Christ, it seems like I'm consistently having problems with
eBay vendors misrepresenting their products.

No, it's not as if they are trying to scam/screw folks but,
rather, deciding that accurately describing their products
isn't really *that* important.

E.g., 4 ft power cords that are actually 6 ft (if I wanted 6 ft,
don't you think I would have ORDERED 6 ft???)

Or, adapter cables that aren't wired as pictured.

Or, CD sleeves that are functionally different than pictured.

Or, video cards that aren't the models advertised.

Note that many of these things boil down to just taking a photo of
the *actual* item and using that in your listing. Esp when you
consider that there isn't much else that a customer can rely upon
to make a purchase decision!

Of course, eBay has their "guarantee" that makes me whole, again.
Except for the hassle of having to reorder the *right* item
(and hope!) as well as the trip to the postal orifice to return
the item.

Amazon seems to have a better record -- at least in ensuring the
items *are* what is advertised!

In article <sf4c3u$t1h$1@dont-email.me>, blockedofcourse@foo.invalid
says...
>
> Christ, it seems like I'm consistently having problems with
> eBay vendors misrepresenting their products.
>
> No, it's not as if they are trying to scam/screw folks but,
> rather, deciding that accurately describing their products
> isn't really *that* important.
>
> E.g., 4 ft power cords that are actually 6 ft (if I wanted 6 ft,
> don't you think I would have ORDERED 6 ft???)
>
>
>

I have bought many items off ebay and seldom have a problem. One does
have to read the description very carefully to be sure you are really
ordering what you think you are.

On 8/12/2021 8:15 PM, Ralph Mowery wrote:
> In article <sf4c3u$t1h$1@dont-email.me>, blockedofcourse@foo.invalid
> says...
>>
>> Christ, it seems like I'm consistently having problems with
>> eBay vendors misrepresenting their products.
>>
>> No, it's not as if they are trying to scam/screw folks but,
>> rather, deciding that accurately describing their products
>> isn't really *that* important.
>>
>> E.g., 4 ft power cords that are actually 6 ft (if I wanted 6 ft,
>> don't you think I would have ORDERED 6 ft???)
>
> I have bought many items off ebay and seldom have a problem. One does
> have to read the description very carefully to be sure you are really
> ordering what you think you are.

A listing for "4 ft power cord" doesn't have any fine print that
says "product shipped may be a different length than that claimed
in the listing". If that had been the case, ebay wouldn't have
allowed the claim under the terms of their guarantee.

A GPU listed as "nVidia FX5800" shouldn't be an FX4800 when it
arrives at your doorstep.

On a sunny day (Thu, 12 Aug 2021 16:50:12 -0700) it happened Don Y
<blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> wrote in <sf4c3u$t1h$1@dont-email.me>:

>Christ, it seems like I'm consistently having problems with
>eBay vendors misrepresenting their products.
>
>No, it's not as if they are trying to scam/screw folks but,
>rather, deciding that accurately describing their products
>isn't really *that* important.
>
>E.g., 4 ft power cords that are actually 6 ft (if I wanted 6 ft,
>don't you think I would have ORDERED 6 ft???)
>
>Or, adapter cables that aren't wired as pictured.
>
>Or, CD sleeves that are functionally different than pictured.
>
>Or, video cards that aren't the models advertised.
>
>Note that many of these things boil down to just taking a photo of
>the *actual* item and using that in your listing. Esp when you
>consider that there isn't much else that a customer can rely upon
>to make a purchase decision!
>
>Of course, eBay has their "guarantee" that makes me whole, again.
>Except for the hassle of having to reorder the *right* item
>(and hope!) as well as the trip to the postal orifice to return
>the item.
>
>Amazon seems to have a better record -- at least in ensuring the
>items *are* what is advertised!

I was a big ebay buyer, but have hardly ordered anything there lately.
Indeed not always correct.
Was reading ebay selling has dropped 2% lately.

In article <sf58tu$sd5$4@gioia.aioe.org>, pNaOnStPeAlMtje@yahoo.com
says...
>
> I was a big ebay buyer, but have hardly ordered anything there lately.
> Indeed not always correct.
> Was reading ebay selling has dropped 2% lately.
>
>
>

I always check several sources for an item if it one that is sold at
different places. Sometimes ebay is less,sometimes not.

I was watching an informercial a while back about a Worx product.
Checked on it and looked on ebay and found one place that was selling
the item for much less than the informercial special price. Other times
ebay has been higher.

On Thu, 12 Aug 2021 16:50:12 -0700, Don Y
<blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> wrote:

>Christ, it seems like I'm consistently having problems with
>eBay vendors misrepresenting their products.
>
>No, it's not as if they are trying to scam/screw folks but,
>rather, deciding that accurately describing their products
>isn't really *that* important.
>
>E.g., 4 ft power cords that are actually 6 ft (if I wanted 6 ft,
>don't you think I would have ORDERED 6 ft???)
>
>Or, adapter cables that aren't wired as pictured.
>
>Or, CD sleeves that are functionally different than pictured.
>
>Or, video cards that aren't the models advertised.
>
>Note that many of these things boil down to just taking a photo of
>the *actual* item and using that in your listing. Esp when you
>consider that there isn't much else that a customer can rely upon
>to make a purchase decision!
>
>Of course, eBay has their "guarantee" that makes me whole, again.
>Except for the hassle of having to reorder the *right* item
>(and hope!) as well as the trip to the postal orifice to return
>the item.
>
>Amazon seems to have a better record -- at least in ensuring the
>items *are* what is advertised!

