Gumtree purchase - not as described... (with poll!)

Conka on 08/01/2014 - 12:55

Hi All

I purchased a motherboard, CPU & RAM combo from Gumtree for $40.

It was advertised as motherboard being 1 year old and a 3.2GHz Core 2 Duo CPU.
I went to collect, and paid the guy.

Got it home, took off the heat sink, and found it was a 1.8GHz. Further inspection identified that the motherboard had a manufacture date of 2008.

Fraudulent advertising? Definitely.
Caveat Emptor? Certainly.

So, after contacting vendor and requesting that he return my money - he said "No"; with a lot of early morning SMS messages stating how I should seek counseling/psych evaluations and the like with threat of "escalate to a level I won't be able to handle" if I don't drop it.

Bull; meet red flag.

Given its only $40, what do you reckon?

For mine, it has moved on past the value of the money, and is almost at "value of the lesson" stage.

Petty? Probably. I don't want him to do this to other people.

Options?
* Report to Gumtree
* Police / Small claims - not worth the effort, but I'd love to see the vendor receive a scare!
* Bikies (Just kidding!)

I'm not saying its all his fault. On my part, I didn't confirm the goods properly before paying. I should have done that and this would have never happened.

Is there anything else I'm missing?

Poll Options expired

  • 44
    Gumtree Report
  • 7
    Police / Small Claims Report
  • 184
    Bikies
  • 28
    Live with it
  • 3
    Other?
General Discussion

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Comments

  • AMLagonda on 08/01/2014 - 13:06
    +1

    Nothing you can do…. police wont care and its not their problem, you can take him to court (might cost you a few thousand)

    • nicksinternet on 09/01/2014 - 00:03
      +4

      Small claims will cost only like $40. Do it. Judge will easily award in your favour. Just show the Ad and the pics of the PC (or take it to show).

      • orrinxu on 09/01/2014 - 11:05

        but he got scammed $40, not sure if it's worth it

        • ASAPNow on 09/01/2014 - 15:26

          get back to work orrin!

      • AlanHB on 09/01/2014 - 12:20
        +5

        The real question is "how much is YOUR time worth?".

        So lets pay the cash $40 court fees, to get $40 back. That values your time at "FREE".

        And lets fill out the docs. Luckily we're not suing a business here so we don't have to do checks etc. Now we'll serve them too. We shouldn't hire someone else to serve the documents on the other party becuase that will draw you into the negative.

        By this point we've probably wasted 5-6 hours simply because filling out court documents, filing, complying with all that stuff takes time, and you probably won't get it right the first time and will have to redo the docs a number of times.

        Ok we got it all right now and a court date is set. You take a day off work to attend court. The other bloke didn't show up. Summary judgement in your favour.

        Except he doesn't pay. Let's go back to court to enforce the judgement. Still no pay. Elevate to the Magistrates Court to enforce. Finally he succumbs and you get your $40 back.

        By this point you will probably have taken 3 days off work, and between 20-40 hours doing associated paperwork, or at least figuring out how to get it "right".

        Now lets go back to the start. If I were to ask you "will you work for FREE for 20-40 hours, and you'll also have to forfeit 3 days off work", would you do it? Ok, what if I offered you $40?

        I recently helped run a small claims thing for my parents (was around $2000) that followed the above path.

        • Harold Halfprice on 09/01/2014 - 14:44
          +7

          If he goes to court, as he stated, he wont be doing it for the money as it's beyond that. But the principle behind it. He shouldn't be allowed to get away with that, and will likely do it again if not stopped.

        • AlanHB on 09/01/2014 - 15:06
          +3

          I understand that, but the "principle" can blind you and cause you a lot of stress, money and time, and you may walk away just as unsatisfied at the end as if you never went to court.

          Consider these two scenarios:

          Lose $40. Initially angry. Do nothing. Over it in 3 months.

          Lose $40. Initally angry. Take matter to court. Continue to be angry whilst the court process the case and you elevate as the other party ignores the initial orders. Stretch anger to 6 months - 12 months.

