eBay: Be careful. It's a scary place sometimes.

[IrishGuy]

Tried 2 auctions for a pair of Gibson humbuckers that I'd replaced in
my Les Paul a long time ago and had laying around. Simple thing,
right? Not so much.

High bidder (zero ebay history=red flag) started being a jerk
demanding this/that. So I canceled his bids and blocked him...followed
immediately by profane emails and violent threats, and of course
predictably him creating new eBay personas bidding exactly what he bid
before (duh) so he could mess with...or worse, find out where Iive
once I shipped the pickups. I had to cancel both auctions as a
result. Sigh.

It's just a couple of humbuckers for heaven sake. How/why does
something as simple as that bring out the worst in someone?

[Mark Opolo]

Post by IrishGuy
Tried 2 auctions for a pair of Gibson humbuckers that I'd replaced in
my Les Paul a long time ago and had laying around. Simple thing,
right? Not so much.
High bidder (zero ebay history=red flag) started being a jerk
demanding this/that. So I canceled his bids and blocked him...followed
immediately by profane emails and violent threats, and of course
predictably him creating new eBay personas bidding exactly what he bid
before (duh) so he could mess with...or worse, find out where Iive
once I shipped the pickups. I had to cancel both auctions as a
result. Sigh.
It's just a couple of humbuckers for heaven sake. How/why does
something as simple as that bring out the worst in someone?

yes, I got rather involved with a Fake Gibson seller.........he was going to
pay me a visit after obtaining my address through ebay. Needless to say he
never did. All mouth and fishing lures he was.....

[RD Jones]

Post by IrishGuy
Tried 2 auctions for a pair of Gibson humbuckers that I'd replaced in
my Les Paul a long time ago and had laying around. Simple thing,
right?  Not so much.
High bidder (zero ebay history=red flag) started being a jerk
demanding this/that. So I canceled his bids and blocked him...followed
immediately by profane emails and violent threats, and of course
predictably him creating new eBay personas bidding exactly what he bid
before (duh) so he could mess with...or worse, find out where Iive
once I shipped the pickups.  I had to cancel both auctions as a
result. Sigh.
It's just a couple of humbuckers for heaven sake. How/why does
something as simple as that bring out the worst in someone?

It's the same as being in a newsgroup, really.

Arrogant, pushy, selfish, abrasive, antisocial personalities
masked behind the anonymity of a nondescript user name
and absent or misleading location information.
There's almost no easier way to create a "monster"

You are correct to limit your auction to users you feel comfortable
doing business with, whether that is determined by ratings/bid history
or just "gut feeling". Desirable vintage items bring out the worst
bidders,
I've seen a lot of it.

Good Luck.

rd

[DGDevin]

Post by IrishGuy
High bidder (zero ebay history=red flag) started being a jerk
demanding this/that. So I canceled his bids and blocked him...followed
immediately by profane emails and violent threats, and of course
predictably him creating new eBay personas bidding exactly what he bid
before (duh) so he could mess with...or worse, find out where Iive
once I shipped the pickups. I had to cancel both auctions as a
result. Sigh.
It's just a couple of humbuckers for heaven sake. How/why does
something as simple as that bring out the worst in someone?

I think it's largely the anonymity, people hiding behind screen names will
say things they would never in a million years say to your face, or even
from long distance with their real name at the bottom of the message..

[Too Long in the Wasteland]

Post by IrishGuy
How/why does
something as simple as that bring out the worst in someone?

This internet for everyone is *scary* place for the un-initiated .
Bunch of wackos and scam artists - And I don't think it has gotten
much better .. I still get spam for illegal drugs and get rich scams ...
after 10 or 12 years using it. Amazing .

The ebay thing was cool years ago before it become a store front.
Many cheap, unique things could be had then, although it still has
some jewels buried deep in it.


You can always go back to punch cards, and rotary dial phone,
cars without a FM radio.