I bought a litle PCB test fixture on eBay- pretty sure I got a deal
because they raised the price by almost 50% after fulfilling it. ;-)

--
Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany

fredag den 13. august 2021 kl. 05.28.19 UTC+2 skrev Don Y:
> On 8/12/2021 8:15 PM, Ralph Mowery wrote:
> > In article <sf4c3u$t1h$1...@dont-email.me>, blocked...@foo.invalid
> > says...
> >>
> >> Christ, it seems like I'm consistently having problems with
> >> eBay vendors misrepresenting their products.
> >>
> >> No, it's not as if they are trying to scam/screw folks but,
> >> rather, deciding that accurately describing their products
> >> isn't really *that* important.
> >>
> >> E.g., 4 ft power cords that are actually 6 ft (if I wanted 6 ft,
> >> don't you think I would have ORDERED 6 ft???)
> >
> > I have bought many items off ebay and seldom have a problem. One does
> > have to read the description very carefully to be sure you are really
> > ordering what you think you are.
> A listing for "4 ft power cord" doesn't have any fine print that
> says "product shipped may be a different length than that claimed
> in the listing". If that had been the case, ebay wouldn't have
> allowed the claim under the terms of their guarantee.
>
> A GPU listed as "nVidia FX5800" shouldn't be an FX4800 when it
> arrives at your doorstep.

so you file the complaint "not as described" and get it for free?

fredag den 13. august 2021 kl. 10.02.12 UTC+2 skrev Jan Panteltje:
> On a sunny day (Thu, 12 Aug 2021 16:50:12 -0700) it happened Don Y
> <blocked...@foo.invalid> wrote in <sf4c3u$t1h$1...@dont-email.me>:
> >Christ, it seems like I'm consistently having problems with
> >eBay vendors misrepresenting their products.
> >
> >No, it's not as if they are trying to scam/screw folks but,
> >rather, deciding that accurately describing their products
> >isn't really *that* important.
> >
> >E.g., 4 ft power cords that are actually 6 ft (if I wanted 6 ft,
> >don't you think I would have ORDERED 6 ft???)
> >
> >Or, adapter cables that aren't wired as pictured.
> >
> >Or, CD sleeves that are functionally different than pictured.
> >
> >Or, video cards that aren't the models advertised.
> >
> >Note that many of these things boil down to just taking a photo of
> >the *actual* item and using that in your listing. Esp when you
> >consider that there isn't much else that a customer can rely upon
> >to make a purchase decision!
> >
> >Of course, eBay has their "guarantee" that makes me whole, again.
> >Except for the hassle of having to reorder the *right* item
> >(and hope!) as well as the trip to the postal orifice to return
> >the item.
> >
> >Amazon seems to have a better record -- at least in ensuring the
> >items *are* what is advertised!
> I was a big ebay buyer, but have hardly ordered anything there lately.
> Indeed not always correct.
> Was reading ebay selling has dropped 2% lately.

EU recently changed the rule so there are no longer a minimum limit
before you have pay VAT for things outside the EU.

until people can rely on the VAT being paid correctly by the seller
beforehand so they don't have to pay the ~20€ fee to the postman
that are not going to order as much

On 8/13/2021 8:05 AM, Lasse Langwadt Christensen wrote:
> fredag den 13. august 2021 kl. 05.28.19 UTC+2 skrev Don Y:
>> On 8/12/2021 8:15 PM, Ralph Mowery wrote:
>>> In article <sf4c3u$t1h$1...@dont-email.me>, blocked...@foo.invalid
>>> says...
>>>>
>>>> Christ, it seems like I'm consistently having problems with
>>>> eBay vendors misrepresenting their products.
>>>>
>>>> No, it's not as if they are trying to scam/screw folks but,
>>>> rather, deciding that accurately describing their products
>>>> isn't really *that* important.
>>>>
>>>> E.g., 4 ft power cords that are actually 6 ft (if I wanted 6 ft,
>>>> don't you think I would have ORDERED 6 ft???)
>>>
>>> I have bought many items off ebay and seldom have a problem. One does
>>> have to read the description very carefully to be sure you are really
>>> ordering what you think you are.
>> A listing for "4 ft power cord" doesn't have any fine print that
>> says "product shipped may be a different length than that claimed
>> in the listing". If that had been the case, ebay wouldn't have
>> allowed the claim under the terms of their guarantee.
>>
>> A GPU listed as "nVidia FX5800" shouldn't be an FX4800 when it
>> arrives at your doorstep.
>
> so you file the complaint "not as described" and get it for free?

No, you file the complaint and wait for a return shipping label
to be sent to you to return the goods.

