Remember a while ago I told you that I often use "very annoying" to describe situations? Well, I have a story that was REALLY annoying!
I bought a machine on ebay just last week and was very excited about my purchase. Got a great price on an old Bernina. I was very excited to receive it and planned to take it up to Sunriver for our little sewing fest. You can see where this is going, right?
The machine arrives 2 days ago and I wanted to savor the moment of opening it and setting the new darling on my sewing table in its proper place.
I opened it last night and initially was a little put off by the crack in the hard case and my inability to lift the machine by its handle. The fact that the foot pedal was filthy was a little disconcerting but I figured I could clean that. When I tried to thread it and found that the thread was getting stuck all along the thread path was a little troubling. When I looked at the foot I still thought I could just oil it up and it'd be fine. What's a little rust? WRONG!
The darn thing does sew a few stitches. Then stops. Then starts again. And the bobbin holder had a large rust spot.
OMG... piece of garbage.
So I'm shipping it back to the seller, who is going to refund me my original shipping cost. I'm trying to get him to pay the return shipping as well. The guy only is giving me a p.o. box, which means I can't use fedex, which is half the price of the post office.
So, wouldn't you call this ANNOYING??
Ever get screwed on something from ebay? I'd love to hear other stories so I know I'm not the only sucker out there!!
Love to you all,
Randy
I would call that more than annoying - I would call that getting ripped off. Sheesh. That's the only downside to Ebay. My Husband bought me a second featherweight (thank goodness I have a great one in working order) on Ebay for Christmas. It's a great addition to my collection because it has a special badge on it, but when I went to sew on it I disocvered a rats nest...like a MUD and POOH and who knows what else rats nest inside of it. EEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!! THAT was ANNOYING...and GROSS! Lol*
ReplyDeleteBe sure and leave a review of the seller. Did you read the seller's reviews before you bought the machine?
ReplyDeleteYou are not the only one to get ripped off. I bought a red and white hearts and gizzards quilt that was supposed to be in good shape. When it arrived it has been used as a pad between an old mattress and springs. The springs had rusted so the back of the quilt was covered with circles of rust. Needless to say I was disappointed. Kept the quilt but was sure to put an accurate review about the seller. I guess the old adage stands, "Buyer beware". Sorry you got ripped off.
ReplyDeleteI would pursue a refund, especially if listing wasn't truthful.
ReplyDeletesorry to hear. I think I'd be using a lot stronger language -
duh, should have read your post carefully - glad you are getting a refund.
ReplyDeletebut still, a disappointment.
OMG I hope that is not the typical thing! I just bought 2 featherweights this past week on Ebay (yes I'm a little addicted to the ebay auctions) and I'm viewing one today at Panera that was local. I figure one ought to work.
ReplyDeleteso sorry about the bernina! we can bring machines so don't worry!!!!
ReplyDeletewe are still coming, a little rust on a machine will not keep us away!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteIt's annoying, but it happens! Aargh!
ReplyDeleteOnce on eBay I bought what was supposed to be an assorted lot of vintage linens, well, what showed up was old curtains cut into pieces, and not even very old! I was really annoyed. The seller wanted to reduce the price but I returned them and of course got stuck with the return shipping cost. I hate that. Yes, be sure to leave an accurate review on eBay but AFTER the issue is all settled. Care to share the seller's user name?
ReplyDeleteI bought some quilt blocks--not vintage, but nice nine-patch that I really liked. I didn't receive what was in the photo. Contacted the seller and they said that they just use that photo and then make a new set for each order. The ones in the photo were straight seams and nice fabrics--not at all what I received. She said I could keep them and she had mailed my refund. Like a dummy, I believed her. I said I didn't want the blocks and returned them. Refund never came--further attempts at contact went unanswered. She then disappeared from ebay. Her ratings had been good, though she didn't have many of them. Lesson learned. I still buy from ebay but only from sellers with LOTS of positive reviews from a long-standing account, not just a recently established account with a handful of positives.
ReplyDeleteI bought a Bernina on ebay.... looks like I did a big check to roumanian charities they used fake PO, fake Fedex track and email.
ReplyDeleteEbay tracked them back but of course I never had any refound.....
So far I've been blessed to have good dealings on ebay. I have bought a couple of things and paid for them, but never got them - so ebay refunded with no problem. All of the other things I've purchased were as they were pictured and/or described. I sell things on ebay, so I do check feedback info for buying and selling. I do think in the last year or so, the quality of items on ebay has declined. I know I don't buy as much as I did a couple of years ago. Bad sellers has hurt the efficiency an profitability of doing business on ebay.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry for your bad purchase - Hope you can get the shipping refunded too!
It is Verrrrrrry Annoying!!
Blessings
Yes, it's happened to me to. Not on anything big, but that is so not the point. I really hope this works out for you the way it should. Just having a PO box is not a comfortable thing. Can you get the powers that be, the heads of EBay involved in this to?? I hope so. Besides this little upset - have a great weekend and just enjoy the sunshine of the summer days and find a place to sew outside!!!
ReplyDeleteI had a friend who tried to buy a sewing machine on Ebay once, it didn't work and she never did get her money back. I won't buy anything electrical unless I can test it out before paying for it. I did find a hand crank on craigslist that I'm hoping my husband will buy me though!
