I got scammed on E-BAY

[KURT E]

I was the winning bidder for skip-shift delete from the following seller

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33733&item=7942671388&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW (not this auction but another like it from the same seller)

sellers name is ray747.

I won the auction and paid with paypal. Ray747 immediately left me a + feedback for quick payment. That is where it ends. I have sent 5 cordial e-mails which have gone unanswered. No viper parts have come to my house. Ray747 has great feedback so this seemed like a simple deal. The deal was completed 12/3 and others have won and received their skip shifts since my auction ended (I checked his feedback recently) ALL + ratings.

If ray747 is active here, or if anyone knows who he (or she) is refer them to this thread please. I would like to resolve this peacefully and quietly. I just want my part.

Thanks for your time all.

Kurt

 

[Qualitywires.com]

file a complaint with paypal..paypal will make him give shipping numbers or proof of delivery.

 

[tarfungo]

Kurt, I don’t mean to rain on your parade, but why were you trying to save a couple of bucks buying a skip eliminator from same unknown **** on E-Bay? There are plenty of Viper guys around here like Jon at PartsRack or Roe or name a dozen others that sell this item. It’s not like this item is a big-ticket item? We need to keep the suppliers that love our snakes and make these parts available in business!!

My $0.02 for what it’s worth.

 

[Shelby3]

Kurt, With his feedback, I wouldn't be too worried. You can get his phone number from Ebay as the winning bidder and give him a call. Likely just a holiday issue with the post office or he is out of town.

 

[Brian E]

Kurt, Ray is a very good friend of mine and a standup guy.
I will contact him tonight so he can get you squared away.
I can assure you that you wont get scammed!

 

[MadMaxx]

Wow... 30$ for 2$ worth of hardware? Sheesh, I'm in the wrong biz

 

[KURT E]

Snake Oyl has the part listed as $60 to $70. I cannot swear that it is the exact same part...but it could be.

I got a LOT of traffic on this thread and thanks to all who offered a good word.

If anyone would like to tell me where to shop you will have to clear it with my wife. She has more than a little say as to where I can burn OUR money on my car.

Kurt

 

[Kurt 97 GTS]

It's a free market and competition keeps things healthy. I would say that buyer beware goes without saying, always!!

 

[rcdice]

Kurt,

Let us know how this thing turns out. I was going to order one of those from that guy closer to spring when I'd actually be using the part.

PartsRack carries these? Roe? Not on their websites. Figured they didn't deal in such minor parts. No, I haven't actually asked them.

 

[KURT E]

Well posting on this site is bearing fruit. I believe that the issue was an honest mistake that will be resolved. An admin of this site took an interest and the seller and I are now in contact. It seems that the seller is not "an unknown **** on e-bay", but, rather person who is known by many on this site.

I will update when the seller and I work out this mishap.

Thanks to all.

Kurt

 

[IEATVETS]

If anyone would like to tell me where to shop you will have to clear it with my wife. She has more than a little say as to where I can burn OUR money on my car.

WOW!! Lots of Viper venders out there, just look at the top of the main page or scroll down the left hand side of the main page.

 

[tarfungo]

First off, I’m sure the E-Bay seller is a really cool guy and hopefully he a SERIOUS Viper guy like the rest of us. I apologize for any insult my words may have caused.

For the record, my referencing of the E-Bay seller you were concerned about as being a ‘****’ was only meant to be pointing out that we, as Viper owners, should be supporting those who are in fact adding to our Viper parts resource and supporting the vehicles we enjoy. We shouldn’t necessarily be making purchasing decisions just for the sake of a few dollars. Sure, I like a good deal – capitalism and all that is good, but there’s more to think about when making purchases though – especially when dealing with relatively rare-ish items such as those that make up our snakes.

The vendors like Parts Rack, Roe, MGW, Snake-Oyl and so on are the folks who are truly putting their heart, soul and personal finances on the line for us all. They are ensuring that these parts are ever available as well as creating new items. It’s too easy for some guy to just buy miscellaneous parts and throw them up on E-Bay without caring anything about the vehicles that the parts go on or the community at large. So, he makes $20 bucks and doesn’t care anymore.

