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MG TD TF 1500 - I am done!


Something I thought existed, I guess doesn't, though this web-site keeps some hope alive for me.

I have been working on TF for some time now. Previously, I restored a TR 3. As I replace parts, I post the old parts for sale on EBay, somewhat to recoup a bit of the money, but I thought more importantly to keep them in circulation and knowing that there are people out there who either dont have the money to buy new parts, or who are just somehow interested in having the Brit parts that I post.

In the long run, considering all the time it takes to pack up the parts and deliver them to the US Post Office or UPS, my time could be much better spent doing other things, and the money is quite minimal.

But - I am done doing it! I have been beaten down. The brotherhood I thought existed in restoring old Brit cars does not seem to exist, or its not what I thought it was. The buyers just are not worth dealing with. I will not do it any more!

Just yesterday as an example, without even giving me 24 hours to respond (yes, I do have another real world job and do not sit by my computer 24/7), a person who paid $20 for 4 TF hood buttons (Moss charges $40.95 per button) and miscellaneous other parts (i.e., headlight rings, old check straps, steering c ring, etc., that I noted in the add were "rough"), filed a complaint with EBay and froze his payment money with PayPal, saying I didnt send him the buttons and the rest of the stuff was junk!

Do I need this kind of aggrevation for $20! What happend to a bit of courtesy? When I finally got the guy on the phone, he essentually accused me of pulling a scam, and had no patience when I tried to figure out what happend to the buttons that I am sure were in the box when I took it myself to the USPO (and stood in line for 15 minutes)! I have all positive feedback (270), a full time job, a wife and two kids in college - is he kidding! Sorry for the rant, but I just had to vent. Perhaps some time I'll get over this and have a huge "parts lot" to sell, but it will not be any time soon.
TM Going

TM, I have slowed down selling on ebay as well; parts are just not bringing that much these days and the ebay and paypal fees eat away at what little you do get.
I had a similar incident with small parts and had to refund but luckily they were nice and did not give me a bad review. I now ziplock bag inside of ziplock bag, so if they received one part they got them all.

Regards,
Rich
Richard Taylor TD3983

Maybe the guy you sold to, is the scammer!.....
He got the stuff, but wants his money back too....
When I was in business, I used to do a lot of shipping, via USPO, because it was less expensive....
Then I had some folks say they didn't receive the merchandise, and disputed the charge on their credit card....I had no way to prove that they got the goods.
That's when I started using the green tracking labels....
Soon thereafter, had a guy call me and pull the same thing....I gave him the tracking #, and told him that the Post office, showed he received the package....
Never heard from him again.
Edward
E.B. Wesson

The post office calls that "delivery conformation". I have never had a package with that on it be reported as not received. Cost is $75 cents. Good preventative measure.
Cheers,
Bob
Bob Jeffers

You shouldn't let one idiot out of 270-some wreck everything else. With the current exception of a part overdue but not yet received from an ebay buy at the moment, I have had great luck with ebay and the MG people over the years. I once bought a "NOS" Lucas ammeter, and immediately saw the dial had been repainted. I contacted the seller. He said he was selling for an estate or a club member who had passed away, and had honestly just glanced at it- in a new looking Lucas box. He not only immediately returned my $, but paid me for return shipping and packing expense. I guess any time you deal with the public at large there are always going to be a bad apple here or there. Wish me luck on my current parts paid for in late September, but as of now nowhere to be seen. George PS- I'll have both kids in college next year too,I'm feeling the pain already.
George Butz

TM, maybe the best way to sell is on this board under the classified at the beginning of the site. I have bought stuff from David D and others thru that . That way you are dealing only with folks on this board or at least dedicated to the marque a little more so than someone who just buys to maybe resell.
Tom Maine (TD8105)

Here's a famous scam story. You want scam? Here it is ...

http://www.zug.com/pranks/powerbook/

Gord Clark
Rockburn, Qué.

Gordon A Clark

I certainly agree that EBay is a great resource for procuring some parts. No doubt, I will be watching and buying as need be because it seems to be the case that unfortunately, the days of swap meets where you might find some of these part are mostly gone.

