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      12-25-2012, 02:18 AM   #1
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A couple of weeks ago I came upon a thread in the exterior for sale section for some LCI tail lights for my E92. The OP (who wishes to be anonymous) was selling the tail lights for a friend (Mike) had positive i-trader of I believe 7, so I felt good about the deal. Basically everything OP was being relayed by Mike. So I get Mike's number from OP, we talk on the phone and everything seems to be going well. I ask him about the tail lights and the condition because I notice the picture in the thread was blurry. He assures me they're in "perfect condition".

After the phone call I decide this deal is too good to sit on and I pull the trigger at $433 shipped. Actually my GF accepted to split the cost with it and it'd be my Xmas present. I open up PayPal to send the money and made sure the other party is a verified member, he was indeed a "premier" member. Mike sends me a picture of the tail lights in the box, shot wasn't that clear then multiple photos of the box and tracking information. I made sure he got insurance as well for $400.

So I get the tail lights being excited like a little school girl and my face immediately drops as I pick up an out piece. A 4-5 inch crack is staring at me in the face. I take out the packaging and take a look at every piece. They look old, tired, and beaten inside and out. In all four pieces there seems to be water damage. This looks like old dried up residue inside the lense. They looked awful.

So I text Mike and tell him that I want a refund and will ship him his lights back. He replies to me with things like "I said no refunds" (never said that) and "you're not getting your money back", things of that nature. I immediately file a PayPal claim and now notice the member is unverified. On top of all this it turns out Mike used his friends (not OP, his name is Dan) PayPal address and shipped it out using his friends information as well.

So his friend Dan (PayPal account owner) contacts me and tells me that his PayPal account is no longer connected to his bank account and I'll get nothing out of it. He and Mike call me and tell me to go through USPS insurance, that's my only option to recover any money.

So I file a claim with USPS and that's where I'm at now. I got a letter today to bring the box and its contents to my local USPS for inspection so I'm sort of nervous about this. If I get denied I'm not sure what else I can do. I'll continue the PayPal dispute but I'm not sure if that'll get me anywhere.

Turns out Mike is a member here and was previously banned on another account.
http://www.e90post.com/forums/member.php?u=184331

After looking back on the picture that he sent me and inspecting it closely, it's clear that the crack was there. He claims it wasn't and continues to tell me they were in perfect condition.

Well just thought I'd share my story. Any opinions/suggestions are welcome.

I do Dan's full name/address/phone number. All I have on Mike is his phone number.

Cliffs
- Bought LCI tails from a "friend" of a members
- Tail lights arrived in bad condition
- Seller tells me it's not his fault, no refunds and to go through USPS
- PayPal account is now unverified
- USPS inspection is next

UPDATE - We settled on $300 (for now).

A few pics -
Attached Images
   

Last edited by Game; 12-29-2012 at 01:54 PM..
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      12-25-2012, 02:28 AM   #2
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You should expose the OP for allowing his friend to pull that type of crap, its equally his fault to me. Sorry to hear about that. Definitely a crappy way to start off the holidays. Wish you nothing but the best of luck!
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      12-25-2012, 02:32 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by marcus321 View Post
You should expose the OP for allowing his friend to pull that type of crap, its equally his fault to me. Sorry to hear about that. Definitely a crappy way to start off the holidays. Wish you nothing but the best of luck!
To be fair, I have contacted him and he does feel partially to blame. He isn't good friends with Mike or anything close to it from my conversations with him. He also said if nothing happens with PayPal or USPS he has offered to paypal me $100.

Thanks for the wishes. Happy Holidays to you as well.
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      12-25-2012, 02:46 AM   #4
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People like that makes me sick. Hopefully USPS give you something back.