My point is, why are people willing to spend multiple tens of thousands of dollars on a Viper and then spend time trying to save $20 or $30 bucks or whatever for some silly add-on? Is the difference between what PartsRack is selling this product for REALLY going to make a difference to you or any of us in the bigger picture? Too much of this type of thinking could make the difference between one of the Viper vendors closing their doors or not!

Yes, I too must settle up with my ‘wifey’ when I purchase things – especially for my Viper. I’m just a paycheck-to-paycheck computer jockey. I have no pipeline to unlimited funds. Just the same, I will spend my money where I think it will make the biggest bang – both for me AND the people on the other end who also have families and bills to pay, but more importantly those who ARE supporting this community.

My $0.02 for what it worth.

 

[Brian E]

First off, I’m sure the E-Bay seller is a really cool guy and hopefully he a SERIOUS Viper guy like the rest of us. I apologize for any insult my words may have caused.

Tarfungo, Ray is a multiple Viper owner and huge supporter of the Viper community, as well as an all around nice guy.
Unfortunately he cannot post a reply to this thread at this time, but he has asked me to pass along to everyone that this matter is taken care of.
I also wanted to add my .02 to the discussion of where we should be buying products for our Vipers.
Over the years I have spent large sums of money for Viper, Corvette, and muscle car parts. I have never had a problem paying a premium price for parts when I know I am going to get exactly what I expected and to also know that my purchase is going to be supported after I have parted with my cash.
On the other hand I will not blindly buy parts from any vendor without doing my homework. I have found that there have been huge disparities from one vendor to another on the same parts.
Sometimes we get tunnel vision when it comes to dealing with people and companies. I have found that it always pays to shop around.

 

[tarfungo]

Thanks for the update Brian E. Again, I wasn’t trying to dis Ray727 in any way and I’m glad that he is a Viper guy to boot! It’s about US, the consumer.

I guess I have thin skin when it comes to E-Bay and all that. Many years ago I was collecting vintage 1960’s musical instrument amplifiers. At the time, replacement parts and NOS items were exceedingly hard to come by. You basically had to offer up your first-born and then some to get the few folks that did have parts to part with them – when they did, you paid through the teeth. These days I’m getting an uneasy feeling that this parts situation will soon befall myself - and soon all of our aging Vipers.

To make a long story sort, a friend and I pretty much single handily brought these parts back into the market after almost 30 years of non-production. We found and bought many of the original injection molds for many parts and reproduced those things that could not be made from original sources. Very expensive and VERY time consuming. Now, these items are fairly common. The sad thing is that is this; the people that now ***** and moan about what these items cost – much like the Viper tax we all enjoy – don’t remember when these parts were all as hard to find as proverbial hens teeth.

I have a 95 RT/10 and I’m concerned that the parts for my snake are disappearing – just like the amp parts I used to beg and barter for. I like my snake and I don’t want to get rid of it. There’s been talk on this forum about these parts being lost and hopes that the VCA will step up to ensure that the molds and what not that make up our snakes will not disappear from the supply chain. I want those folks - the Viper vendors - who are so inclined to keep parts coming and I’m willing to pay a FAIR premium to ensure such. Of course, I don’t like paying premiums for parts, but I’d rather have the choice than no choice at all.

So, a skip shift by-pass is fairly common these days and so what if you can get one on E-Bay for half the price of PartsRack? More power to Ray! Again, my point is that every dollar we deny our Viper vendors is possibly a dollar that will not go into allowing these vendors to add new parts to their inventory.

That being said, I’m glad Ray is part of the community!!!!!!

 

[JonB]

.....So, a skip shift by-pass is fairly common these days and so what if you can get one on E-Bay for half the price of PartsRack? More power to Ray! Again, my point is that every dollar we deny our Viper vendors is possibly a dollar that will not go into allowing these vendors to add new parts to their inventory.....

WOW ! I love this thread and the analysis of the VALUE of preferred-vendor loyalty and dependability. WE VENDORS PAY FOR THIS SITE!

