In our attempted transaction for this amp, he did nothing illegal or unethical, so let me make that clear from the beginning. However, given the impersonal nature of online transactions between two private parties, I think buyers deserve to deal with sellers that understand the need to establish trust and credibility. So here's what happened to me:
Yesterday, when the amp was listed for $1600 shipped and paypal'ed, I offered $1500 shipped and paypal'ed. The seller replied with three options:
1. $1500 using money order
2. $1500 using paypal gift
3. $1550 using conventional paypal
Clearly, he found it acceptable so long as he received a net of $1500. Fair enough, I opted for option 2. In the process of making the payment, I discovered that the sender of a paypal gift would have to bear the fee when using a credit card, so it made no sense to use option 2. So I decided to use the conventional paypal method and increased the amount by 3%, which came out to $1545 (and I'll be honest, it didn't occur to me that I should refer back to his counter-offer as I naturally assumed that he would only charge what paypal would charge). Soon after sending the payment, he - without any communication - unilaterally decided to refund it with this curt note: "option 3 is 1550 using paypal". So for the sake of $5, he essentially threw the money back at me and told me to get it right.
Now let me stress that the seller made it clear that he wanted $1550 when using conventional paypal. So I made the mistake - again, *I* made the mistake - of assuming that what he ultimately wanted wasn't $1500 net but rather $1505 net when using conventional paypal. Hell hath no fury than a seller disobeyed! Obviously, I could have easily just sent another payment with the "correct" amount, but at that point it was clear to me this wasn't the kind of seller I wanted to deal with.
Anyway, the point isn't that this seller is dishonest or shady. In fact, I have no reason to believe that to be the case. However, if this is how he treats buyers for something as insignificant as $5, then I do have to wonder how he would deal with buyers making a claim for problems (be it mechanical or shipping or whatever). As a seller of many audio items over the years, I've always felt that I should be the one to accomodate the buyer - before, during and after the transaction. This seller clearly does not share my view. Again, that's not his fault nor is it a wrongdoing. But...buyer beware.
