My wife and I have been using eBay for several years. We’ve bought and sold hundreds of items, and with one exception, we’ve had a positive experience. That one instance involved a purchase made by my wife, and not me. Overall, my experiences have been overwhelmingly positive.
But today, for the first time, I left negative feedback for an item I purchased. Here’s the dialog:
First off, here’s the item: Kyosho Concept 30 helicopter. Now, these helicopters are tough to find in “excellent” condition. They haven’t been manufactured for around five years, and parts are becoming increasingly rare. I wanted one because they’re quite smooth flyers and had some amazing body conversion kits made for them so that you can do scale bodies of various full-scale helicopters. I thought it would be a fun novelty for my hangar.
Description: You are bidding on a RARE Kyosho concept DX. Its RARE because it has a Thunder Tiger pro 39 engine. It was modified to swing wooden blades instead of the cheap foam ones. It also comes with 5 servos, A CSM 540 gyro,and switch. All you need is a reciever a battery and program it into your radio. It does not have blades. But like I said, with the pro 39 engine upgrading to wood wouldnt be a problem. No loss of power at all. I know that the motor is done right because I put it in myself and machined all the parts. It has only been hovered twice, never flown in forward flight. As you can see its in excellent shape. The buyer will pay actual shipping costs. Good luck! If any questions please ask. P.S. I do have the flybar for it also its just wasnt on at the time of the pic.
Accompanying this listing were several photographs. None of them show the back of the body of the heli clearly, nor the tail rotor hub. I’ve learned something from this transaction…
I just purchased your Kyosho Concept 30 helicopter, sans blades. I am located in Tooele, UT, 84074. Will you please inform me of the all-up price for the heli, including shipping?
Additionally, will there be any spare parts included, or just what is on the bird itself? It’s getting tougher to find parts for these old Concepts these days, but they are smooth flyers. Thanks.
–Matt Barnson
I will put any spare parts that I have in the box. I may have the original 32 engine for it. I am not sure. I will get it boxed up and get a total price for you this afternoon.
I have not yet received a quote from you regarding shipping on this item. Please let me know as soon as is practical. If you haven’t been able to get the shipping priced yet, will it happen Monday, or at some point afterward? Thanks, –Matt B.
I must have sent it to the wrong email. I sent it through the one that you send to my aol account. Anyway, Its 20 dollars for ups ground and 40 dollars for 3 day delivery. I didnt find the extra motor and the parts that I do have a re worn out and not worth sending. Thanks and sorry about that.
OK, red-flag here… when he said he had parts which were “worn out” for this helicopter which was advertised as in “excellent condition”, I should have taken notice…
Has this item been shipped yet? If so, please provide the tracking number or waybill number so I can watch it inch its way across the States 🙂
Thanks, Matthew P. Barnson
I am waiting for the money to clear paypal. As sson as I get confirmation It will be sent and I will provide a tracking#. Thanks.
So far, all above-board and proceeding like a fairly normal eBay transaction.
PP withdrew it yesterday. I tell you what, I think they skim money on the margin by letting it stew for a couple of days!
All righty, I’ll be patient 🙂 I’m just excited to put her in the air! I have a pair of new blades coming down from Idaho for her. Thanks for your reply!
–Matt B.
here is the tracking # 1Z470X240305351600. I will leave positive feedback when you recieve it and everything is good. Hope you will enjoy. Thanks [Seller]
Now here is one of the weaknesses of the eBay system: most sellers only leave feedback for you after you leave feedback for them. In this way, if you leave negative feedback, they can ensure that you receive it, too. All else being equal, you hurt yourself just as much as you hurt them. Sellers and buyers with lots of feedback, though, can handle a little negative feedback and not affect their rating as much as a guy with a low feedback score. The law of averages…
Hello! I received the helicopter, thank you. In the ad, you said it was in excellent condition, but: – The ball links and bushings (particularly on the tail) are worn and have a lot of play. – The tail blades are heavily marred. It appears to have been in at least one major crash. – The tail grip is damaged, with over 1/8 inch of play on one grip. The grip is unsafe to fly in this imbalanced condition, and must be replaced. – The starter clutch is melted. – Quite a few bolts/nuts have been replaced or are missing. – The heli has obviously been flown more than twice. Did you in fact mean the new engine has only been flown twice? I own several helis, and was principally interested in this one for nostalgic reasons. Had I known about the substantial crash damage and starter abuse, however, I would have reconsidered bidding. That said, I strongly dislike leaving negative feedback. I would prefer to come to a mutually-agreeable accommodation. Do you have any suggestions?
