What to do when the preamp you were ripped off on shows up online ?

If it’s ebay there’s no problem at all as long as you paid using pay pal.i got hit twice during the last 2 years 1700$and1500$ and PayPal handled it well and I got all my funds back.

Ebay no longer owns PayPal.https://www.geekwire.com/2015/everything-you-need-to-know-about-ebay-and-paypals-split-and-how-it-im...

Sold thru market places under discussion some expensive Wilson speakers that were pristine and shipped freight in their original crates. We took pictures of them before shipping. Shipping was done through a vendor who ships artwork around the world.

The buyer complained there were huge scratches in the speakers and wanted $ back and keep the speakers. Buyers remorse. Turned out he pulled the "after the fact discount" on many sellers and was eventually dropped. Just another scam people use.

johnmarzy:

eBay's "sides with the buyer 100% of the time" cuts both ways, and personally, I find it a crock.  Let me relate to you MY personal experience:

Several months ago I sold a vintage Akai R2R deck on eBay.  As I always do post-ship, I contacted the buyer a couple days after receipt to determine their satisfaction with a follow-up courtesy note.  No response.  Another follow-up note.  No response.  17 days elapsed before I was notified that the buyer wanted a refund.  Said the unit wouldn't record (it certainly did when I had it) and said they didn't like the sound.  I complained to eBay that this sounded like someone who bought a tape deck expecting it to sound like a CD, didn't know what they were buying, and was suffering from buyer's remorse.  Ebay at first said "sorry, have them ship it back - on YOUR dime - and refund them their money."  Shipping was about $55 if memory serves.  Then I contacted the buyer two more times asking for assistance with the shipping process:  box dimensions and weight.  Still no contact.  I contacted eBay again and implored them to look at all the facts:  I'm a 14-year member with over 400 transactions, 100% feedback, and they were a new member with less than 10 transactions.  They ignored ALL communication.  I made it clear that if this WASN'T a scam of sorts then the buyer would certainly want to participate in and help facilitate the return.  Further, I made it clear to eBay that they should certainly have that expectation - that a buyer seeking a refund should be an active participant in the process.  Eventually, eBay agreed with me after pleading my case (which is literally what I did on the phone).  They reversed their decision to my favor, but told me the buyer could still appeal their reversal.  I never heard another word about it, so I'm convinced there was something nefarious up with the buyer.

I don't agree with their "buyer is always right" policy because, IMO, it promotes the abuse of honest sellers by unscrupulous buyers.  It's ridiculous to me that their default position is "buyer gets their money back regardless of the facts".

Why not just give him yours? You can get another for yourself or even an upgrade. That is if you can do without for a while?

Big Joe, would you adopt me? Your son is a lucky guy. Have you considered giving your son your C-2200 and replace it at your leisure? Just a thought. I had a similar experience a while back. I unloaded both barrels by opening a Paypal dispute and a credit card dispute simultaneously (I have a credit card as my payment method with Paypal). Had the credit card charge reversed before Paypal could put its pants on. Only way I do business online. If someone doesn't take Paypal, I don't buy. Rarely a problem. I'm glad things are going in the right direction. Have a very Merry Christmas.  

If you used PayPal and haven't received the item contact them and let them know. They hold the funds until everything looks good on both ends.best of luck and thanks for the heads up. 

bigjoe,

"...the seller asked if I still wanted to buy the preamp from him ,I said I would but cannot..."

I hope you did not mean that. The "would" part, not the "cannot" part.

eBay is one of the safest platforms to buy anywhere.  I have been selling on eBay since 1998.  And you should know that as a buyer if you don't like what you bought on eBay, within 30 days, you will get your money back regardless if the seller says no refunds. eBay will side will the buyer 100% of the time "unless" they think there is fraud involved. (on the sellers part)  

Let me add a little personal experience.  I wanted to build my own LP ultrasonic cleaner. So I bought a generic ultrasonic cleaner base and parts that would work to raise and lower the LP's.  I had things to do so it sat around for a few weeks before I put it all together.  Well, the heater on the unit did not work properly and I asked the company for an exchange.  They said no, so I contacted eBay.  They were polite, but told me after 30 days they couldn't help me.  I admitted I took to long, reference my longevity on eBay etc. Still no. However then she said: "did you pay by PayPal?", why yes I did, "Oh good, because you get a 60 guarantee with PayPal. Never heard of such a thing.  Long story short I filled a claim with PayPal and received a full refund within 48 hours.

Now what is worse about the process, for a seller, is that PayPal did not require me to send back the unit before they issued the refund.  I did return it but there was no requirement to do so.

The dealer who frequently has used McIntosh is also Lyric in New York. I have no idea if they have one right now, but it may not hurt to ask. They are overall legitimate brick-and-mortar store (212) 439-1900 lyricusa.com. Just avoid going in there, you may spend more than you wanted.

After reading your post explaining your 15 k purchase and the red flags from eBay. I put 90% of the fault on ebay and not the seller. Sure the seller did get antsy and could have handled the follow up with you and the sale completion better so you didn’t get screwed,  but in hindsight, I can understand his trepidation. It’s unfortunate that you had to go through this. I hope things work out for you and your son soon enough.

donvito are you not aware that scammers will sell the exact same piece of gear on eBay & Agon at the same time is an issue , Also your tone is quite unexpected and uncalled for ,last I checked it was fellow audiophiles moral obligation to inform fellow buyers that a scam artist could be ripping people off , does it honestly matter what site a scammer is operating at before prospective buyers are warned ? My intent with this thread was to warn prospective buyers that a very specific piece of gear was paid for on eBay ,money & equipment kept by seller whos advertising the same piece on other sites , everybody else understood but maybe I've been gone too long & the hobby has changed ,I hope not .