And, this year my CPA says that we were "way too generous" with the VCA on our gifts, donations, sponsorships, and advertising. We WILL likley have to cut back in '05. That said:

Not all parts are created equal! We used to carry the cheapie skip-shifters, made from $2 of Radio Shack parts. They shorted, frayed, and failed. Now, we carry a plug-n-play, insulated, grometted, "best quality" part for $49.

If you ask, We Tell ya why and how it works, and how to install it. We also tell ya that you probably wont NEED it after you get the car broken in, or if you intend to buy gears. Once you have some miles under your belt, the problem cures itself. We talk a LOT of folks out of spending any $$ at all on this device! HONEST !!! DONT BUY IT AT ALL !!!!

THAT FREE ADVICE makes the PartsRack call a better deal. What was the "i got scammed" worry and concern worth? How much TIME did this cost the author to save the $20? If your time is worth little then you got a good deal, and PartsRack missed ~~$9 profit. THERE GOES LUNCH!

I hope that one of the VCA Vendors can help NEXT TIME, Please? THANK YOU SINCERELY FOR YOU SUPPORT

 

[Janni]

Why would someone NEED to defeat the skip shift? I've NEVER bumped up against mine.... You shouldn't be shifting before 2500 RPM anyway........

 

[FlyBryViper]

Great feedback JonB, it is good for everybody to hear a supplier/sponsor's side of the equation every now & then.
Now, everybody go buy something form a site sponsor. I am working up another order for JonB right now.

 

[VIPER GTSR 91]

You are soooo right Janni, but the suppliers love selling things people dont need. The skip shift scam device is for granny shifting anyway...

 

[Vipera Russelli]

You are soooo right Janni, but the suppliers love selling things people dont need. The skip shift scam device is for granny shifting anyway...

That's no doubt true of some suppliers, but not all. JonB has talked me out of buying lots of stuff I didn't actually need, just like he's doing in the post above with respect to the skipshift device. The resulting trust is one of the reasons I keep going back to PartsRack.

 

[Janni]

You are soooo right Janni, but the suppliers love selling things people dont need. The skip shift scam device is for granny shifting anyway...

That's no doubt true of some suppliers, but not all. JonB has talked me out of buying lots of stuff I didn't actually need, just like he's doing in the post above with respect to the skipshift device. The resulting trust is one of the reasons I keep going back to PartsRack.

True, true - just look at his post above - he specifically advises AGAINST buying the skip shift saying that after you break the car in and adapt to driving it, you won't need it!!!!!

(Besides, he knows how to use his right foot and probably doesn't know the Viper came with one anyway!!!!)

 

[KURT E]

In the interest of fairness to the seller-the product was delivered and looks to be of very good fit and finish.

The KC weather is unseasonable right now, so, time permitting I will try to get it installed before winter returns.

Thank you.

Kurt

 

[Jack B]

Both summit and jeggs have the unit for under $30.

 

[Supercharged Vipermad]

Also to update, since I seem to be a day (or two) late and many dollars short...

I, too, was contacted by Ray (on 12/27) for help getting in touch with Kurt. He was completely shocked there was a problem, was interested in contacting Kurt ASAP, and wanted to sort things out.

Also....that darn thing comes in handy for us POSERS Janni!! LOL!!

 

[RAY S]

Well, I'm so glad to learn that Kurt has received the skip shift harness. I am also glad that the VCA chat forum was able to get us together so that I could discover that there was a problem and get it resolved. At this point, I still do not understand why the ebay communication system was not able to get us in touch before Kurt had to look for help in this forum.

I own a small wire harness shop, work with the connectors/terminals/resistors within the skip shift harness and simply decided to make some for my friends and just a few for fellow Viper guys. I appreciate the support from those who have dealt with me before and those who recognized the merit of significant positive feedback within ebay.

I have recently entered into this VCA forum (prompted by this ebay scam post) and am learning to navigate its vast resources. There is much to learn and share and I look forward to further participation.

Kindest Regards,
Ray S

 

[1BADBITE]

How about $17.99 ??
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