[Greasehorse]

On Sun, 29 Aug 2010 18:07:42 -0500, Too Long in the Wasteland

Post by Too Long in the Wasteland

Post by IrishGuy
How/why does
something as simple as that bring out the worst in someone?

This internet for everyone is *scary* place for the un-initiated .
Bunch of wackos and scam artists - And I don't think it has gotten
much better .. I still get spam for illegal drugs and get rich scams ...
after 10 or 12 years using it. Amazing .
The ebay thing was cool years ago before it become a store front.
Many cheap, unique things could be had then, although it still has
some jewels buried deep in it.
You can always go back to punch cards, and rotary dial phone,
cars without a FM radio.

4 track stereo - sometimes...

[Too Long in the Wasteland]

Post by Greasehorse

Post by Too Long in the Wasteland
You can always go back to punch cards, and rotary dial phone,
cars without a FM radio.

4 track stereo - sometimes...

Quadraphonic never took off.

[Tony Elka]

Post by Too Long in the Wasteland

Post by Greasehorse

Post by Too Long in the Wasteland
You can always go back to punch cards, and rotary dial phone,
cars without a FM radio.

4 track stereo - sometimes...

Quadraphonic never took off.

Yes it did, we call it surround now.

Tony

[Greendistantstar]

Post by Tony Elka

Post by Too Long in the Wasteland

Post by Greasehorse

Post by Too Long in the Wasteland
You can always go back to punch cards, and rotary dial phone,
cars without a FM radio.

4 track stereo - sometimes...

Quadraphonic never took off.

Yes it did, we call it surround now.
Tony

I'm taking bets that 3D will prove to be another dud.

How many times have we played the '3D is the next big thing' game now?

Until a way is found to provide 3D without specs, it will never take off, IMHO.

Just sayin'....

GDS

"Let's roll!"

[DGDevin]

Post by Greendistantstar
I'm taking bets that 3D will prove to be another dud.
How many times have we played the '3D is the next big thing' game now?
Until a way is found to provide 3D without specs, it will never take off, IMHO.

They already know how to do that, but so far it's limited to people with a
medical marijuana prescription.

[Greendistantstar]

Post by DGDevin

Post by Greendistantstar
I'm taking bets that 3D will prove to be another dud.
How many times have we played the '3D is the next big thing' game now?
Until a way is found to provide 3D without specs, it will never take off, IMHO.

They already know how to do that, but so far it's limited to people with
a medical marijuana prescription.

Yet another good reason to legalise pot.

GDS

"Let's roll!"

[Greasehorse]

On Mon, 30 Aug 2010 12:14:04 +0800, Greendistantstar

Post by Greendistantstar

Post by DGDevin

Post by Greendistantstar
I'm taking bets that 3D will prove to be another dud.
How many times have we played the '3D is the next big thing' game now?
Until a way is found to provide 3D without specs, it will never take off, IMHO.

They already know how to do that, but so far it's limited to people with
a medical marijuana prescription.

Yet another good reason to legalise pot.
GDS
"Let's roll!"

Devin would turn ya in...narkie for sure...

[Greasehorse]

On Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:49:55 +0800, Greendistantstar

Post by Greendistantstar

Post by Tony Elka

Post by Too Long in the Wasteland

Post by Greasehorse

Post by Too Long in the Wasteland
You can always go back to punch cards, and rotary dial phone,
cars without a FM radio.

4 track stereo - sometimes...

Quadraphonic never took off.

Yes it did, we call it surround now.
Tony

I'm taking bets that 3D will prove to be another dud.
How many times have we played the '3D is the next big thing' game now?
Until a way is found to provide 3D without specs, it will never take off, IMHO.
Just sayin'....
GDS
"Let's roll!"

One of them claims 3D tv without glasses is coming out soon...bet it
is high $$$..