I had the same question.

What the heck does audiogon have to do with your ebay problems? Am I missing something?

Elrod , Bingo ! But I'm not naming anybody ,I'm currently bidding on another one on eBay ,thanks for the links guys ,as for " the rest of the story " I'm not naming specific names because #1 I know Agon hates eBay drama being drug into the Agon forums , and #2 it now appears as if eBay had a hand in starting this mess ,I bid on about $30k worth of gear in 2 hours and made an offer of $15,000 to the seller selling the XRT-30s ,Mc-1201s and C-2200 ,my huge expenditure triggered a red flag on eBays computer and locked everything up ,at that moment the 4,000 plus feedback seller absolutely panicked ,sent messages calling me a scammer ,then messaged me that eBay instructed him to keep the preamp and keep my money ,we all know that's a crock of sh!t ,I sent the seller my phone number and litteraly BEGGED him to call me and he refused ,when he refused to speak with me on the phone even before I sent PayPal I shoulda known he was squirelly ,but I had just read a disclaimer by the mega honest PorscheCab where he was apologizing for not giving his phone # to buyers anymore due to eBay rules and went ahead & sent payment ,I even gave him an extra $100 just because it's Christmas & I couldn't get him to call me ,follow the BINGO and I need not say any names but if you buy don't expect any phone interaction 

I can't imagine going thru a UPS claim for smashed gear with a seller who can't be bothered to call a buyer spending $3,500 when the bulk of his sales are tube amp parts ,after hearing eBays side of the story I don't believe he's dishonest but he sure as hell isn't no Audio Salon , hi John : - )

The two ads referenced in this thread are both dealers with perfect feedback as far back as 2000 and 2001 with hundred of transactions between them so I hope it is not one of them.  If not contact one of them or Audio Classics.  

If this isn't your schmuck, eBay has a pretty good looking one with a BIN
https://www.ebay.com/itm/382649555772

Audio Classics has one.

https://www.audioclassics.com/detail?detail=C2200&nav=cat

+ infinity for Audio Classics !!!!!!!!

PayPal will refund your money 

Your son is extremely lucky to have a dad who is very caring and generous.

@bigjoe Paypal will in all likelihood get you a refund faster than 30 days.
If your son acts up, please adopt me! My dad wouldn't even pay for guitar lessons. Cheers,
Spencer

Audio Classics is the best bet.  You can look on their site to see if they have a C2200 and price.  I have purchased  6 times from them for all my McIntosh equipment and have always come away fully satisfied.

+1 on the audio classics route. 

And if if I were you, I would shout that sellers details across every forum and chance you get (unless we are not hearing the full story). But based on what you have said, he is a crook, plain and simple, and any warning flags you can raise to keep this from happening to someone else would surely be appreciated.

Check out Audio Classics. They should have one!
https://www.audioclassics.com/

Bigjoe, good to hear you’ll be getting your money back. That, and you’re a great dad to do this for your son.

I don’t know if this is the same guy who did a number on you but I found this ad:https://www.ebay.com/itm/202509471015

It's a bidding war so maybe you can get a nice price for it. So far there's only 3 people showing interest.

Good luck and All the best,
Nonoise

Hi guys ,1st off I need to make sure & tell everyone here that the Agon staff has worked with me & went wayyyyy out of their way to assure no member here gets scammed like I did , I did open a case with eBay as well as PayPal who not more than 15 minutes ago sent me an email saying they've read the sellers messages to & from me and sided with me ,a full refund will be back on my credit card within 30 days.

Just so everyone knows my biggest concern isn't $3,500 ,I can wait a month to get that returned ,I don't need that money to make Christmas ,but what I do need is another McIntosh C-2200 In good shape with remote and boxes to give to my son for Christmas ,he's got kids of his own now & struggles with money as we all did when we we're young ,I gave him a pair of McIntosh XR-290s along with a pair of Emotiva 1,000 watt monoblocks because I was so proud that he & his girl bought their 1st house ,I've had my C-2200 for over 10 years I believe & he has drooled over it since I made him squeeze behind my rack to hook up the XLRs lol , for Christmas we bought our youngest & his girl a 2nd car so I really wanted this Christmas to be special for my eldest son seeing as how we spent $11,000 buying our youngest a Chevy Colorado 4wd .

Any help connecting me with another McIntosh C-2200 preamp would be appreciated ,happy holidays guys .

I noticed a lot of this comes from Maine of all places !

A PayPal transaction is not complete until the item is shipped with a tracking number. Give PayPal a call and they will return your money and will freeze the sellers account when it is resolved!

If PayPal fee's were paid, I'd like to think you're covered, although it doesn't address the Christmas present issue.

If you can, make sure to capture a screen print of the ad - you never know when it might come in handy.

Does PayPal Instant Payment give you an invoice? If not, I wouldn't use it.

I hope you put it on your credit card....just call them and they'll remove the sale.   If from PayPal call them.....Ebay, call them