Schooled on the 'bay' for $20

mhawg

mhawg

Joined
Jan 10, 2003
Messages
5,057
Hi, my name is mhawg and I'm an idiot. I actually looked at the first image, asked a few questions and then bought the knife.I spent 30 minutes with a toothpick, some paper towels and a few squirts of Lubrilon to get this knife to act like it opened and closed only to find the proud blade top and overextended backspring. I had a knife just like this one in 1978 and lost it so I thought I 'might' replace it with a used one. I ended up telling the guy that he was selling dangerous tools and one day someone was going to nail him for it. I take full responsibility for buying a knife that was in a horrible picture and had questions answered vaguely. I did a quick cleanup and sharpen and it will slice paper but I won't ever put this knife in my pocket to carry. Did I mention that I am an idiot. A $20 lesson learned, again.

Question & Answer

Q: What does the blade stamp say, how many dots are there? Has the blade been sharpened? Is the blade tight in the handle? What condition are the blade and...more

A: 3 dots on blade...handle is tight...and in good shape...blade has some wear ...would be glad to anwser any questions...xxx-xxx-xxxx...thanks.xxxxx

61051 LSSP

61051LSSP-EB.jpg


BF-CASE61051LSSP_1441.jpg


BF-CASE61051LSSP002_1443.jpg
 
When it comes to ebay I have two rules:

1.) NEVER buy anything without a good picture or an original picture. If the photograph is blurry, it's not for me. If the seller uses a stock photo, it's not for me.

2.) Grammar is important. If the seller can't be bothered to properly spell out words (the intentional use of 'teh' pisses me off) or proofread their ad, then I can't be bothered to give them my money. Same goes for ad titles with lots of !'s and @'s.

I haven't bought anything on ebay in about three years because it's infested by idiots who don't know what they're selling.
 
Good things to watch out for. Thanks for the reminder.

Add the other eternal caveat, "If it sounds too good to be true, it likely isn't true."
 
I'm not sure if they are idiots who don't know what they are selling, or are simply liars trying to hide behind "ignorance".

In any case, I'm skeptical now also of slee-bay.

That, and the fact that they won't police people selling known stolen/fake items and their political agenda all rub me wrong.

Sorry for your deal.
 
Blade looks a hair short too.Hey,it's not that bad.You could prolly get your 20 back on it.Trim the kick a hair and it will lay down better.
 
piglipsticker said:
Blade looks a hair short too.Hey,it's not that bad.You could prolly get your 20 back on it.Trim the kick a hair and it will lay down better.
Click to expand...

Yep, that's my next move. I knew I wasn't getting a new knife but I hoped I wasn't getting a piece of garbage either. This seller only had 47 ebay deals so I just figured he was not very good at it but he was good enough to get my $20.
 
i have bought over 1000 knives on ebay (ya, i have a "problem"). many times i have taken a chance on a knife with terrible pic. and inadequate or absent description, but with a relatively low bid. in these instances i check the sellers other listings. if those have good pics and description then i assume the seller is hiding something and don't bid. but if seller obviously does not know knives and how to present them properly, then i may bid and this has given me some very good knives at a fraction of what they could have sold for if presented well.
my philosophy is "win some, loose some". it's all part of collecting and i don't get upset over being "burned" because it in part impairs the great joy i get from collecting knives.
in my experience, over 95% of the hundreds of sellers i have dealt with, are honest and try to ensure that the buyer is satisfied. in fact i think the feedback system works in the buyers favor such that positive outcomes are higher than general retail buying.
so mhawg, give the seller the feedback he deserves so the rest of us might see this if we check his FB, and thereby avoid his auctions.
roland
 
Like I said, nothing in the auction or his comments mislead me and the picture was clue enough so most of you wouldn't have gone there anyway. I got out the deadly Dremel and ground down the kick. That worked so well I got out the abrasive compound and a buffing wheel and now this one just looks like an extremely used knife but serviceable again. I guess that's what being on a knife forum will do for you. Here is the ugly duckling now.
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CASE61051LSSP_1452.jpg

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CASE61051LSSP_1459.jpg
 
There's absolutely no problem with eBay:

1) Check the detailed feedback and feedback percentage. Stay away from a merchant that has negative feedback. In the new eBay system, feedback is honest and a good merchant will work hard to get your positive feedback. Merchants can no longer give negative feedback to buyers. You are therefore certain that the feedback system is honest.

