[JodySirmans]

I would like to get some opinions about something that alot of us may do. Through the Team Chevelle Web Site I found some interior parts for my car. I asked several questions, all were answered positive about the condition of the parts, all communication occured through email. I asked for a phone #, no comment from the seller. Anyway, I sent the money, the check cleared and after several emails wondering where the parts were I finally got an email stating that he had shipped them. So after about 6 weeks, I get the parts to find out they were from the wrong model car ( not even a chevelle) and it (a dash) was all butchered up / broken. After, stating my concern (again through email) that I would like to ship back the parts and receive my cash back. I have not even received an acknowledgement from the seller. I have unsuccessfully tried to obtain the phone # for the guy but it seems no one has heard of him. I really hate to eat a dash that is in such bad shape. I would not even try to sell something like what I received. Any ideas on what I could possibly do. Any other similar situations? This has turned me off of parts looking on the internet. I must say through, I have had some good experiences, even with people living in other countries. Thanks for the input...Jody

 

[Cam Sweet]

I'm sorry to hear of your bad experience. We are quite vulnerable to rip offs in this market place. I have done some significant dealings over the web, some good, some not so good. I wonder if we could construct a database of not so desirable marketeers somewhere on this web page? Al?

Cam

 

[Patrick Schamun]

Jody, Don't blame the internet. You can be ripped of at your local ???? store.

Type in "white pages" at a information site. Try more than one site and you will prolably find this guy. If this site will let you give us his name so someone else won't get burnt, please do so.

 

[283v8]

I have had to "eat" a few parts myself, but on more expensive stuff, get a phone no., name, address, work no.,etc..
Discuss the parts in detail, discuss the condition, discuss what is "minor", "major" damage etc.
Generally try to be clear and specific on what you are getting, and make a "gentlemens" agreement about returns.
Besides that - I guess we are each on our own - it is NOT risk free.

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[Keith Tedford]

Publish his E-mail address. There are lots of people who would like to check the parts out.

 

[Al]

To add to the previous good advice, make sure and email me or Rick and we will do email followups and if necessary whack his ads and not invite him back to 'play at our place'. We monitor the ads several times a day (really) and will not accept anyone who is misrepresenting themselves. We can and will deny them from the entire site.

If it's over $50.00 I recommend a quick phone conversation, if no phone number, no money. There are a LOT of people moving through the parts pages and some are bound to be problems. I really feel sick when I hear that we were part of a rip-off though.

As an aside to this, some people with parts for sale may have received an email telling them not to post their 'junk' on team chevelle. It was traced to one of our visitors kid, who thought it would be fun to harass a few guys. If you were one of them, that's what it was all about and they apologize.

Al

 

[BillK]

Jody,
There are several third party "escrow" services available for internet commerce. Basically the way they work is you and the seller both agree to use the escrow service, then the buyer actually sends payment to the escrow service which holds the money until you get the part and then if you are satisfied, sends payment to the seller. Of course there is a small percentage fee but if you are purchasing a high dollar item it should be worth it. The escrow service I have seen is listed on E-bays auction site and I am certain there are others. Hope this helps.

------------------
Bill Koustenis
Advanced Automotive Machine
Waldorf Md

 

[Cameano]

I'm fairly new to this site, about a month, but it tends to take up at least an hour of my time everyday, for some reason. I posted an ad for some parts for sale, and I recieved replies within 1 day, along with a buyer. I offered up a picture of the parts, which I sent via email, to all the interested parties. I understand not everyone can do this, but, phone numbers were exchanged, along with addresses, before any money was sent. I expect buyers to be cautious, as I would be.

This is nothing new, it's not just on the internet. Hemmings Motor News continually cautions their buyers and sellers about fraud schemes. Jody, go to your bank, get the check that was cashed, and find out what bank it was cashed at. All banks need some ID, so you'll probably have his driver's license number, or bank account number, on the back of your check. This might get you somewhere in your search. Good Luck, Darren

 

[RonD]

hi Jody,
I bought and sold several items over
the net without problems by using Trade-direct. They basically broker deals.
Buyer sends $$ to them; seller sends item;
buyer notifies that item is as advertised;
T-D sends $$ to seller. Costs buyers 5% but as your experience verifies, it is worth it.
I posted this advice before and Al said
that I my advice wasn't relevent. Perhaps I
am explaining it incorrectly, but the system works and would have saved you a lot of grief
for 5% of your purchase.
Check them out at www.trade-direct.com/
Good luck,
Ron D.

 

[Randy Mosier]

Go to infospace.com you can find almost anybody, you can do reverse e-mail searches, reverse phone no. searches, etc.. I hope you get the bum.

 

[Dean]

Having his phone number might not be of any help if he screens his calls.
I had a similar experience with an ad in Hemmings except I never recieved anything at all after sending the money. After several long distance phone calls to Georgia only to get a "he is not in" and no return calls, I decided I was just pouring good money after bad.
Hemmings said they could do nothing to help and that "those guys" would just change their name and number and keep operating.

 

[Buck Mustard]

Let the Buyer beware! There is some latin saying for this: "Caveat Emptor" or something...

Anyway, in the past year and a half I have purchased quite a few parts through email from this site. Everytime I have done it, I have been nervous that I was going to 'get taken'.

I have had only one bad experience, and I think this was more because the seller was a lazy idiot than because he was trying to screw me. I don't think he was bright enough to think of a scam. But I had his home phone number, his work number, and his address. I finally got my parts (after many conversations with him) by mentioning to his wife that I was going to have to take legal action. My parts showed up a week later.

My advice:
- do NOT work exclusively through email. Get phone numbers, addresses, etc. Have a phone conversation with them. This should give you a feeling (although not concrete) of whether the person is sincere or just out to make a buck.
- keep all email correspondence as documentation in case there is a problem
- In your email, make it painfully clear what conditions are acceptable.
- Look for the person's name in other 'for sale' ads on this site or for posts in the tech section. If they frequent this site, you may be able to gather information as to whether they are truly interested in the car restoration/hot rod hobby. If they are new to this site, I would be wary.
- Ask on this site if anyone has had dealings with them before. I have had multiple dealings with several different people who I completely trust - there are others I would never deal with again.
- Use the escrow services that BillK mentions

With the exception of the escrow services - nothing here is guaranteed. If you want a good deal on parts or are purchasing something rare, then you need to make the decision of how much risk you can handle.

Again, let the buyer beware!

 

[JodySirmans]

Thanks for all the advice....I have contacted the guy again through email.. ( I've tried everything through the "free" search engines and I've found nothing. He finally agreed to return my cash, however as to when I will see it isn't so clear. I think this is a great site and has the best layout of any car oriented site that I've come across. It is easy to use and has great potential for finding hard parts... Luckliy I have met a lot of great guys that understand what its all about (creating great cars), I'll just put this experience in the learn as you go pile of rocks and continue to hope that whoever I'm dealing with understands where I'm coming from.
Jody

 

[Sean]

For me, It's C.O.D. on sales or purchases.
It costs abit more.... but it's insurance that you will be getting at least something for your money.
(sometimes we dunno what).