ReplyDeleteRandy I am so sorry that you have had this experience. but please don`t give up there are some nice people out there as well. I too got an older model bernina from a yahoo group called sew its for sale. I honestly have to say that I am very happy with my purchase. I did not get a manual with the machine but lucky me had a friend that also has the same machine and I was able to get a copy.
ReplyDeleteDon`t dispair whatever you do! there are honest people! there really are and I hope that you have better luck try seaching this yahoo group I am sure you will find what you are looking for in better quality.
Most of my eBay transactions have been a success, but there have been a couple times when the item wasn't what I thought it would be, and the sellers were happy to refund the money plus shipping, but not always return shipping. At that stage of the game, I'm just thankful they've agreed to take it back and refund, so I don't usually push for more. Sorry it didn't end up as good as you thought it would be. I bought a Featherweight on eBay about 10 years ago, and it was good, just as described.
ReplyDeleteIf you used a credit card, check to see if you have some kind of buyer's protection. I purchased some china a few years ago that arrived broken. It took some phone calls, but I got paid for the broken pieces. Hope this helps!
ReplyDeleteOUCH!
ReplyDeleteso sorry to hear this......don't forget to report him so no one else gets
suckered in to buying this awful machine. Plus it sounds like Bernina abuse, no reason to treat a beautiful machine like that! What model is it?
I hope you get a good resolution on this dirty deal!
Happy Sewing
I've had more good experiences on eBay than bad but recently purchased a featherweight-type machine which arrived broken in pieces. The packaging was horrific. I left a "neutral" rating for the seller; some seller's will leave YOU negative feedback if you leave them negative comments. I would rather pay a little more in an eBay auction with a seller who has many positive ratings than a "newbie" or someone who has any negative feedback. There are so many auctions, new ones coming on all the time that often I just "watch" things for quite awhile before I jump in. Sorry you had a bad experience. I would be MAJORLY "ticked"
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that you are getting your money back. I would definitely contact PayPal if you used them for payment because they only want to deal with reputable people. I bought my featherweight from eBay and had a really wonderful experience. The machine was very clean and worked right out of the box. I had it "detailed" and tuned up by a local singer expert and it runs like a top. I hope you'll have better luck next time. And YES this is ANNOYING by any definition.
ReplyDeleteSorry for your bad experience and it was really bad, but hopefully the seller will do the right thing and refund your money, shipping charge, etc. I usually have good luck on Ebay, but haven't tried to buy anything used that involved electricity either. With the machine you got, the seller should have warned the buyer about the condition.
ReplyDeleteJust saw your post - don't have a blog, but wanted to let you know that a post office box holder has the option to accept shipments from UPS and Fed Ex now - that the physical address of the post office is used I believe - it is required to fill out a form with the post office for the box holder in order to set this up.
ReplyDeleteI ordered twice from E-Bay. A bobbin case for a featherweight and a foot control. The bobbin case would not go into the machine and the cord was cut on the foot control. It took a while but I did manage to get a refund from both parties for the items and both shipping costs-to and return. The only thing that bothered me was one vendor refunded the money to the PayPal account and I then had to pay them to mail me a refund check!
ReplyDeleteI've purchased two oldies on eBay recently and am pleased. Both sellers specialize in reconditioning old machines and have thousands of sales and 100% rating. I saw an old Kenmore that was for sale from an individual who only had a couple of ratings. It could have been good. It could have been bad. I had to pass. I read those ratings not only to see what they have sold but what the comments are too.
ReplyDeleteHi...how disappointing for you...I have been very lucky both buying and selling on eBay....no problems....
ReplyDeleteeBay does have their "eBay Buyer Protection" plan which would help in your case....look for it....
Here's a quote from it...
We'll work with the seller to help resolve the issue.
We'll contact the seller and ask them to resolve the issue. After 7 days (or 10 days, in case of international transactions), we'll ask you how it's going with the seller. If you tell us that the problem cannot be resolved between you and the seller, and your case qualifies for and is covered by eBay Buyer Protection, eBay will refund your full purchase price plus original shipping into your PayPal account.
I think a sewing machine would be covered here...
Good luck.......
I do think that this qualifies as really annoying! Sorry you had this experience. Glad you can at least get a refund for the machine.
ReplyDeleteI've had some good with Ebay but the bad has really turned me off to it. Two times perfectly good items were ruined because of really poor packing and one was supposedly done by a mailing center. I purchased a Bernina 1090 that was really in good condition...only to find it packed on its side in the flimsy but hard case. I opened it to find cracks in the machine case and oil all over the place. I really wanted it still so I had it serviced and will live with the small defects left but my only other recourse would have been simply to hand it back to UPS for a refund from whoever. It was just sad that packing from a "pro" could be so inappropriate. I have since sewn on the new Bernina 550 and wish I'd saved my money for that :-o
ReplyDeleteI bought a featherweight a while back that was just something that MAYBE could be used for parts. It was so mis represented and I never was able to get a response or send it back. Expensive mistake at a time I couldn't afford it. I hope you do get your money back at least.
ReplyDeleteActually Randy, I expect to get screwed on things from ebay. Especially things like a sewing machine... if it was "good" it could be sold locally and the seller would have no need to turn to ebay.
ReplyDeleteI bought thousands and thousands of dollars of Fiestaware 15 years ago and even then would get slam blamed once in a while.
Got to wonder about a rusty sewing machine.... flood? or picked it out of the dump?