[Daniel Dreibelbis]

Post by Greendistantstar
I'm taking bets that 3D will prove to be another dud.
How many times have we played the '3D is the next big thing' game now?
Until a way is found to provide 3D without specs, it will never take off, IMHO.
Just sayin'....

reminiscent of the first 3D craze in the fifties - which died quickly
because the movies produced annoyed audiences by the number of things
thrown at you from the screen, plus poor plots and wooden acting.
(Though the best 3-D effect then had to be Julie Adams in _Creature
From The Black Lagoon_, where she was in a swimsuit and taking deep
breaths :O ) There was a lot of hype that it was going to be the next
big thing - to the point Warner Brothers shut down their cartoon
division for a time, thinking the price of animation in the new process
would skyrocket!

It's a bit different this time - seeing as films like _Avatar_ and the
crop of 3D kid's films have been making mucho money and attendance. Now
if they can figure out how to make the films so you don't need the
dorky glasses _AND_ not wash out the colour pallette of the film,
they'd have it made.

[Les Cargill]

Post by Daniel Dreibelbis

Post by Greendistantstar
I'm taking bets that 3D will prove to be another dud.
How many times have we played the '3D is the next big thing' game now?
Until a way is found to provide 3D without specs, it will never take off, IMHO.
Just sayin'....

reminiscent of the first 3D craze in the fifties - which died quickly
because the movies produced annoyed audiences by the number of things
thrown at you from the screen, plus poor plots and wooden acting.
(Though the best 3-D effect then had to be Julie Adams in _Creature From
The Black Lagoon_, where she was in a swimsuit and taking deep breaths
:O ) There was a lot of hype that it was going to be the next big thing
- to the point Warner Brothers shut down their cartoon division for a
time, thinking the price of animation in the new process would skyrocket!
It's a bit different this time - seeing as films like _Avatar_ and the
crop of 3D kid's films have been making mucho money and attendance. Now
if they can figure out how to make the films so you don't need the dorky
glasses _AND_ not wash out the colour pallette of the film, they'd have
it made.

I'd hjave to see the results to really say, but I don't see 3D as much
more than a fad... the ViewMaster never replaced traditional
photography...

--
Les Cargill

[Tony Elka]

Post by Les Cargill
I'd hjave to see the results to really say, but I don't see 3D as much
more than a fad... the ViewMaster never replaced traditional
photography...

And almost nobody ever bought anything to view with their ViewMaster
after the initial purchase. I remember seeing racks of stuff in stores
for it and even though I had a ViewMaster, I had zero interest in more
content.

I looked at the same stuff for a couple of years when I was a kid and it
was pretty forgettable.

Tony

[Les Cargill]

Post by Tony Elka

Post by Les Cargill
I'd hjave to see the results to really say, but I don't see 3D as much
more than a fad... the ViewMaster never replaced traditional
photography...

And almost nobody ever bought anything to view with their ViewMaster
after the initial purchase. I remember seeing racks of stuff in stores
for it and even though I had a ViewMaster, I had zero interest in more
content.
I looked at the same stuff for a couple of years when I was a kid and it
was pretty forgettable.
Tony

This brings up a good point though - you don't have to buy anything
extra to watch a 3D movie. The F/X rarely do much for the basic
narrative of the movie, and that narrative is the value of it.

I still haven't seen all of "Titanic" ( walked out about
halfway through ) and any of Avatar. Might someday, but I
doubt it. Cameron is a hack.

--
Les Cargill

[White Spirit]

Post by Les Cargill
I still haven't seen all of "Titanic" ( walked out about
halfway through ) and any of Avatar. Might someday, but I
doubt it. Cameron is a hack.

I didn't mind Avatar. I thought I would hate it but I was pleasantly
surprised.

[White Spirit]

Post by Greendistantstar
I'm taking bets that 3D will prove to be another dud.

I am praying every day that it will. I don't have stereoscopic vision.

[boardjunkie]

Post by Too Long in the Wasteland
You can always go back to punch cards, and rotary dial phone,
cars without a FM radio.

4 track stereo  - sometimes...

  Quadraphonic never took off.

