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Location: Somewhere in cyberspace | here's a nice one that didn't make the $275 reserve.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2565235980&category=2384&rd=1
It will probably be re-listed, maybe with an even lower reserve. I have no interest in it myself, but it would be nice to see it go to someone who'd appreciate it... |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | It is a nice guitar. I don't think it's the original finish nor the original pickguard, but everything else looks just fine. |
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Location: San Bernardino, California | http://www.ovationfanclub.com/cgi-bin/ubb/non-cgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic&f=2&t=002522 |
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Location: Somewhere in cyberspace | BruDev,
that figures. Let's wait a few more times until the reserve goes down to 50 bucks, and then I'll buy it myself :)
Kinda sad, actually, that such nice guitars don't have any real value in the vintage marketplace. |
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Location: Central Oregon | In this case the low bids might have more to do with the seller's feedback than the guitar. I wouldn't bid on anything he was selling. 14 negatives & 4 neutrals is too many out of 407. I've been burned before & I want to see damn close to 100% positive feedback for the seller before I'll bid on something, no matter how bad I want it. My personal guideline is that "at least one person in a hundred is going to be a pain in the ass". Anything less than 99% positive makes me nervous. I always go look at the negative feedback people have. Many are from obvious idiots once you go check their feedback. I ignore those of course. The rest I look over carefully for complaints about slow shipping, crappy packing or other funny business before I bid.
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Location: NJ | Nils
You are a little hard on the seller. As a person that sells a ton of stuff on e bay and off the internet I can tell you that it is difficult to please everyone. Infact it is damn near impossible.
I have 10 neutrals and 9 negatives and close to 1k transactions on e bay that show in my feedback, I probably have done 2500 e bay transactions since only about 1 in every 4 give feedback and I do not actively solicit it.
To make a generalization about a feedback rating that is in the 90 percentiles is rather harsh. I am sure that most major corporations build in at least a 20 percent return for whatever reason in their sales.
A better test is to look at the TYPE of items the person sells. I have found that I have less problems with high dollar items than I do with cheap ones. People spending a bunch of money do their homework, know what they want and spend the money. Small dollar items are more impulse and many people have buyer remorse. If someone has sold a ton of cd's and now is selling a heavy fender amp I would want to know how prepared they are to ship it and pack it and if they understand how to do it.
Most of my negatives and neutrals are from lunatics or people who complained about shipping costs. SHIPPING COSTS MONEY AND TIME, if someone does this as a business you have to expect to pay for their time. You do that with all companies even if they tell you the shipping is free you are still paying for it.
rank off. |
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Location: Central Oregon | Geez Al! Rank off indeed! :)
I realize a certain number of people are going to be impossible to please. I try to take everything into account when I look at feedback, I just look more closely at feedback of less than 99%. And I do look at what was being bought & sold. What the hell, I have time. Many times I'll ask the seller a question & see if I get a reply. If so, I can usually get a better comfort level. If not, screw 'em, I don't want to deal with 'em. I emailed the guy I bought the 1612 from three times before I bid on it. He had 100% positive feedback, but there were only 19 in all & all were from people he had purchased things from, he had never sold anything before. I look for that too. I also made sure he knew what I expected as far as packing & shipping were concerned & why.
I wouldn't expect more than one reply from a business, but I'd look at a lot of thier feedback. If somebody has a thousand feedbacks & it's less than 99% positive, I'll have them listed 200 at a time & scroll down the pages looking for red.
Like I said, I've been burned before. There are zillions of people selling stuff on e bay, why should I take a chance on somebody that seems flaky if I don't have to?
Btw, I've looked at your feedback & I wouldn't hesitate to bid on something you were selling, even if I had no knowledge of you from the OFC.
So rank-off your own self! :p
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Location: SoCal | Rank off???? |
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Location: Central Oregon | My guess is he hit the "k" button when he meant to hit the "t" button. I hope so anyway! :)
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Location: SoCal | I dunno. Sounds like a solo activity to me. |
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Location: NJ | using this keyborad I am not used to. My usb keyboard does not seem to like my memeory card read
rant off was what I meant to type
Sorry Nils but it is a pet peeve of mine. I have had many people send me emails saying I am glad I read your feedback I would never buy from you when I have almost 1000 postive transactions.