        • sparkles on 09/01/2014 - 16:24
          +8

          Consider this scenario:

          Lose $40. Initally angry. Take matter to court. Have some psycho come kill you in the night.

        • AlanHB on 10/01/2014 - 06:39

          ^^^ Your family claims damages under Victims of Crime legislation placing you with a decent net profit. I like the way you think!

        • h4zey on 11/01/2014 - 01:10

          reading through that steps and thinking that you just wanted to teach him a lesson, then I guess bikie is the best option.

      • xordis on 11/01/2014 - 02:01
        +1

        I would start the process with small claims.
        Get all the paperwork and proof and have it ready, and email the person tell them what you are doing.
        The first step of small claims is mediation (I think for this small amount they wont force mediation though). Just tell them that you have been told to resolve this before it goes to court. Just the threat of this usually gets people to pay back the money.
        If he doesn't then start the process. If you win at small claims the fee is recoverable.
        The fee for under $500 is $22.20 by the way and the form will be a "Minor civil dispute"

        http://www.qcat.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/10085…

  • Macgyver on 08/01/2014 - 13:09
    +1

    Where did you collect it?

    • Conka on 08/01/2014 - 13:11
      +1

      From his house.

      • Macgyver on 08/01/2014 - 13:12
        +20

        Well if your bikie friends owe you a favor and you know where he lives then…

        • nikey2k27 on 09/01/2014 - 11:42

          Family firend bikie it will make him shit him self.

        • bob_wangkar on 09/01/2014 - 22:00
          +5

          He is in Brisbane, so more than one bikie friend will get all his bikie friends arrested. So not a good idea, unless he likes the idea of bailing people out.

      • ironplus on 10/01/2014 - 00:07
        +4

        Wait for a rainy day, then salt his garden.

        • afseale on 10/01/2014 - 02:43
          +2

          Egg his house.

      • zeomega on 12/01/2014 - 22:00
        +1

        Superglue his front door keyhole… and every other hole you can get your glue on/in.

  • leonheart1 on 08/01/2014 - 13:10
    +19

    5/5 said bikies. You know what to do.

    • Conka on 08/01/2014 - 13:11
      +3

      That made me laugh :)

  • msmhw on 08/01/2014 - 13:13
    +1

    I lost more than $500 in gumtree, but I learnt from my miskests and make sure not happen again.
    So Its your time worth the $40?

    • Conka on 08/01/2014 - 13:15

      I think I understand where you're coming from.

      No, it's not worth $40. The lesson for the little ****er might be, however.

    • BuyoTheCat on 08/01/2014 - 13:17
      +24

      $500?!! I hope it was not something I sold!

      I second the bikie option. He will shit in his pants when a bunch of guys in fluro lycra start knocking on his door.

      • Conka on 08/01/2014 - 13:18
        +1

        Hah! I know heaps of those lycra guys!

        9/9 for bikies …

    • Peace Maker on 08/01/2014 - 13:37
      +8

      but I learnt from my miskests

      Love it

  • battler on 08/01/2014 - 13:50
    +27

    Bikies, but only 2 of them at a time or else they'll be arrested!

    • ExtraSalt on 09/01/2014 - 15:12
      +1

      only if they are eating ice cream.

  • djones145 on 08/01/2014 - 14:15
    +24

    post his details on forum so that we can spam him with freebies, un wanted mail etc :P

    • hahaboy on 08/01/2014 - 22:33
      +1

      I like your thinking! I'm sure he will love some bargains on his phone/email?

  • [Deactivated] on 08/01/2014 - 14:23
    +15

    You bought a Core 2 Duo CPU/Mobo and thought it was only 1 year old?! A quick google shows that they stopped being produced 3 years ago in 2011.

    • Conka on 08/01/2014 - 15:57
      +6

      It is still possible to purchase new Mobos for socket 775. So, I was expecting the Mobo to be 1 year old, and the CPU to be 3-4 years old.

      Like I said, I should have confirmed the details of the board before handing over the cash
      My bad…

      • scrimshaw on 08/01/2014 - 17:24
        +6

        Always inspect the goods prior to handing cash over.

      • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 08/01/2014 - 22:44
        +2

        This ^^^
        Especially with gumtree….gotta check the stuff before you hand over the cash

  • hOrny on 08/01/2014 - 16:24
    +4

    Think of it as a $40 life lesson and move on would be what I would do. It's not a good feeling letting the seller go unpunished but at least it wasn't a more expensive item that you made the mistake of not checking.

  • sourdawg on 08/01/2014 - 16:32
    +26

    Just blow up his letterbox and be done with it

    • blitz on 09/01/2014 - 11:58
      +13

      It's what gentlemen have done for centuries and the only decent course of action at this point.

    • AsSeenOnTv on 09/01/2014 - 15:51
      +2

      a turd on the front doorstep will be far more appropriate.

  • 2pro4sho on 08/01/2014 - 16:36
    +4

    Why would you not inspect the items before exchanging money?

    • WaywardOne on 11/01/2014 - 06:28

      Whenever I buy something secondhand I feel too embarrassed to inspect things thoroughly. Inspecting carefully kinda means "I don't trust you".

      However whenever I see something I don't mind the other party inspecting it. Weird, huh?

  • cruise on 08/01/2014 - 16:40
    +9

    post him a dog turd…wont achieve anything, but would make me feel better…lol and probably mean I was in need to serious counselling

  • ethereal88 on 08/01/2014 - 16:45
    -1

    Who actually buys a CPU without checking the model number in the first place? Everytime I sell a CPU and mobo most actually inspect the actual model on the CPU - heatsink off. And actually, who buys an old ass Core 2 and board in 2014? You can buy a Pentium and fresh Haswell board with all the modern features for $150 or so, brand new and unfondled.

    • hahaboy on 08/01/2014 - 22:35

      Maybe OP likes his computer fiddly bits fondled? ;)
      I don't know why but your usage of the word made me giggle.

      • Jackson on 09/01/2014 - 08:33
        +3

        I sounds like you wish you were the board

    • Robydc on 10/01/2014 - 07:40

      Probably wanted it for the gold
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rK9LvMKKIQ8

  • RandomNinja on 08/01/2014 - 17:06
    +3

    Age can sometimes be open to interpretation. The board may have been manufactured in 2008, but the seller could have bought it a year ago - to him it's a year old.

    The 1.8Ghz CPU however, is definitely fraudulent unless the seller stated that it was 3.2Ghz when overclocked (not even sure if that's possible, but hopefully you get what I mean).

    Still, if his intention was to rip you off, giving you his home address is pretty dumb. I mean, a brick through the window isn't worth defrauding someone of $40…

    • tonyjzx on 08/01/2014 - 17:13
      +1

      why would you expect 1yr old hardware and a modern cpu for $40?

      tell us exactly what model of cpu and board you got and i'll tell you if its worth $40

      not saying the seller isnt a scumbag but he certainly found his mark

  • [Deactivated] on 08/01/2014 - 17:07

    Throw random vegetables at his house

    • cruise on 08/01/2014 - 17:08
      +2

      or random motherboards

      • [Deactivated] on 08/01/2014 - 17:43
        +11

        Nah. He'd collect them and sell them fraudulently again

        • ProjectZero on 09/01/2014 - 08:37
          +3

          Damaged veges = As new, never used" lol

    • apey2000 on 10/01/2014 - 19:27
      +1

      Why would someone neg this. +1 for you my lil brother!!!

  • Mikinoz on 08/01/2014 - 17:32
    +1

    I say live with it, it might save you thousands in years to come.

  • tyler.durden on 08/01/2014 - 17:38
    +2

    $40 is pretty cheap for such an important lesson

    What can be done to him that won't be deem harassment?

  • TheMoDz on 08/01/2014 - 17:40
    +1

    mobo manufactured in 2008, but bought in a date where its only been used a year?
    Overclocked?

    • Conka on 08/01/2014 - 20:04

      I don't know yet. Will find out what it gets plugged in. Hopefully, the thing boots!

      • nicksinternet on 09/01/2014 - 12:06
        +1

        wtf you bought it from someone on gumtree, collected it, without even checking it works?

