Buying a machine on eBay sight unseen with pallet delivery

[RobinBHM]

My 'feeling' is the seller (trader/auction buyer?)was expecting more for it, they'd have sent an invoice by now otherwise

I thought the price was about right for a BAO -its the thicknesser only not the BAO/S planer thicknesser

I didnt know the seller can can issue an invoice like that (not really used ebay much as a seller)

Im surprised the seller hasnt been in touch -delivery has to be sorted out an discussed.

 

[RobinBHM]

I'm with the team who say ask your questions first. Once you bid you're committed.
But questions about shipping are fair. You need to be able to decide between having them ship it and going to get it so that you can pay the right amount. So no pay until the seller talks to you.

"Good working order " "good condition, no faults" is a clear statement.
If it's dead on arrival then you have a "not as described" case to get it taken back / partial refund.
You've risk is really only the £80 pallet fee and those unknown costs that come with any secondhand item.

On the upside, it's a thicknesser. At least neither the seller nor the shipper can mess it up by lifting or heaving it about by the planer tables.

many thanks -I fully agree I'm in the wrong for not asking questions beforehand.

I took the description of "good condition, no faults" at face value -since winning the bid, I was only after reassurance that was the case -I made it very clear to the seller that I was committed to buying subject only to confirmation about shipping.

 

[RobinBHM]

I didnt know ebay arranged pallet deliveries. If I buy a machine I will offer to pay the seller extra to do a good job of palletising it and ask them to use a decent pallet suitable for said machine. I will also have some ratchet straps sent to them to make sure it is secured properly.
You pays your money and takes your chances, I've had lots of machines delivered with some horror stories, the worst being from a machinery dealer who put a big morticer on a chipboard pallet no bigger than the machines base. It was bought sight unseen but was said to be in good order and was working when removed. When it came it was a total lemon. It had been outside for a very long time, motors seized and extremely rusty.
You can tell alot from a few pictures, and like deema said it looks ok

Hi Wallace, the BAO is described as a "rare 3 knife model" -is that likely to be correct? - Ive not come across old Wadkins to have anything but 2 knife blocks and would surprised if its an option.

 

[Morty]

Do I see a 3 core cable feeding into the back of the machine on picture 4 ??? so could be a single phase feed + converter inside but no mention in description

 

[RobinBHM]

Do I see a 3 core cable feeding into the back of the machine on picture 4 ??? so could be a single phase feed + converter inside but no mention in description

Yes, I thought that it was a 3 core cable in that image, but on image 1 it looks like there is 4 cores

 

[Cozzer]

Just my point of view....

95% feedback would've raised alarm number 1.
I would've clicked on the seller's feedback number, picked on the red negatives, and read them. I'd have also figured out what %age negatives to number of sales in the last month/6 months/year.
If the negs complained about lack of comms/item descriptions/seller's attitude, I'd have moved on, sharpish.

 

[Distinterior]

its listed as Colchester -North Essex, I guess

I'm in that area....PM me Robin if you think I could help....

Tim.

 

[Jonm]

many thanks -I fully agree I'm in the wrong for not asking questions beforehand.

I took the description of "good condition, no faults" at face value -since winning the bid, I was only after reassurance that was the case -I made it very clear to the seller that I was committed to buying subject only to confirmation about shipping.

It is easy to be wise after the event and it would have been better to ask the questions beforehand. However you are only asking for confirmation that the item is “as described” given the difficulty in returning it.

I have not read all the comments on here but someone on eBay tried to scam me with purchase of a rough terrain fork lift truck. Long way away, Scotland, all went pear shaped when I tried to arrange for an expert to inspect it prior to purchase.

I get the impression it’s the partners account given some of the items are dresses!

That is what I thought with the fork lift, turned out it was a stolen account.

So be careful, personally I would not part with that sort of money for something unseen either by myself or someone with knowledge of the machine.
Edit- looks like you have an offer from Disinterior, I would follow it up.

 

[shed9]

Ask for an invoice and in that ask reiterate your previous request on the condition of the machine, you are merely asking them to confirm. Ask for a contact number and / or location details advising that you will explore your own collection as an option.

