Ebay etiquette?

[guyintense]

It may sound like an oxymoron to some but I have bought a lot of stuff on ebay through the years and for the most part it's gone well, for the most part. I wanted to share my last experience with the forum and maybe get a little advice. I bought a used Ouzo Pro fork, I know a used carbon fork, that's crazy, but it's the only way to get an Ouzo Pro these days. Anyway, the fork arrives and it's not a 40mm rake as advertised but a 45. Thank goodness because as I was inspecting the fork I noticed that the drop-outs were bent. First, how in the hell did he bend the drop-outs, second did he know they were bent? I returned the fork and after I received my refund I told the seller about the bent drop-outs. Now the forks are back on ebay with no mention of the problem. Any suggestions on what do do?

[veggieburger]

Hm. Personally I would email the seller first and tell them that the fork isn't safe, and they should take the listing down. Maybe there are a few people in the office and not everyone knew about the bent dropout? I'd start by giving them the benefit of the doubt...

[sc53]

I've gently "corrected" sellers a couple of times on eBay when they were obviously misdescribing something, and each time the seller was gracious and changed his ad to reflect accurate information. But selling a damaged fork without mentioning it (and now KNOWING it's damaged because you returned it to him and told him so) is bordering on fraud and could be reported to eBay "authorities" if the seller doesn't respond to your message suggesting he disclose the damage to the fork. He could just ignore you, and eBay do nothing about it, but it's worth a try. I once listed and sold a fork quoting specs off the fork website (because I had no knowledge of how to measure rake) and the buyer was upset because he measured it and the website specs were wrong. I took the fork back, issued a refund, and relisted it with the corrected specs, but also pointed out the website specs and left it to the bidders to decide what to do with all the information. Fork sold again and new buyer had no problems with it.

[AndrewS]

I have to wonder if he "corrected" the bent dropout. Of course, bending aluminum back to shape is pretty much asking it to fail.

I think a polite note to the effect that the bent dropouts cannot be safely fixed is the end to your responsibility. You aren't your brother's keeper: You can't force people to be moral, just provide them with the choice.