AVOID ebay electronicsales425

[ki4egi]

My husband (KG4WTL) bought an antenna, a 440 Yagi from electronicsales425 on ebay, it took over 3 weeks to get an antenna after an excuse it was lost in the mail (READ their feedback, even the Pos. will say this) once it arrived it was GARBAGE, it looked nothing like the nice black one in their pic. and it was VERY shoddily put together (many neg. and Pos. feedbacks say the same).

Many other hams witnessed this sorry excuse for an antenna, I'm not making it up as I go along.

On top of that, they have a policy of returning all Neg. feedbacks with either A) it was lost in the mail or B) this person is new to ebay or Ham radio and don't know what they are talking about (just read the feedback, I'm not making this up&#33

Always read feedback before bidding, It seems like some people recvd good antennas, but the 440 Yagi has a very bad track reckord even with those who posted Pos. feedback (Obviously to avoid retaliation by electronicsales425) #Dan did not leave feedback for that reason.

We would be very interested to hear from anyone else who has dealt with them, bad or good.

Here is an exerpt from an email reply from them, bare in mind, I did not tell them who I was, just that I bought a JUNK antenna from them.

IF YOU CANNOT ADJUST YOUR SWR'S YOU WOULD NEED TO HAVE A HAM SHOW YOU HOW. IT LOOKS LIKE YOU ARE NEW TO THE RADIO WORLD, I WOULD SUGGEST YOU GET SOME STUDY MATERIAL AND TAKE SOME "BASIC' CLASSES, THIS WILL HELP TO AN EXTENT BUT YOU DO NEED SOME KNOWLEDGE TO START OUT WITH.

To begin with, everyone knows emailing in ALL CAPS is taboo, but this is their "Stock Reply" #Dan has been a ham for 17 years! #He builds most of his own antennas, I think he knows how to adjust swr! #Just because he has a newer call (started out as KA3TVD, then N3GYX) they thought they could explain it away as they always do.

And there is no way to adjust the driven element! (unless you want to take to it with a grinder or pair of wire cutters! #The elements are made of soft copper and the wires are soldered on! (looks like the solder was thrown across the room))

Simply, read their feedback, it's mildly entertaining and very enlightening.

[K6UEY]

CAVEAT EMPTOR !

[KC0MIS]

One of the MANY reasons that I don't do EBAY or PAYPAL.

73,
Chuck

[W0LC]

I don't hold much faith with electronics, especially anything over 5 years old, working or being in the stated condition upon receipt. I have been screwed on there by individuals that state the unit is functional, but being sold AS IS. What does that mean? To me, it means, the unit, as described, is no worse or better then advertised. Yet, what I received had rust inside on the chassis, tubes didnt' power up, only the dial lites came on and they were dimly lit. Upon contacting the seller, I get the "unit was advertised AS IS". Well, the exact description was never disclosed and no photo of the side with rust was provided either. You have to assume that as it appears must be somewhat how it looks when you get it. Having a photo slightly blurred, sure hides a lot.

I doubt I will be buying much off e-bay again. Even some of the ham sites aren't much better frankly.

This "Mint" condition story, and yet the item was mounted mobile for the past 5 years. Come on. Hi.

I am sorry to hear of your story. One would think an antenna would be low risk. Evidently, not.

[ki4egi]

AS IS to me is just a lame copout that most ebayers use that lets them off the hook if the item is damaged in transit, or if they are intentionally ripping you off, which shockingly has happened even by fellow hams!

ALL ITEMS purchased on ebay should be insured with the carrier, and should have a return policy, unfortunately, most don't.

Buyer Beware.

[w5zzq]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (KC0MIS @ June 14 2004,14:13)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">One of the MANY reasons that I don&#39;t do EBAY or PAYPAL.

73,
Chuck[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
You are 100% correct&#33; Best to stay away.....

[MM0BQM]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (ki4egi @ June 14 2004,13:19)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">My husband (KG4WTL) bought an antenna, a 440 Yagi from electronicsales425 on ebay, it took over 3 weeks to get an antenna after an excuse it was lost in the mail (READ their feedback, even the Pos. will say this) once it arrived it was GARBAGE, it looked nothing like the nice black one in their pic. and it was VERY shoddily put together (many neg. and Pos. feedbacks say the same).
&lt;snip&gt;[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
I do not want to come across as rude but, was it bought because it was a &quot;bargain&quot;? As you seem to have bought an item from someone with bad feedback after reading the same &#33;

73
Bob Mason

[ki4egi]

Yes, I admit it, it was CHEAP. I wasn&#39;t expecting much but what I got went straight into file 13, it was completely worthless.

And I also admit I didn&#39;t read their feedback at first, that&#39;s why I am warning all of you.

[MM0BQM]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (ki4egi @ June 19 2004,06:17)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Yes, I admit it, it was CHEAP. I wasn&#39;t expecting much but what I got went straight into file 13, it was completely worthless.

And I also admit I didn&#39;t read their feedback at first, that&#39;s why I am warning all of you.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
As the saying goes &quot; I have bought apples from that cart before &quot; :-) Yes I have done the same over here, I do find eBay good for small acessories for the computers etc, but I also now read through the feedback very carefully.

There are some really good traders on eBay, spoiled by the few con-men

VY 73

Bob Mason

[W5RKL]

I have been buying on eBay for 5 years now and in fact, my entire station was purchased on eBay along with numerous computer networking items. #In those 5 years I have not had any major problems to speak of. #However, that does not mean I didn&#39;t have small problems. #Even with the best sellers, ham shops, ebay and hamfest, problems do arise. #For the most part it&#39;s how one handles the problem that can make the difference.

Reading the sellers feedback is the first thing one should do if contemplating an ebay purchase. #Read the feedbacks carefully. #Just because a seller received negative feedback doesn&#39;t always mean they should be avoided. #It only means the buyer wasn&#39;t pleased with his/her purchase. #I&#39;ve read negative feedback on some sellers I bought from and, after reading the feedback closely, I went ahead and purchased the item without a problem.

One of the biggest problems sellers on ebay have are people who bid, win the auction and don&#39;t pay. #Another is sellers who over stress the condition. #A new term I&#39;ve seen on ebay a lot lately is &quot;minty&quot;. #What the heck is &quot;minty&quot;? #I also stay away from sellers who state they do not know anything about the item but email questions and I&#39;ll try to answer them. #I figure if they don&#39;t know anything about the item, how can they answer questions about it? duh.....

Sorry that you were not satisfied with your antenna purchase and I hope you don&#39;t discard ebay simply because this happened to you from this particular seller. #Use the ebay feedback system. It does work and it helps other perspective buyer. There are thousands of good and honest sellers on ebay.

Michael #