Yes it should have been done before winning the bid but if this is a genuine seller the worst that will happen is he will be slightly irked but will probably understand. Use Ebay or paypal to pay, you will get a unique number /QR code from ebay to present to the seller when you collect. Maybe use a credit card in that payment chain to ebay or paypal for extra security (charge back). Do not share the QR code prior to collection, especially if the seller asks before then.

It is a pallet delivery, it states it in the description. I've had Ebay pallet deliveries in the past and it's been generally okay but that's been more luck than design. Personally I'd avoid hiring a van as without doing a site survey this is possibly a waste of time and money. Shifting >275kg from a strangers house and into a van is no easy feat. That said, if you turn up and there is a major issue in the description, easier to walk away and request your cash back.

Message ebay using the item number and specifically ask if this item is covered by their Money Back Guarantee. Have that conversation now and have it in chat, not verbally so you get the chat transcript. Technically it is eligible although if you use your own courier you are not covered.

You are perfectly within your rights to do what you feel prudent in parting with £1,200 of your own funds, especially if you are just looking for reassurance.

Apologies if there is some egg sucking advice up there ^.

 

[TRITON]

I think you'll probably be fine, oh boy the doom mongers on this thread
Its an old machine yes, but most of the ones people have here and have bought from other sources were also old machines and unless you want to embark on a strip down and renovation nightmare, I'd just put it into service and work it from there.

The seller seems a bit of a hit miss, certainly no morals when it comes to not sending things that didnt reach their expectation of price, but i dont see that being an aspect on this sale, so probably best disclude them from the equation.
I've always sent, even when it didnt go as high as i hoped, but more recently on my sales i use a set price, saves any disappointment.

I'd also agree with many that hiring a van is a very good idea, but thats a seriously heavy lump of cast iron, so how you would load it should be a consideration, and while the seller might offer to help, thats not a given, so you cant rely upon it.

95% feedback would've raised alarm number 1.

Well yes and no.
Plenty of people have have negs left for scurrilous reasons - the sky wasnt blue that day, or it arrived beyond a three day limit the buyer had set themselves to cross 2 Oceans and 4 deserts, so people do leave dumb feedback for a host of reasons, some even use the neg feedback system to try to scrape back some money because its not exactly as they thought it would be and when told they can send it back but theres going to be no discounts go off in a huff and leave a neg.

I place a policy in my listings - you have any problems, 'Just send it back to me for a full refund return postage included.'

I think you need to consider what you are buying, what can effectively go wrong, can that be sorted easily, and if there is something amiss you have to sort, did you still do well price wise over what you've spent, and what any replacement part is likely to cost.
EG. A bit back a customer return sawbench with pretty much zero use sold in Axminsters ebay for just under £600, the saw retails at £3000 industrially rated. (What a bargain ), especially as postage was included, or a fiver) Even if that arrived with a burnt out motor, a replacement cost you would still have done extremely well.

There doesnt look to be anything physically wrong with it. The motor might be fubar, but we at this stage dont know that. All in all it looks in well used but still pretty good cosmetic condition. Certainly isnt rusted to hell and back.

Last point. Say there is something wrong with it and its completely non functional. The sale is 'used' so you have ebay assurances you can return it. And given its cost £1120 you can threaten small claims court should the seller refuse to take it.

I believe you as buyer can request from ebay the sellers address. Google that to give you an idea of the lay of the land so to speak. There should be a protocol to follow if you google 'requesting ebay sellers address' it will tell you how to go about it. Make sure it's not a caravan park

 

[Spectric]

Another thing to remember is that if you buy on this forum you will have confidence that the seller knows what they are selling and can answer all questions but on auction sites there are a lot of people selling anything hoping to make a fast buck that really do not know a great deal about what it is they are selling apart from the obvious. This is why it is a good idea to go out of your way to collect in person, if you turn up and it is not as described then you can discuss face to face rather than take a chance.