I had under 99 percent for a while. Somehow I was still able to sell merchandise. I just think your criteria is a little too strict. I too have been ripped off on e bay and on the internet. You cannot always predict when and how that is going to happen.
When ever I buy something for under 100 I almost expect to get ripped off. but your mileage may vary.
To be honest I have refused to sell items to people that I realize will be a PITA. that is the pleasure of owning your own business. |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | I actually agree with both Al and Nils. You can't look at just one thing. If I see negatives, I then go look to see if they are just silly complaints and how or if they were responded too. I also look at feedbacks that are all positive, because of what both of you said. A good buyer isn't always a good seller, and I too agree that I have had more problems with items that are under $30.00 than items over $100 dollars.
It is very important to look at descriptions. Mostly for the content, but also to get a feel for how the person does buisness. A writing style and actual content sais a lot.
MOST IMPORTANTLY remember that it's just an Auction. No matter what the seller claims, no matter what is listed, it is an AUCTION. People seem to forget this fact. They also expect anyone selling something to be a business and even knowledgeable of what they sell. It is an Auction, and ANYONE no matter if they sold 1000's of items or 2 items does not make them a business as such, does not make them responsible, nor are they obligated to be.
I have had a couple of very minor issues with both buying and selling on eBay over the years and I usually just send a link to the terms of service that they agreed to when they signed up. The response is usually something like "wow, I didn't realize that, sorry"
Anyway, eBay I think is the best thing to happen to the Internet. It really has made people aware of how they present themselves as both buyers and sellers of goods (and not-so-goods) :) |
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Location: Central Oregon | WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING
HAZARDOUS MATERIAL TO FOLLOW. IF YOU HAVE TENDER SENSIBILITIES DO NOT READ THIS POST!!
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED SO DON"T BITCH AT ME ABOUT THE FOLLOWING!!
Like a dumbass I bought a TV-VCR from an idiot in NY a few years ago that made me become REALLY careful about who I buy stuff from. First he tried to stick me for $90 for shipping. I checked with UPS & that was outragous, easily double what the actual cost was. After we got that sorted out, (more or less), I sent him $131 for it. When it arrived it was smashed beyond all recognition (FUBAR). He had put it in a box that was barely large enough for it to fit in, with a few pieces of flat newspaper for padding, & shipped it from NY to Oregon uninsured. UPS was brutal with it, but since it was not packed even close to reasonably well UPS told me to deal with the shipper.
When I contacted him he was a total asshole about it & blamed it all on UPS. We argued back & forth for about 6 weeks & I finally gave up. He had his money, UPS kept the TV & I had a Do Wacka Do, Wacka Do Wacka Do Wacka Do.
Eventually I began to write him an email telling him basically "OK, you win, I'm screwed, but some day you will regret being an asshole." It turned into this little song, which I sent to him.
He apparently has no musical appreciation either, because he emailed me back & didn't seem to like it at all- In fact he mentioned something about pressing charges for harrassment if I ever contacted him again. (I never did, but I sent his email address to a bunch of my buddies so they could forward all their spam to him. He eventually had to change his email address. I can be a real asshole myself when provoked.)
At any rate, this little song is supposed to be played to a pretty bouncy beat. I think it's 3/4 time, but I'm not sure.
Here it is & please bear in mind YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED ABOUT CONTENT! I had a little trouble getting the chords to post in the right places, I hope this works this time....
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Think of Me (Ode to Agent Gully)
Key of C
C
Think of me,
Think of me,
G7
The guy that got the smashed to shit TV.
C
You gave me a damn good
E
screwin’
F
And it will lead to your undoin’.
G7
When your life turns to shit,
C
Think of me!
When your toilet overflows,
Think of me.
When there are turds on your bare toes,
G7
Think of me.
C
You’d better grab that toilet
E
smucker,
F
You rotten motherfucker,
G7
And I hope you’re late for work!
C
Think of me!
Next time you get the flu,
Think of me.
