. So, yesterday I bid one dollar over the beginning bid. Today I got a call from a guy in Arizona who apologized for not promptly returning my call two days ago. He said he sold my brand of vacuum for twenty years, but now sells Filter Queens, which cost $3,400.00. He told me that he has a garage full of vacuums like mine, and would sell me the whole upper half of the machine for $129.00. That's like getting a brand new vacuum!

So now I'm wondering what to do about the one I bid for on ebay. Bidding closes in three hours and I'm to only bidder so far. Chai has informed me that people wait until the last few minutes before bidding. If someone doesn't bid higher than me (I went one dollar over the beginning bid) then I'm going to be stuck with it . . . UNLESS I just don't pay. Would that be too awfully unethical of me?

Yes and potentially illegal although I doubt anyone would come knocking on your door. You placed a bid in an auction. If it is the one that ends in three hours, you are still ahead.

Last night, two hours before the bidding ended, I called ebay. After waiting ten minutes for a representative, I finally got one. I told him that this was my first time ordering something online, and that I didn't see the "contact seller" notice on the page until after I made my bid, but that I did send the seller my question anyway concerning how many hours the motor had on it because the vacuum is no longer being manufactured and motors for them are no longer available.

He said he understood, and that he, too, would like to know why the seller would not answer my question. I asked him if I could be sued if I don't pay for the vacuum. He assured me that that's not going to happen, but that I will have a buyer's strike against me. He also said that it is more than likely that someone will bid a little higher before bidding ends anyway.

Well, I won the ******* bid. So I guess I'm going to have a buyer's strike against me. Yeah, I shouldn't have bid on a used machine like that, but until I got the call from the guy who has brand new upper motor housings with the motor for the price of just a new motor, I was kind of desperate, and fifty dollars plus fifty dollars for shipping was a steal, even if I only got a couple of years use from it before the motor goes bad.

The reason for my desire for this particular vacuum is that it has more power than other vacuums, and you don't have to buy filters.

Well, here I am...

The auction is over now, so maybe it's a moot point.

Glenn, if I were you, I would still reach out to the seller, and explain you were new at this and didn't understand. If I were the seller, I would tell you no problem, and cancel the sale, and just relist the item again with a new auction. It isn't a big deal for the seller to do that, and can create goodwill. You would need to get though to him before he ships though, obviously.

Just be nice to him, and politely ask. There's no fail like not trying.

If he agrees, make sure you don't get that black mark against you. In each Sellers profile, they can opt to block anyone from buying their stuff, if they have a certain number black mark. I don't allow them to buy from me if they do. Too risky.

I don't get why he didn't respond to you either. When someone messages me, I get a notificaton on my phone, and I can go in and check it out. But, who knows? Maybe he doesn't have a mobile app for ebay, and he didn't go in and check his messages. You have proof you messaged him, so he can't say he wasn't contacted.


You can retract a bid you made on an auction item under certain circumstances (below cut and pasted from ebay site)...

When you can retract a bid
You can retract a bid if:

The seller significantly changed the description of the item
You accidentally bid the wrong amount. For example, you meant to bid $20, not $200. In this case, enter the price you intended to bid as soon as you've retracted the incorrect bid
You can't reach the seller. For example, you sent the seller an email and it comes back undeliverable, or you tried calling the seller and the phone number doesn't work
Timing is also important when retracting a bid:

If there are 12 hours or more left before the listing ends, all of your bids can be retracted
If the listing is ending in less than 12 hours, you can retract your most recent bid if it's been less than an hour since you placed it. Any other bids can't be retracted, but you can contact the seller to see if they'll agree to cancel a bid for you

Sellers can get an undeserved bad rep with people wanting to buy something on ebay. It is really the case of one bad apple making everyone else look bad.

People who regularly sell on ebay zealously do what it takes to keep their good reputation.
I can attest to engineers comment that sellers get very upset over negative feedback.
It can cause us to lose our hard worked for seller status, which can lead to lost sales, all the way to being banned from selling on ebay. I am proud to have buyers see that I have 100% positive ratings, and am also a Power Seller.

Yes, there are some cheats out there, but overall, sellers want to give you a good product, get it to you quickly, and give you good service.

One other thing Glenn.

If you get the vacuum from your other source, and still receive this one and don't want it, you can sell it on ebay yourself.

It's already boxed up and ready to go.

Although I wouldn't auction it. Since you said the thing is worth lots of money, I would list it as a straight purchase for a least $200. $250 if you choose to give free shipping.

I just looked at the item you PM'd me about, and a couple of people are selling it for around that amount.

