OK, I need your opinions on something. Here's a brief rundown:

I was talking with person A in Canada about some used Michelin XL's. She quoted me a price. Then she tells me that she has an auction on eBay for a lot of 11 tires. I am the only bidder and win the auction for the reserve amount (which she had told me). The lot was for 11 tires, all in serviceable condition. Tires are located at person B's place of business in California.

When I talk with person B about shipping, he informs me that some of the tires are questionable. He personally checks them out, and out of the 11 tires, only 7 are actually usable.

I call person A and explain the problem. She informs me that I got a really good deal, even if only 7 tires are good. She offers to refund the full amount or I can keep the 7 tires. Basically, it's "All or nothing". So I say, OK, send my $$ back (I paid with a money order that was since long cashed).

She replies, I have someone that is willing to pay much more for the tires, let me check with them first. She calls me back and says they didn't need the tires, so she'll make good on the bad tires.

We discuss shipping, and I tell her to get me a quote, and I'll just pay the difference between my refund and actual shipping costs. I then find out that I can get them shipped via my company and the owner will pay the freight for me. Woo Hoo! So I call person A and leave a message that I no longer need the shipping quote, please call me regarding the refund for the bad tires.

I hear nothing from person A for two days. She then calls me back and says that she can't afford to lose money on the deal and she won't refund any money, and she has a buyer for the tires. At this point, I'm tired of fawking with it and said, fine, just send me my money.

Then I start thinking about the fact that she agreed to refund me for the bad tires and then is still attempting to find a higher paying customer for the tires. I get pissed.

I call person B and tell him to ship the tires, and informed him of what was happening and fax him proof that the tires are mine and paid for.

I then leave a message for person A that I am keeping the tires and she needs to call me regarding the refund, and that it's up to her to send me the $$.

Here's my question. Do I just consider myself lucky for getting a set of Michelin's at a good price, and say screw it, or do I pursue her for my refund, which should be approximately $200? I don't want to start listing names if it's not warranted. What do you guys think? I don't want to come across as a whiney bitch here!:)

IMHO:

The whole shipping thing is a bit of a red herring, and really has nothing to do with the actual deal. It was a mistake to start getting that mixed into the brew, but what's happened has happened.

I'd say that if you met her reserve, then you got those tires for that price. Pay it, get the tires.

Now if it turns out that some of those tires did not meet the condition as described, then theoretically you might be entitled to some sort of relief. How much, if any, depends on the terms of the contract - did it say 'as is' or something similar in the ebay ad? In other words, how much if any refund you are entitled to is basically based on what, if any, warranty she (he/??) was placing on the the goods at the time of the sale. If she was warranting them as being in usable condition, then yes, I would say she owes you a refund. If it was 'as is, where is' then you are out of luck. In most cases, it's neither, and is instead in the grey area in between, and that's how it ends up in court.

I see your point about not liking the fact she was trying to sell tires that had already been sold. That doesn't seem right.

the best way to weed out fawkers like this is to hammer them on the ebay feedback.

The tires were clearly advertised as all being usable. One as 50% tread, the other 10 as 85% tread or better, all in servicable condition. No "as is" disclaimer. I only mentioned the shipping to give a clear description of what happened.

I'm thinking take the price I paid, divide by 11, multiply that figure by four. That's what I think I should be refunded. Seem fair?

If that's how it was described in the ad, with no disclaimer, that seems completely fair.

Were in cali? Let me know if you need a local buddy.

Thanks OS, but the contact in Cali was straight up. He was just holding the tires for person A. No beef with him. In fact, he's the one that alerted me to the bad tires. Were it not for him, I would have paid for 4 extra tires that were junk to be shipped across the country!

sounds to me like the only thing that might save her ass is the fact that she is in canada.. i dont know what international laws are.. if she was in the states id say persue it!

post stuff about who she is etc so people can stear away from her.. then flame her on ebay! do a good enough job.. she wont ever sell any thing on ebay again..

i belive the term you are looking for iS: FRAUD

You say person B is straight-up, but do you KNOW this!

My suspicious mind says: 11-7=4 Hmmmm. What if person B is not trustworthy, and wants to keep 4 good ones?

What was person A's response to the "only 7 good"...did she dispute that?....if not, that seems strange.
I would get pics of all the tires and decide from there - a neutral buddy in cali could be very useful too.

I'm with Billa, it sure seems odd that it is 4 tires that are "bad". I guess he didn't need a spare or 5 would be bad.;)

No, person B was not even aware that I had paid for the tires. When I asked him about shipping them, he commented that they weren't worth shipping. He deals in new Michelins only, 'cause I had checked with him before about some used ones. He has a good reputation. It's Bill's Tires in Pacheco. It's person A that's shady. I'm still trying to resolve this with her. Worst case, I only get the good tires, but it's more about principal and the fact that she had agreed at one time to refund me the money when she thought she didn't have another buyer. Now that she has someone that wants them, she doesn't want to give a partial refund.

I live in Concord and my Mom is just up the road from Bill's Tires in Pacheco. If ya want someone to drop in and take a gander at the tires, I'm a "can do" gal!

Kimber

I think you should have someone look at the tires for ya. The whole deal is shady. The first thing I thought when reading this was 11-7=4. Your prob not going toget any money out of "A" and if you only ship the 7 "good ones" you might get shafted for not having someone take a look. You think "B" is gonna take the crappy tires? Hell no, send someone over to take a peak at them while they are offering to help you.

Kimber, thanks for the offer, but by now the tires are half-way across the country. Tires should be here beginning of next week, so I'll let everyone know how it turns out. I think I'll probably just end up with 7 tires and no refund. Oh well, you live and you learn.:rolleyes:

Originally posted by Greg Davis
Kimber, thanks for the offer, but by now the tires are half-way across the country. Tires should be here beginning of next week, so I'll let everyone know how it turns out. I think I'll probably just end up with 7 tires and no refund. Oh well, you live and you learn.:rolleyes:

No problem. I could always go look at the "defective" ones. Ya know . . . just to see how defective they REALLY were . . . .

Kimber

Originally posted by Greg Davis

I then find out that I can get them shipped via my company and the owner will pay the freight for me. Woo Hoo!
So you had them shipped to NC for free? Cut your losses and be happy with the deal you got.