HP Forums
SOS - eBay claim. HP appraiser / independent authenticator needed. - Printable Version

+- HP Forums (https://archived.hpcalc.org/museumforum)
+-- Forum: HP Museum Forums (https://archived.hpcalc.org/museumforum/forum-1.html)
+--- Forum: Old HP Forum Archives (https://archived.hpcalc.org/museumforum/forum-2.html)
+--- Thread: SOS - eBay claim. HP appraiser / independent authenticator needed. (/thread-88989.html)



SOS - eBay claim. HP appraiser / independent authenticator needed. - Andreas Terzis - 03-09-2006

Hi fellows,
I have just filed a claim against a wonderful seller on eBay that took me for a ride selling an HP-97 in really bad condition, by misrepresenting it in their description and making sound better that it really was. I am looking for an independent authenticator to appraise the machine so that I go on with the claim. Does anyone have any ideas as to who I could use or where, so that I at least collect something back? I live in Los Angeles. Once I am done with all the details and the administrative rif-raf (!?@*), I will post details for saving a bidder or too from bumping onto the same smartie-pants.
Thanks,
Andreas

Edited: 9 Mar 2006, 7:08 p.m.


Re: SOS - eBay claim. HP appraiser / independent authenticator needed. - Paul Marin - 03-09-2006

Boy, am I glad I pulled out of ebay when I did. If I can't see it second hand, I dont buy second hand. I fully understand how you feel. Hope you get what you can back
Paul


Re: SOS - eBay claim. HP appraiser / independent authenticator needed. - Andreas Terzis - 03-09-2006

Thanks buddy; I appreciate it. I think I'll take your advise. I'll explain what happened after I'm done with all the red tape.


Re: SOS - eBay claim. HP appraiser / independent authenticator needed. - Frank Boehm (Germany) - 03-10-2006

Since you will have to send some documents to the ebay buyer protection dept. anyway, I'd take a couple of closeup-pictures of the parts in bad condition. Together with the printout of the auction text, this should be sufficient. If you send the close-ups to the seller as well, he might offer a refund too, since ebay will a) forward the claim to him and b) probably close his account. (this might only help with high-rated sellers..)
An authenticator costs money - at least in Germany it would probably cost more than you paid for the machine - and should be the very last option. (useful only when filing a lawsuit).


Re: SOS - eBay claim. HP appraiser / independent authenticator needed. - Andreas Terzis - 03-10-2006

Frank,
That's a good idea about the pictures. Unfortunately they require that I take it to an appraiser as a mandatory requirement. This makes it difficult since those machines are not being produced anymore. We'll see...
Regards,
Andreas


Re: SOS - eBay claim. HP appraiser / independent authenticator needed. - Gonzalo Fernandez (Spain) - 03-10-2006

Ebay can be risky, this is why is not advisable to spend high sums of money in calculators, for example, is wise not to spend more than $300 in a new 41CX. All vintage electronics can fail, and calculators advertised in "good condition" are subjected to different things of view between the sellers and the buyers.


Vntage Electronics CAN Fail - Namir - 03-10-2006

Very interesting point that you mentioned about vintage electronics that fail. I have experienced that! For example, selling top notch vintage HP calculators only to arrive with problems. Another example is selling a working HP-41C card reader that develops a problem when it gets to the buyer!!

Namir


Re: Vintage Electronics CAN Fail - Karl Schneider - 03-11-2006

Quote:
Very interesting point that you mentioned about vintage electronics that fail. I have experienced that! For example, selling top notch vintage HP calculators only to arrive with problems.

I've had three HP calculators I bought on eBay that exhibited some malfunction when I got them via USPS Priority Mail. Two were Fullnut HP-41's, and one was an early-1990's HP-32SII.

The 41's worked sporadically, but sometimes displayed garbage and shut themselves off. These were restored to perfect working order by cleaning and soldering from www.fixthatcalc.com.

The 32SII had a dead column of pixels in one display character. The seller bought it back for full refund, then fixed it and re-listed on eBay.

I wonder if the flight in the unpressurized, unheated cargo hold of a commercial jetliner might have caused old, weakened connections to fail. After repair, the 41's returned across the continent via Priority Mail without a flaw.

-- KS

Edited: 11 Mar 2006, 3:13 a.m.