ebay anvil scam

NickWheeler

NickWheeler

Joined
Dec 3, 1999
Messages
9,437
Here's the auction

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=13869&item=6147511280&rd=1


This guy says that the anvils are not cheap Chinese made... Hmmm... interesting since these are the anvils sold at Harbor Freight.

My friend Mike Dagley mentioned this to me before, and I just came across it last night.

The jerk says that the previous home owner had a few of them that "must have been too heavy to move."

Amazing how the guy is so brazen as to post feed-back from like 14 buyers stating what a wonderful anvil/service they got. So the previous owner just happened to have over 14 of the exact same anvil???!!!??!!?!

Brilliant!!!

What a $hit-head...

I just wanted to post this so that any guys new to forging looking for an anvil don't get stung by this. I can only figure he's gotten good feed-back because the buyers weren't familiar with a truly good quality anvil.

-Nick-

http://www.wheelerknives.com
 
Nick, why don't you tell us how you REALLY feel? :D

Actually I agree with you totally. There is some guy on eBay trying to sell other peoples forge plans as well! :mad:
 
I contacted him and thought it was really funny he was using the same anvil for each picture and he had so many of them he told me he comes into them and had a bunch to move. Since I tend to be not too trusting since I have seen the wors in people I passed on biding on one of his auctions. He is still using the same picture too.

Abe
 
On top of everything his profile is private (= hidden) which is a plain scam giveaway.

Speaking of anvils, while reading his description i noticed he mentions "pitch" and "rebound". My grandfather (who was a carpenter by profession but employed by a company manufacturing buses) used to won one of those smaller anvils. When i was a kid i used to bang various metallic objects (nails, sheet metal, etc.) on that anvil and i still remember the oddball distinctive ring that anvil made and the rebound of the hammer (which sometimes only barely missed my forehead when rebounding). Does that mean grandpa's anvil was a PoS too or do real anvils really make that high-pitch "cling" noise when one bangs a metallic object placed onto them and rebound the hammer back ? Or is this comletely irrelevant but merely adds to the "charm" of forging that this sller is using to peddle his chinese anvils ?
 
Way to go Nick! Ebay can be a great place to buy and sell The stuff I bought their last year is up for sell this year( :rolleyes: )...we have to challenge all the scammers....otherwise, Ebay would be useless.


-Rob
 
Hey what do you mean! That's such a good deal I bought three of them! I'm taking off work so when the truck comes I can be there to start banging out masterpieces like Nick's! I know all I need is a fresh anvil and I'll be stealing all his customers! And I got three of them! Look out Nick, you're in deep doodoo now.
 
Actually he is right about one thing, that one is not made in China. HF has a 110lb Russian made anvil for $89.00. I can't speak for the quality though, its probably a $89 boat anchor.
 
No, from the sound of it, your Grandpa's anvil is a good one, just sounds like this guy's lying. I haven't forged in over a year, and my anvil is brand new (only used it once). I was trying out a plate of damascus to see if it would cold-forge at all, and I nearly caught my nice new 1 Kg Swedish pattern in the forehead...

Darryl
 
Harbor Freight used to carry a Russian 110# cast steel anvil. There is a good article about it here. This is an excerpt from the article:

"W A R N I N G! At least one ebay dealer used our copyrighted images of the FINISHED anvil from this review (Figure 7) as well as stolen text to sell anvils on ebay. They were NOT photos of the product he was selling! Part of his scam included having a "buy now" price twice the normal resale price and a "flat" non refundable shipping that included much of his profit.

This unscrupulous dealer was confronted and had to be reported to ebay because he claimed the images were first "his", then "common images from the net". Days later he showed up under a different user ID selling anvils he just happened to "find" in a house he bought. This person is an unapologetic liar and a thief. THINK before you do business on ebay."

Sounds just like Nick's guy.

Regards,
Greg
 
Boy, look at his auction - not only is his feedback private, but there're "No Pick Ups". He did do a nice job of showing his happiest feedback though. :D What a jerk. I couldn't even buy one of his anvils for the opportunity to leave honest feedback because it's hidden. Still looking for ideas...
 
Hey Guys-

I guess the HF is made in Russia...still, I've seen them up close and wasn't very impressed. For the money, buying one FROM Harbor Freight, they seem to be a fair deal. HOWEVER, they sure aren't a good deal from some liar on ebay.

Mike told me he's emailed the guy and told him he had a heck of a scam going on, but I don't think he ever wrote back.

The big, fatty problem here, is the prices he's fetching. Some have sold for down around $200....but I know at least one of them sold for $360!!!

You can usually find a really nice Peter Wright, Hay Budden, etc. for that much or a little more in that size range.

I know I wasn't very nice with my post... :) but it really irritates me.

He's also got auctions for a wheel-chair, and welders...all from Harbor Freight.

Scum I say!!! LOL :D

-Nick-
http://www.wheelerknives.com
 
well nick i agree, but i gotta ppint out that the tool steel anvil that harbor used to sell is actually a russian anvil, and i think they still sell some russian ones. there still pretty crappy because the face IS tool steel, the just didnt fully harden it. kinda dumb because they hardened it somewhat, why they didnt finish the job and make a better product is beyond me.
 
You have to becareful what you buy...anywhere...I have been to auctions where all they did what take a cheap anvils, pour bleach over it and cause it to rust, making it appear to be old...There are always going to be dishonest folks in all walks of life. The best thing you can do as a buyers is research what you are looking for and know a good deal when you see it, and know when to pass.
 
So Nick! How many did you buy?? hahaha
I could imagine your face when it showed up at your shop....What the HE!! is this piece of Sh*t? That would be a Kodak moment!
 
The guy is forcing the price up through scam bidding, that is, he's got more than one account, and bids on them himself. He also ends the auctions early if the bidding doesn't get where he wants it to, and says "There was a mistake in the listing" The anvils, are from my experience, not the worst way you could spend $100 but are pretty close! and if you do buy, buy from harbour freight.

Tony
 
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