I think he was talking about the Muntz 4 track cartridge that preceded
the 8 track....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereo-Pak

[Tony Elka]

In article

Post by boardjunkie

Post by Too Long in the Wasteland
You can always go back to punch cards, and rotary dial phone,
cars without a FM radio.

4 track stereo  - sometimes...

  Quadraphonic never took off.

I think he was talking about the Muntz 4 track cartridge that preceded
the 8 track....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereo-Pak
http://youtu.be/JoKzivUJ3nY

My parents had what was the top of the line Marantz receiver back around
1974, the one with the oscilloscope built in. It did SQ and CD4 quad
sound and I'm sure they still have a cabinet full of quad LPs somewhere.
Best one was the first Chase album, I think.

The only part of that system that's still working are their 4 Bose
901's, which are now part of their home theater system, along with a
bass sub-woofer that gives scrotal massages.

Tony

[DGDevin]

Post by Tony Elka
My parents had what was the top of the line Marantz receiver back around
1974, the one with the oscilloscope built in. It did SQ and CD4 quad
sound and I'm sure they still have a cabinet full of quad LPs somewhere.
Best one was the first Chase album, I think.

A pal of mine (a Sony dealer) had a four-track Sony open reel machine he
would use to play tapes that didn't rely on encoding/decoding and thus were
capable of quite impressive quad sound, but of course the format didn't
survive.

Post by Tony Elka
The only part of that system that's still working are their 4 Bose
901's, which are now part of their home theater system, along with a
bass sub-woofer that gives scrotal massages.
Tony

Ah yes, the speaker which got a less than rave review from Consumer Reports,
prompting Bose to sue. Perhaps they wanted to discourage future poor
reviews by going to court. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court,
with CR winning in the end. Bose gear has always seemed gimmicky and
overpriced to me, but their marketing is slick enough to move a lot of
product.

[Tony Elka]

Post by DGDevin

Post by Tony Elka
My parents had what was the top of the line Marantz receiver back around
1974, the one with the oscilloscope built in. It did SQ and CD4 quad
sound and I'm sure they still have a cabinet full of quad LPs somewhere.
Best one was the first Chase album, I think.

A pal of mine (a Sony dealer) had a four-track Sony open reel machine he
would use to play tapes that didn't rely on encoding/decoding and thus were
capable of quite impressive quad sound, but of course the format didn't
survive.

Post by Tony Elka
The only part of that system that's still working are their 4 Bose
901's, which are now part of their home theater system, along with a
bass sub-woofer that gives scrotal massages.
Tony

Ah yes, the speaker which got a less than rave review from Consumer Reports,
prompting Bose to sue. Perhaps they wanted to discourage future poor
reviews by going to court. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court,
with CR winning in the end. Bose gear has always seemed gimmicky and
overpriced to me, but their marketing is slick enough to move a lot of
product.

Are you serious? They sued over a bad review?

Astonishing.

Tony

[DGDevin]

Post by Tony Elka

Post by DGDevin
Ah yes, the speaker which got a less than rave review from Consumer Reports,
prompting Bose to sue. Perhaps they wanted to discourage future poor
reviews by going to court. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court,
with CR winning in the end. Bose gear has always seemed gimmicky and
overpriced to me, but their marketing is slick enough to move a lot of
product.

Are you serious? They sued over a bad review?
Astonishing.
Tony

They've done so more than once. They actually won (temporarily) in the
Consumer Reports/901 case but lost on appeal. CR's reviewer admitted he'd
phrased one criticism poorly and a judge said that showed malice, but higher
courts (including the Supremes) disagreed. Of course companies launch such
lawsuits not because one review will hurt them that much, but to discourage
bad reviews in future.

[Les Cargill]

Post by DGDevin

Post by Tony Elka
My parents had what was the top of the line Marantz receiver back around
1974, the one with the oscilloscope built in. It did SQ and CD4 quad
sound and I'm sure they still have a cabinet full of quad LPs somewhere.
Best one was the first Chase album, I think.