If it doesn't sell in the 30 days the listing goes for, just keep relisting it until it does. You could more than double your money. Worst case, a potential buyer might contact you and say they will give you a lesser amount and you agree, and you still come out ahead.

Thank you very much. I will pay the guy and try what you suggested. And since you are a seller, may I ask you if there is a fee to sell on ebay? This could turn into a nice profitable hobby.

By the way, I bought mine about 17 years ago, and it cost me $1500.00 minus the $300.00 I received for trading in my broken Rainbow vacuum, which I had for 18 years. Just before they stopped manufacturing them, they were around $3000.00, which I would never pay today for any vacuum.

Also, the guy did answer my question, but only after it had been twelve hours since I won the bid without paying him. I believe that the ebay representative I spoke with on the phone last night contacted him and told him about my complaining about him not answering my question.

He said:

Hello I am not sure how many hours it’s been in use because it was my fathers. It does not look like it’s been heavily used. In regards to tested, all I mean by that is that I’ve turned it on and i used it to make sure everything is functional. Let me know if you have any other questions. Thank you

Yeah, it is a nice profitable hobby. I'm retired now, but I also did this while I was employed. It's fun because I'm doing it because I want to, not because I have to. I'd be lying though if I said I'm not pleasantly surprised at how much it has grown.

Keep in mind though, when you are making money, you are actually running a business, and all that entails.

Yes, there is a percentage of the gross sales when you sell on ebay, and you also pay a percentage to paypal because you print your shipping labels through them.

After trail and error, I decided I didn't want to have to deal with all the variances of different ways to ship, so I've based my inventory almost exclusively on items that way less than a pound.

I'll tell you what though, I love the fact I'm at the post office dropping off my sales almost every day, and I especially love the days where I have 5 or 6 items to post.

You got me going now. And of course if I end up making a butt-load of money, I'll be sure to adhere to tax laws and such. *



*I'm not going to adhere to ****!

You would be issued a 1099 from paypay if you grossed sales of $20,000 AND had at least 200 sales.

Then $19,999.00 gross sales and 999 sales it will be.

I have to ask, is the vacuum you are buying any thing like the old Rainbow vacuum? I used to love my Rainbow.....but then number one son took the machine into the garage to vacuum the interior, forgot about it because he wanted to pull his car farther up the drive way and ran over the damn thing.

I used to have a Rainbow vacuum, too. I got it in 1988 I think. I paid $800.00 for it and used it for 17 years before black smoke started coming from it. Took it to town to where I remembered the regional manager for Rainbow sales had his office and training center for demonstrators. He was no longer in the Rainbow business. He told me he could fix my Rainbow, but said that I should consider buying a Water Matic Filter Magic vacuum that he was now in the business of selling. When he said he could fix my Rainbow, I said, "Good, cuz the blue has faded to almost nothing, and the rest of the colors don't quite reach the ground." He looked at me with a blank expression and then proceeded to demonstrate it for me.

It had more suction power, was all steel construction, and you never had to buy filters. And unlike the Rainbow, you didn't have to clean a water-separator with a toothbrush and fill the water reservoir with water to get it ready for use in an emergency. And he was going to give me $300.00 credit on the purchase if I turned my Rainbow over to him, which brought the price down to $1200.00 I hated to see it go. It was like my child. But I did it.

Of course, ever since then I have lived in fear of the day when out of nowhere that Rainbow would find its way back to me. I've envisioned that meeting and how it would go.

"Glennn, you son of a bitch. You abandoned me."

"No, Rainy, it's not like that at all."

"Bullshit ************. I was in the fuckin' room. I was RIGHT there!"

"Rainy, you don't understand. I was under a lot of pressure."

"What fuckin' pressure?"

"Could you tone down the profanity some, Rainy? That's some potty-mouth you've developed over the years."

"Potty mouth? Go **** yourself. After you abandoned me, that sales guy sold me to a dumbass broad with five kids and three dogs. When one of those fuckers **** on the floor--which was ALL the goddam time--guess who cleaned it up? That's right, yours truly! They didn't give a **** about me, but they gave me lots of **** to clean up. Now why don't you tell me about all the fuckin' pressure you were under the day you abandoned me."

"Well, if you will recall, it was just a few days before Christmas and I was going to have lots of guests. And that's when you malfunctioned. The parts you needed wouldn't have arrived until after Christmas. I had no choice."

"Yeah, well I got no choice either."

"Rainy! Put that gun away. Will killing me make you forget all about the years of all the dog and baby ****?"

"I don't know, Glennn. Let's find out."
_________________________________________________________________

That probably won't happen, but . . . what if?

You're lucky. Yours was run over by a car, and permanently disabled.