What can be done?

[dattia]

Ok, all last week I was posting about my "Twist" machine that arrived in less than "perfect working condition". Right now it is in the hands of at-slots and I am under the impression that it is basically "brain-dead". I have contacted the seller who seems very sympathetic but has yet to come up with any solid resolution of the problem....(I have his broken machine and he has my money). I decided to give him a day or two to resolve this...but truthfully after that I really don't know what to do...anyone had a similar experience with an independant seller on e-bay??? Of course you all know how expensive the shipping is on these machines too, if he wants it back and gives me a refund, am I responsible for return shipping??? Oh the thought of it:confused: Thanks, Dawn

[luckydog]

do you have a link to the original auction???

if you used paypal or credit card you can disbute the transaction and do a charge back. you also can complain to ebay.

it is his responsiblity to pay for return shipping if he wants it back.

if i was the seller i would refund all your money and tell you to keep the junk machine.

he would be better off to refund all your money and forget about the machine.

who would want to buy a non-working machine????

[Tulsa]

What Lucky says will hold true as long as the seller didn't state the machine was in as-is condition.

I purchased a pachinko light that didn't function properly and the seller finally after I provided a video to him that it wasn't working, refunded my money including shipping and told me to keep it.

Of course this was a smaller item and this seller is now looking at paying to send you a machine for free and they may have an initial negative reaction to that concept. I hope you have not left feedback yet for this seller as it's your ace in the hole.

[luckydog]

if it was a defective board i have a feeling he knew it didn't work when he sold it.

has anyone had a board go bad in shipping????

[Lddrizzt]

Since a board has no moving parts, I think the only way it could go bad in shipping is if Fedex put a forklift blade through it, they don't go bad no matter how much you shake them.

[dattia]

Here is the link to the auction:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWN%3AIT&rd=1

[dattia]

Unfortunately I left a positive feedback because I received the machine very quickly ( in 3 days) and when I notified him of the problem, he got back to me right away and gave me his cell phone number to call him and he did try to give me some tips to get it up and running. He swears that it was working when he sent it and cannot imagine what has gone wrong. I gave him the benefit of the doubt and he assured me that he will takes steps to fix this problem. He cannot send another machine as he is not a dealer. He says it was his personal machine (bought by an old girlfriend) and he had no use for it anymore. Things have not gotten ugly yet...I just wanted to know what my options are. Once again, thanks for all the input. Dawn

[monaghj]

I bought a 7.00 item - never received. The seller basically told me that it was my own fault for declining the 4.00 insurance fee. I suspect he just never shipps to anyone unless they pay him the insurance fee and he just pockets this. (4.00 was probably 80% of the value of the item)

Ebay wanted $25.00 for their resolution service. Since I use a credit card via paypal I had the credit card transaction reveresed. I later got a nastygram from Paypal telling me that I should have contacted them first and there was no fee for them doing this.

Sooo.. you might give Paypal a call and tell them of your woe.

[arbycoffee]

He said in his auction:
Olympia "Twist" skill slot machine. Accepts quarters only, includes access key.
Perfect working condition!
Buyer to pay shipping costs (UPS, approx. 70 lbs).

He should stand by it, and refund Than either recall it with a pick up or forget it.

[vgc]

Ya wants me to ruff him up a bit. I see hes local to me, Cleveland, Ohio. Mike : )

[dattia]

Thanks VGC, but I am an optimist at heart and I am still hoping he'll "do the right thing". However if he doesn't........I might PM you and give you his personal info...

[luckydog]

the ad states perfect working order, not as is.

he should refund all your money!!!!

[johntofva]

I like VGC suggestion. Even if he gives you a refund, "ruff" him up a little. Just for the fun of it!!!

[gwarzin]

My guess is that you keep working with him along with reporting this to ebay, paypal, your credit card company, etc. you'll eventually get your money back. You say it's not working. It is in your possession, so you can prove that it's not working if you have to. What can he do? There's no way he can prove that it IS working.

I know you don't want to hear this, but the best way to avoid this is to not buy from private sellers. Most simply have no way to fix a problem should one occur. About 30% of the pachislos I receive have some type of "defect". Could be something as simple as a connector that's not properly seated. Or major shipping damage. At least if you buy it from a known vendor they have a chance of having the parts around to fix it. With a private seller, there's no chance.

The only time I buy from a private seller is if I can't find the machine anywhere else and/or the price is just too low to pass up. And even then, I figure that I may be throwing my money away.

The price you paid for the Twist was a fair price. That's about what they've been going for on eBay. But for that price you could have won an auction from one of the regular vendors. From a private seller, it would have had to be a lot cheaper to make it a worthwhile gamble.

At least you've got the machine in the hands of at-slots. If it's something minor, he'll be able to fix it cheaply. If it's something major he will be able to verify the problem to ebay, paypal, and your credit card company. You certainly made the right move is having at-slots look at it.

[Tulsa]

That seller is certainly a wordy fellow. I'm surprised that ebay let that auction go on. He had no disclaimer and said it took quarters.. There was to returns one way or the other.

It looks like you'd be fine to have ebay or paypal do something. Don't wait to long for him though as your 30 days is approaching. If he doesn't act this week, I'd have paypal or my credit card company pull it all back and then let him figure out how to get the machine. Offer to put it at the curb for him.

[dattia]

Thanks gwarzin, good advice. What I am about to say may hurt your ears, but here goes...until I bid on that machine I didn't even know what a Pachislo machine was, there I said it. The fact is that I had just spent 3 weeks remodeling my basement into a retro fifties diner style (black and white checkerboard floor, old records on the wall, a sparkly red and black diner booth, etc.) Somehow when I was searching e-bay for fifties items, I came across this machine and thought it would be a perfect accent (can you imagine) in the room. Little did I know that there was a whole "Pachi" world out there......but I'm in now. Trying to figure out how to remodel a fifties style game room into a mini Pachislo casino!!!

[gwarzin]

So it looks like you're hooked, just like the rest of us. I started with just one machine for the game room and now that game room HAS turned into that pachislo casino that you are thinking about.

If you are looking for machines that would look good with your '50s theme, take a look at the Hound Dog. It has a great '50s diner look and strums like a guitar when you press the stop buttons.

[monaghj]

I started the same sad way. I bought one thinking it was going to be cool for the game room. I now have a full casino theme going on including coin wrapping machine and coin tubes with my gambling establishment imprinted. I'm into this hobby for at least 3 grand and I haven't actually lost a nickle gambling ....

[dattia]

Good for you Jay...sounds like a fun place to be....by the way "IS THAT YOUR HOUSE???" (I mean the picture)

[Utopia1dc]

Dattia-

Just make sure you do that claim with PayPal and Ebay within your 30 days. Otherwise you could be SOL, if the seller doesn't own up to his responsibilities.