On 8/13/2021 3:55 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:
> On a sunny day (Thu, 12 Aug 2021 16:50:12 -0700) it happened Don Y
> <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> wrote in <sf4c3u$t1h$1@dont-email.me>:
>
>> Christ, it seems like I'm consistently having problems with
>> eBay vendors misrepresenting their products.
>>
>> No, it's not as if they are trying to scam/screw folks but,
>> rather, deciding that accurately describing their products
>> isn't really *that* important.
>>
>> E.g., 4 ft power cords that are actually 6 ft (if I wanted 6 ft,
>> don't you think I would have ORDERED 6 ft???)
>>
>> Or, adapter cables that aren't wired as pictured.
>>
>> Or, CD sleeves that are functionally different than pictured.
>>
>> Or, video cards that aren't the models advertised.
>>
>> Note that many of these things boil down to just taking a photo of
>> the *actual* item and using that in your listing. Esp when you
>> consider that there isn't much else that a customer can rely upon
>> to make a purchase decision!
>>
>> Of course, eBay has their "guarantee" that makes me whole, again.
>> Except for the hassle of having to reorder the *right* item
>> (and hope!) as well as the trip to the postal orifice to return
>> the item.
>>
>> Amazon seems to have a better record -- at least in ensuring the
>> items *are* what is advertised!
>
> I was a big ebay buyer, but have hardly ordered anything there lately.
> Indeed not always correct.
> Was reading ebay selling has dropped 2% lately.

It's a decent source for vintage baseball cards, model trains, old
radios and test equipment, and historical memorabilia and such, but I
don't generally go there for things like adapter cables or video cards
etc. except in pretty rare instances there are better sources for that
stuff.

They do have some 5-disc Nakamichi SCSI CD-ROM changers that are pretty
hard to come by anywhere else if you need that sort of thing.

On Friday, August 13, 2021 at 10:11:02 AM UTC-4, Ralph Mowery wrote:
> In article <sf58tu$sd5$4...@gioia.aioe.org>, pNaOnSt...@yahoo.com
> says...
> >
> > I was a big ebay buyer, but have hardly ordered anything there lately.
> > Indeed not always correct.
> > Was reading ebay selling has dropped 2% lately.
> >
> >
> >
> I always check several sources for an item if it one that is sold at
> different places. Sometimes ebay is less,sometimes not.

That can be oddly true. I tried buying hearing aid batteries for a friend and found some good prices on eBay. Digging around a bit more directly on eBay I found the best prices were what appeared to be Kirkland brand which is Costco's store brand. Checking at Costco I found they were cheaper still! The best price on the Internet turned out to be Costco batteries resold..

> I was watching an informercial a while back about a Worx product.
> Checked on it and looked on ebay and found one place that was selling
> the item for much less than the informercial special price. Other times
> ebay has been higher.

There are more than a few products that are just store items resold. I looked for the trimmer blades for Ryobi and found everything is higher priced than buying in the store. I expected to find Asian knockoffs, but no, you can only find name brand and higher priced than buying directly from Home Depot. Go figure!

--

Rick C.

- Get 1,000 miles of free Supercharging
- Tesla referral code - https://ts.la/richard11209

On 8/13/2021 7:50 PM, bitrex wrote:
> On 8/13/2021 3:55 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:
>> On a sunny day (Thu, 12 Aug 2021 16:50:12 -0700) it happened Don Y
>> <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> wrote in <sf4c3u$t1h$1@dont-email.me>:
>>
>>> Christ, it seems like I'm consistently having problems with
>>> eBay vendors misrepresenting their products.
>>>
>>> No, it's not as if they are trying to scam/screw folks but,
>>> rather, deciding that accurately describing their products
>>> isn't really *that* important.
>>>
>>> E.g., 4 ft power cords that are actually 6 ft (if I wanted 6 ft,
>>> don't you think I would have ORDERED 6 ft???)
>>>
>>> Or, adapter cables that aren't wired as pictured.
>>>
>>> Or, CD sleeves that are functionally different than pictured.
>>>
>>> Or, video cards that aren't the models advertised.
>>>
>>> Note that many of these things boil down to just taking a photo of
>>> the *actual* item and using that in your listing. Esp when you
>>> consider that there isn't much else that a customer can rely upon
>>> to make a purchase decision!
>>>
>>> Of course, eBay has their "guarantee" that makes me whole, again.
>>> Except for the hassle of having to reorder the *right* item
>>> (and hope!) as well as the trip to the postal orifice to return
>>> the item.
>>>
>>> Amazon seems to have a better record -- at least in ensuring the
>>> items *are* what is advertised!
>>
>> I was a big ebay buyer, but have hardly ordered anything there lately.
>> Indeed not always correct.
>> Was reading ebay selling has dropped 2% lately.
>
> It's a decent source for vintage baseball cards, model trains, old radios and
> test equipment, and historical memorabilia and such, but I don't generally go
> there for things like adapter cables or video cards etc. except in pretty rare
> instances there are better sources for that stuff.

Yeah, I was annoyed to have to *pay* for a GPU. But, I wanted another to
match the 5 I'd already rescued and didn't want to wait around for another
"rescue" to drop into my lap.

And, I can dig through the bin of power cords at the local auction and
hope to find a few dozen 4 ft cords (among the tangled mess) for a buck
a piece. But, there's no guarantee that there *will* be ANY 4 ft cords
in that mess. How many times should I make the trip in the hope of
stumbling on what I need?

