Sometimes I really hate Ebay! Big disappointment today!

harryduns

harryduns

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Just received what was sold to me as an 'as new' 70cm Elinchrom silver beauty dish, complete with deflector set, by a seller with 100% feedback. It was a good price, but not so good that you'd think 'scam' immediately. He's also a private individual, not a big company.

Firstly he put it in a big cardboard box with one sheet of thin bubble wrap round it - needless to say, it's all deformed and bent at the edges. Why can't people realise you need to make packaging bomb-proof if fragile items are going to survive courier abuse! I always mummify stuff in heaps of bubble wrap, it's not like it costs the earth...

Secondly, the dish has scratches all over the inside - hardly 'as new', and a dealbreaker in itself for me for a modifier like this!

Thirdly, no deflectors - just the dish. Making it pretty useless.

Finally... it doesn't even appear to be genuine elinchrom! The speed ring is bolted on, not moulded like I have seen in pictures. The whole unit looks more like a 3rd party dish.

Sorry to vent, but I am seething right now! Have sent the guy as politely worded a request as I could muster for a full refund, including him paying the cost of shipping the darn thing back to him - am really hoping he isn't going to be difficult about this as I think I may well flip if he does! :bang:
 
did you pay by paypal? If so you have a good chance of getting your money back. it might take a wee while but these things generally get sorted IME.
 
Yeah, I went through Paypal... one way or another I'm definitely getting my money back, I just hate all this hassle! It's just a waste of everyone's time - no way any buyer would have been happy with what I received so what did the seller hope to achieve by pedalling this rubbish!
 
dont fret, if the seller doesnt budge then start a dispute.

i think ebay/paypal state that the seller does not have to refund the cost of returning items though. might want to check that out.
 
I'm not sure he's obliged to, but considering the damage, missing deflectors and probable inauthenticity I'm going to push for it!
 
Here's how it looks, you can see the scratches and dinged ring - any Elinchrom users who can confirm or deny if this is definitely legit or not please?

dish1.jpg


dish2.jpg


dish3.jpg
 
That looks like the dish I use at my local studio, and not just because it's taken a few knocks. ;-). They use Elinchrom lights, but not sure if all the modifiers are all OEM.
 
If it is a fake, use the counterfeit complaint option. Sometimes they refund without having to return it and tell you to dispose of it.
 
chphotos said:
Can you post a link to the actual item on ebay or post the sellers id?
Click to expand...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270777014550&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

You can see the dish he pictured is Elinchrom's stock image and clearly a different dish. He also lifted their product description.

I'm willing to claim on the basis of counterfeit, but I'd like to be absolutely sure it's not legit first! He's not responded to me yet, if he doesn't by the end of today I'll probably open a dispute tonight.
 
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I decided to telephone the guy as communicating via e-mails always leads to misunderstandings - we actually had a good chat and I'm feeling a bit better about it.

He says he posted the deflectors separately via Royal Mail for some reason, so that's that problem out of the way (as long as they arrive soon!).

I've posted images on a couple of other forums too and someone said it could be an older Elinchrom model as they have a smaller one with similar construction.

He's offered to give me a bit of money back or possibly send me some other Elinchrom stuff he has, so hopefully it'll all be worked out positively in the end.
 
Stop shopping for "bargains" on Tehebay, end of problem.
 
fracster said:
Stop shopping for "bargains" on Tehebay, end of problem.
Click to expand...
Someone's fallen out with 'The Bay'.
In my experience through dispute or just dialogue with the vendor have always worked out well for me. The later usually produces good results, & leaves the former if it goes wrong.
 
harryduns said:
I decided to telephone the guy as communicating via e-mails always leads to misunderstandings
Click to expand...

If you think a complaint is going to end up having to go to Paypal then it's far better to have everything in writing, otherwise it's your word against the sellers as to what was agreed by way of remedy....
 
fracster said:
Stop shopping for "bargains" on Tehebay, end of problem.
Click to expand...

Great solution if you're really rich and can afford to buy all your gear from a shop! And then there's the problem of lots of online shops selling grey imports or claiming to be UK-based but posting from Hong Kong etc...
 
i bought a 2nd hand design tablet from there to experiment and practice on - i was ready to fume a negative review till i realised my front usb port wasnt suitable
 
I've done loads of business on Ebay over the years, both buying and selling, and saved myself thousands over the years - I'm also a musician and have picked up countless bargains on musical equipment.

Overall I love Ebay, it's just these occasional blips that get me down. I'd say in the couple of thousand transactions I've completed on Ebay, there have probably only been 10-20 deals that have really gone sour like this one - not too bad really, but annoying when it happens!
 
i'm quite lucky in that i've not had that have gone sour so i dont mind it. the tablet i've got for what i paid for it its fine.

saying that i hate selling on there though
 
Sadly all to common now, cluttered with dealers and international sellers Ebay certainly is not the beast it started out to be. I wish there was an alternative for private sellers only to filter the businesses that just list the same old stuff time after time.... with Ebay and paypal fees ever increasing surely the margins for these guys must be getting negligable
 
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