[Q] Anyone else got ripped off by wthobbys?

I think I may have done business with this seller in the past. I've never had an eBay seller related problem.

I wonder if this person was hit by the hurricane and perhaps this effected his eBaying. It looks like prior to this he was pretty up and up. Sounds out of character based on his/her total feedback.

I know nothing about the issues, just playing Devil's Advocate and trying to introduce an explanation.

Rob Gronovius Modern US armor at

How did you pay?

If you sent him a check you can go after him for mail fraud.

Don't know about paypal, etc.

Tom

I had a couple of good transactions with this seller back in May. Does seem as though the last few months have not been so good for others. As far as taking action, it costs money to take legal action and you have to weigh the cost effectiveness of it. The one time I got screwed on e-bay was with a seller in the UK and I just jad to let it go. It was less than $20 I was out and I could make better use of my time by working to make the $20 rather than spending that time to try and get that $20 back. Jack

Several eBay lawsuits have been on "Judge Judy" and "The People's Court". The eBay scamster lost all the cases. File a small claims suit and then go to the Judge Judy and People's Court websites to see if they'll take your case. It costs you nothing. Jerry 47

How long have you waited. It takes Mike about 2 to 3 months to mail orders. At least that's how long it's taken him to mail my orders in the past. I've got an order due from him, but I've only been waiting for a month now. It could be different this time, though. Instead of the usual lame excuses, he's just ignoring my e-mails. Maybe he has been arrested, or is off on a bender, and when he is released or sobers up, he'll mail the 50 odd orders to everyone he's pissed off. I'm not holding my breath, but if my order doesn't materialize in the next month, I'm filing a mail fraud complaint with the USPS. You should do the same. They will take action, if enough people file complaints against the same individual. PT

P.S. Don't bother complaining to Ebay. They are absolutely usless, and their aledged buyer protection, is a load of crap.

Well, as of now it's been 2 months. And when I was asking how to pay, he was very responsive, giving replies within the day. Now I don't get a single reply at all.

I feel kind of stupid because this is the 2nd time I got ripped off by him. The first time was 5 months ago, when I paid $30 with paypal. Item never arrived, I complained to paypal, and they got my money back. The seller, Mike, emailed me saying paypal ripped him off as he sent the item to me already and lost money as paypal credited it back to me.. Yeah, right, I say. As of today nothing arrived at all.

This time, I again paid him US$30, but I think he's wisened up. Paypal said they found him at fault, but can't get my money back. He must be using a different kind of card.. maybe a debit card with zero balance so no one can get any refunds out of it.

I would gladly pay another 30 bucks to make this scammer's life miserable.

snipped-for-privacy@aol.com (Giessenlad) wrote:

I've had similar experiences with WTHobbies. Won two microscale sheets on Ebay, and it took him about (give or take a week) 2 months to finally get them to me (and this after I had hounded him via email towards the end). Definitely someone that I will never do business with again.

I'm still very eager to know if Mike McCrary is still at large.

I mailed him again earlier this week, hoping for a response and a last ditch attempt to get what I paid for, and still have no response. I'm not expecting any more, but I really hope we can do something about this, like inform his state authorities or something like that. I've half a mind to contact all the ebayers he's scammed and write in to them with everyone in the cc loop.

snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com (Pauli G) wrote:

I do not know this seller and have never done any business with him, either on eBay or otherwise so I can't comment on his integrity. However, I have done a lot of business on eBay, mostly in the militaria area, and know how eBay works. First, I would NOT e-mail others he's done business with on eBay regarding your issue(s) with him. What you contemplate, whether for legitimate reasons or not, could be considered by eBay as "interfering with an auction." If the fellow complained to eBay, it could get YOU banned.

My suggestion is to use the tools that eBay has put in place to handle such issues. Once you've exhausted all attempts to resolve your issue with the seller go to the "Safe Harbor" area of eBay and lodge a complaint there. You can also post negative feedback but this might, in turn, earn you a retaliatory negative from the seller.

-- -- " In walks the village idiot and his face is all aglow; he's been up all night listening to Mohammad's radio" W. Zevon

My home page:

Really what's he going to say, This guy is warning other bidders that I rip him and other off.

I did this to a guy that ripped me off and several others. He threaten to sic ebay on me and I never heard a word.

SB

"The time has come, The Walrus said, To talk of many things: Of shoes and ships and sealing wax Of cabbages and kings And why the sea is boiling hot And whether pigs have wings."

My kill file;

ProMedeller

I totally agree. If someone rips me off or does his best to make my transaction a miserble experience, I WILL be honest when someone asks for opinions about a particular seller.

I could care less if that seller sics Ebay on me, he's a bad seller and the case is as simple as that. Once Ebay saw all of his negative feedbacks, I think they'd understand. Also, Ebay is a paper tiger and many of their "protections" are a sham, so I highly doubt if they'd kick me off for warning others about a bad seller (espeically when an opinion on that seller was solicited here on rec.models.scale). And if Ebay kicked me off for being honest? *yawn* could care less.

I had done business with him over a year ago. I never had a problem with him. After looking all the neg feedback I will now keep my money safe in my pocket. Bill W Hampton Roads Hobby

This to me is the crux of the matter. Calling the protection features a 'scam' might be a little strong, but I've been careful not to put myself in a position where that would even matter. I only spend money on eBay I can afford to lose, and only after I fully understand the seller's terms and am reconciled to all of them. Since I only buy luxury goods (i.e., kits), I won't even bother to bid if any of the seller's terms are not to my liking. I don't bid on auctions where there are reserves, where the shipping charges are excessive, where Pay Pal is the only method of payment, where the seller has a lot of negative feedback, where the initial bid is set close to my perception of what retail ought to be, or where useless stuff (to me) is bundled with useful stuff (to me). It's my mad money, so I'll call the shots. The overall point is that you have to protect yourself on eBay, because nobody else can effectively close that barn door after your cash is gone.

Mark Schynert