On line purchases, the pitfalls!

Alnus Rubra

Loving nature’s wonders
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So after watching Keith’s cracking video about the history of the Tube Screamer, I decided that I should try one on my pedal board.

I have always had positive experiences making in line purchases. So I started my hunt.

I found several that were in good condition and up for auction.

Well yesterday morning, I made the successful bid on one that I felt was a reasonable price.

As I always do, I went to pay for my item straight away, so the seller could despatch it to me as soon as possible, so I could get used to it before the upcoming gig in two weeks.

5 hours later, multiple calls/on-line chats with PayPal and eBay, thinking that I had a problem at my end, resulted in me finding out that the seller has PayPal issues.

Obviously, PP couldn’t tell me what the issues were, but advised me against completing the sale!

I should add that I entered into a conversation with the seller on eBay and he/she was asking me to send the money to a different PP account. I was not willing to do this and confirmed with EB that the sale would not be protected by them.

I am interested to know if others experiences good or bad of online musical gear purchases and any pitfalls we can all avoid.

I should add I’ve been buying/selling on eBay for 17 years and this is the first slightly bad experience. At least I never lost any money, however the waste of 5 hours on a day off did p!55 me off a bit!
 
So after watching Keith’s cracking video about the history of the Tube Screamer, I decided that I should try one on my pedal board.

I have always had positive experiences making in line purchases. So I started my hunt.

I found several that were in good condition and up for auction.

Well yesterday morning, I made the successful bid on one that I felt was a reasonable price.

As I always do, I went to pay for my item straight away, so the seller could despatch it to me as soon as possible, so I could get used to it before the upcoming gig in two weeks.

5 hours later, multiple calls/on-line chats with PayPal and eBay, thinking that I had a problem at my end, resulted in me finding out that the seller has PayPal issues.

Obviously, PP couldn’t tell me what the issues were, but advised me against completing the sale!

I should add that I entered into a conversation with the seller on eBay and he/she was asking me to send the money to a different PP account. I was not willing to do this and confirmed with EB that the sale would not be protected by them.

I am interested to know if others experiences good or bad of online musical gear purchases and any pitfalls we can all avoid.

I should add I’ve been buying/selling on eBay for 17 years and this is the first slightly bad experience. At least I never lost any money, however the waste of 5 hours on a day off did p!55 me off a bit!

Unfortunately, some people are just a$$holes.
 
lucky escape all the same (possibly anyway).

I bought a guitar on e-bay once which took an entire year to rid of its stink. I would never has believed it possible that such a concentrated tobacco smell was even possible. I took it apart and scrubbed it with soap & water, vinegar and other concoctions. I also 'fumigated' the case I reserved for it. It took many weeks of airing in the open to finally make it usable in the house. Hard work!
 
The person is still sending me messages through eBay trying to complete the purchase!

I know what I want to reply, but I’ve been advised to ignore any messages!
 
Somebody just reported about a scam they almost got caught up in on Reverb. Bought a guitar. It was shipped to his town but not to his address. Under PayPal's rules (according to his posts), it just has to go to the right city and zip code to be good on their end. UPS would not give up the address where the package was delivered. Apparently Reverb's protection does not apply unless you pay w/a credit or debit card. A little digging showed that the package containing the guitar weighed...0.3 pounds. There were a couple other twists, but dude eventually got his refund. But one of the twists was paying to an account that was different than listed. You're doing the right thing.
 
I’ve been through most of the typical scams on both sides using fleabay. Buyers trying to complete outside of PayPal, buyers claiming shipping damage for obviously dropped after open items, a seller sending me an empty box instead of an expensive camera and the list goes on. Doesn’t stop me since I’ve never been truly burned by following all the proper buyer/seller protection steps.
 
Some folks are not the best examples to imitate. Simply prove yourself blameless by upholding the policies set forth in online transactions (eBay, Reverb, PP, etc.) and obey these policies. If others make bad decisions by trying to scam or steal your money, just be aware that there are people who will try that. Just don't let it be you. Realize that you likely have all that you need just now; don't be desirous of more than necessary, because that's what causes problems in the first place...

And yes, I've personally been scammed once in my lifetime when I was younger and more foolish, to the tune of $400 for a partial payment for a PRS signature LTD that didn't show up...without providing more details, let's just say that the crook eventually got caught and is now doing time in a Czech Republic prison...no sign of my $400, though...
 
The last used guitar I bought from Reverb at hinky written all over it. Core guitar listed as an SE. Ten years old and beat to snot, instead of "excellent" condition. Being asked if I could send a little more money, more than once. In the end, it worked out. I didn't send any more money. I got the guitar, although it took a couple of weeks. It was such a cheap price for a Core Mira, I was willing to put up with it. That's worst I've been involved in. Anytime the Mrs has sold something locally, we always complete the sale in the lobby of the closest Police Dept.
 
Before this I had bought and sold with never an issue. I had been lucky and not encountered any as Steve put it “a$$holes”.

The item was priced to reflect condition and use and I don’t believe it was a scam aimed toward me. I think the seller has issues with PayPal, as the funds were activated through my account but blocked at their end.

I have spoken with eBay to confirm my 100% feedback score is kept intact. Which they assure me it will be.

I could understand if it were an expensive item, but this is not. It was an “um I’d like to try a pedal on my board” purchase. Not obscenely expensive and one that I could move on for pretty much the same price if I didn’t like it.