An olive branch. If he offered me shipping back for selling me a helicopter with really obvious abuse (starter clutch melted into a slightly-conical blob by starter abuse), it would have been enough. If he’d accepted the item back, even if he required I pay for shipping, I’d have been satisfied. But, alas, no olive branch extended:
I did have pics with the auction. I dont know what you expect from a 20 year old model! I said that I have only hovered it twice ! I recieved it in trade from another gentleman. It hovered great. As for thing being worn out and not right then I geuss thats part of wear and tear over the years. It is in excellent condition compared to some of the crap out there I have seen. And for 150.00 with servos and gyro, Come on give me a break!
There’s a huge difference between “I have only hovered it twice” and the item’s description which said “it has only been hovered twice, never flown in forward flight.” If an item was purchased used and the current owner only used it twice before giving up on it, that’s one thing. If a ten-year-old helicopter has only been hovered twice, it should be in great condition with little wear. The description was misleading.
I’ve seen quite a few beautiful, clean-running Kyosho Concept 30 helicopters over the years. They’ve been out of production for five years, not twenty. If I wanted to purchase a 1965 Ford Mustang which was advertised as in “excellent” condition, I’d expect it to be in “excellent” condition, regardless of its age. If it instead arrived with all worn-out upholstery, a broken tailpipe, and doors which don’t open, that’s not “excellent”, that’s “poor”. The age of the item has little to do with how you describe its condition.
Reluctantly, I sent the following reply and left negative feedback. The item’s too cheap for me to be interested in going through the headache of arbitration; easier just to leave the negative feedback and get on with my life…
Regardless of the amount of money involved, I expect obvious crash and abuse damage to an item to be mentioned in the auction. It should also be featured in photos rather than studiously avoided by camera angles. Look at the photos again, and note that you can’t see the damage to the tail or starter clutch. Additionally, stating it has ‘only been hovered twice’ when you obtained it used without knowledge of its history is a misrepresentation.
Your unwillingness to admit fault suggests a similar unwillingness to reach a reasonable accommodation. I understand where you are coming from regarding the age of the model and price paid, but due to inaccuracy regarding model condition I’m forced to leave negative feedback regarding this transaction.
Regards, Matthew P. Barnson
There’s that age-old question: is it worth the hassle when you “got what you paid for”? The guy has a low feedback number (only 38 transactions), which is probably partially responsible for why the bid went for such a low amount. My maximum bid on this item was $300, which is what I expected to pay. I was extremely surprised that I got it for just $150.
Is a low price sufficient justification for concealing flaws or describing something as in a different condition than it is? I’m positive I’ll get negative feedback in turn from this seller; is such a system broken where you can receive retaliatory ratings when you’ve done nothing wrong?
I had a similar complaint about Garageband reviews some time ago. Their rating system was similarly flawed (they’ve fixed the most noteworthy problems there, though). If you expressed a correct but negative opinion about an artist, they could, in turn, rate you down as a reviewer because you thought their music stunk. The review may have been accurate, but the integrity of your reviews is called into question because you’re not glowingly positive.
Similarly, if you don’t rate someone as a “great ebayer”, despite you having held up your end of the bargain, they can — and almost always will — rate you down.
I wonder if an appropriate solution for such a conundrum would be a double-blind feedback system, where the feedback is unknown until you’ve submitted yours? Or is this the way it should be: insult the quality of a seller and they’ll insult your quality as a buyer?