Amazon only has new-ish stuff. Alibaba and DH tend to have dubious quality...

And, ebay has a *guarantee*! Lead pipe cinch!

> They do have some 5-disc Nakamichi SCSI CD-ROM changers that are pretty hard to
> come by anywhere else if you need that sort of thing.

Also much easier to find vintage WoW toys, out-of-print books
(Abe is costly), subassemblies for older kit, etc.

On a sunny day (Fri, 13 Aug 2021 22:50:51 -0400) it happened bitrex
<user@example.net> wrote in <icGRI.57821$EF2.38996@fx47.iad>:

>On 8/13/2021 3:55 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:
>> I was a big ebay buyer, but have hardly ordered anything there lately.
>> Indeed not always correct.
>> Was reading ebay selling has dropped 2% lately.
>
>It's a decent source for vintage baseball cards, model trains, old
>radios and test equipment, and historical memorabilia and such, but I
>don't generally go there for things like adapter cables or video cards
>etc. except in pretty rare instances there are better sources for that
>stuff.
>
>They do have some 5-disc Nakamichi SCSI CD-ROM changers that are pretty
>hard to come by anywhere else if you need that sort of thing.

I have boxes full of SMDs R, C, and chips, adaptors, modules, what not, all from ebay.
Batteries, wallwarts, chargers, power-converter modules, etc etc
I did get some voltage regulators that were not what was written on it, got money back
no questions,
Every now and then something was wrong.
Ah, multimeters, RF power modules, anything, all OK from ebay.
Now indeed with VAT things may get more complicated, but that was already the case when buying from some US
ebay sellers, things winding up in customs..

On 8/14/2021 2:48 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:
> On a sunny day (Fri, 13 Aug 2021 22:50:51 -0400) it happened bitrex
> <user@example.net> wrote in <icGRI.57821$EF2.38996@fx47.iad>:
>
>> On 8/13/2021 3:55 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:
>>> I was a big ebay buyer, but have hardly ordered anything there lately.
>>> Indeed not always correct.
>>> Was reading ebay selling has dropped 2% lately.
>>
>> It's a decent source for vintage baseball cards, model trains, old
>> radios and test equipment, and historical memorabilia and such, but I
>> don't generally go there for things like adapter cables or video cards
>> etc. except in pretty rare instances there are better sources for that
>> stuff.
>>
>> They do have some 5-disc Nakamichi SCSI CD-ROM changers that are pretty
>> hard to come by anywhere else if you need that sort of thing.
>
> I have boxes full of SMDs R, C, and chips, adaptors, modules, what not, all from ebay.
> Batteries, wallwarts, chargers, power-converter modules, etc etc
> I did get some voltage regulators that were not what was written on it, got money back
> no questions,
> Every now and then something was wrong.
> Ah, multimeters, RF power modules, anything, all OK from ebay.
> Now indeed with VAT things may get more complicated, but that was already the case when buying from some US
> ebay sellers, things winding up in customs..
>

It's not really worth my time taking a risk when domestic US
distributors like Mouser and Digi-Key are so quick and reliable. I use
Amazon for connectors, cables, power adapters, and mechanical parts
sometimes, there's a decent selection of stuff that's at least as good
as a lot of the stuff on eBay and it often arrives in 2 days free with
Prime. Sometimes less.

Amazon's returns are simple you just dump the widget at the UPS store
and they scan a QR code on your phone, done. Sometimes for relatively
inexpensive stuff they don't even ask you to return it at all, they just
refund the money.

On 8/14/2021 1:55 AM, Don Y wrote:
> On 8/13/2021 7:50 PM, bitrex wrote:
>> On 8/13/2021 3:55 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:
>>> On a sunny day (Thu, 12 Aug 2021 16:50:12 -0700) it happened Don Y
>>> <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> wrote in <sf4c3u$t1h$1@dont-email.me>:
>>>
>>>> Christ, it seems like I'm consistently having problems with
>>>> eBay vendors misrepresenting their products.
>>>>
>>>> No, it's not as if they are trying to scam/screw folks but,
>>>> rather, deciding that accurately describing their products
>>>> isn't really *that* important.
>>>>
>>>> E.g., 4 ft power cords that are actually 6 ft (if I wanted 6 ft,
>>>> don't you think I would have ORDERED 6 ft???)
>>>>
>>>> Or, adapter cables that aren't wired as pictured.
>>>>
>>>> Or, CD sleeves that are functionally different than pictured.
>>>>
>>>> Or, video cards that aren't the models advertised.
>>>>
>>>> Note that many of these things boil down to just taking a photo of
>>>> the *actual* item and using that in your listing.  Esp when you
>>>> consider that there isn't much else that a customer can rely upon
>>>> to make a purchase decision!
>>>>
>>>> Of course, eBay has their "guarantee" that makes me whole, again.
>>>> Except for the hassle of having to reorder the *right* item
>>>> (and hope!) as well as the trip to the postal orifice to return
>>>> the item.
>>>>
>>>> Amazon seems to have a better record -- at least in ensuring the
>>>> items *are* what is advertised!
>>>
>>> I was a big ebay buyer, but have hardly ordered anything there lately.
>>> Indeed not always correct.
>>> Was reading ebay selling has dropped 2% lately.
>>
>> It's a decent source for vintage baseball cards, model trains, old
>> radios and test equipment, and historical memorabilia and such, but I
>> don't generally go there for things like adapter cables or video cards
>> etc. except in pretty rare instances there are better sources for that
>> stuff.
>
> Yeah, I was annoyed to have to *pay* for a GPU.  But, I wanted another to
> match the 5 I'd already rescued and didn't want to wait around for another
> "rescue" to drop into my lap.