Any of you who have seen my pedal board build know that I haven’t populated it with expensive pedals because I’m still trying things out. I built the board myself after seeing Les’ Schmidt Array.

Anyhoo, we live and learn!
 
I’ve also been on EBay a long time, since ‘98, and have had very few issues over the years. But, I have had them! Like you, I am really interested in maintaining my feedback rating (currently 1055 100% Positive). Oddly, it always seems to be the lowered priced items that cause the issues, whereas the big-chunk-of-money guitars and amps seem easier to ID not only a good instrument, but a decent seller.

What I thought was funny was that I also recently bought a older original TS9 after watching that video! I’ve used a lot of drive pedals over the years, but did not have a Tube Screamer in the cabinet. It won’t replace the King of Tone, but I do like it a lot!
 
If you went 17 years on eBay and this is your first bad experience (which you lost nothing on btw) you oughta be celebrating, not complaining :)
 
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I’ve also been on EBay a long time, since ‘98, and have had very few issues over the years. But, I have had them! Like you, I am really interested in maintaining my feedback rating (currently 1055 100% Positive). Oddly, it always seems to be the lowered priced items that cause the issues, whereas the big-chunk-of-money guitars and amps seem easier to ID not only a good instrument, but a decent seller.

What I thought was funny was that I also recently bought a older original TS9 after watching that video! I’ve used a lot of drive pedals over the years, but did not have a Tube Screamer in the cabinet. It won’t replace the King of Tone, but I do like it a lot!

Quite a few KOT up for sale on eBay!
 
I have purchased a lot (actually MOST) of my gear on line. For the most part I have had really good luck. My old board had two Tube Screamers on it. An early 2000s TS9 and a TSmini run back to back. Set a little differently so I could get slight breakup, heavy crunch, and then both together for lead tones. It is my go to overdrive pedal. Since switching to the POD HD500X I still have this same exact setup. Just simulated digitally now. I do still have this board set up in case I decide to go back to pedals. Still on the fence about that. Anyway.......my apologies for the NON PRS guitars in the pic.

31693189_10160282839870331_7353861257822208000_o.jpg
 
I have purchased a lot (actually MOST) of my gear on line. For the most part I have had really good luck. My old board had two Tube Screamers on it. An early 2000s TS9 and a TSmini run back to back. Set a little differently so I could get slight breakup, heavy crunch, and then both together for lead tones. It is my go to overdrive pedal. Since switching to the POD HD500X I still have this same exact setup. Just simulated digitally now. I do still have this board set up in case I decide to go back to pedals. Still on the fence about that. Anyway.......my apologies for the NON PRS guitars in the pic.

31693189_10160282839870331_7353861257822208000_o.jpg

How do you find the TS mini? Are there major differences between that and the standard sized pedal (tonally)?
 
How do you find the TS mini? Are there major differences between that and the standard sized pedal (tonally)?
Tone sounds the same as the general variation that you get pedal to pedal from differing years. The one thing is that you can't use batteries with it. You have to plug it into a power supply.........Which I did anyway so it was not biggie for me.
 
How do you find the TS mini? Are there major differences between that and the standard sized pedal (tonally)?
Oh, and those tiny a$$ knobs are VERY hard to see on a darkened stage. BUT, I basically set them and left them alone. Just used switching between pedals to change the sounds.
 
So after watching Keith’s cracking video about the history of the Tube Screamer, I decided that I should try one on my pedal board.

I have always had positive experiences making in line purchases. So I started my hunt.

I found several that were in good condition and up for auction.

Well yesterday morning, I made the successful bid on one that I felt was a reasonable price.

As I always do, I went to pay for my item straight away, so the seller could despatch it to me as soon as possible, so I could get used to it before the upcoming gig in two weeks.

5 hours later, multiple calls/on-line chats with PayPal and eBay, thinking that I had a problem at my end, resulted in me finding out that the seller has PayPal issues.

Obviously, PP couldn’t tell me what the issues were, but advised me against completing the sale!

I should add that I entered into a conversation with the seller on eBay and he/she was asking me to send the money to a different PP account. I was not willing to do this and confirmed with EB that the sale would not be protected by them.

I am interested to know if others experiences good or bad of online musical gear purchases and any pitfalls we can all avoid.

I should add I’ve been buying/selling on eBay for 17 years and this is the first slightly bad experience. At least I never lost any money, however the waste of 5 hours on a day off did p!55 me off a bit!
I'm an occasional Ebay purchaser. So far I've had zero issues out of maybe 15 acquisitions.
Lucky maybe, but not a large sample.
That being said, there's one (or more) in every crowd and I'm sorry that you had to bump into a complete D!ckhead.
 
How do you find the TS mini? Are there major differences between that and the standard sized pedal (tonally)?
When I heard the TS Mini next to a classic 808 on this video, I was impressed. You know it’s always different in person, but I’m thinking that, absent having both side by side, you’d not know the difference. Not saying it would make me sell an original one off, but if I didn’t have one already the mini looks cool. Analogman and some others won’t mod them because of the wonky mini components, but a cool and cheap alternative for those of you not addicted to “the real thing.” I also think the new reissue 808s and TS9s sound great.


As you watch, you’ll notice they’re hearing a lot of things that don’t come across on a YouTube audio listen. You really do have to hear them in your workflow. In person, you hear the differences. But it’s not life or death different, more different flavors.
 
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