He Got "Taken" On eBay

He Got "Taken" On eBay COMPUTERS Computers 34-1-5 A Kansas reader who asked us not to use his name called recently to tell us how he got "taken" when he bought a used ATV on eBay. D.F. bought a used Polaris Sportsman ATV last summer from Power Toys, a Blountville, Tenn., dealer who advertises on eBay. He paid $4,650 by wire transfer as the dealer insisted. "The dealer offered free shipping which looked like a good deal, but it turned out to be a very bad deal," he says. "I got taken but I also did a lot of things wrong because I didn't read the rules about buying on eBay." The big buying lessons: eBay has a 45-day limit on providing any help to the buyer and on allowing feedback about the purchased product. And they recommend that you don't wire money. Just use PayPal or a credit card. The ATV arrived about a month after D.F. wired the money, much later than promised. The ATV was advertised as having 226 miles and in perfect mechanical condition. However, it turned out to have several mechanical problems and was covered with sand and mud, including in the air filter. "The machine had been driven hard and might have been in a flood. It was a trashed-out repo," says D.F. D.F. called the dealer to take the machine back. But the dealer talked D.F. into having a local shop make all the repairs. Then D.F. was supposed to accept the machine and the dealer would reimburse him for the repairs, adding a "bonus" for D.F.'s trouble. The shop had to order parts, and by the time D.F. got the machine back three weeks later, eBay's 45-day limit for mediation and feedback ratings had come and gone. Now the dealer won't return his calls. "I didn't read all the fine print on eBay, but the dealer obviously did," says D.F. "They knew all the rules and how to play the game without getting caught. "There was a 100 percent positive feedback rating on the dealer, which was one reason I bought from them. If I had bought the machine by PayPal or with a credit card I would've had someone to fight for me. But because I wired the money, I was on my own. "I paid $4,650 for a machine that I don't want, and $289 for unreimbursed repairs. I still have the ATV but I'm not happy with it." A few weeks ago he filed a case with the Better Business Bureau which took on the case, but at press time nothing had been settled.

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