Other thought: Let's send a search party to the return address!
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      12-25-2012, 02:55 AM   #5
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Maybe his name is not even Mike! For all we know his name could be Donald ...
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      12-25-2012, 03:11 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DZhengHellaFlush View Post
Never buy from a new member, sucks man you got played
Did you paypal gift the money if so there nothing you can do about it. I always buy from people i know or at least ive talk to before. Or try to keep it local
The member wasn't new, he had 7+ Itrader and no the money wasn't sent as a gift, which is funny because Mike actually told me I did when I was trying to get my money back.
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      12-25-2012, 03:23 AM   #7
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sorry this happened to you bro, you would think guys wouldn't be about screwing over other members... OP letting someone use their itrader to post sales seems fishy, like they planned it together.. same guy pretending another guy in the equation? hope karma bites whoever is at fault hard.

volunteers from jersey for going to this guys house and taking a shit on his hood? oh wait his number is 718 thats nyc, probably staten island... yup staten island is full of douches.

more importantly hope it gets settled through paypal, and don't let it get your holiday season down. merry christmas

Last edited by Das_Stig; 12-25-2012 at 03:40 AM..
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      12-25-2012, 05:23 AM   #8
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what cowards. good luck sorting this out. people these days are such POS's. karmas gonna be a bitch. merry christmas!
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      12-25-2012, 07:38 AM   #9
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I'm an expert at ebay sells. I happen to be a powerseller and I also have about 5 years working with paypal very closely. Its my business and my life.

Find the receipt that arrived to your email, if it says anywhere that your purchase is covered by "buyer protection" then you are all set. You will get your money back in maybe 20 days maximum. It doesnt matter if he removed his bank account, paypal will cover you and then send his account to a collection agency. Bad news for him.

If you don't see the buyer protection or says "buyer protection program not available for this purchase" then you can always call your bank and file a dispute as well, saying that you received a broken item and paypal or usps wont cover you. The bank won't play this game, they will go ahead and refund your money immediately. I guarantee you will get you money back one way or another.

I'm sad to know this happened to you and your gf. Making an effort to dress your baby right and some a%#hole does this thing.

Merry Christmas for you and everyone in your family
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      12-25-2012, 08:10 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OrlandoBimmer View Post
I'm an expert at ebay sells. I happen to be a powerseller and I also have about 5 years working with paypal very closely. Its my business and my life.

Find the receipt that arrived to your email, if it says anywhere that your purchase is covered by "buyer protection" then you are all set. You will get your money back in maybe 20 days maximum. It doesnt matter if he removed his bank account, paypal will cover you and then send his account to a collection agency. Bad news for him.

If you don't see the buyer protection or says "buyer protection program not available for this purchase" then you can always call your bank and file a dispute as well, saying that you received a broken item and paypal or usps wont cover you. The bank won't play this game, they will go ahead and refund your money immediately. I guarantee you will get you money back one way or another.

I'm sad to know this happened to you and your gf. Making an effort to dress your baby right and some a%#hole does this thing.

Merry Christmas for you and everyone in your family
I only wish that were true. Bought a damaged carburetor (Edelbrock) on eBay years ago, paypal wouldn't help at all unless I had a "recognized expert" examine the carburetor and give me a repair estimate and nobody would touch it because they're essentially commodities, they retail for $300 and that's three hours' labor (it'd been dropped and needed a new baseplate and throttle shafts.) I repeatedly tried to send photos to paypal but they wouldn't talk to me and eventually cancelled my claim because I "did not provide the information requested." So the bastard had the balls to even put a gloating rant on my eBay feedback about how I tried to scam him and paypal backed him up. But clearly it was damaged prior to shipping because the box was undamaged and I noticed that the primaries wouldn't close within seconds of unpackaging it.

TL;DR: I still use paypal because I have to but they are bastard coated bastards with bastard filling, their "buyer protection" proved to be worthless to me; don't pay for anything with paypal for which you wouldn't feel comfortable paying with cash or a money order.

To the OP: I feel your pain. Hope your experience is better than mine.
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      12-25-2012, 09:31 AM   #11
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I thought that the shipper is the one who makes the claim, well, that was the case with UPS. The carrier will simply say improper packaging, which puts it on the shipper.

I got burned once in buying a high end golf club on eBay--the shipper put it in the box with a broken shaft.