2) Pay with PayPal for fraud coverage and a dispute mechanism.

3) Place a small order first. If the seller is good, you can always return with a larger order.

True, eBay's past was less than perfect. However, some recent changes to many policies have really made eBay a great marketplace for me.
 
$20 isn't too bad, the pins look solid and the scales aren't too bad either. Blade and bolsters need polishing.

Seems like it's become your "project" knife. Before you know it, you'll have spent many pleasurable hours restoring it.

Keeps you outta trouble ;) .
 
Looks like a decent toter now to me.Good job!You could sell it to that brotherinlaw that's a pita now for $25.00.
 
You could try to readjust the price with the guy or, if it's not worth it, just leave him a blistering review. People seem to do just about anything to keep their reputations online pure. About eighteen months ago, embarked on a one-man crusade against a spate of mp3 players advertising 4GB. Actually, these were players with only one or two gigs, but had their firmware recoded to keep writing to the player, overwriting what had been written until it seemed as though 4 gigs had been filled. I would buy these things by the boatload and then contest them, as well as sending messages to buyers of known frauds. I also got on forums and blew the whistle. It created quite the commotion, but I got lots of mail saying thanks, and lots of people saying they'd been burned. The sellers didn't care for me one whit, though.

On the plus side, most people are honest. On used items, beware fuzzy photos. A closed knife photo be extra wary of. Some people shoot their photos dark, but you can copy them and lighten them using image editing software and thus see the dings and scratches. And, as stated, look at previous ratings.

That said, you didn't get scorched, just a little singed.

FakeKnife.jpg


This is a knockoff Cold Steel AK-47 that's now being sold
on eBay. The photo right is how it appeared—too dark for most
to see that it doesn't have an axis lock. The photo left has
been lightened and shows the details that give it away.
 
Confederate said:
...On the plus side, most people are honest. On used items, beware fuzzy photos. A closed knife photo be extra wary of. Some people shoot their photos dark, but you can copy them and lighten them using image editing software and thus see the dings and scratches. And, as stated, look at previous ratings.

That said, you didn't get scorched, just a little singed.
Click to expand...

That's where I feel like an idiot, the picture sucked so much. I am a horrible salesman so I let the items I put on the 'bay' sell themselves through the comprehensive images. I need to work on my sales skills but I never feel like I mislead anyone on a purchase. If I had been at a flea market and seen this Case knife for sale I wouldn't have paid $20 for it but I would have tried to get it for $10 or $12 knowing how much work it would take. The blade is tight and after I cleaned about a handful of crap from the mechanism it snaps locked pretty crisply and holds well. It opens and closes smoothly now and the blade took a wicked edge for a quick re-sharpening. I guess I'll keep it around and it may end up with one of the young cousins when they get ready for a knife. Live and learn...and sometimes re-learn.
 
mhawg said:
That's where I feel like an idiot, the picture sucked so much. I am a horrible salesman so I let the items I put on the 'bay' sell themselves through the comprehensive images. I need to work on my sales skills but I never feel like I mislead anyone on a purchase. If I had been at a flea market and seen this Case knife for sale I wouldn't have paid $20 for it but I would have tried to get it for $10 or $12 knowing how much work it would take. The blade is tight and after I cleaned about a handful of crap from the mechanism it snaps locked pretty crisply and holds well. It opens and closes smoothly now and the blade took a wicked edge for a quick re-sharpening. I guess I'll keep it around and it may end up with one of the young cousins when they get ready for a knife. Live and learn...and sometimes re-learn.
Click to expand...

Your sales skills were good enough to sell me this one... If I remember correctly that is.:confused: One of my most coveted, and now a Banned beauty;)
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Don't take it too hard on yourself---stuff happens when you go with eBay.

Sometimes it's incredible stuff---for instance, I once got a Spyderco Li'l Temperance (brand new, mind you) which I paid for with a green piece of paper with Grant on it, and got change.

Sometimes the stuff sucks. I've never been unfortunate enough to get burned, but I usually but from retail fronts like New Graham.

Just keep your head up and be thorough on eBay, that's all you can really do.
 
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