Cincy_Ron

Just received this via Fed-ex a couple of hours ago. I've been wanting to replace my classic gray surround with black and this popped up on eBay. Paid with credit card via Paypal. Anyway, the thing is broken right across the middle. I put on a magnifying headset that I have for small electronic work and to my eye this break doesn't look fresh, and there are no signs at all of damage to the box. So at this point it would just be my word against the seller's. Any advice on dealing with the seller/eBay/Paypal?

David in LA

If the box is not damaged I don't see how that piece could have been damaged during transit

But if you are willing to recover the center console yourself then you can repair that and it should be fairly invisible. I recovered my tan console with black leather a few years ago, and while it looks like a difficult project it's manageable if you are patient and work slowly. All you need is piece of hide and spray adhesive.

craig001

Did you have shipping insurance through whatever vendor the seller used? If not, maybe PayPal insurance will cover it.

jwdwight

I would contact the seller first and get his story. If he doesn't agree to give you your money back immediately, I would contact Ebay right away. I think Ebay might help but not sure. Finally, you could cancel the charge through your credit card company. They might have a buyer protection plan. Good luck and sorry you have to deal with this.

boulderbobo

Sorry for your misfortune. Based on the visual of the shipping box, the shipper sent it to you damaged. I have found that it is ALWAYS a dice roll when I buy stuff of EVILBAY

Sorry agin. I hope you can get to a decent resolution.

Cincy_Ron

I just shot him an email with some pictures. Didn't accuse him of anything, just informed him that there was no visible damage to the box but the center console was broken. I'll see what he has to say. Shipping was from California to Cincinnati via Fed-ex ground by the way. First time in 12 years I've had a problem on eBay and they guy did have a pretty solid 196 count 100% feedback rating.

got*ki

Sorry to hear of the bad transaction.
It looks like someone didn't know how to remove it and bent it in the process of removing it.

How did the pics look in the ebay listing? Print it out the listing before the pictures get deleted from the host site...Good Luck

daltvater

I recovered mine with a piece of leatherish fabric from joanns fabric. Takes about 30 minutes, looks brand new when done. Peel off that grey piece and glue on a new one.

New fabric was $4.

Floodj

Ebay offers buyer protection, if the seller represented the product as being unbroken, I think ebay will help you return and get your money back. Also, serious ebay sellers are all about the rating, blast him if he doesn't help you out.
--Joe

tlwood99

I believe PayPal is your answer. They aggressively protect the buyer. You have the same protections as you would purchasing via a credit card. I would contact Paypal right away (as the longer you wait, the more questionable your claim).

Good luck.

Tlw

groovzilla

contact the seller imediately and explain the problem...return it and get your $$ back

Cincy_Ron

Well, I heard back from the seller and he assures me that it wasn't damaged when he shipped it. Gave me his phone number so I can call to discuss it with him. I'm getting ready to head out to happy hour so I emailed him I would call tomorrow.

I was just at the dealer having my car inspected for an upcoming track event and had them look up prices on new console surrounds. $888.25 for vinyl covered and $1198.59 for leather covered.

If he offers to refund part of the purchase price I could live with that. I'm confident I could use a 2 part epoxy or jb weld to get the plastic frame back together and recover this thing myself, probably in black leather.

It was ebay listing number 250410760983 if anyone is interested. I paid $245 with shipping.

got*ki

Looks like the ebay pictures were strategically taken (#'s 2 & 3).

Ebay picture #4 hints of the tear...although difficult to ascertain...

I would attempt to resolve and if there is no resolution, go through ebay.

Take a full picture of the box with the address label too. A picture of the brown box without the label is of no use. Good Luck!

Jeff Ward

Having done a fair amount of ebay selling, I know that you have to be pretty reliable to get a 100% positive rating of 190+ like this seller. I'm sure he's not perfect, but chances are he is honest.

If the seller is completely innocent of misrepresenting the item, it must have broken during transit. Perhaps the trim piece was packed in a box barely longer than the trim piece. I guess it is possible the box could have landed on its end and broken then, the box still intact.

However, having said all that, the seller should have packaged it better. So it either was broken when he shipped it, or he did a poor job of packing it, so it broke when shipped. The packing job doesn't look like he had it done by a professional- it looks rather homemade.

Either way it is the seller's responsbility. My guess is he'll make it right, or pay the price of bad feedback. Recourse to Paypal, etc, is all good advice given above, assuming the seller doesn't voluntarily do the right thing.
Good luck..