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I see where you are coming from Baconsdozen and I agree with you and I too have experienced non payers a couple of times on eBay and it really does make my blood boil but in this person's case, I suppose it was a little different in as much that it does look like the seller had given false information regarding the item he was selling and that too in my book is not a fair or acceptable way to conduct any sale. He also had a zero feedback and so it is difficult to ascertain someones selling/buying history and a lot of what the buyer discovered about this vehicle was discovered AFTER he/she bid on it. The buyer heard all about prospective buyers suspicions through a friend who happens to be a member of the ukcs forum and as a result Padspaddington registered as a member so as to read for themselves all the posts showing people's concerns regarding this campervan and obviously he/she became worried as a result of reading all the posts - as of course most of us would have done if it were us. I am not condoning pulling out of bids on eBay or suggesting that people go around bidding on items and then not coughing up etc as that is unacceptable too but I do think in certain circumstances, especially if you suspect someone has not told the whole truth in their listing there maybe good reason to pull out of the sale and maybe for many reasons it would not be wise to go through with the deal but I strongly reccomend people do their homework and reassure themselves everything is ok first before they decide to bid.

Maybe Padspaddington was a little naeive to bid on this campervan before actually going to see it for him/herself and like I say I think to pull out of a bid is not really the proper way to go but what would any of us have done if we had been faced with exactly the same situation? I think if I am 100% honest I too would bottled out and I certainly wouldn't have wasted my time travelling over from Ireland to view it - in fact I would have contacted the seller to explain my reasons and explain that it had come to my attention that this vehicle was not what he claimed it was etc and therefore I was pulling out of the deal and was contacting eBay to request their advice as to what I should do under the circumstances. I wouldn't just ignore the seller I would correspond with him and tell he the truth about my reasons and I would much rather have a negative feedback than risk spending four grand on a dodgy camper.

However I do see your point entirely and what you say is quite true under normal circumstances but had you been faced with the same predicament as Padspaddington Baconsdozen - what would you have done?

Sooh

If you are prepared to spend £4000 on something you haven't seen or examined then to be honest I think you need to seiously consider that maybe,just maybe you are throwing £4000 down the drain.

Maybe the sellers desription was nonsense,maybe not but sensibly would anyone pay £4000 for a 'pig in a poke?'.I would never buy off anyone with no feedback or more than a few neutrals.I sell a lot of stuff on ebay and have done so for many years,my own van came from there BUT I totally agree that ebay is rife with con men and rogues,made much much worse by ebay and paypal not helping to resolve problems when they occur.People get friends to run bids up,you can buy feedback and I had a mate who bought a car where the 'seller' gave ebay completely fiticious contact details.For me buying my van was different in some ways as I wanted one to restore and the money I was paying meant if the worse came to the worse I could break it and get my money back.For four grand I'd want to have a look or at least send someone round I knew.I know someone who bought a caravan on ebay for around the market value that was full of damp (must have weighed nearly a ton) none of the fittings worked and it had two cracked windows,he still paid (in cash) and brought the thing home,the description was totally misleading with none of the faults listed.I think he was wrong to go through with the deal in that case.

Maybe,in effect there is no hard and fast answer,you can't trust all the sellers on ebay to be honest and yet you have to take them on trust,buyer beware.

Read back Paulbambi - essentially no they didn't.

Ali

Hmmm! I've read the threads (well most of 'em) on this topic & it occured that no one had thought of doing the obvious, & that was to contact Auto-Sleepers CS, to ask their opinion. So smart a**e here did just that, giving them the item number for their perusal. I did this last night & the reply came this morning from a Mr. Phil Bennett, Customer Support Manager.

Quote, " Hello ****,        Having looked at the item in question on e-bay. I can catergorically state that the item in question is not an Auto-Sleeper. Good luck with your forum" Un-quote.

So there you have it.

Probably because it didn't remotely resemble a professional conversion Ourozzy!  One look at it from the pics posted belies its origins as a home conversion.

Ali

Quote: Originally posted by snowy747 on 26/7/2007

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Probably because it didn't remotely resemble a professional conversion Ourozzy!  One look at it from the pics posted belies its origins as a home conversion.

Ali

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Quote: Originally posted by ourozzy on 26/7/2007

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Quote: Originally posted by snowy747 on 26/7/2007

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Probably because it didn't remotely resemble a professional conversion Ourozzy!  One look at it from the pics posted belies its origins as a home conversion.

Ali

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Hi Ali, Not sure I agree with your thinking. The pics posted appear to show a tidy conversion. Had the seller not tried to pass it off as an Auto-Sleepers, I feel that anyone starting out with this great hobby of ours would/might have been happy with its purchase. Apart from the confirmed (now) fact it's a fake, in name only, the seller, has lost a sale. Had he stated that the decals weren't genuine, plus the HPI & mileage checked out okay, it could possibly have been a decent buy.

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I already posted this, but as people seem to keep missing the point here it is again a quote from the "other" thread:  "The friend of mine who was interested in it went to take a look, and it wasn't very good at all.  It's a homebuild (although not built by the current seller, who just bought it to tart up and sell quickly) - the seller sprays cars for a living. Apparently, the wings, sills and scuttle were full of filler (the wheel arches being almost solid fibreglass). There was paint bubbling all over the place where he'd rushed spraying the filler and it hadn't gone off properly and rust was already coming through in places. When the cab carpet was lifted, the floor was a rusty mess and the interior design was 'interesting' to say the least (who ever heard of a 'three berth' van where all three people had to share the same bed?!)"  Now it's only heresay as I ahve no idea personally whether or not this is true, but it's enough for me to doubt that it could have been a decent buy even without the apparently misleading description of it as an auto-sleeper.

I am with you 100% Sibrig, I am baffled as to why people are missing the point too!  I think the van's exterior pictures gave it away immediately as a home conversion but there you go.

Ali

My post simply confirmed it wasn't as stated. And from the pics, which is all I can go by, it looked tidy. End of chat!