[geeks] Bah, humbug

[Phil Stracchino]

Geoffrey S. Mendelson wrote:
> On Sat, Mar 31, 2007 at 03:51:19PM -0400, Phil Stracchino wrote:
> 
>> Two and a half weeks later, after two and a half weeks of non-response
>> and vague handwaving, finally we got an answer back yesterday saying
>> that the problem was much worse than they thought, that their forklift
>> driver bumped the printer when moving it from the warehouse, that the
>> inside of the printer was trashed, and the only thing they could do with
>> it was strip it for parts.
> 
> Isn't that what's negative feedback is for? 
> 
> Geoff.

It's more than just a negative-feedback issue, it's an eBay terms of
service violation.  By listing that printer for sale, they represented
that it was as described in the auction and entered into a binding
contract to sell it for the winning bid, modulo reserve (and there was
no reserve).  Now, depending which way it actually went down, either
they misrepresented the condition of the printer, or they represented it
honestly but they're backing out and refusing to honor the contract.

I tend to believe the latter, because I don't consider it plausible that
their forklift operator could have damaged the printer internally badly
enough to completely write it off and leave no externally visible sign
that it had happened.  HP printers of that era are built SOLIDLY.  They
don't break just from being jolted around a little on the forklift.
Plus, I don't see how "their tech" could plausibly have "discovered a
minor problem with the fuser" within minutes of the end of the auction
of a printer that was listed as "fully tested, cleaned and working", and
yet taken two and a half weeks to discover that the printer was in fact
smashed beyond repair internally.  If it took him a matter of minutes to
check it post-auction, it was in their showroom, not in their warehouse;
and if it was damaged when moving it from their warehouse, then it was
damaged before they listed it, and if it was damaged that badly before
moving it into the showroom, they'd have discovered the damage when
testing and cleaning it.  There's just too many ways their story doesn't
hang together.  It's all circumstantial evidence, but the circumstantial
evidence is all consistent with a story that's different from the one
they're telling.


So I'm not just giving negative feedback, I'm filing a dispute, just as
soon as eBay gets back to me and tells me how I can attach my complete
email log of the entire history.


-- 
 It's not the years, it's the mileage.
 Phil Stracchino              phil.stracchino at speakeasy.net
 Renaissance Man, Unix generalist, Perl hacker, Free Stater
 Landline: 603-429-0220                Mobile: 603-320-5438