We all know the deal, 100% rating, blah blah blah, but there are cheaters in this world. Even if you get burned on this deal and are out $400, OP, realize this--there is such a thing as karma. That person who cheated you is going to keep doing it, and think about how little $400 is. One day, he does it to someone who isn't going to put up with it, and he is going to get his face beaten in with the fists of someone he ripped-off.
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      12-25-2012, 09:33 AM   #12
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i was 1hr away from buying these same lights... sorry to hear bro. at the time, i kinda felt the deal was too good to be true....
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      12-25-2012, 09:39 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OrlandoBimmer View Post
then you can always call your bank and file a dispute as well, saying that you received a broken item and paypal or usps wont cover you. The bank won't play this game, they will go ahead and refund your money immediately. I guarantee you will get you money back one way or another.
Let me mention this--you can have a legitimate dispute with a credit card co., in which they remove a charge to your credit card. This is coded on your credit report as DRG (dispute resolved by grantor), and regarded as a neutral or negative item, depending on who's looking at it. Someday when you go to get a mortgage it may hold the whole process up and you have to have it removed or be declined the mortgage. Fair? Probably not. But it's the system.
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      12-25-2012, 09:48 AM   #14
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So you better be nervous about the USPS claim you made. You knew it wasn't the USPS fault when you filed the claim. That's mail fraud and you're close to the felony level @ $400. Better go in there telling them you made a big mustake!
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      12-25-2012, 09:49 AM   #15
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So sorry to hear Game, of all the times of the year to be scammed there are scumbags out there that will do it around the holidays.

And it didn't even seem sketchy at first and you did your research. I want to buy an aero lip soon and its stories like this that make you not want to deal with a first owner, but rather a place like Tischer.

Hopefully it all gets sorted out man. Good luck, and merry christmas.
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      12-25-2012, 09:50 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Game View Post
The member wasn't new, he had 7+ Itrader and no the money wasn't sent as a gift, which is funny because Mike actually told me I did when I was trying to get my money back.
Yeah, no matter how good a member, NEVER send money as a gift. You lose all claim options on Paypal!
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      12-25-2012, 10:04 AM   #17
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Smh. People have no regard now a days when they sell things..even if it wasn't cracked they should have been packaged and labeled to handle with care. Sorry about your ordeal and I hope you get every penny back.
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      12-25-2012, 10:11 AM   #18
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Ugh, I'm sick just hearing about this. I have sold to several folks on here, and when it comes to shipping fragile items I am SUPER paranoid about packing.
Somehow, sadly, I am thinking the tails were like that before they ever left USPS. GL Game.
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      12-25-2012, 10:12 AM   #19
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Order him pizzas from every local pizza and food delivery place. Then sign his cell phone up for premium text. Finally sign him up for religious visits.











*dont actually do these. I hold no responsibility for flaming.
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      12-25-2012, 10:20 AM   #20
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I remember this thread this guy was a complete ass when posting. These were the lights that they didn't know if all the led worked for a while right? I'm really sorry that you got burned but go reread that thread the guy who was posting it sounded super sketchy. Guys/gals words to live by if it sounds to good to be true and it's impossible to meet in person it probably is. And if someone is withholding info I'm done with it and this whole selling for friend brother etc I'm done with that too if it ain't your shit you probably don't know enough to sell it.
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      12-25-2012, 10:22 AM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mccannable View Post
Order him pizzas from every local pizza and food delivery place. Then sign his cell phone up for premium text. Finally sign him up for religious visits.











*dont actually do these. I hold no responsibility for flaming.
Thats alot better of an idea then I had.

Id rage and drive over there with a golf bat.
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      12-25-2012, 11:09 AM   #22
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I'm pretty sure I know which seller you bought it from. I knew something was off the way his "friend" kept making a big deal about putting up CLEAR pictures. I was gonna drive out to jersey to pick them up also but I'm glad I didn't waste my time. I get people aren't always active on forums but still want to sell something to a specific group, but you still need to follow standard selling rules with clear pictures, details, etc. Now it all makes sense why this "friend" wasn't on here himself to sell the item, and made it such a hassle to communicate any information about them.

Did you use a credit card that funds paypal, or bank account? If credit card then try filing a claim with them.
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