Someone has probably been stabbed over a video card in recent times,
they're like Nike Airs were in the 90s. People will wear them around
their necks on chains as a conspicuous display of wealth shortly.

> And, I can dig through the bin of power cords at the local auction and
> hope to find a few dozen 4 ft cords (among the tangled mess) for a buck
> a piece.  But, there's no guarantee that there *will* be ANY 4 ft cords
> in that mess.  How many times should I make the trip in the hope of
> stumbling on what I need?
>
> Amazon only has new-ish stuff.  Alibaba and DH tend to have dubious
> quality...
>
> And, ebay has a *guarantee*!  Lead pipe cinch!
>
>> They do have some 5-disc Nakamichi SCSI CD-ROM changers that are
>> pretty hard to come by anywhere else if you need that sort of thing.
>
> Also much easier to find vintage WoW toys, out-of-print books
> (Abe is costly), subassemblies for older kit, etc.
>

World of Warcraft? yikes, WoW is "vintage" now...a friend of mine was in
a adult-ed creative writing class several years back and a young man in
the class wrote a kinda sci-fi diddy about robots and virtual reality,
someone asked if he'd seen the "Matrix" films and as she tells it he
said "Nah, I'm not really big into old movies..."

On 8/14/2021 12:21 AM, bitrex wrote:
> On 8/14/2021 1:55 AM, Don Y wrote:
>> On 8/13/2021 7:50 PM, bitrex wrote:
>>> On 8/13/2021 3:55 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:
>>>> On a sunny day (Thu, 12 Aug 2021 16:50:12 -0700) it happened Don Y
>>>> <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> wrote in <sf4c3u$t1h$1@dont-email.me>:
>>>>
>>>>> Christ, it seems like I'm consistently having problems with
>>>>> eBay vendors misrepresenting their products.
>>>>>
>>>>> No, it's not as if they are trying to scam/screw folks but,
>>>>> rather, deciding that accurately describing their products
>>>>> isn't really *that* important.
>>>>>
>>>>> E.g., 4 ft power cords that are actually 6 ft (if I wanted 6 ft,
>>>>> don't you think I would have ORDERED 6 ft???)
>>>>>
>>>>> Or, adapter cables that aren't wired as pictured.
>>>>>
>>>>> Or, CD sleeves that are functionally different than pictured.
>>>>>
>>>>> Or, video cards that aren't the models advertised.
>>>>>
>>>>> Note that many of these things boil down to just taking a photo of
>>>>> the *actual* item and using that in your listing. Esp when you
>>>>> consider that there isn't much else that a customer can rely upon
>>>>> to make a purchase decision!
>>>>>
>>>>> Of course, eBay has their "guarantee" that makes me whole, again.
>>>>> Except for the hassle of having to reorder the *right* item
>>>>> (and hope!) as well as the trip to the postal orifice to return
>>>>> the item.
>>>>>
>>>>> Amazon seems to have a better record -- at least in ensuring the
>>>>> items *are* what is advertised!
>>>>
>>>> I was a big ebay buyer, but have hardly ordered anything there lately.
>>>> Indeed not always correct.
>>>> Was reading ebay selling has dropped 2% lately.
>>>
>>> It's a decent source for vintage baseball cards, model trains, old radios
>>> and test equipment, and historical memorabilia and such, but I don't
>>> generally go there for things like adapter cables or video cards etc. except
>>> in pretty rare instances there are better sources for that stuff.
>>
>> Yeah, I was annoyed to have to *pay* for a GPU. But, I wanted another to
>> match the 5 I'd already rescued and didn't want to wait around for another
>> "rescue" to drop into my lap.
>
> Someone has probably been stabbed over a video card in recent times, they're
> like Nike Airs were in the 90s. People will wear them around their necks on
> chains as a conspicuous display of wealth shortly.
>
>> And, I can dig through the bin of power cords at the local auction and
>> hope to find a few dozen 4 ft cords (among the tangled mess) for a buck
>> a piece. But, there's no guarantee that there *will* be ANY 4 ft cords
>> in that mess. How many times should I make the trip in the hope of
>> stumbling on what I need?
>>
>> Amazon only has new-ish stuff. Alibaba and DH tend to have dubious quality...
>>
>> And, ebay has a *guarantee*! Lead pipe cinch!
>>
>>> They do have some 5-disc Nakamichi SCSI CD-ROM changers that are pretty hard
>>> to come by anywhere else if you need that sort of thing.
>>
>> Also much easier to find vintage WoW toys, out-of-print books
>> (Abe is costly), subassemblies for older kit, etc.
>
> World of Warcraft? yikes, WoW is "vintage" now...a friend of mine was in a
> adult-ed creative writing class several years back and a young man in the class
> wrote a kinda sci-fi diddy about robots and virtual reality, someone asked if
> he'd seen the "Matrix" films and as she tells it he said "Nah, I'm not really
> big into old movies..."

