Interesting Ebay seller

[habanero]

I came across a guy selling a couple old saws pretty close to where I live, so I asked him if picking them up was okay rather than paying shipping. Here is the response I got on one:

...To repeat; for pick-up the wiz will cost a total of $60 minus your bid price. If the bid is over $60, then pick-up is no charge. The wiz is a working saw with a good 1/2 inch chain worth in the neighborhood of $100. I am dissappointed in the lack of interest. Fritz'

He had a starting price of 1 cent and nobody has bid, so he's worried he won't recoup his money. I know a lot of sellers have "handling" fees they charge even for picked-up items, which I don't like but if it is clearly stated in the description that is one thing. But his pick-up charge scheme was not stated in the description and only came about because I asked.

Another saw he's selling has a 24" bar listed, but he told me if I won the auction and picked it up it'd cost me an extra 20 bucks for the bar (but he'd include a 16" bar for free).

I've been around Ebay a long time and thought I'd seen just about all, but this mental midget takes the cake. This has been reported to Ebay, but it won't do any good, I'm sure.

 

[ryno]

There is a lot of scum bags on ebay. You have to be careful and smart. Just remember if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.

I have reported many fraudlent listing to ebay over the years. When you look at stuff enough you can spot the scams right away.

The biggist tip off is when they want you to email them outside of ebay. You should never have to do this. Another obvious one is worldwide shipping. (expecially on large items- cars, tractors, snowmobiles)

I have also had a lot of good experence with ebay, you just have to be careful.

 

[ScottWojo]

Hey Habby Ol' Boy. Who is the guy your talking about? What is his username?

Thanks,
Scott.

 

[habanero]

See your PM, Scott.

 

[habanero]

...I have also had a lot of good experence with ebay, you just have to be careful.

I agree fully. I've never had a "bad" experience (i.e. something not sent or not the right item), just a few little glitches now and then. I just thought this one was particularly funny. Some of his later messages were getting pretty nasty, I think I made him angry somewhere along the way.

 

[windthrown]

You can post a link to the Ebay listing here and we can look at the sale ourselves. I do it all the time on AS to poke fun at some Ebay listed stuff.

As for scum, if you think chainsaws are bad on Ebay (and they certainly are, from my experience) try cameras. New Nikons with USA Warantees are really grey-market imports or factory refurbished stuff with 'in store' warantees. Most of the Ebay camera stores in NY and NJ are fronts, and they have 3 or 4 alias names that they do business under. I mean it is so bad, if you look at some of the feedback on some of the online retail ratings pages (outside of Ebay), and they rank a 1.1 out of 10. That's 90% bad feedback!

As for chainsaws, the guy that sold me the 'Saw from Hell' (my MS 210) that caused a lot of flack on AS is no longer listed on Ebay. My one bad feedback on Ebay is from that guy and he is not even on Fleabay any more. I would advise that Ebay is a bad place to buy a working chainsaw. Its great for buying parts, and broken chainsaws, at best.

 

[ryno]

I bought my MS 460 on ebay. It was in like new condition. And it was a local seller. I bought it, paid for it and then drove 45 min to go pick it up. It was just as described. Fired right up. I would bet the saw had less then 10 hours on it. It had the origional bar and the paint was barley worn. I paid $450 for it. That was about 2.5 years ago. I have run it a lot with no problems.


What year did they change them to the MS models from the 046's? Did the fuel and oil caps chage at the same time? Can someone tell the year by the SN?

I have seen some ms660's with the old style threaded caps. i was wondering if someone put newer plactic on an older saw of if there was a gap in these changes. This has probably been discussed on another thread.

 

[ScottWojo]

I would advise that Ebay is a bad place to buy a working chainsaw. Its great for buying parts, and broken chainsaws, at best.

Easy now, just cuz you only hear about sad stories does not mean that all saws are bad on eBay. Here is an upstanding guy for example....

Upstanding Ebay saw seller!

And I did an investigation to the equipment the guy is selling. If I were into that stuff, I would buy it in a heartbeat. Sounds like the guy just wants a certain amount for the saw and is circumventing eBay fees. No skin off the buyers nose, but will eventually cause everyones selling fees to go up.

Scott.

 

[windthrown]

Easy now, just cuz you only hear about sad stories does not mean that all saws are bad on eBay.
Scott.

Not heard about Ebay. Experienced on Ebay. Every saw I have bought on Ebay listed as "like new" or "great running saw" has had some majors flaws, save for one. One out of... six? Even the parts saws are usually far worse than stated.

My experience:

Great near new 'ready to cut' MS 210: turned out to be a beater parts saw that was flipped on Ebay. Bad coil, bad bar, bad carb, broken handle, dead oiler, many hours on the saw, yadda yadda. He refused to accept the saw back, and I filed a dispute with Paypal. They sided with me, but I would have had to pay return shipping, and then they could not gurantee payment if he did not have the funds to cover the complaint in his Paypal account. So I kept it. I got it running, but it is pretty worn out and so it sits here as a parts saw to feed my 230 hybrid and 025 now. Lesson: ONLY PAY WITH A Credit Card on PAYPAL!

Great condition 460: Was well used, in not so great condition, returned and seller admitted it was in not so great shape on return. He gave me a full refund and paid for the return shipping though. I posted several threads on that saw here on AS (BTW, the seller was an AS member). Lesson: AS members are better to deal with (though I did not know that they were an AS member at the time I bid for the saw).

025 parts saw with slight clutch problem: OK, it was a parts saw, but the clutch had shredded a hole right through the case to the oiler and that was worn right through to the brass. I mean case fried, clutch housing dead, clutch assembly destroyed. I parted it out on Ebay though, and broke even. Lesson: Parts saws may not even be worth the parts, and are typically more broken than stated.