A pal of mine (a Sony dealer) had a four-track Sony open reel machine he
would use to play tapes that didn't rely on encoding/decoding and thus
were capable of quite impressive quad sound, but of course the format
didn't survive.

Post by Tony Elka
The only part of that system that's still working are their 4 Bose
901's, which are now part of their home theater system, along with a
bass sub-woofer that gives scrotal massages.
Tony

Ah yes, the speaker which got a less than rave review from Consumer
Reports, prompting Bose to sue. Perhaps they wanted to discourage future
poor reviews by going to court. The case went all the way to the Supreme
Court, with CR winning in the end. Bose gear has always seemed gimmicky
and overpriced to me, but their marketing is slick enough to move a lot
of product.

The Bose car audio from the '90s proves they can make good stuff.
There's just more money in gimmicks.

--
Les Cargill

[Greasehorse]

On Sun, 29 Aug 2010 20:36:18 -0700 (PDT), boardjunkie

Post by boardjunkie

Post by Too Long in the Wasteland
You can always go back to punch cards, and rotary dial phone,
cars without a FM radio.

4 track stereo  - sometimes...

  Quadraphonic never took off.

I think he was talking about the Muntz 4 track cartridge that preceded
the 8 track....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereo-Pak
http://youtu.be/JoKzivUJ3nY

Yes, one of my friends had one in his car..late 60's...had to adjust
the tape with a matchbook or it would drag...Eric Burton and the
Animals was one of them...I had a Panasonic Quad unit in my van back
in the Ft. Carson days...sounded good...one day we were driving down a
highway and some song had sirens in the background...I though the cops
were behind me pulling me over...everyone had a good laugh abiut
that...Zepplin sounded real good with that quad stereo...

[White Spirit]

Post by Too Long in the Wasteland
The ebay thing was cool years ago before it become a store front.

I don't mind on-line shops using Ebay as their marketplace. Many sell
things that I can't get elsewhere, or are doing better deals.

Post by Too Long in the Wasteland
Many cheap, unique things could be had then, although it still has
some jewels buried deep in it.

I think there are plenty if you are patient.

[Greasehorse]

On Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:54:33 +0100, White Spirit

Post by White Spirit

Post by Too Long in the Wasteland
The ebay thing was cool years ago before it become a store front.

I don't mind on-line shops using Ebay as their marketplace. Many sell
things that I can't get elsewhere, or are doing better deals.

Post by Too Long in the Wasteland
Many cheap, unique things could be had then, although it still has
some jewels buried deep in it.

I think there are plenty if you are patient.

So many buyers that you have to nid on a hundred items and might not
get overbid on one..but likely some dumb ass will pay more than it is
worth...

[White Spirit]

Post by Greasehorse
On Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:54:33 +0100, White Spirit

Post by White Spirit

Post by Too Long in the Wasteland
Many cheap, unique things could be had then, although it still has
some jewels buried deep in it.

I think there are plenty if you are patient.

So many buyers that you have to nid on a hundred items and might not
get overbid on one..but likely some dumb ass will pay more than it is
worth...

That is the case for more popular and sought-after items. If you can
resist getting drawn into a bidding war, there will always be another
coming along. If you're patient, you'll find an auction that doesn't
generate as much interest for one reason or another.

One thing that I can't understand is the number of people willing to pay
more money than a beaten up Chinese Squier is worth because the seller
has put 'RELIC!!!' in the title of the auction. Madness.

I'm currently bidding on an item of interest that will probably not go
for it is worth because the seller seems incapable of providing a photo
that isn't blurry. I have watched a few of his auctions and I am
confident that his descriptions are accurate and reliable. If I win and
the item is not as described, I can simply return it.

[BACONATER]

Post by White Spirit

Post by Greasehorse
On Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:54:33 +0100, White Spirit

Post by White Spirit

Post by Too Long in the Wasteland
Many cheap, unique things could be had then, although it still has
some jewels buried deep in it.