Worlds of Wonder

On 8/14/2021 3:23 AM, Don Y wrote:
> On 8/14/2021 12:21 AM, bitrex wrote:
>> On 8/14/2021 1:55 AM, Don Y wrote:
>>> On 8/13/2021 7:50 PM, bitrex wrote:
>>>> On 8/13/2021 3:55 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:
>>>>> On a sunny day (Thu, 12 Aug 2021 16:50:12 -0700) it happened Don Y
>>>>> <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> wrote in <sf4c3u$t1h$1@dont-email.me>:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Christ, it seems like I'm consistently having problems with
>>>>>> eBay vendors misrepresenting their products.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> No, it's not as if they are trying to scam/screw folks but,
>>>>>> rather, deciding that accurately describing their products
>>>>>> isn't really *that* important.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> E.g., 4 ft power cords that are actually 6 ft (if I wanted 6 ft,
>>>>>> don't you think I would have ORDERED 6 ft???)
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Or, adapter cables that aren't wired as pictured.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Or, CD sleeves that are functionally different than pictured.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Or, video cards that aren't the models advertised.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Note that many of these things boil down to just taking a photo of
>>>>>> the *actual* item and using that in your listing.  Esp when you
>>>>>> consider that there isn't much else that a customer can rely upon
>>>>>> to make a purchase decision!
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Of course, eBay has their "guarantee" that makes me whole, again.
>>>>>> Except for the hassle of having to reorder the *right* item
>>>>>> (and hope!) as well as the trip to the postal orifice to return
>>>>>> the item.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Amazon seems to have a better record -- at least in ensuring the
>>>>>> items *are* what is advertised!
>>>>>
>>>>> I was a big ebay buyer, but have hardly ordered anything there lately.
>>>>> Indeed not always correct.
>>>>> Was reading ebay selling has dropped 2% lately.
>>>>
>>>> It's a decent source for vintage baseball cards, model trains, old
>>>> radios and test equipment, and historical memorabilia and such, but
>>>> I don't generally go there for things like adapter cables or video
>>>> cards etc. except in pretty rare instances there are better sources
>>>> for that stuff.
>>>
>>> Yeah, I was annoyed to have to *pay* for a GPU.  But, I wanted
>>> another to
>>> match the 5 I'd already rescued and didn't want to wait around for
>>> another
>>> "rescue" to drop into my lap.
>>
>> Someone has probably been stabbed over a video card in recent times,
>> they're like Nike Airs were in the 90s. People will wear them around
>> their necks on chains as a conspicuous display of wealth shortly.
>>
>>> And, I can dig through the bin of power cords at the local auction and
>>> hope to find a few dozen 4 ft cords (among the tangled mess) for a buck
>>> a piece.  But, there's no guarantee that there *will* be ANY 4 ft cords
>>> in that mess.  How many times should I make the trip in the hope of
>>> stumbling on what I need?
>>>
>>> Amazon only has new-ish stuff.  Alibaba and DH tend to have dubious
>>> quality...
>>>
>>> And, ebay has a *guarantee*!  Lead pipe cinch!
>>>
>>>> They do have some 5-disc Nakamichi SCSI CD-ROM changers that are
>>>> pretty hard to come by anywhere else if you need that sort of thing.
>>>
>>> Also much easier to find vintage WoW toys, out-of-print books
>>> (Abe is costly), subassemblies for older kit, etc.
>>
>> World of Warcraft? yikes, WoW is "vintage" now...a friend of mine was
>> in a adult-ed creative writing class several years back and a young
>> man in the class wrote a kinda sci-fi diddy about robots and virtual
>> reality, someone asked if he'd seen the "Matrix" films and as she
>> tells it he said "Nah, I'm not really big into old movies..."
>
> Worlds of Wonder

Oh, like Teddy Ruxpin? Hasbro made a solid-state talking bear in the
late 80s, his name was "Bingo Bear." One of the first toys to have
"expansion packs", maybe, he had a cowboy expansion and a doctor-bear
expansion IIRC which I think were fairly rare even at the time.

In article <sf7pbq$fpr$1@gioia.aioe.org>, pNaOnStPeAlMtje@yahoo.com
says...
>
> I have boxes full of SMDs R, C, and chips, adaptors, modules, what not, all from ebay.
> Batteries, wallwarts, chargers, power-converter modules, etc etc
> I did get some voltage regulators that were not what was written on it, got money back
> no questions,
> Every now and then something was wrong.
> Ah, multimeters, RF power modules, anything, all OK from ebay.
> Now indeed with VAT things may get more complicated, but that was already the case when buying from some US
> ebay sellers, things winding up in customs..
>
>
>
>
>
>

Being in the US I don't think we have to bother with the VAT. I did
notice that ebay has started charging tax on many things now. Not sure
if they turn it in or not on all the items.

