Merason dac MK1 on audio mart

@dseltz  Same message I got.

Thanks for following up on this, @dseltz 

USAudio sent this to my inquiry

"Hi there,

We're in communication with both parties and we're confident that there was no scam. Just a breakdown in communication.

Cxxxx - USAM Moderator Team"

@chason678 

Would the person you’re talking about happen to live in Rhode Island?

@metaldetektor That is essentially what USAudioMart determined when I asked about the transaction/ad. There was miscommunication between the parties. 

So glad your story has a happy ending!  Definitely retell your story when you review the seller.  US A will publish the good and bad reviews. Hopefully others do the same so he can’t screw others!

I know the seller identified here a little bit and found him to be a very nice guy. We are obviously just getting one side of the story...

PayPal is pretty much always going to rule in favor of the buyer (partly why sellers don't like it...PP has I think overreacted to be so pro-buyer, that they have an anti-seller bias. Easier for a seller to get scammed than a buyer at this point).

@chason678 

It would be helpful if you shared how he coerced you to remove your negative review.

so I just gave Audiomart my side of the story with screenshots of correspondence and paypal confirmation ruling in favor of a full refund. I also said that I don’t think sellers should coerce people into taking down a negative reviews. It seems to me he may be legit, but handled things very badly.

Perhaps, all can only be answered by hearing both sides of the story.

This DAC is still an active listing and has not been removed.  With it being reported its a red flag as to why it is still being shown as active.  Sorry that the OP had to go through the wringer on this.  

@dz13 I did have a response to that, but it was removed. I'll try again putting it differently. I removed my feedback because he emailed me directly and said things in such a way that I felt I had no choice. He has my address and phone. It's just not worth it.

@chason678 I'm glad you won your case but I'm concerned that your negative feedback disappeared from the seller's reputation. My concern is that if AudioMart can be hacked to fake reputation or get rid of bad feedback, it makes buyers very vulnerable. 

So can you let me know if you erased your negative feedback or did it just disappear?

Just found out that Paypal closed the case in my favor and I'll be getting the full refund. Quite relieved. 'Twas stressful.

I hate to think that audio mart would be so irresponsible. I'm also curious to see how this ends...

I don't know this situation at all but I ran into something like this on Ebay where I ordered something and the seller, who had an excellent rating, actually died before he could send it to me. I had to send a number of requests for information prior to finding out what was going on and his brother ultimately sent me the item I ordered. It took a complaint to PayPal to get things moving. 

it seems odd that he would suddenly get into scamming after 43 excellent transactions.

That's for sure. Curious to see how this one ends.

@chason678  So I saw your negative feedback for the seller but now it's gone. Do you know what happened?

It does seem odd, I agree.

@chason678 I don’t see that you’ve given him negative feedback. If he has scammed you, that might be the best way to put others on warning and perhaps make him reconsider. I looked at his reputation and it is spotless. Unless there is a way to fake that, it seems odd that he would suddenly get into scamming after 43 excellent transactions.

Everyone should tag the ad on the other site, as it is still active.

I tagged as scam and noted a friend was scammed, but the item remains an active ad

Sorry for your bad experience, scammers are the worst. Don’t let it sour you on 2nd hand purchases in general or especially on the Merason which is a fantastic device. Sounds like you did all the usual things to be responsible so I wouldn’t feel too bad about it.

Paypal used to be horrible but now surprisingly good at protecting buyers. I would actually worry more as a seller nowadays. If I send a product, buyer says box arrived full of rocks with no product inside, I feel like Paypal is so focused on buyer protections that I might lose that dispute. I never worry as a buyer though.

EDIT of course make sure to always use regular paypal, not friends and family unless they actually are friends and/or family that you know personally.

I've had PayPal quickly honor a claim and slowly deny one for no rational reason. In the latter case the credit card quickly gave a credit and slowly closed the claim in my favor.

Still I buy with PP whoever possible often rejecting all other payments.

Seller Moniker +1

That will really help us avoid a loss

I alerted Audio Mart, as he's selling it again and hasn't refunded the money.

Those crooks know they’ll get busted but they still play their dirty game. It happened to me once. I have got refunded from PayPal in 4 days. Unless I buy from a retailer with proof of legit professional activity, I always used PayPal and that few % points commission let me sleep peacefully. 

If someone has good feedback and the initial communication feels legit (e.g. they can answer questions on the product and seem to understand audio gear and the general jargon), what are the other forms of "due diligence"?    I've used phone calls a few times to get a better feeling about the risk involved, but that is no guarantee either.

The sad part is more and more sellers are refusing to accept PayPal G&S which makes purchasing big ticket items a lot more riskier.  I get it, I don't like the 1099-K forms either or the possibility a buyer makes a bogus claim to void the deal after the fact, but it definitely limits what sale ads I'll consider making a purchase on.  Personally, I've started to accept the fact that paying a bit more for a used item from a dealer or valid re-seller is maybe worth it in certain cases...

Grrr. OP, it sounds like you communicated with the seller and reviewed his feedback. I'm glad that PayPal is on the case. I think the real lesson is that no one should use PayPal F&F unless you know the seller. 

Sellers moniker?

Sorry this happened to you. 200 plus new ads each day on USAM, not all of them are crooks. You gotta do your due diligence when buying used stuff and this does not limit to audio. 

@chason678  Thanks for the heads up. It was something I was potentially thinking about. Have you flagged his ad on USAudioMart?

@scp good to know I'm not alone. I filed a dispute right away. Now waiting the 30 days. Makes me very wary of buying anything through audio sites. Will stick with TMR, Eco or god forbid, full price dealer lol!

I had a similiar thing happen on an Auralic Streamer...I used paypal...and low and behold they made me whole. But I would recomend filing a dispute asap. I did three days after the sale...when communication quit..paypal went right ahead and started the process. took about a month...but I got my money back.

That stinks. Sorry for your bad luck.  Hopefully, PayPal gets your money back.