I've been had

A couple weeks ago, I was browsing for a gas pedal on ebay (since my whole pedal assembly is completely missing). I wasn't able to find any gas pedals, but I did find another Midget item where the seller advertised that he was parting out his Midget and that if there was anything anyone needed, let him know. So, via ebay's messaging system, we talked about how he had the whole assembly that was in "great condition with minor surface rust in spots that didn't affect the performance."

Yeah.

So, a couple days ago, I received my package in the mail. ...though in "great" condition it was not. The bottom part of the hinged-piece that bolts to the floor is almost completely gone. Whats left of it is mangled and bent. Moving up a bit, the pedal itself is bent and some of the rubber is crumbling off. Moving up a bit further, the two parts that mounted to the car are completely solidified to the rest of the lever. To add to my state of "huh?", the rest of the lever is not covered in rust (as he said it was)... I'd like a refund since he blatantly lied about the condition, but several days later, he still hasn't responded to any of my emails...

Anyway, I learned a few lessons from this. First, don't buy stuff through ebay emails... make the seller create an auction and buy that from him... Ebay wont resolve any transactions that aren't auction-based. Second, if you ever see any auctions from new_used_bruised_abused trying to part out his Midget, RUN THE OTHER WAY! And third, ALWAYS see pictures of what you're getting.

Just thought someone might be able to learn from my stupid mistakes.

Sad. How much did he get you for?
Did you try the Trader section of this forum to see if anyone here has what you need? Great bunch of guy's!

40 bucks for the whole thing. Could've been worse...

Yeah, next time I'm sticking to the Trader board here.

That's a shame. New pedals are only around $23 from VB but that's still a bit these days so I can understand wanting to get a bargain. You might try Tony Barnhill http://www.theautoist.com/ for some used parts, he does have quite a collection of MG items and is also a dealer for both Moss and VB and can usually save you money on new items over the catalog price.

Im pretty sure you can buy that part new for around $25 from VB or Moss. I bought one for my 74 from BRGparts.com for less than 25 just a few months ago.. If it's a little different, I'm sure you could modify it to work just fine. If your gonna own a 40+ year old car, ya better be prepared to fab a few parts here and there to keep it on the road. Sorry you got taken though. I'm not much of a fan of ebay anymore. It's just so damn hit or miss these days.

Slowride

You actually want to go to the later pendulous pedal. The one you have has a penchant for rusting the hinge at the floor. Easy-peasey change.

Peter

Peter, I usually agree with you, but this is one place I have to say no. Some prefer the feel of the organ style pedal assembly. I know I do, gives me a firm place to rest the heel of my foot which I find relaxing more than using the pendant type pedal. (have one of those in my Subaru so know the difference in feel) I do agree about the rust issue, so Seth if you're using the organ style you'll need to keep it clean and oiled to prevent the hinge from sticking and cracking.

Yeah, I am using the organ-style pedal. I've seen that the newer style ones are available, but I'm with you Bill-- I want to keep the organ-style one on my car. Thanks for the tips about keeping it well-oiled. I'll make sure to do so.

I got a piece of trim off ebay a few weeks ago "item is in great condition, chrome is very clean" it isn't. Not even useable. It's junk unless it gets rechromed. He finally agreed to refund the purchase price but I'd have more into shipping to me and back again then I paid, which is silly. Live and learn I guess. Lots and lot of clear pictures or don't bite is my motto (again!, I knew better)
Anyone need a crappy midget hood trim? I didn't think so, me either.

I've been kind of lucky so far on ebay. I've bought dozens of used items for the Midge. There are some sellers that are always going to have good to very good pieces. There are a couple of sellers I've bought TRASH from, and avoid them no matter how low the ebay price is. And every now and then something comes along and you can tell its from a private person and its a clean decent item.

I wish I could say the most I lost in bad buys was $40! Live and learn, and 'buyer beware'.

While we're on the topic. Should I give this ebayer bad feedback? The description was certainly "ambitious" but "great condition" and "very clean" are somewhat ambiguous terms. I normally would have asked for more pictures or clarification but it was an impulse thing. So if I leave negative for him, can he negative me? Should I go neutral or ignore it? I've got 100% + since 1999 and am pretty protective of my score. He did offer to refund the lousy $10 I paid for the part, but I'd have $18 into shipping the stupid thing.......he should refund the $10 and not make me send it back. The one time I had a dissatisfied buyer I refunded everything including shipping both ways, which is only fair (the item arrived DOA). What would be "right"? I had shady sellers and hate thinking he's burning more. His score sucks too, what was I thinking.

eBay sellers can no longer leave negative feedback for buyers, so you can leave whatever feedback you want.

Your 100% is guaranteed now but at the same time it doesn't mean anything any more as you can only be left positive feedback as a buyer.

I bought one of those from VB, and it is not very good, the rubber on the pedal is crooked. Not real good quality.

Ebay has gotten bad over the years. You can give Tom a call over at British Miles. They have a junk yard full of old Brits. Really nice people.

I'd say that for every 40-odd transactions I've done on evil-bay I've been unhappy with one. And most of those unhappy moments were my own derned fault for being clueless or overly optimistic of a "whopping super deal."

I buy and sell there a lot and it really pays to be a good consumer (ask questions and don't take no bulls*^t).

Sorry you got junk. I'd provide detailed feedback after reviewing the posting and ensuring I didn't miss something (although selling junk is still not nice).

If you paid with paypal just file a dispute and they will pull out the money from his account. Make sure you follow up with paypal and you will get your money back.

I got the linkage part. But no pedal. Also have the type with the pedal on the linkage if that helps. It is a bummer to get messed over. Had it happen last year on a 8.8 limited slip Mustang rearend. Made noise off the bat and clanked and he was a "buddy". Things happen. Maurice

Yeah, you really have to watch out for those bad ebayers. I learned my lesson a while back when I sold a front grille assembly for .99 cents. I bought it for 100 bucks. Its much easier to get a reasonable deal on the mg trader forum

I stopped using ebay a while ago after a really bad experience in which the seller accused me of not paying on time, he ranted and used foul language on the site and rated me "bad".
The strange thing was that the money order I sent had been cashed several days prior to the "payment due date". When I pointed this out he just continued the rant.

In the end I had to spend hours working with Ebay to clean this off my record and found that ebay was even then leaning to not wanting any negative feedback for sellers so it doesn't surprise me to hear they no longer allow it. So unless I want to take a risk and possible lose my money for junk I stay clear of ebay. I can find items locally or through contacts from this forum or others.

It wasn't worth the headache!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BUGEYE-SPRITE-MIDGET-1958-74-GAS-PEDAL-ASSY-Frogeye_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem35a3a39bb8QQitemZ230378675128QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

i think i have close to 150 purchases on ebay,maybe more.only one problem.since my account goes through a credit card i had them fight with ebay to rectify the problem.cleared it up got my money back and banded the seller.the worst part was that i really needed the part,ended paying a lot more for it.since it was for an older motorcycle where the parts are getting hard to find.always watch what the sellers feedback is.less than 99 to 100 percent stay away.

Ebay I find to be more or less like the real world, with both good honest sellers and BS artist, but unlike real life, with Ebay i can look up thier past record. I made several hundered exchanges on Ebay, both selling and buying, and only had a couple of bad expericnes, which overall out preforms my real world record ;)

I agree with you there, Hap. I've purchased many things on Ebay (though this is the first in quite some time), and I think this is my first negative transaction I've ever completed. Definitely better than my real-world record, too!