On 8/14/2021 10:56 AM, bitrex wrote:
> On 8/14/2021 3:23 AM, Don Y wrote:
>> On 8/14/2021 12:21 AM, bitrex wrote:
>>> On 8/14/2021 1:55 AM, Don Y wrote:
>>>> On 8/13/2021 7:50 PM, bitrex wrote:
>>>>> On 8/13/2021 3:55 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:
>>>>>> On a sunny day (Thu, 12 Aug 2021 16:50:12 -0700) it happened Don Y
>>>>>> <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> wrote in <sf4c3u$t1h$1@dont-email.me>:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Christ, it seems like I'm consistently having problems with
>>>>>>> eBay vendors misrepresenting their products.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> No, it's not as if they are trying to scam/screw folks but,
>>>>>>> rather, deciding that accurately describing their products
>>>>>>> isn't really *that* important.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> E.g., 4 ft power cords that are actually 6 ft (if I wanted 6 ft,
>>>>>>> don't you think I would have ORDERED 6 ft???)
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Or, adapter cables that aren't wired as pictured.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Or, CD sleeves that are functionally different than pictured.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Or, video cards that aren't the models advertised.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Note that many of these things boil down to just taking a photo of
>>>>>>> the *actual* item and using that in your listing.  Esp when you
>>>>>>> consider that there isn't much else that a customer can rely upon
>>>>>>> to make a purchase decision!
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Of course, eBay has their "guarantee" that makes me whole, again.
>>>>>>> Except for the hassle of having to reorder the *right* item
>>>>>>> (and hope!) as well as the trip to the postal orifice to return
>>>>>>> the item.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Amazon seems to have a better record -- at least in ensuring the
>>>>>>> items *are* what is advertised!
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I was a big ebay buyer, but have hardly ordered anything there
>>>>>> lately.
>>>>>> Indeed not always correct.
>>>>>> Was reading ebay selling has dropped 2% lately.
>>>>>
>>>>> It's a decent source for vintage baseball cards, model trains, old
>>>>> radios and test equipment, and historical memorabilia and such, but
>>>>> I don't generally go there for things like adapter cables or video
>>>>> cards etc. except in pretty rare instances there are better sources
>>>>> for that stuff.
>>>>
>>>> Yeah, I was annoyed to have to *pay* for a GPU.  But, I wanted
>>>> another to
>>>> match the 5 I'd already rescued and didn't want to wait around for
>>>> another
>>>> "rescue" to drop into my lap.
>>>
>>> Someone has probably been stabbed over a video card in recent times,
>>> they're like Nike Airs were in the 90s. People will wear them around
>>> their necks on chains as a conspicuous display of wealth shortly.
>>>
>>>> And, I can dig through the bin of power cords at the local auction and
>>>> hope to find a few dozen 4 ft cords (among the tangled mess) for a buck
>>>> a piece.  But, there's no guarantee that there *will* be ANY 4 ft cords
>>>> in that mess.  How many times should I make the trip in the hope of
>>>> stumbling on what I need?
>>>>
>>>> Amazon only has new-ish stuff.  Alibaba and DH tend to have dubious
>>>> quality...
>>>>
>>>> And, ebay has a *guarantee*!  Lead pipe cinch!
>>>>
>>>>> They do have some 5-disc Nakamichi SCSI CD-ROM changers that are
>>>>> pretty hard to come by anywhere else if you need that sort of thing.
>>>>
>>>> Also much easier to find vintage WoW toys, out-of-print books
>>>> (Abe is costly), subassemblies for older kit, etc.
>>>
>>> World of Warcraft? yikes, WoW is "vintage" now...a friend of mine was
>>> in a adult-ed creative writing class several years back and a young
>>> man in the class wrote a kinda sci-fi diddy about robots and virtual
>>> reality, someone asked if he'd seen the "Matrix" films and as she
>>> tells it he said "Nah, I'm not really big into old movies..."
>>
>> Worlds of Wonder
>
> Oh, like Teddy Ruxpin? Hasbro made a solid-state talking bear in the
> late 80s, his name was "Bingo Bear." One of the first toys to have
> "expansion packs", maybe,

Not inclusive of stuff like Lego and action figures etc. which were
always about selling more of the same thing

On Fri, 13 Aug 2021 22:50:51 -0400, bitrex <user@example.net> wrote:

>
>
>It's a decent source for vintage baseball cards, model trains, old
>radios and test equipment, and historical memorabilia and such, but I
>don't generally go there for things like adapter cables or video cards
>etc. except in pretty rare instances there are better sources for that
>stuff.
>
>They do have some 5-disc Nakamichi SCSI CD-ROM changers that are pretty
>hard to come by anywhere else if you need that sort of thing.

It's good for some stuff from China, sometimes you can find domestic
stock at a competitive price and delivery. Like UPS SLA batteries.
Expensive to ship by air, they'll stick them in a flat rate USPS box
or something.

I could have got the PCB test jig a week or so faster direct from the
manufacturer China but it was a bit cheaper to get the exact same
product from an eBay middleman in Chino, California.

I had a failing NVIDIA video card in a computer I reserve for PCB CAD-
a tested used one was $23 delivered. The dual 30" monitors need
dual-link DVI ports so a more modern one was not in the cards.

