OT - How to get ripped off in the second hand market

[andy6025]

So I've got this aunt, she's a lovely lady, but getting close to 70 years old she's not very adept when it comes to electronics. She's got an old android phone that she uses for talking and texting and she wanted to use it to play music in her car, but alas it wouldn't work properly for that (problem with the output). "Andy6025, please help me!"

After trying to fix the issue, to no avail, I recommended that she buy an iphone - it can serve her needs, I can get her all the music she likes, and they are (mostly) intuitive to use. For a number of reasons, she doesn't want one. She only wants something for music. No problem, I say, I will find a suitable device and she can reimburse me later. She's happy with that plan, confident that I'll set up her nicely for a reasonable cost. It goes without saying that my services are free... she just has to cover the cost of whatever I buy for her.

So I check out the second hand sites - Craigslist, Kijiji, etc., and I find what appears to be an ideal solution: an iPod Classic, 160 gb, 7th generation, $120 CDN (about 70 quid). The hard drive is overkill for her needs, but the price is reasonable.

I contact the seller requesting to see the item, and immediately there are a few red flags, but nothing that should deter a self-processed street-wise shopper (oh boy was I naive!).

Red Flag #1: The seller doesn't phone or txt me to contact me back, but emails me via the website messaging system (that hides personal details).

Red Flag #2: The seller offers to meet at a tube station rather than at his/her home. This *could* be understandable since not everyone wants to tell potential 'buyers' where the items they are selling can be robbed from.

I reply that I'd like to meet somewhere that I can test out the iPod to make sure it works. No problem he/she replies, there's a coffee shop around the corner from the tube station in which we can sit while I test out the device.

I agree to meet. I tell the seller what I look like (****ing stunningly handsome tall dude with a 'tache) and the reply is, "I'm a white woman and I'll be carrying a black and white purse. I may or may not bring my husband along with me."

I arrive at the meeting place and sure enough she shows up. She's a middle ages woman, but accompanied by a young girl rather than a husband.

She shows me the device, and I check it over carefully. It appears legit. I scroll through and see a serial number and that the ipod is indeed 160gb as advertised. There's a little scuffing on it - it's obviously not brand new, but it was not advertised as new. I click through various features and they all pop up as they should.

There's music already in the phone so I ask if we can go out to my car and play it through the stereo, make sure the jack, output, volume control, etc., work properly. No problem. I do so and everything works. I also plug it into my charger and the battery indicator shows that it's connected and charging. Everything seems fine.

We chit chat a little bit. I pay her, thank her, and leave.

I get home a few hours later (had some errands to run) and I plug the iPod into my computer. It synchs up fine. It starts importing music...

And then 10 minutes later it freezes up.

It managed to import only about 200 or so songs into the iPod.

After numerous tries and various trouble shooting methods I find out that the hard drive is almost completely failed. It works only well enough to show that it is a legitimate iPod that can hold about 200 songs.

I've 'emailed' her back through the website system, but of course am not expecting a reply.

I found out later you can perform a very fast hard drive diagnostic on iPods without plugging them into a computer, which I could have done on the spot before buying. It would have alerted me that the hard drive was mostly shot.

If anyone has any experience replacing an old iPod hard drive then please pass along some advice (other than 'don't be such an idiot in the future)'.

[tarquinbeech]

I needed a pick-up truck to get a few goats and sheep to the local market (I've had 3 babies last year, 6 out of 7 babies have survived this year) as some of the original ones we bought are way too big now, over 50/60 Kg, for my poor quality fields.....Devon White, my first male goat is a right pain and I'm going to lose him over ot through the fences if he gets much bigger.

Checked out the main AutoUsado website and spot two almost identical Chevy pick-ups, both local at 29,000 pesos and 32,000 pesos (£1,400)

Red flag 1) They were way too cheap compared to similar models and year, in other areas of Mexico....but I thought maybe a local company was getting rid of it's "fleet" or sold them to their employees that were making a quick profit on the internet (they were within a year of each other, spotless and different phone numbers)

Red flag 2) Miriam rang both numbers on Saturday morning, no replies......but one of the numbers rang us back, a woman

Red flag 3) She said she was inundated with calls, but one guy had paid a deposit and was seeing the truck later.....she would ring us back on Sunday

Red flag 4) No phone call back.....Miriam rang again, the guy hadn't turned up (apparently he was driving 6 hours from Mexico City but couldn't make it) so if I wire 1,000 pesos/£45 to her account, I can go to look!!!.........we tell her we are 10 minutes away if they live in the town as advertised and I've got the full cash price with me...no need for a deposit.....no, no, apparently her husband is fed up with "time wasters"...no deposit/no looking!

Suffice to say that we said no.......both cars were still being advertised 3 or 4 weeks later in the same local town of only 70,000 people......BUT, across the bottom of the web-page there was a bright red warning in bold letters, telling people NOT to part with deposits as there was a scam running that they were warning people about.

I now have a Ford F150 Lobo that I bought off the side of the dual carriageway here for 50,000 pesos, after a test drive plus a trip to the local garage where the mechanic gave me the OK nod........I've had it fully serviced, new plugs/points/filters/new radio etc etc....runs like a dream.