New 361: turned out to be a complete fraud. I had to file a complaint with the FBI and the case is still pending. Lesson: A fool and his money are soon parted.

Newer MS 230: turned out to be a hybrid 023/230. Works OK, has some scoring though. I will probably part it out on Ebay. Lesson: You can recoop some losses, and sometimes make a profit at it.

Nearly new MS 361 with case: Was actually as stated. Works great. Had been run maybe 10 times, was taken care of and not smoked. The only exception in my case on Ebay. Lesson: There are exceptions to the rule.

025 parts saw that was exactly as stated, though the guy posting it had no idea what it was. I knew what it was so it was not a big deal. Had a sheared flywheel key though, obviously seized it. Lesson: If you look hard and long, you can find values on Ebay.

Running 023 saw that was actually a mis-badged 026. I knew that the saw was really an 026 and bought it. Its a beater, but it was worth the price of a used 023. It is now a project saw. Still way not as advertized though. Lesson: If you know your saws, you can find deals out there from people that do not.

Caveat emptor... yes, there are some saws out there to be had for a good price on Ebay, but you had better beware. Is it really worth it though? Far better to buy at the local saw shop new (I advise buying new, as parts can really add up fast!), or look on Craigslist or local ads, and look at the saw before you buy. I know the Stihl line pretty well, but photos and words can be deceiving.

 

[ScottWojo]

Gee Wiz man, Im Sorry!

Wow, you have the worst luck. I am really sorry.
The last guy who was not exactly happy with one of my saws said it was dirty. I told him it included free saw dust and oil. It was a used saw. I would be suspicious of a sparkling clean pressurewashed saw as a buyer.

 

[reachtreeservi]

Thx !

Thanks Windthrown for the ebay info. never fooled with ebay much, bought 2 things, one was as described, one was a total rip. Still, I've been looking at the saws on ebay lately, thinking about buying a 660 or 880. At that price point , any saving would sure help.I would only consider bidding on one somewhat local, so I could check it out in person. Everyone wish me some Ebay luck !

 

[rxe]

I've bought several off ebay, mainly old stuff. It has all been pretty much as advertised:

090 - Advertised as working OK, and indeed it is in good order.
070 - advertised as not working, has needed several parts and much fiddling
010 - advertised as hard to start, needed tuning (bought that for my bro in law)
192T - advertised as NIB, was indeed NIB. Came with a spare piston & jug too!
07S - advertised as spares or repairs, needed tuning
07S - advertised as spares or repairs, was indeed a parts saw.

I don't buy much modern stuff on eBay - the 192 was simply to get one as they don't sell them in the UK. Most of the above were cheap and unloved, that's why I bought them.

 

[Eric Egland]

e-bay saws cont.

Well, I'm totally in agreement with the above comments.
The percentages are against a happy purchase of "running/new" saws.
I would be expecting to have to work on the majority of saws. HOWEVER, the next MS 390 looks to be a good bet, now at $370.00 + shipping. They claim it to be as new, and looks it.
Sometimes, a person can luck out.
Now, I don't mind taking a chance on a piece of electronic test equipment, as if it dosen't work, it soon will be.
Also, tractor parts are a good bet, as they are rusty, dirty and greasy, guaranteed.
When the price on e-bay gets closer than 66% of new, best get a new saw.
just an opinion,
Eric

 

[Edge & Engine]

Wow, you have the worst luck. I am really sorry.
The last guy who was not exactly happy with one of my saws said it was dirty. I told him it included free saw dust and oil. It was a used saw. I would be suspicious of a sparkling clean pressurewashed saw as a buyer.

I always dismantle & clean my saws before sale on ebay. I've learned two things about selling saws: A good description is helpful, and a dozen clear pictures aren't too many.

 

[windthrown]

When the price on e-bay gets closer than 66% of new, best get a new saw.
just an opinion,
Eric

Yah, I gott'a agree with that. Stihl parts saws typically go for 50% of new price on Ebay though. They command a premium. Something in the Stihl line that is actually newer and working well is more like 90%, or even ABOVE full price. Which seems strange to me. But then, maybe they are targeting one of the foreign markets with cheap shipping. Or something like that.

 

[spacemule]

I've never once gotten screwed on Ebay--not once. Am I lucky, or does common sense come into play? :greenchainsaw:

 

[windthrown]

I've never once gotten screwed on Ebay--not once. Am I lucky, or does common sense come into play? :greenchainsaw:

You are lucky. Fraud on the internet, and particularly Ebay is rampant according to my discussion with an FBI agent (and deputy from the sherrif's department) that I talked with. Before chainsaws I just got burned on some DVD knock-offs and stuff like that on Ebay. I sell far more than I buy there though. Of late I have switched to Craigslist abd had better luck selling though. Sold my Bruch Bandit chipper on there recently.

 

[Bowtie]

EBay has treated me good, except for a chainsaw tach that died after 2 weeks. I agree with Space to a point, a person must use common sense on what is prudent to buy sight unseen. Otherwise it is like going to the casino...with worse odds.

 

[GASoline71]

I've never once gotten screwed on Ebay--not once. Am I lucky, or does common sense come into play? :greenchainsaw:

Me either Rexy... I guess I just have a realistic view of what to expect when I by a used item.

No offense meant to anyone on the above statement.

Yes, there are scam artists on ebay... but there are tons of good, honest, respectable sellers on there too. You'se gots to do your homework on the items to not get screwed. However there are times it still does happen.

Maybe I'm lucky too...

Gary

 

[2dogs]

Hab you should contact ebay with the info you posted here. They want to know this kind os stuff. What was the sellers feedback%?