But as I said when I started all of this with my rant arising out of utter frustration, it just won't be my parts that are listed anymore. I will not be a seller! It’s too bad that's the case because I suspect someone somewhere has a need (or at least interest) in some of the parts that I have, but it’s just not worth my time, effort, and mental health to deal with what turn out in some cases to be really petty, impatient, unreasonable and unthankful people, considering all that goes into selling some Brit parts. Just to sell a part, I have to craft an ad, find a box, pack it, label it, tape it, take it to the PO, stand in line, drive home - all for $20 (minus the cost of tape, gas, and fees that now even seem to include a percentage based upon the shipping)! Only to then to get nasty emails, threats of "reporting" me, emails from EBay about a claim, etc. I obviously needed to get a real life before I came to the concluson to stop selling.

Makes me wonder what direction this "hobby" is going in. It might just end up that the only sellers are a group of less than credible people and dealers who are willing to deal with this aggravation for a quick dollar, and that’s a shame.
TM Going

"The post office calls that "delivery conformation". I have never had a package with that on it be reported as not received. Cost is $75 cents. Good preventative measure."

If postage is printed on line, Delivery Confirmation is free, plus there is a small discount on the postage itself. Cheers - Dave
David DuBois

You got one bad apple TM. It's part of the deal I suppose if you want to play the FeeBay game. When I finished mine I just simply gave everything away including the four buttons you mentioned. Figured if it wasn't good enough to leave on the car then any prospective buyers would likely be dissapointed with the parts as well. Shipping was pretty expensive on some of the parts but I shipped them all out to those on this board who requested them. I did not get burnt on any of the cost and in many cases received more that the cost of the shipping.

I figured any money gained would be small and not worth the effort at the cost of dissaponting my friends here.
LaVerne

Have been very lucky over the 5 years or so selling (and buying) on eBay...have had a couple (2) bad sales, but solved each with email (I did get a negative from a guy whose email wasn't working and he refused to delete it....may he burn in hell).... other then that its been ok....
gblawson(gordon- TD27667)

I once bought an old pocket watch on e-Bay for $20 from a guy in Georgia (US). The £ was pretty strong at the time so it was even cheaper than it sounds now.

A couple of weeks later a rather large parcel arrived from the States. I was buying a few odds-and-sods then and losing track of what might have been in transit. It had my name and address on it, so I signed for it and opened it up - it was an old-fashioned electric US train set from the chap I'd bought the watch from. Mistake, I thought, so I e-mailed him. No reply. Tried again a few days later -zilch.

I looked through his recent sales on flea-Bay and found the train set should have gone to Holland. E-mails that bloke, reply comes back: "Don't worry, I've had a refund from PayPal". Hmm.... wondering what to do with this train when another e-mail wings its way to me: Californian lady: "Would I by any chance have her jewellery box?". Nope, 'fraid not - have you got an old watch? "Sorry, no show, here". Then, North Dakota gets in touch: "I have a watch here, perchance it's yours? I'm looking for an antique vase". Yep, the watch is mine but I haven't a clue about the vase.

The lady (God bless her) sent my watch on to me, gratis. I still have the train set, in its box, in the loft. I e-mailed a few more times but
the vendor never replied and it would have cost me a fortune to return it to him, without any chance of reinbursement. E-bay weren't interested in sorting out the mess and the seller wouldn't repond to them either. After two more e-mails from two other buyers, a few weeks later, I'd worked out that 6 transactions has been mixed up, with every single one going to someone it shouldn't have.

Mathematically, almost impossible to do, I'd have thought. That said, it's the only problem I've had in 483 e-Bay purchases since 2003 and it is amazing just what is available on there, still.

A bit nippy here at the moment. First decent frost this morning, although 65F is on the cards again, over the weekend.

- Tom.
Tom Bennett - 53TD 24232

At least a happy ending?

It appears the EBay buyer in fact tried to give me negative feedback, but EBay wouldn't let him. He must be a miserable person. Here is what EBay sent me:

Dear ,

Thank you for resolving your recent eBay Buyer Protection case(s) listed below:

Case ID Item Title
5012208036 MG TF mgtf Parts Lot /4 Brass Chrome Button Hood Latches / Rebound Straps more


It looks like the buyer didn't contact you before opening the case, or did contact you but didn't give you enough time to reply.

Since you were able to resolve the case once you knew there was a problem, this case won't affect your seller performance rating.

We appreciate that you took care of this quickly, and wish you success in all your selling on eBay.

Thanks,

eBay

TM Going

This thread was discussed between 19/10/2011 and 24/10/2011

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