--
Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany

On 8/14/2021 12:44 PM, Spehro Pefhany wrote:
> On Fri, 13 Aug 2021 22:50:51 -0400, bitrex <user@example.net> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> It's a decent source for vintage baseball cards, model trains, old
>> radios and test equipment, and historical memorabilia and such, but I
>> don't generally go there for things like adapter cables or video cards
>> etc. except in pretty rare instances there are better sources for that
>> stuff.
>>
>> They do have some 5-disc Nakamichi SCSI CD-ROM changers that are pretty
>> hard to come by anywhere else if you need that sort of thing.
>
> It's good for some stuff from China, sometimes you can find domestic
> stock at a competitive price and delivery. Like UPS SLA batteries.
> Expensive to ship by air, they'll stick them in a flat rate USPS box
> or something.
>
> I could have got the PCB test jig a week or so faster direct from the
> manufacturer China but it was a bit cheaper to get the exact same
> product from an eBay middleman in Chino, California.
>
> I had a failing NVIDIA video card in a computer I reserve for PCB CAD-
> a tested used one was $23 delivered. The dual 30" monitors need
> dual-link DVI ports so a more modern one was not in the cards.
>

Which model Nvidia was it? GT 710s are $59 on Amazon, laughable by
modern standards for vidya games but a nice boost over the integrated
graphics in older PCs, unless it's old enough to only have AGP vs. 16x PCIe:

<https://www.amazon.com/MSI-GT-710-2GD3-LP/dp/B01DOFD0G8/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=nvidia%2B730&qid=1628960602&sr=8-6&th=1>

On 8/14/2021 1:07 PM, bitrex wrote:
> On 8/14/2021 12:44 PM, Spehro Pefhany wrote:
>> On Fri, 13 Aug 2021 22:50:51 -0400, bitrex <user@example.net> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>
>>> It's a decent source for vintage baseball cards, model trains, old
>>> radios and test equipment, and historical memorabilia and such, but I
>>> don't generally go there for things like adapter cables or video cards
>>> etc. except in pretty rare instances there are better sources for that
>>> stuff.
>>>
>>> They do have some 5-disc Nakamichi SCSI CD-ROM changers that are pretty
>>> hard to come by anywhere else if you need that sort of thing.
>>
>> It's good for some stuff from China, sometimes you can find domestic
>> stock at a competitive price and delivery. Like UPS SLA batteries.
>> Expensive to ship by air, they'll stick them in a flat rate USPS box
>> or something.
>>
>> I could have got the PCB test jig a week or so faster direct from the
>> manufacturer China but it was a bit cheaper to get the exact same
>> product from an eBay middleman in Chino, California.
>>
>> I had a failing NVIDIA video card in a computer I reserve for PCB CAD-
>> a tested used one was $23 delivered. The dual 30" monitors need
>> dual-link DVI ports so a more modern one was not in the cards.
>>
>
> Which model Nvidia was it? GT 710s are $59 on Amazon, laughable by
> modern standards for vidya games but a nice boost over the integrated
> graphics in older PCs, unless it's old enough to only have AGP vs. 16x
> PCIe:
>
> <https://www.amazon.com/MSI-GT-710-2GD3-LP/dp/B01DOFD0G8/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=nvidia%2B730&qid=1628960602&sr=8-6&th=1>
>

Oops, my bad the part about dual-link DVI didn't compute for a sec

On 8/14/2021 7:56 AM, bitrex wrote:
>> Worlds of Wonder
>
> Oh, like Teddy Ruxpin?

Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Grubby, Snoopy, etc. IIRC, there were also
some others (Charlie Brown, Oscar, etc.) that were significantly
rarer. (There were several Teddy versions)

I used to make them into telephones (using the incoming sound of
the called party to drive the mechanisms). Then, repurposed them as
user I/Os (like a glorified "Alexa"). Now, once again "enhanced"
for more functionality.

> Hasbro made a solid-state talking bear in the late 80s,
> his name was "Bingo Bear." One of the first toys to have "expansion packs",
> maybe, he had a cowboy expansion and a doctor-bear expansion IIRC which I think
> were fairly rare even at the time.

On 8/14/2021 7:56 AM, Ralph Mowery wrote:

> Being in the US I don't think we have to bother with the VAT. I did
> notice that ebay has started charging tax on many things now. Not sure
> if they turn it in or not on all the items.

Typically, a business was obligated to collect local sales tax if they
had a "presence" in the state (like a warehouse, sales office, retail outlet,
etc.). It used to be that one would only be charged the *state*
portion of any sales taxes (not county and city). That has changed.

Technically, one is legally required (in most places) to voluntarily
remit any sales taxes that were "avoided" to the state/city (transaction
privilege tax, use tax, etc.).

On 8/14/2021 10:08 AM, bitrex wrote:
> Oops, my bad the part about dual-link DVI didn't compute for a sec

Yes, it's a bit of a hassle. Also finding DVI *cables* that are "completely
wired".

Note that you can still benefit from using a GPU on a non-CAD station
(e.g., I use them on my desktop publishing and software development
workstations just to give me more screen real-estate and snappier updates)