  • DrStinge on 08/01/2014 - 17:51
    +3

    It always amazes me people will let someone come to their home residence and still rip someone off. Just curious; how old is the seller?

    • [Deactivated] on 08/01/2014 - 18:29
      +8

      Baffles me too. Especially in this case where the seller/scammer only gains a measly $40 out of it. Risk vs. reward… seller is noob.

    • Conka on 08/01/2014 - 20:01

      He is a TAFE student; so 18-19?

      • Gina Rinehart on 08/01/2014 - 20:49
        +3

        Just go to his house, tell him it was not accurate, ask for your money back or you'll contact the police.

        Now, you know that contacting the police will net no results, but he may not know and will give the money back to avoid any possible legal repercussions.

        That's $40 you're down. If you live near him, I'd pay him a visit.

        Otherwise, you've just learned a lesson. Never believe gumtree ads until you've inspected the item closely yourself! It's a playground for scammers.

      • iDroid on 08/01/2014 - 20:51
        +1

        I'd be visiting him for sure… Not to request a refund, just to return it to him.. Ya' know..

      • sparkles on 09/01/2014 - 16:28
        +5

        Dob on him to his mummy.

        • abbztract on 10/01/2014 - 09:49
          +3

          Okay now that's taking it a bit too far.

      • giventofly on 10/01/2014 - 14:53

        Oh, just go over there and demand it. Go with someone scary looking.

        • [Deactivated] on 10/01/2014 - 17:35

          Penny aka Kaley Cuoco, can get the job done. Give her a call. (Big Bang Theory)

  • Pharaoh on 08/01/2014 - 18:13
    +2

    take him to court just to spite him. People use Gumtree to scam others so often which is why I don't use it. Not worth the cops unless he gets aggressive.

  • mop36 on 08/01/2014 - 18:15

    ive done that before with furniture.. forgot to ask if came from smoke free home, silly me! didnt bother as was only $10

    • leonheart1 on 08/01/2014 - 18:33
      +8

      So the furniture steals your cigarettes when you're not looking?

      • wtfnodeal on 10/01/2014 - 01:27
        +1

        Lol you are funny.

  • Marrk on 08/01/2014 - 18:26
    +1

    Whilst he sounds like a low life, you had a responsibility to yourself, to check the goods before you exchanged any money. Take it as a $40 lesson.

  • Handsoff on 08/01/2014 - 18:38
    +7

    Just post his address up here. I'm sure lots of kids on holidays would gladly go egg a scammers house for days on end!

  • p1 ama on 08/01/2014 - 19:33
    +1

    CPU & RAM combo from Gumtree for $40

    To be perfectly honest, 1.8 GHz CPU, working motherboard and RAM, you paid a fair price for it. Sure he might have lied or whatever, but if you're looking for a Core 2 Duo 3.2GHz (seems to be an E8400), you should know that the price of that alone is higher than $40.

    • Conka on 08/01/2014 - 20:03
      +1

      It depends how desperate one is to sell …
      I don't know if it works yet. I'll probably plug it in tomorrow and see that the damn thing doesn't boot. That would make my failure complete.

      • berger on 09/01/2014 - 21:54
        +1

        Some people do not know the value of things, and some are desperate… I've bought a item, drove interstate to get it, it cost me $1300, and I sold it here for $3500.. Another item cost me $150 posted, and I sold it for $840. Gumtree is for the people who either are basic minded, or don't want the hassle of accounts, fees, etc..

  • zooter on 08/01/2014 - 19:33
    +1

    Why did you not check the specs (lot of free tools available to do that) before picking up the system?

    It's a bit like saying that you went to buy a Ferrari and came back with a Honda and didn't realize it until you went to the mechanic

    • Conka on 08/01/2014 - 20:01

      Yeah - wish I could have. it wasn't a system - just a collection of parts.

  • misu p on 08/01/2014 - 20:12
    +10

    Take the loss, learn something from it, report to Gumtree. Bikies for 40$ :) it is a little far fetched.

    I say wait 2 months go to some sites post a profile with a nice girl picture and his phone number and say you are looking for some fun. He will be spammed with phone calls from guys looking to "get it on". He might get tens if not hundreds of "booty" calls :). This might be illegal by the way but well so are bikies. This was done to my wife boss (another girl) it was quite nasty to be honest.