I think there are plenty if you are patient.

So many buyers that you have to nid on a hundred items and might not
get overbid on one..but likely some dumb ass will pay more than it is
worth...

That is the case for more popular and sought-after items. If you can
resist getting drawn into a bidding war, there will always be another
coming along. If you're patient, you'll find an auction that doesn't
generate as much interest for one reason or another.
One thing that I can't understand is the number of people willing to pay
more money than a beaten up Chinese Squier is worth because the seller
has put 'RELIC!!!' in the title of the auction. Madness.
I'm currently bidding on an item of interest that will probably not go
for it is worth because the seller seems incapable of providing a photo
that isn't blurry. I have watched a few of his auctions and I am
confident that his descriptions are accurate and reliable. If I win and
the item is not as described, I can simply return it.

What will u bid for the PICKLE JAR that PiGGy¹s liver ends up in???

[Greasehorse]

On Sat, 28 Aug 2010 16:34:20 -0700 (PDT), IrishGuy

Post by IrishGuy
Tried 2 auctions for a pair of Gibson humbuckers that I'd replaced in
my Les Paul a long time ago and had laying around. Simple thing,
right? Not so much.
High bidder (zero ebay history=red flag) started being a jerk
demanding this/that. So I canceled his bids and blocked him...followed
immediately by profane emails and violent threats, and of course
predictably him creating new eBay personas bidding exactly what he bid
before (duh) so he could mess with...or worse, find out where Iive
once I shipped the pickups. I had to cancel both auctions as a
result. Sigh.
It's just a couple of humbuckers for heaven sake. How/why does
something as simple as that bring out the worst in someone?

How old are they? Models? Year? Just for reference...I have
encountered a few dumbasses on fleabay but for the most part, it
woulks smooth if I have my p's and q's in order...

[Grinner]

Post by IrishGuy
Tried 2 auctions for a pair of Gibson humbuckers that I'd replaced in
my Les Paul a long time ago and had laying around. Simple thing,
right? Not so much.
High bidder (zero ebay history=red flag) started being a jerk
demanding this/that. So I canceled his bids and blocked him...followed
immediately by profane emails and violent threats, and of course
predictably him creating new eBay personas bidding exactly what he bid
before (duh) so he could mess with...or worse, find out where Iive
once I shipped the pickups. I had to cancel both auctions as a
result. Sigh.
It's just a couple of humbuckers for heaven sake. How/why does
something as simple as that bring out the worst in someone?

because my friend, the heart of man is desperately wicked, the flesh is weak
and must be punished, with lashing after lashing in the firey depths of the
abyss forever.

[Twibil]

Post by Grinner

Post by IrishGuy
It's just a couple of humbuckers for heaven sake. How/why does
something as simple as that bring out the worst in someone?

because my friend, the heart of man is desperately wicked, the flesh is weak
and must be punished, with lashing after lashing in the firey depths of the
abyss forever.

Let me guess:

1.) You play Heavy Metal?

2.) You wear a barbed-wire jock strap?

3.) You wanted to be a nun when you grew up?

4.) All of the above?

[Don John Bluean]

Post by Twibil

Post by Grinner

Post by IrishGuy
It's just a couple of humbuckers for heaven sake. How/why does
something as simple as that bring out the worst in someone?

because my friend, the heart of man is desperately wicked, the flesh is
weak and must be punished, with lashing after lashing in the firey
depths of the abyss forever.

1.) You play Heavy Metal?
2.) You wear a barbed-wire jock strap?
3.) You wanted to be a nun when you grew up?
4.) All of the above?

don't we all like to grow up our play jock while strapping with
heavy metal these heavy nuns above wearing barbed-wire?->

[Twibil]

Post by Don John Bluean
don't we all like to grow up our play jock while strapping with
heavy metal these heavy nuns above wearing barbed-wire?->

Cool!

You just can't find drugs like that in the US these days.