Brian:
I always read your posts - they are often very thought-provoking and filled with good information. Please keep 'em coming.
I think I may understand how you feel - there's too much nonsense passing for commerce on eBay IMO too.
This may be a good time to "flesh out" my Caveat Emptor philosophy vis-a-vis eBay. (Disclaimer - your actual mileage may vary; kids, don't try this at home...).
Unfortunately, there are a lot of yutzes like this goofball in Las Vegas that are selling on eBay. I wish eBay would police stuff like this, but in reality they just can't. EBay is just too enormous. 15 or 20 million auctions per day IIRC.... I've seen sellers with 33% "fraud claim filed - stay away" negative FB that are still selling?? If they bounce them, the person will just come back under an alias.
Fortunately, these folks are maybe 1% of the traders on eBay. Most folks are honest and sincere, though perhaps not always well-informed. I'd agree that it's getting worse in general these days, however - I think there may be a lot of new people coming to eBay due to the bad Economic situation here in the US and elsewhere- it's relatively easy to generate some cash via selling on eBay, and people think it'll be "easy money." It's really not, at least long-term.
Here in the US, we live in the most freedom-filled country on the planet. There are going to be some prices that we will have to pay to remain that way (our A-G and his dream of a Police State notwithstanding - sorry, too political for CR perhaps; end of political rant).
Always, always review a seller's feedback very carefully before bidding any real amount of money on eBay. What I do is: A) generally avoid sellers with more than 1% "problems," and B) look at any neutrals or negatives that a seller has received in detail - review the item involved, the other person's feedback (i.e. is he just a nut that can be dismissed as a "one percenter?"), and how the seller responded to the problem. If he basically said "f - you" to the buyer, then I'd avoid that seller like the Plague. Some sellers threaten buyers with negative feedback if they don't give glowing reviews to the seller; often, you can suss this out from careful review of the feedback details/timing. Conversely, some buyers threaten sellers with negative feedback if they don't give a discount - sheesh! If it smells bad, it probably is bad....
This is also a big reason why buying from a low- or no-feedback seller is risky - no established track record. The feedback system is not perfect, but it speaks volumes about a seller's integrity IMO.
Exchanging a few e-mails with the seller about the item in question can also help too - you can tell a lot from the way they respond to an inquiry.
Fortunately, it is generally fairly easy to tell from things like smart-ass / prick verbage in listings, and from a seller's feedback details, whether he's an a**hole. (Can I say that on CR? Sorry in advance if anyone is offended). Again, I'd recommend staying far away in those cases.
Also, check a seller's ID history; if he's frequently changing his ID, what's he trying to hide?
I don't like lots of what I see on eBay, but the pictures of the (actual) item and the seller's feedback are the two most important keys in my humble opinion. You must do your homework to be successful long-term IMO.... Assume nothing....
Regards,
Greg "eBay junkie" Parker Ann Arbor, MI USA
> From: Brian Baylis <rocklube@adnc.com>
> To: fuzzybunnies@pot.com
> Cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> Subject: Re: [CR]is this a derosa tt bike
> Message-ID: <3E154092.39E4@adnc.com>
> References: <20030103023516.DF7634750@sitemail.everyone.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
> MIME-Version: 1.0
> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
> Precedence: list
> Reply-To: rocklube@adnc.com
> Message: 7
>
> Russell,
>
> I seriously doubt that is a DeRosa TT bike. I have had a few come thru
> here in years past and they look nothing like that. Furthermore, the
> dropout treatment is not DeRosa style and also lacks the "DeRosa"
> embossed dropout faces. I didn't look bryond that but I'm sure if I did
> there would be plenty more problems. This looks like a typical eBay
> snowjob to me. Boy, do I love eBay.........NOT!! Why do people do this??
> Someone please explain.
>
> Brian Baylis
> La Mesa, CA
> Not exactly growing fonder of eBay. Can't imagine why.
>
>
>
> >
> >there's an ebay auction for a derosa timetrial bike
> >http://ebay.com/<blah>
> item=1986667734
> >and I was wondering if anyone has seen a de rosa frame like this before or
> know if they made one in this style. There is no decals on the frame and
> just a couple on the fork though they don't say derosa either. I've emailed
> the seller but haven't recieved a response yet. Course if it isn't this is
> a good outing for a super record group if anyone's looking. Russ Roth,
> Albany, NY