When did you not get value for money?

[ElPolloDiabl]

Hi,
Tell us a story about when you bought something, but you felt ripped off or the product didn't seem worth the money.

[djrikki]

Every trip to the fuel pump..

[Boot_WB]

Independence day (The Movie).

Three of us went to see it at the cinema.
We all felt mentally violated and utterly robbed by the experience.

[runequester]

For a movie? Pearl Harbour for sure, though considering the hype, Avatar was a close second

For a computer? My first pc (16 megs ram, win 98 and it basically couldn't do anything)

[orb85750]

Wait, I think ElPolloDiabl was referring to Amiga (not movies, etc.), since this was posted in the Amiga General Chat, not the Coffee House forum?   My only regrets have been some eBay purchases of vintage equipment that didn't work properly.  But these several purchases have been offset by better-than-expected Amiga purchases.  Win some, lose some, I guess.

[runequester]

I've had terrible luck buying sega controllers and having them not work at all, due to being old pieces of junk

[fitzsteve]

I've had terrible luck buying sega controllers and having them not work at all, due to being old pieces of junk

I've had the same with CD32 pads, keep getting ones that are scrap even though sold as 'tested' :furious:

[itix]

Hi,
Tell us a story about when you bought something, but you felt ripped off or the product didn't seem worth the money.

When I bought FinalWriter97. Amiga magazines praised it but I found FW97 was only huge disappointment. Never trust Amiga magazines ;-)

[ElPolloDiabl]

I had a quickshot joystick bought new for my A500 (back in the day), broke within a couple of days. The metal strip that controls direction broke.
For the PC I bought a racing wheel and pedals for $100 (maybe a bit more can't remember). It had lousy sensitivity and made racing games nearly unplayable.

Nowadays if I don't like something I'll take it back within the week and get a refund. One of the problems of buying online is that you don't get to inspect something close up. Close up pictures or a refund policy are a good substitute.

[runequester]

When I bought FinalWriter97. Amiga magazines praised it but I found FW97 was only huge disappointment. Never trust Amiga magazines ;-)

I really like FW97 but its the only Final Writer Ive used, so not sure if it was any improvement over the previous ones or not.


As far as ebay goes, I've lost track of the "Guaranteed to work!" which turns out to be "20 years ago, I plugged it in, and Im pretty sure it worked, all sales final!"

[p@rity]

Pretty much anything you buy on eBay... even if the product is in reasonable shape, it never is quite what you expected.

[Franko]

An Epson Stylus Colour 600 printer I bought on ebay about 8 years ago, it had most of its insides stripped out and half a brick sitting in it, to give it some weight...

[cv643d]

Pretty much anything you buy on eBay... even if the product is in reasonable shape, it never is quite what you expected.

That sounds so much like something you get when you purchase an item from DealExtreme!

[Iggy]

An Epson Stylus Colour 600 printer I bought on ebay about 8 years ago, it had most of its insides stripped out and half a brick sitting in it, to give it some weight...

These days, if you buy something from Ebay using Paypal to pay for it and it is THAT far away from its description, you better file a complaint and request the Ebay issue a refund.
In the past, I've been foolish enough to go back and forth with a seller and then accepted that fact that I've been ripped off.
But it doesn't have to work that way. Unlike a lot of you, apparently, most of the purchases I've made on Ebay have been good buys. Now I haven't always liked what the items I've posted for sale have brought, but the items I've received were usually in good shape and cost a fraction of what they would elsewhere. Even items I've purchased from Chinese vendors have arrived and worked to my satisfaction.

You guys must be doing something wrong. First, never deal with a seller with bad feedback. Second, pay via credit cards or Paypal. Third, if in any way the item you receive does not match its description, you're obligated to at least contact the seller and try to work out a solution.
But that obligation is only for one week. If you still feel that you've been taken advantage off, then move right on to a complaint.

Ebay and Paypal are taking the idea of buyer support very seriously now. As long as you've paid via an electronic method that can be charged back, if you've been defrauded you'll get your money back.

Frankly, I've found this forum to be a better place to buy than dealing directly with the seller like you might on Craigslist. I worry when I see posts like this as they give the general impression that a purchase on Ebay is as good as flushing your money down the toilet. My experiences would lead me to believe that either you weren't reading the listing carefully, making sure you were dealing with someone who was reasonably trustworthy (decent feedback scores, not a new seller), or that you didn't realize that a proper complaint would get you a refund.
I've seen Ebay do this out of their own pocket if they have to.

[Franko]

Forgot to mention that I did get a refund from ebay for the stylus printer, The guy I bought it from was a new seller and he quickly disappeared form ebay after that.

Even buying from seller with 100% feedback does not guarantee you that the item is alright. 3 Weeks ago I paid £399 for an iMac G5 that was supposed to be in perfect condition. However when i got it and opened it up to put in a bigger HD, I was shocked and amazed to find that where the HD should be was a tiny little 160GB laptop HD, stuck to the metal shielding with BROWN PARCEL TAPE. Its only took me about 5 days to get my money back after I complained to ebay & paypal and reported it to Trading Standards.

If your buying stuff off ebay you should only use paypal and as well as complaining to ebay report it to Trading Standards as well, it's a sure fire way to get your money back when you have been sold something dodgy.