Another reason to always inspect the vehicle and supporting documentation before bidding or buying a vehicle online. Just clicking the BUY-NOW button and sending the money to the seller, hoping everything works out OK is not wise.

From this EBM Forum Discussion: Has anyone had a situation arise where they were seeking the help of Ebay and the Buyer Protection program? If you have how did it work out for you? Were you pleased with the outcome? Was service from Ebay timely and effective?

I ask this because I am currently involved with a dispute with Highlineautostore (North Coast Auto Mall) and seeking the assistance of Ebay in resolving the issue. Thus far NOTHING has been done to resolve the issue though I am hopeful that a resolution can be obtained. Short version of the story.

I did buy it now on a vehicle. PAID in full for the vehicle, the seller arranged shipping and never shipped the vehicle. Supposed to be sending me a check for the difference between what my bank sent and what the final cost was…. NEVER DID. I then arranged my own shipping company and they are refusing to release the vehicle which is already paid for. AVOID THEM AT ALL COST! Shady car dealer for sure!

Before taking the plunge on a car deal – be sure to read Doc’s Internet Car Buying Tips!

You are not going to get any sympathy from these eBay members. It is believed that mr.constant and mr.elmwood are the same person. Possibly part of the eBay / Liveworld PR team that try and steer the conversation into blaming the buyer for the problem. His posts look like that of a PR sock puppet type of poster. 🙄

But here we have a 9-year old Jeep from the Salt Mines of OHIO. Chances are when this guy finally receives his Jeep, he will be really screaming like hell. I have seen some of the rust buckets from up north that it practically took dynamite to get the wheel separated from the hub. Bolts rusted solid, etc etc etc.

Another thing to consider is now that eBay is no longer giving away FREE Auto Check history reports a lot of the dealers will not be paying for Auto Check on their listings.

I advise anyone who is seriously interested in buying a car online to Purchase a CarFax Report. CarFax is the genuine authority in the vehicle report business. It’s not cheap – but worth every penny of it’s cost if you discover a serious undisclosed problem with the vehicle.

Looks like the regulars of this board ran the op (original poster) off the board. That is a very common method that makes the buyer look stupid and try to put all the blame on the buyers shoulders.

I am sure there are 3 sides to this story. The buyers, the sellers, and the regular participants of this forum. It has been said many times before that eBay has undercover shills on there discussion boards to seed and steer the messages in a more favorable direction in eBay’s favor.

Here is a post we did last year with video of eBay community manager John Bodine bragging about using eBay’s forum participants as lab rats in some social media experiment, and seeding the forum conversations.

As for eBay member Salez4u. I lived with her for a month a few years ago. I personally watched her terrorize eBay board posters who were asking for help, then look up any listings they may have been running at the time, then reporting any violations found to eBay. Seems to fit Wikipedia’s definition of a shill don’t she? 🙄

Whatever you do – don’t just go and click a BUY-NOW and assume everything will be fantastic. Cover your butt by Doing Your Homework First!

Updated 06/19/2012: The buyer posted this yesterday.

So at least this one ended up with the buyer getting his money back. I don’t agree with the statement that the Jeep was such a good deal. Believe me in my 38 years in this business, i have seen many a rust bucket from up north.

Trust me, it’s what the dealer is NOT Showing in his photos “the undercarriage” that would be the most important photo of all, considering where that Jeep came from.

One winter resident i know is from the northeast area. He would buy 2-3 year old 2wd trucks and suv’s at auction in a blizzard. The auctioneer hollers 2WD! The bidders all scatter like roaches when the lights come on.  He would ship those units down here where they brought good money at auction. It was interesting when the transport truck arrived to look up at the undercarriages of those fairly new vehicles and see all that rust. He always said, we don’t call that rust up north.. LOL!

And last but not least, Mr.Sock Puppet has to get the last word in. But i do give him credit for being truthful about eBay. They really don’t care about you. This buyer is just lucky that he got his money back. Now lets hope the dealers check clears. 🙄