Ebay refractometer curse

[Fish]

In five years of buying and selling on Ebay I have never had a problem - until I go to buy a refractometer.

The first one I bought an expensive "heavy duty" model, the kind made out of a solid piece of aluminum. When it arrived, I found that it did not have a scale at all, and the view was partially obscurred. The seller in the States was awesome and instantly refunded my entire payment + 25%. I sent the defective unit back to him but didn't order from him again because I was a little leary and just wanted a good old blue refractometer like the one I used to have (just because I knew it worked). I found and bought one from China, and after three weeks of waiting, I open the mail to find my new black "Brix meter" (for measuring sugar) instead of the blue "salinity refractometer" that I bid on. Arrrrrgh! This new seller apologized on behalf of their logistics department, then instruted me to mail the brix meter back to them (three weeks). They said that when they receive it, they will send me the correct item (another three weeks). I am tearing my hair out here.

So, as happy as I have been with shopping on Ebay... if you need a refractometer... buy local.

- Chad

[Richy44]

Purchased mine on eBay from Hong Kong on a Thursday afternoon, sent PayPal immediately and it showed up Tuesday morning.........lol was I surprised.

Yes it was a....get this.....a " REFAKTOMETER " Printed right on the case.. Direct translation I guess..

Rich..........

[Fish]

Actually I'm pretty sure that it's just my luck... no one else needs to worry.

Anyone know where I can get a good refaktometer?
Haha, I'm glad that it worked out that well for you.

- Chad

[Richy44]

Pm sent

Rich........

[Cameron]

Pay with credit cards on ebay and just make a charge back.

[Fish]

Rich,
Thanks for the info, I will keep that in mind for if I ever get this mess straightened out.

Cameron,
Does that still work if you use a credit card to make your paypal payment? Or only if it is directly to the seller? Is there a credit card company that is better for that sort of thing?
The reason I ask is, I contacted president's choice mastercard after the first bad refractometer and they gave me the runaround about how they have a warranty that would have covered the item if I broke it within the first 90 days; however, because it was defective from the seller, it was not eligible for that. I could not believe how backwards that seemed. They told me that if it was fraudulent or something I could do a charge back, but recommended that I work it out with the person I bought it from (fortunately the seller was awesome to deal with - but I was still very disappointed with the card company. I always assumed it provided more protection than that).

As a customer, I don't feel like I should be inconvenienced any further for a mistake that the seller is responsible for. I sent them a nasty email reminding them that we had entered into a contract. I paid for a salinity refractomer, and a salinity refractometer is what they are obligated to provide - regardless of whether or not they send me a brix meter or a shoe or a tennis racket or whatever, they still have to supply the item that the deal was for. I kinda drew my line in the sand and said I would send back their brix meter after I received the correct item and money for return shipping, or a full refund and money for return shipping. I am waiting to see what they decide but I am guessing that it will have to go through the paypal dispute process and I will end up being screwed out of the shipping cost or an administrative charge of some sort....

I would have been nice to be able to call the credit card company and be done with it.



- Chad

[Richy44]

That would make it FAR to easy for the Crooks out there. They could charge up anything on a credit card and do a charge back for no reason and poof.... “They got your stuff for free”. Unfortunate, but that is the way it is now.. Crooks make it very difficult in a lot of businesses. I am a Realtor and believe me, they are always thinking of an angle, that is what they do 24/7!

Rich..........

[Fish]

Rich,
You are right, I've met one or two crooks in my time and they do ruin it for the rest of us.
But I had heard stories before about how people reversed charges on their credit cards and was just wondering about what situations that would apply to.

- Chad

[Johnny Reefer]

Originally Posted by Fish

... if you need a refractometer... buy local. ....

Just refractometers?....I don't know. ....Maybe I'm old and not with the times but I don't get this ebay thing. Maybe it works alot of the time, but sounds like it doesn't alot too. Wasn't there a limo issue lately with ebay also? Involved an expensive trip and all. I don't know. Call me old, but I usually like to see what I'm buying in front of me before I hand over the cash. JMO.

Cheers,

[Fish]

Mark,
Maybe it is karma coming back on me for not supporting local businesses as much as I should, but I do know that I have saved literally thousands of dollars over the years by shopping on the internet.
This refractometer debaucle has been a PITA, but it is not enough to change my mind about online shopping.

- Chad