When your loan won’t go through,
Think of me.
Your half-assed job of packin’
Led to that bastard crackin’
Next time you get a hemorrhoid,
Think of me!
When your dog tears up your rugs,
Think of me.
When your kids come home on drugs,
Think of me.
Since you didn’t wrap it well,
UPS tore it to hell,
I hope that you get mugged,
Think of me!
Think of me,
Think of me,
The guy that got the smashed to shit TV.
You gave me a damn good screwin’
And it will lead to your undoin’.
When your life turns to shit,
Think of me!
C (one lick)
You fucked me out of a hundred bucks,
F(one lick)
Now your karma really sucks.
G7 (back to pickin’)
I hope you catch the clap,
C
Think of me!
C
Now I feel so much better,
F
After writing you this letter,
G7
Eat shit & die you rotten son of a
C
bitch!
Sincerely,
Nils
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Location: NJ | Nils
just a couple of points
usually if you call the police in the guys town and ask to make a complaint you can. It depends on how big a place it is as to if they get to him or not. I had one bozo threaten me I called the police in his town and in a half hour he was on the phone begging me not to press charges.
if you pay via credit card you can always dispute the charge.
If you pay via mo or cashiers check you can always make a complaint with the post office.
l know it sometimes does not help when you are out 131 but this could help |
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Location: Central Oregon | Screw it. It wasn't worth it. I paid with a postal money order. I was SOL.
Call the cops?? That's funny! :) I couldn't get the local cops to make the next door neighbors make their damned barking dog shut up, fat chance I'd get some cop 2,000 miles away in New York City to give a big rats ass about my $131. Besides, $131 is chicken feed, it was the principle of the thing. I've had $131 worth of fun singing people that little song so it worked out fine IMO :)
And I'm still going to be really picky about what I bid on.
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P.S. The PITA neighbors with the dog eventually got behind in their house payments so I bought their damned house from the bank (cheap). I fixed it up & rented it out. Made $24,000 in equity in two years. I laugh every time I see the dirty bastards that used to live there. Now I have WONDERFUL neighbors that pay me to live next door to me, & if I ever have less than wonderful neighbors I'll give 'em a 72 & throw 'em the hell out in the street. Life is good :) |
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Location: Scotland | Nils, I had a similar problem with our next-door neighbours dog barking all night, so I kidnapped it and put it in our yard. It barked even more. That'll teach 'em. |
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Location: Las Cruces, NM | I heard that the couple who were selling the Viper got kicked out when their neighbor bought their house and they moved in with an A hole who had been threatened by somebody with an atrocious song in the key of C because of his $131 VCR bargain. They say their dog barked all the time until the neighbor stole it, and now it is keeping them up all night with its barking. They are trying to get rid of the Viper because it has begun joining the dog in late night howling (or bending with sustain and feedback). They can't dump the thing because someone on the OFC has ratted out their dismal feedback so they are planning on suing the only person who defended them, Al!
I hope this clears up the mystery, and frees the Viper from a terrible hostage situation.
Bailey |
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Location: Central Oregon | ROFLMAO!
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Location: Somewhere in cyberspace | Hee-hee :D :D :D |
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Location: NJ | a little ex-lax in some ground beef seems to help the barking dog situation. Not that I would know anything about that. |
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Location: NJ | So does a PA speaker on the back deck emanating a really hi-frequency pitch coming from a signal generator.
(Not that I would know anything about THAT either). |
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Location: NJ | Cliff
it is best to use a high frequency horn that way the chances of damaging a speaker are less and a high wattage rated horn will sustain a ton of abuse.
Not that I would know anything about that either. |
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Location: NJ | The hi-freq. horn also had (uh,....I mean WOULD'VE had) a lower profile on the deck railing making it less visible to the annoying dog's owner.
Not that I'd know about that, either. |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | Nils, Great tune! |
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Location: NJ | mixing up some ground pepper with some ground beef also seems to work wonders to quiet a noisey dog.
(I have heard of hard core people using ground glass but that is just cruel. )
I have no first hand knowledge of the use of ground pepper. |
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Anyone wanna Viper?
