OT: Why I Love AT FS/FT

[GeoffS]

So, I need a black burner fast. Nobody is selling them here, so I go to fleabay (*GASP*). I find one... a NEC 16x and buy it with the Buy-It-Now, and send the money immediately. The seller had 125 positive and a single negative (item advertised as new, really refurbished). Two weeks pass, three emails go unanswered. Last email threatens action against him with eBay, SafeHarbor, his local PD, and the FBI. Surprise surprise, I get an email that the drive shipped that morning.

Drive arrives. Plug it in and the firmware does indeed identify it as a NEC drive, HOWEVER, the only sticker on the drive says NESI. What the hell is that I wonder, so I look it up and find this, and more interestingly, this page where the company's items are described as

Our drives are not "pulls" from old computers. They are newly manufactured, hardly used, OEM returns which NESI has screened and precisely calibrated to ensure compliance with all the OEM's originally intended high standards. NESI employs state of the art equipment in its refurbishing process.

(bolding by me for emphasis).

*SIGH*

So, I just sent this email...

I received the drive. There is no labeling on it that indicates that it is a NEC drive. There is a NESI sticker on it. I will plug it in and see what the firmware says when it boots up.

*BUT*

The label on the drive is from a company called NESI. The only company I can find online is this one:

http://www.nesi-fdd.com/

If this is the company that you acquired this drive from, please explain following from their website:

Our drives are not "pulls" from old computers. They are newly manufactured, hardly used, OEM returns which NESI has screened and precisely calibrated to ensure compliance with all the OEM's originally intended high standards. NESI employs state of the art equipment in its refurbishing process.

You listed this drive as NEW. If it was acquired from this company, it is not new, it is refurbished, or 'hardly used'.

I will accept this refurbished drive, assuming it works, at a lower price than I paid. I paid for a new drive and that's not what I got. If you don't want to offer a partial refund for this drive, I will expect a total refund, plus my shipping costs back to you. For reference, I discovered I can get a NEW BLACK 24x here:

http://www.directron.com/24102b1.html

for $35 + shipping. So, refund me $20 to my paypal account (geoffst@adelphia.net) as compensation for your misleading advertising, or refund me the entire amount that I paid including the shipping and the additional shipping costs to send the drive back to you.

And, I also expect positive feedback for my prompt payment for this item. I hope that I don't have to chase you around for a response again this time. I expect one within 24 hours, or, as stated in my previous email, I will take whatever measures I need to take to get your attention.

Why oh why did I go to fleabay???

Geoff

 

[zodder]

Nice sig!

Bummer story, though.

 

[iam4u2nv]

Our drives are not "pulls" from old computers. They are newly manufactured, hardly used, OEM returns which NESI has screened and precisely calibrated to ensure compliance with all the OEM's originally intended high standards

What?

Not pulls but hardly used?????

 

[Killrose]

This place and the people here have been very good to me. I've been burnt only once.

 

[FoBoT]

Originally posted by: GeoffS
Why oh why did I go to fleabay???

fleabay is da debbil!!!

 

[Audiofight]

Geoff

Sorry to hear about that. Hopefully the drive performs at 16x standards and all.

Good luck bump for ya

 

[edblor]

Geoff,

You really should have known better

I guess now you do:Q

Sorry bud.....you should have asked me.....I have one. A nice Sony 24x16x40.



G/L getting that money back though!

Edblor

 

[udonoogen]

i love AT. off topic and hot deals too. =) you guys rule

 

[masterxfob]

hit him where it hurts, and hit him hard :disgust:

 

[gil11542]

I have never used EGAY, I have read enough of this type of stuff that I will never go there. AT is where I have done 99.9% of my trading Maybe once or twice over at FW,AMDMB,ARS I may buy a game or somthing.

I would say to chalk it up as a lesson learned and one you dont want to forget.

 

[lopingho]

I feel for you man. I got burned in a similar fleabay deal involving some joker name gr8sounds. He sold me a Rockford Fosgate car amplifier (advertised as new) and took 3 weeks to ship it making up all kinds of excuses. I threatened to get ebay, paypal, and the FBI involved and he finally shipped me the amp.
It died about a month later and Fosgate refused to repair under warranty etc....To put the icing on the cake the ass left me negative feedback. Ebay is a clearing house for refurbished junk man. They even have auctions for books on how to obtain refurb stuff to sell on fleabay!

 

[Yossarian]

Excellent email to him, no ranting or raving, just the facts and what you want done to correct the situation.

 

[Darein]

I've only made two purchases off of ebay and one of them was for bad merchandise. I really hate that place. Anandtech on the other hand has been great.

 

[RossMAN]

G R O U P H U G

 

[MainFramed]

Originally posted by: zodder
Nice sig!

Bummer story, though.

 

[Lithium381]

Originally posted by: Darein
I've only made two purchases off of ebay and one of them was for bad merchandise. I really hate that place. Anandtech on the other hand has been great.

i've had one almost bad event on AT FS/T and been good with my 5 transactions so far on ebay....i deal mostly with the "power sellers" so it makes me feel a little better...good luck with that man, i know how it is to have to deal with idiots

 

[zeroidea]

FWIW, I bought a 32X NESI CD-ROM drive from someone here on AT, and it too was actually an NEC.. worked fine.

 

[GeoffS]

Well... for me it was more the principle that the guy didn't come clean with what he was selling. It was advertised as new and a NEC. For all I know he took some POS and flashed it with NEC firmware. There were no NEC markings on it at all. And the company it was bought from before being sold to me advertises themselves as dealing with refurbished articles. Pissed me off a bit.

Geoff

 

[dethman]

with ebay you never know what you're gonna get. thats why i mainly use it for selling and not buying.

i also have an NESI 40X SCSI drive which comes up as NEC on BIOS read.

 

[Dragnov]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
G R O U P H U G

Yes, we all need one. I lost ~$160 on an fleabay also.

 

[bizmark]

I've had mostly good experiences with eBay. Most people are good by nature, IMO. I've never traded here, but I'm sure it's a satisfying experience

 

[Farbio]

i do like fs/t so much better than ebay as well.....
and i can definitely verify geoffs' signature is the truth...i'm still picking out pieces of shredded newspaper from under my desk from a package he shipped me over a year ago!

 

[hans007]

i love fs/ft.


back in the dealers allowed days, i was able to get rid of tons of stuff there.

nowadays there are tons of things i want there, and i still get rid of my personal crap and other extra things.


i have to sell all my stuff on ebay now, its more of a pain, not really because of the buyers who usually pay and are good about it, but the questions bidders ask. they have got to be mentally retarded.