Devon White is avoiding me, plus a few of the male sheep.....mmmmm

[andy6025]

Disappointed, Tarkers! Your tale was supposed to end in woe to make me feel better. Your happy avoidance of paying the deposit makes me wallow in my misery alone. Ok, so $120 cdn is no huge loss, but a loss nonetheless and a battering to my ego just the same.

[andy6025]

A friend to the rescue - I just relayed to him my tale. His response - "I've got an ipod you can have, I just don't use it anymore."

[HAPPYMAGPIEHAPPY]

At least on this occasion nobody opened your front door and entered your apartment !

[tarquinbeech]

Disappointed, Tarkers! Your tale was supposed to end in woe to make me feel better. Your happy avoidance of paying the deposit makes me wallow in my misery alone. Ok, so $120 cdn is no huge loss, but a loss nonetheless and a battering to my ego just the same.

To make you feel better Andy....when I took the car to the garage for it's service, I signed a note saying "don't spend more than 5,000 pesos without phoning Miriam".....went back Monday, not finished, manana....Tuesday the same....and Wednesday......Thursday the car was gone "to his mate's to do the electrics" but my bill is ready.....4,000 pesos, "nice I'm thinking" until I see it's 4,000 just for the mechanical "stuff"......apparently I've got to pay his "mate" another 3,000 or they're not releasing my truck, plus they won't tell me where it is....apparently the boss is on holiday (convenient)....after much arguing and arm waving by me (I have anger management issues!) they agree 200 "discount" off each of the bills, 6 months warranty and a free beer to calm me down......I needed my truck back, so I paid whilst growling....cost me 6,600 instead of the 5,000 (£300)

Miriam said it's still cheap compared to the "big city", 2 hours away where she lives....apparently I need to calm down.

Hope that makes you feel better Andy.

ps A few weeks later, still smarting from the "rip-off" I drove the truck to collect 4 crates of beer from the local Corona Factory here, the guy gave me a cracking price (£1 litre for Corona...nice) but the bottle deposits were £5 case x 4 cases x 12 litres = £20......no biggie, I could return them later he said if I kept the receipt........went back for more, the "offer" was finished so I said I'd have my deposit back?

He said not without the receipt.....I told him that I couldn't remember where it is but surely he remembered me, Corona bottles in Corona cases, Corona Factory.....it's not Rocket Science, he even helped put the cases in the truck ffs......."Company policy he said, no receipt no dinero"....I asked to see the boss....no he said smiling nervously ........."Ok, I said"...."check the cameras".....no cameras.

Then I lost it, I swear to God, I took an empty litre bottle out of the the case I'd carried in, grabbed him by the throat and walked him to the till......he said he couldn't open it without a purchase.....so I told him to empty his pockets, took 4 x 100 peso notes and calmly walked to the truck for the other 3 cases.

When I'd finished, I asked him if we were all square, he said sorry about the Company Policy to which I replied, I was sorry for frightening him.

I spent the next few days nervously expecting a pounding on the steel gates and another night in the carcel with Pablo the bum-bandit....nothing

Suffice to say that I now use a different factory/off licence for my beer trips, that is on a circuitous route avoiding the Corona Factory, now I'm using the Indio one again.....the receipt for the deposits is firmly stapled to the office door....though the young lad at Indio, says I didn't really need a receipt, (he speaks good English).......his reply was "why wouldn't we want our own bottles back?"........Mexico....grrrrr

[andy6025]

Ah, nothing like a bit of hand-to-throat leverage to ensure justice is served. Good story, Tarkers. If I happen across this damsel in the street some day then I shall do as prescribed!

[tarquinbeech]

Ah, nothing like a bit of hand-to-throat leverage to ensure justice is served. Good story, Tarkers. If I happen across this damsel in the street some day then I shall do as prescribed!

Damsel?........slightly confused

[andy6025]

Damsel?........slightly confused

The one that ripped me off.

[tarquinbeech]

The one that ripped me off.

OK...got it, sorry.

Not recommending you try the Tarquin Customer Approach on a female TBH, unless you fancy a chat with the police?....it normally only works with a male, who you are convinced is trying to rob you....and doesn't want his boss or the police involved.

TBH, I was already convinced that the guy was messing me around which is why I flipped, it happens a lot in Mexico, there are often 2 prices...Locals price and Gringo price.

Twice I've been in restaurants and once on a bus, where a local has seen me pay, then took me aside to tell me that I was cheated. Both times I've been overcharged in the restaurants, the owners have explained that they have a right to charge "locals" a different price...they call it "economica" ie cheaper food for locals....the one in Mahahual was over 1,000 pesos, Miriam complained about it saying we were not Tourists and they apologised and we settled for 500 pesos.

The Corona Factory had a 10 foot banner outside with the offer price, which is why I stopped in the first place......the first time he gave me the advertised "offer price" of 28 pesos, the second time he said it was finished and charged me 30 pesos....but I watched him put the money into his pocket not the till (he made a note on a scrap of paper and put that in the till...weird). I pointed to the banner, still up, and he said that they were removing it that day.
The 3rd time, there was a brand new poster, even cheaper at 25 pesos....which is why I bought 48 litres.
The 4th time, the 28 peso banner was back, but he tried to charge me 30 again......when I started looking angry, he offered me 28, but I was already reaching for something to slap him with.....I'd had enough of his games.

Sorry to bore everyone but Andy's post triggered me into remembering the number of times I've been cheated....Caveat Emptor