    • Third_Gear on 08/01/2014 - 22:15
      +1

      Craigslist. Ha ha ha

      • YTW on 09/01/2014 - 18:34
        +1

        Nah…Gumtree…

        I like that one…going to file it away if I ever need to be evil to someone :)

        • berger on 09/01/2014 - 21:56
          +1

          I think he meant post the add on Craigslist… That's all that site is.. Oh and people selling used underpants.

  • [Deactivated] on 08/01/2014 - 21:21

    What a hektik ethnic!

  • picket23 on 08/01/2014 - 22:42
    +9

    Play rock scissors paper window. See if rock beats window. Venue, that blokes house.

  • umoddbro on 08/01/2014 - 23:03

    Not worth the trouble over $40…

  • Nirraic on 08/01/2014 - 23:23
    +2

    If you need some bikers I've got a few friends in a Christian MC, so you've got the fear factor knowing there will be no violence ;)

  • abacus on 08/01/2014 - 23:45

    My son found the bargain of the century on Gumtree. A two year old car, in perfect condition for half the retail price. He was so excited. When he contacted the seller he was told the car is in a shipping container coming to Melbourne from Perth and that's why he won't be able to see it. Pay now and you get a real bargain. He googled the phone number or email (can't remember which) and found out the seller had about 5 cars all in containers all in different cities. Google saved the day.

    • SBOB on 09/01/2014 - 06:33
      +22

      he needed google to know that it was a scam?

    • umoddbro on 09/01/2014 - 19:01
      +2

      Don't know if serious or not…

      • abacus on 10/01/2014 - 17:27
        +2

        Was about 10 years ago when we weren't as clever as you are today.

  • Empiresearth on 08/01/2014 - 23:49
    +1

    you are not the only one person thinking about it, me too i got catched many time by shifty people they come up with clone phone and they were selling as brand samsung and hackers when you try to sell something they will ask you to click on pics or ask u to give your details so that they can transfer money. there are many many sitting to rip off hard earn money of good people, i too discussed with many people but end up with cant do anything to them.

    • [Deactivated] on 09/01/2014 - 01:04
      +12

      Longest single sentence I've read in a while.

      • ProjectZero on 09/01/2014 - 08:40

        lol there's actually two sentences if you look closely nvm i just saw how long it was XD

      • Empiresearth on 10/01/2014 - 17:44
        -3

        btw i didnt post comments to show my sentences, i posted to show i have gone through this as well, well thanks for that.

  • theworks on 09/01/2014 - 07:52
    +2

    Once I sold a motherboard with an unknown PCI defect (hadnt used the port in question so had no idea). It was a relatively expensive board at the time with uv sensetive sockets so you could look through your cool window and see it lit up. Received a battering over txt before I could figure out what the problem was.

    Offered to refund the money then never heard back from him. Still feel bad but I didnt mean to sell a dodgy board!

    • nicksinternet on 09/01/2014 - 08:01
      +3

      OP maybe this is the guy ^

  • yesiamcheap on 09/01/2014 - 09:52
    +1

    I lost $1,000 on a dodgy cross trainer a couple of years ago. It was supposedly ex-gym and working properly and in another state so I had paid to get shipped without seeing it myself. The guy who sold it tried to blame the couriers who he had supposedly warned on the day they took it they were being too rough in packing it up…

    I put it down to a life lesson. I'd suggest you do the same and be thankful yours only cost $40 :)

  • IrishPete on 09/01/2014 - 10:19

    If the seller was only 19-ish he may not have known any better. I would give him a break. (Not the violent kind.)

    Also there's a reason why people buy through Ebay, or use PayPal through other sites - comeback. However, beware of buying stuff that comes on a slow boat from China, as by the time it arrives the PayPal window for lodging a claim has closed. I did that with some Microsoft software. It still looks completely genuine, but the key doesn't work. And there I was trying not to download it for free. Guess what I did when the bought version turned out to be dodgy? I downloaded it for free from the internet. Microsoft certainly didn't win.

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