Ebay rant...

[RallyDarkstrike]

Has anybody else noticed that things are a lot shittier on Fleabay than they used to be?

I often have to buy used and new parts there for my computer repair side job. Everything has been great for YEARS with me having maybe 2 problems with items arriving damaged or the like, but in the last year, it seems every second thing I get is not as described or broken!

I have a lady whose Acer laptop has a bad display cable....ordered a new one from a retailer on Ebay. Two weeks later and it arrives and they sent me the wrong one.

I contacted Ebay doing the usual refund/returns thing and the seller sent me back a message saying it was MY fault and they were going to report me to Ebay for false claims! Yeah f***in' right! BUT, I got my refund...SO.....I ordered another from another seller. Another 2 weeks later (tonight), I carefully install the cable, put the entire laptop back together AGAIN, and....AWESOME! The screen is working perfectly now!

BUT...I am a computer tech....I know that the display cable is ALSO the webcam (and sometimes the mic) cable (though the mic is separate on this particular laptop)....SO.....I make a test call to somebody on Skype with it to make sure the mic and webcam are working correctly! Mic is perfect, loud and clear! BUT....the webcam doesn't work....AT ALL.

So, I open the Windows 10 Camera App - 'Camera not found, no cameras installed"

....ARGH. SO, I take the laptop apart AGAIN to make sure I plugged the camera in correctly, and find that I DID....I made no mistakes! BUT....

Oh, what's this? The cable near the webcam plug is ripped slightly and I can see some tiny broken webcam cable wires?

Wonderful! Another part I have been sent that is damaged on arrival! Another refund request sent in to Ebay and now my client has to wait ANOTHER two weeks to get her laptop back....

(for reference, that webcam cable in the picture is about 1/4 a pinky finger wide, so pretty tiny)

I know I didn't damage it because I've done this literally hundreds of times, including many times on this model series of Acer and reinstalling a display cable in this machine puts no strain on it because you're literally just laying it back in place across the back of the screen, taping it in place and then running the lower end in guides it rests within in the plastic along to the left hinge. Nor do I have any reason to have anything whatsoever near it that is sharp...

grumbles

***END RANT

[facw]

@rallydarkstrike I rarely buy on ebay, but definitely I'm returning a lot more stuff to Amazon these days (currently waiting to go back: a "new" ski helmet that's from 2018 in packaging that's clearly been opened). The last computer thing I bought from a third-party seller was a proprietary SATA cable for a Thinkpad and that was fine. Of course before that was a whole computer that claimed to be quad core when it was dual core (I noticed that prior to ordering) and also claimed to have built-in wifi and bluetooth but actually just came with a no-name USB that didn't support bluetooth at all.

[Chariotoflove]

@rallydarkstrike
I only buy stuff on eBay when I can’t easily get it elsewhere because I fear what you’re experiencing.

[RallyDarkstrike]

@facw I've had to do the same more often on Amazon as well lately, I feel....

[RallyDarkstrike]

@chariotoflove The problem with used parts is there really isn't anywhere else to get anything for a reasonable price...

[kiltedpadre]

@rallydarkstrike I haven’t bought through eBay in ages, but I recently ordered a card game through there. It’s discontinued so eBay was the only reasonable option.

I chose an item which listed free 4 day shipping with an estimated delivery date of; yesterday.
I got an email two days ago saying “Congratulations your item has shipped and will arrive Saturday.” Then today I get an email “Congratulations your item has shipped and will arrive Tuesday.”
Now we wait to see when it actually arrives and whether I accidentally get two. I have verified I was only charged once.

I’ve had a few shitty experiences as a seller in the past thanks to horrible buyers that had soured me on the place before too.

[Manwich]

@rallydarkstrike

I have known that ebay has sucked for a long time ever since looking for a fast proceccor that would work with an older motherboard.

The experience was filled with fake bidders that would outbid me 1 second after I put in a bid... and then at the end of the auction, all the bidders that out-bid me magically disappeared... Fuck You Mr. Fake Bidding Seller.

And on top of that, EBay had some fucked up bad communication with Canada post where you'd pay for shipping for Canada Post on Ebay, but Canada Post wouldn't have any record of it and would want payment again.

Ebay is only a place of last resort to me... only if I can't find something anywhere else.

[Manwich]

@rallydarkstrike said in Ebay rant...:

@chariotoflove The problem with used parts is there really isn't anywhere else to get anything for a reasonable price...

Craigslist is a far better option... or in Canada, Kijiji.

[Chariotoflove]

@rallydarkstrike said in Ebay rant...:

@chariotoflove The problem with used parts is there really isn't anywhere else to get anything for a reasonable price...

Alas, that’s the principle behind the forced upgrade cycle makers promote. ️

[ibRAD]

@manwich said in Ebay rant...:

The experience was filled with fake bidders that would outbid me 1 second after I put in a bid... and then at the end of the auction, all the bidders that out-bid me magically disappeared... Fuck You Mr. Fake Bidding Seller.

I thought auto-bid was a feature. You put in your max bid and ebay automatically increments your bid if someone else bids higher.

[sony1492]

@rallydarkstrike Ebay as a site has been good to me about refunds, I prefer it to Amazon because there's a closer line between you and the business.

Perhaps electronic parts are in decline.

Food for thought: Automotive replacement parts that you might get at a bodyshop (door shell, quarter panel, roof, etc.) Are said to be manufacturer defect parts that never got to a car. Brand new parts will be lacking seam sealer and/or have spot weld holes in the wrong places. It would be unsurprising if computer parts followed a similar pipeline among certain retailers.

[Manwich]

@ibrad said in Ebay rant...:

I thought auto-bid was a feature.

Yeah and it's bullshit if the people doing the autobid aren't required to pay up when they autobid something to the moon and then fuck off without consquences.

At the very least, the accounts used for that should be suspended or deleted.

But Ebay won't do that because they profit from the bullshit.

So I say fuck 'em. I'll take my business anywhere else.

[pip bip]

@rallydarkstrike yeah it does seem to be more shitty than usual

[RallyDarkstrike]

@kiltedpadre That happened to me the other week sortof....ordered a part for a computer by putting in an offer. I then decided, I'll just do 'buy it now' because I need it ASAP and didn't want to wait another day until the seller replied to my offer, so I bought it with 'buy it now'.

.....then the seller accepted my offer, so I paid for it twice, even though if you have a pending offer, the system is supposed to cancel that when you do buy it now...

[RallyDarkstrike]

@manwich I can't find anything I need on Kijiji....the parts are two specific.

[RallyDarkstrike]

@sony1492 I don't think so...a lot of sellers actually take perfectly working used laptops apart and just sell their parts as replacements....so used parts, but from new or used working laptops.

[RallyDarkstrike]

@pip-bip I thought! Was thinking it was just me