 

[deema]

I recommend people to buy two types of secondhand machines. The first type have been fully refurbished by someone who knows what they are doing, documents what they’ve done etc etc. the second is a machine that is in original condition, that someone hasn’t tinkered with, painted, adapted, etc. these are almost always nightmare machines, and I will not buy them. The machine you’ve bought looks to be an unadulterated original machine. Not much that can’t be resolved fairly easily as long as nothing is missing / castings aren’t cracked or broken. The only thing to check is the motors which are imperial shafted and an odd size. It’s a headache to replace them.

ebay used to cover woodworking machines under their money back guarantee, I’d just check that it’s still covered. They have made a full refund to me in the past when I paid and the machine didn’t turn up. That was however a number of years ago.

 

[Jonm]

Try that approach at a live auction and see how you get on! If you bid and win you have bought it. And descriptions like in good working order are so subjective as to be totally meaningless. Your only recourse would be if you plug it in and it doesn't work, or there is something clearly misdescribed. So you should always satisfy yourself with the condition before you bid. The only way to do that is to examine it in person, often not possible, so you are taking a gamble. If the seller has good positive feedback for selling similar stuff over years then the description will probably be accurate, but that is about as far as it goes.

I once bought a car at a live car auction, inspected it visually, won the auction and then took it for a test drive. Clutch slipped so did not buy it, not as described.

 

[Alasdair]

A quick warning. I bought a car on ebay using paypal and had problems with the seller as I got it very cheap and they then started stalling and canceled the pick up I organised saying it had developed a fault and wasn't as advertiseed.. Tried to get my money back via paypal and found it doesnt cover cars. Eventually got it back but it took a good while and loads of messages. Paypal also says they dont cover industrial machinery for manufacturing as well as houses etc. Check you are covered as it could be seen as an industrial manufacturing machine. If you pay for it and its a scam or garbage getting your money back may be a problem!!
Alasdair

 

[shed9]

To note, the registered ebay address and collection address are not always the same. Also the money back eligibility covers industrial machinery but not industrial construction machinery hence the advice to use the item number in a recorded chat session to confirm that eligibility.

 

[Oakay]

Hi all,

Ive won a bid on a Wadkin machine (Sunday eve) Ive not paid yet, I sent the seller an email this morning, just requesting some details, but so far no response.

As its over £1k, I thought it was reasonable to ask some more details - the description is “good working order” and “good condition no faults” so just wanted to check that’s correct.

So far Ive had no reply, should I be concerned?

TIA

Hire a plant trailer or suitable vehicle, or someone you trust to collect who knows what to look for and pay cash on collection. That way, if it doesn't fit description, you can walk away. Only bid on reasonably local machinery.

 

[okeydokey]

If you are uncertain then ask the seller to cancel the purchase as you have made a mistake. they should cancel if they are reputable. As you haven't paid IMO the most they can do is ask ebay to ask you to pay and you reply saying you've changed your mind and ebay might perhaps log in their system that you failed to complete a purchase - so what big deal better than losing potentially a £1000

 

[Oakay]

If you are uncertain then ask the seller to cancel the purchase as you have made a mistake. they should cancel if they are reputable. As you haven't paid IMO the most they can do is ask ebay to ask you to pay and you reply saying you've changed your mind and ebay might perhaps log in their system that you failed to complete a purchase - so what big deal better than losing potentially a £1000

Agreed if they are not communicative. Good communication is essential and if the seller is not responding, you have reason for doubt.

 

[Vann]

Try that approach at a live auction and see how you get on! If you bid and win you have bought it...

At a live auction things are different. You get time to check the item before you bid.
And you know you're buying from a reputable seller (i.e. you know the item exists).

I think it's fine to ask for reassurance even after the ebay bidding is over. I've seen handplanes with the cutting iron in wrong way around, described as being in good working order.

Cheers, Vann.

 

[Vann]

Hi Wallace, the BAO is described as a "rare 3 knife model" -is that likely to be correct? - Ive not come across old Wadkins to have anything but 2 knife blocks and would surprised if its an option.

My knowledge of Wadkins gets shaky when it comes to Wadkin-Bursgreen models, but a friend has a late 1950s Wadkin RZ with an optional 4-knife cutterblock (most RZs came with the standard 2-knife head). The 4-knife head uses the safer wedge method for holding the knives.

Good luck with this purchase. I'd be inclined to go collect it.

Cheers, Vann.