Official Junk, Overpriced, etc. Thread

JohnMarcson

Administrator
May 7, 2010
10,971
Northwest Ohio
Jun 18, 2013
3,709
PA
That would be Mr. W. Joseph Gribb.
I have dealt with this guy outside of ebay a few times, pricing was not too crazy. I never dealt with him via ebay though.
 
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JohnMarcson

Administrator
May 7, 2010
10,971
Northwest Ohio
I have dealt with this guy outside of ebay a few times, pricing was not too crazy. I never dealt with him via ebay though.
That was my thought... like I swore he was reasonably priced elsewhere. Maybe he's just adjusting for eBay's seller unfriendly practices.
 

ur20v

Member
Feb 3, 2017
571
Northern Virginia
That was my thought... like I swore he was reasonably priced elsewhere. Maybe he's just adjusting for eBay's seller unfriendly practices.
"Seller unfriendly" is putting it mildly. I sold a few higher priced items recently and they destroyed me with fees upon fees and percentages of fees and fees based on phantom values... ugh. And then they had the nerve to tell me that since I haven't sold in a while they're holding my money until they can confirm the buyers receive their items, regardless of the fact that I have a spotless seller record going back over a decade. I think once the rest of the stuff I have up there sells, I am finished with them.
 

Tristar

Member
May 24, 2010
899
MA
I'd like to know what kind of drugs this seller is using. He or she is selling a Whelen Deputy "blue revolving strobe light". It was priced at $999, not reduced to the bargain price of $495.
First, it looks green to me. I know Whelen blue lenses sometimes look greenish, but this sure looks green to me. And I'm curious what a revolving strobe light is. Does that mean there is a strobe head mounted in a bulb holder, and it rotates? Or, is the seller just plain stupid? Finally, the PRICE!

 

JohnMarcson

Administrator
May 7, 2010
10,971
Northwest Ohio
"Seller unfriendly" is putting it mildly. I sold a few higher priced items recently and they destroyed me with fees upon fees and percentages of fees and fees based on phantom values... ugh. And then they had the nerve to tell me that since I haven't sold in a while they're holding my money until they can confirm the buyers receive their items, regardless of the fact that I have a spotless seller record going back over a decade. I think once the rest of the stuff I have up there sells, I am finished with them.
Yeah, it isn't really worth the time and aggravation anymore from a selling standpoint. Between the fees, the forced returns for any reason (no matter your stated policy), the payout holds and the random removals it just isn't worth it. I will snatch up a good deal on eBay, but I really haven't listed anything since I had to take a return (and pay shipping) on an arrow stick because the buyer didn't bother to read that a controller was required. The same week my vintage beacons all got removed for "police equipment violations" while a bunch of actual modern sirens and lights remained. I had been reported by the buyer.

I will say (again, skip this if you read it last time) that the buyer protections are a double edged sword, and as much as they are the reason I don't sell there, they are the reason I do still buy there. I have told this story before.... I paid $300 including $100 shipping for a >72" lightbar. It arrived demolished due to not just improper, but literally zero, packing material. It was like the seller taped a piece of cardboard to each side and slapped a label on it. I contacted the seller and offered to keep the bar for parts if he refunded me $100 (that's 50% of the cost of the now demolished bar). That would mean he profited $100 if he really paid $100 shipping (he didn't). He became very nasty and said "no refunds at all, I'm not taking it back." I filed a dispute and eBay made him refund me the purchase price (if I sent it back) and he was to pay return shipping. He tried to send me a fake label to beat the automated system, a USPS label for 1oz. I guess he was hoping I'd cart the bar to the post office and either give up (making it look like I didn't return it) or pay the shipping. I caught it before the pile was even moved from where the original shipper dumped it. I called customer support. They let me choose the return shipping (UPS with pickup service). I taped the label to the debris and was done. The next day I was credited the full $300 by eBay. The return shipping was at least $75, billed directly to him by eBay. He was left with a smashed bar, no money from the sale at all (I was refunded the total cost of the bar AND shipping) and paying return shipping. He ended up -$75 with a pile of parts instead of +$100 with the bar no longer his problem. People don't always make logical decisions. Buyer protection is because of people like that guy.
 
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Nolines

Member
Apr 5, 2018
1,678
Margate, FL
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Tristar

Member
May 24, 2010
899
MA
Wow, what a deal. Somebody stop me before I click 'buy it now'. Yeesh.

Ask the seller if the bar is actually made of platinum, and not aluminum. That would explain the meth induced price.
 

ur20v

Member
Feb 3, 2017
571
Northern Virginia
Hey guys, get yourself some of those rare "holagens" in this failed Whelen product. Bidding starts at just $800!!!

 
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JohnMarcson

Administrator
May 7, 2010
10,971
Northwest Ohio
Hey guys, get yourself some of those rare "holagens" in this failed Whelen product. Bidding starts at just $800!!!

That's not terribly overpriced. The fast tracks frame alone if it has the internal 400 series mounts intact is probably worth about $500. If it had the original strobe halogen combination it would be worth the $800. But I think they're stretching in a little bit since it's been retrofitted so many times.
 
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ur20v

Member
Feb 3, 2017
571
Northern Virginia
That's not terribly overpriced. The fast tracks frame alone if it has the internal 400 series mounts intact is probably worth about $500. If it had the original strobe halogen combination it would be worth the $800. But I think they're stretching in a little bit since it's been retrofitted so many times.
And the bottom lip is busted...
 
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tsquale

Lifetime VIP Donor
Oct 12, 2010
10,511
Minnesota, USA
I remember a few years back when a ton of 4 bulb beacons were being bought for outrageous amounts by Saudis. Maybe the same thing again?
 

Tony P

Moderator
Sep 13, 2015
1,940
Midwest, USA
Someone must be smoking some awesome shit :)

I'm guessing the seller is out of town and didn't want to take the ad down. If you look at the ones they have sold, they've almost all been for $49.99
 

JohnMarcson

Administrator
May 7, 2010
10,971
Northwest Ohio
I remember a few years back when a ton of 4 bulb beacons were being bought for outrageous amounts by Saudis. Maybe the same thing again?

The "not very accurate vintage US restorations" in the middle east thing still..... some of those builds look like they were made by a guy that saw a 1970s police car in a movie once and never looked at it again through the build process.
 

JohnMarcson

Administrator
May 7, 2010
10,971
Northwest Ohio
Not a Deckblaster either. I don't remember what Galls called them or who made them off the top of my head, but I have a bunch of them.
Nova? made them for galls. I have the guts of one somewhere.
 

JohnMarcson

Administrator
May 7, 2010
10,971
Northwest Ohio
I'll have some of whatever this dude has been smoking...

Do like everyone else and report them as restricted items to ebay... kidding
 

ur20v

Member
Feb 3, 2017
571
Northern Virginia
DAMN!


View attachment 239523

Geez... Even the notoriously overpriced Grainger has that same speaker brand new for $193!

Looking at their other items it's clear they have some pretty off the wall fantasies about what used surplus retails for. Yikes...
 

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