Bad ebay purchase

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In last December (2013) I thought I’d treat myself to a Christmas present – and bid on a 2nd hand 1980’s Korg Synthesizer. To my delight, I won the auction – and was excited to receive my new toy.

Then things started to go wrong. The seller fails to send the item, and after much badgering and finally I lodged a dispute, she posts the item on the 10th January 2014 (note the original purchase date 16-Dec-2013) – so nearly a month later. Yes, Christmas was in there, but still, this is unacceptable. WARNING SIGN #1

Eventually I receive the item today (23-Jan-2014) and it is in extremely poor condition.

There was no power socket:

No power socket!

There was some major damage:

Major damage!

It was in very poor condition – and the cleanliness was terrible:

There was so much dust, dirt and grim – it looked like it was found on a rubbish tip!

Picture of the box condition – bad packaging: no bublewrap or internal protection:

Box – how it was packed
Box – internal showing broken pieces of plastic

what is that coin? did she toss me a bit of change for her trouble?

This picture shows the box how it got damaged during transit – and how the rubber foot part of the keyboard poked through the cardboard! :

Box – showing hole where bottom foot of synthesizer poke through

So was this the same as the seller’s description:

Vintage Korg Synthesizer great condition for being 30 years old.. Needs a new power cord. Tested and fully functional,, Great sound.

“great condition” – I dont think so!

“needs a new power cord” – didn’t get one – but yes, it also needs a new power socket!

“tested and fully functional” – how did you test it?

“great sound” – what?

Just to prove it – here is an actual screenshot of the original seller’s description of the goods:

Ebay purchase description

Here is the picture the seller put on the ebay listing:

ebay-korg-dw6000

Here is the picture of the same area that I took:

The real thing

Conclusion

Was there any signs from the seller or listing that this was a bad purchase?

I shouldn’t have bidded – for these reasons:

  1. The seller had 1 bad comment – item not delivered.
  2. There was only one picture on the listing
  3. There were no questions asked about the item – you should always ask questions (like what’s wrong with the power cord? and can I see some more pictures? )

UPDATE:

Ebay/Paypal have ruled in my favour and refunded me. This post isn’t a dig at Ebay or Paypal – its a dig at dodgy people (scammers) – and hopefully someone learns from me.