VICTOR 3

[ambrola]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 1208775611

I have talked with the seller, and this machine has no crank, don't work, has no bottom and other problems. Beware.

[victorIIvictor]

Although those with sharp eyes will notice that the Victor III's case has no bottom, it's truly disappointing that after you had this conversation with the seller, he makes no mention of these defects in the eBay listing. Hopefully he is not a regular dealer in antique phonographs (or anything else, for that matter).

[VintageTechnologies]

I see several danger signs: zero feedback, no information besides picture, no forthcoming info about known problems. As Mom used to say, withholding the truth is as bad as telling a lie. The seller is either clueless, dishonest, or both.

[ambrola]

And the bids are up there. Someone's going to be disappointed. I emailed them again and told them they were asking for trouble, but as you can see, no response.

[JerryVan]

It sold. However, I'm not really sure I see what the problem is here. All the defects you mentioned are shown in the photos. Also, while the seller didn't say much in his description, he also didn't make any claims to the contrary. If a person gambled $997 for something, without knowing what they're buying, it's kind of their fault for buying blindly.

In short, the seller did not suggest that the phonograph worked or was complete and he did not hide any of its faults from view. Where's the trouble?

[gramophone78]

And the bids are up there. Someone's going to be disappointed. I emailed them again and told them they were asking for trouble, but as you can see, no response.

I for one have to agree with Jerry on this.
However, I can never understand why anyone (not just you Amberola) would even bother to contact the seller of an item and provide any info...????. Ebay is not a "what's it worth or what is it" resource center for sellers. It is a public auction. Sellers just selling "stuff". Most times the seller has no idea what they are selling and frankly.....don't care. They just want it sold and that's it. Just like any and all auction houses. Do people phone up auction houses and tell them what they have too...???
If a potential bidder has a question about an item.....great!!!.
I often wonder what people get by trying to contact sellers to educate them.....???. Since most of the "do gooders" don't even bid on the items in question.....all they end up doing is upsetting the collectors and sellers and again for what...????. Maybe Ebay gives out "gold stars".... .. .

Just can't wrap my head around that at all.

Ebay has enough exposure that any item that is listed even remotely correct will be found by the people that know only to well what the item is and what it's worth,etc.....

One other note......we should all try not to use this section as a place to "slag" Ebay/CL listings. There are many honest sellers and many are members of this forum.......... . Unless you know for a fact a seller is dishonest.....better to not say anything....IMHO.
Just my two cents.

[FloridaClay]

Humm. Well, whether to pass along relevant information to a seller is a matter of individual choice and it need not be a case of accusing a seller of being a bad actor. Sometime they obviously just do not know what it is that they have.

While it is true that some don't give a darn and others are obviously attempting to mislead, I have found that some (especially inexperienced sellers) really appreciate a heads up--especially if an item is wrongly categorized in a way that would make it more difficult for their listing to be found by someone really interested in buying the item.

As a general matter, bidding on something of significant cost being sold by somebody with no feedback is always a risky business. The seller may be a paragon of virtue, but get in and quickly get out accounts are also a way for shady characters to operate (although this may happen less now with eBay's stronger buyer protection policies). When friends ask me about getting started selling in eBay I always tell them to sell some inexpensive items first in order to get a track record built up.

Looking at pictures carefully is very good advice. More than once I have gotten excited and bought something that arrived with flaws that I could have spotted had I just calmed down and done that.

Clay

[ambrola]

Well, all I did was alert members here of what I thought was a bad situation. Like others, I will no longer comment on anything I see on eBay. As to talking to the seller, I was only trying to help them.