eBay Weber BBQ Sales

odyssi on 01/09/2014 - 08:24
Last edited 17/04/2020 - 12:23 by 1 other user

Following on from the discussion here yesterday about a particular ebay users weber BBQ sales.

A quick calculation on his sales.

Good luck to him ! (Hope it doesnt go pearshape on him)

Item Unit Price # Units Gross Sales FVF P/pal Fees AO Cost Profit C/Rewards (4%) Profit inc. Cash Rewards
Q1000 $375 149 $55,875 $5,531.63 $1,385.70 $40,081 ($269) $8,876.67 $1,603.24 $10,370.91
Q2000 $500 317 $158,500 $15,691.50 $3,899.10 $116,973 ($369) $21,936.40 $4,678.92 $26,615.32
Q2000 $540 16 $8,640 $855.36 $212.16 $6,368 ($398) $1,204.48 $254.72 $1,459.20
Total 482 $223,015 $22,078.49 $5,496.96 $163,422 $32,017.55 $6,536.88 $38,445.43
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Comments

        • tomclancy on 12/09/2014 - 22:54

          @nosdan:

          ill certainly be trying to screw them out any way i can

          You're not alone. This Sunday is a reasonable opportunity to do it and many will take advantage. Not as good as 50% but still in front :)

        • zassaliss on 13/09/2014 - 02:58

          and 90 days from the bank most of the time

          even more if you just keep pressing the issue.

          tom's a hero

      • gooseberry on 15/09/2014 - 23:47

        Depending on which Citibank card he has, he should be able to get at least 4 baby Qs with the points !

  • ChickenTalon on 12/09/2014 - 10:13
    +4

    Feedback is rolling in from those who disputed their transactions and he cancelled their orders. http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&user…

    I still think this guy is a massive champion. He probably didn't figure on ebay stepping in like they did, could have been a play by them to get people to request refunds.
    eBay have no incentive to unfreeze his accounts if they can make him look like the bad guy because he can't buy stock.

    • Paulb5 on 12/09/2014 - 10:31
      +4

      The amount ebay are spending on lawyers for this probably equals what the bbqs are worth.

      But the longer they freeze his acct the more people request a refund and the less they lose I guess.

      People leaving Negative comments on ebay are idiets (yes the e is there on purpose).

      • tomclancy on 12/09/2014 - 11:27
        +11

        eBay really are cutting off their nose despite their face on this one. Tom has not broken any eBay/PayPal rules nor any consumer rights (despite what one negative feedback said) yet eBay/PayPal are making it difficult for Tom to fulfil orders. Yes I understand why they freeze funds for money laundering purposes, but it's taken too long to clear up. As Tom says in his last email, he doesn't care about negative feedback because he's banned from eBay for life (well until he gets a new email address) but there is a lot of residual negative sentiment about shopping on eBay from all the buyer's perspective.

        • drdolphin on 12/09/2014 - 15:17
          +6

          They are probably just annoyed they didn't think of it first!

          Like many people, I wish him well. Takes a lot of guts (and stress) to do this, so hope he ends up with a heap of money from it. Every rich person starts out with some hare-brained scheme to make their first fortune; good luck to him!

        • Richfield on 12/09/2014 - 18:59
          +3

          To spite, not despite.

          /bugbear

        • tomclancy on 12/09/2014 - 22:55

          @westical:

          Haha, thanks :)

    • odyssi on 25/09/2014 - 22:45

      Thanks Tom. Sucked in to the impatient people. You missed out. All the best Tom

      Hah!

      Nearly back to 90% (89.7%)

  • murkywater on 12/09/2014 - 21:59
    +2

    This whole situation seems really sucky. Why on earth were all his accounts frozen… Ebay and paypal are such crooks, I feel for him.

    Good luck Tom!

  • The Champagne Mile on 13/09/2014 - 10:55
    +4

    At the end of the day, eBay is ultimately responsible for creating the hair-brained promotional scheme of selling one item only (BBQs) at 50% off for a day. Anyone with half a brain would, from a mile off, have predicted a small number of enterprising users to capitalise on the situation. EBay made their bed, and they should lie in it!
    I would be interested to know on what grounds Tom has been 'banned from selling for life'.

    • treeman on 13/09/2014 - 11:55

      Exactly, would have been pretty easy to do if they wanted to do it properly by making it bbqs from good guys, hardware village and bcf + perhaps only second hand ones too. With ebay having a clause to reserve the right to cancel any listings.

  • [Deactivated] on 13/09/2014 - 13:11
    +3

    I don't understand why he's been "banned for life" (even though that seems very easy to circumvent lol)..

    What exactly has he done wrong? Like, legally. I'm genuinely curious as to what eBay has an issue with. Aren't there plenty of sellers/stores (both online and brick & mortar) who sell products that are often not physically within the grounds of the seller at the time of sale?

    I'm really completely uneducated on how business and all this sort of thing works, so perhaps I don't have it quite right - but I've attempted to buy things from stores, only for them to say "we don't have it in stock but we'll order it in for you". Though I guess the difference there is that I don't pay the full amount (or anything) upfront - not until the item is actually brought in and physically available. Conversely, Tom had everyone pay upfront before even placing their orders with AO. Is that the difference, and thus the issue?

    I still struggle to see what's so awful about what Tom did. Wish eBay would give a statement and explain their gripe. I can kinda understand why his bank account / paypal account would be frozen though. A precaution, albeit extreme, to make sure he doesn't run off with or blow all the money before the sales are completed, I guess. Though to freeze ALL of his money is a bit rich..

    Can't really believe eBay didn't predict something like this would happen, even on a smaller scale at least. For such a huge company…

    Very interesting anyway!

    • NosDan on 13/09/2014 - 15:37
      +1

      i dont see how they even froze his bank account unless they claimed it was a scam

      his original listing was for ~$500 bbq with $400 odd cash back claiming anywhere in aus you can pick up the bbq at any time from him in perth…. so obviously that never existed and was purely a scam to screw ebay/PP over, this is the reason i was originally concerned if our mate tom was going to come through with any of these bbq's or this was simply another scam.

      the banned for life thing i also find strange again unless its because of the above initial scam rather than the webbers he sold?

    • tomclancy on 13/09/2014 - 17:22
      +1

      Presumably somewhere in the eBay registration t&cs they have the right to cancel any account on their discretion. Kind of like retail shops having the right to refuse service to anyone they see fit.

  • scottb721 on 13/09/2014 - 22:39

    Where's all this info about him being banned and accounts frozen coming from?

  • massivedmg on 14/09/2014 - 18:39
    -5

    I think people should be more skeptical of Tom. We're pretty much just believing every word he says rather than thinking about this critically. First of all - why would he be banned for life? It could be just that he's had too much of a headache and just used an exaggeration.There is no reason for the eBay/Paypal hate as they are just doing their job - what if Tom had run off with the money as soon as it deposited? Then you'd be yelling at eBay/Paypal for not doing their job.

    • NosDan on 14/09/2014 - 19:02
      +2

      I think people should be more skeptical of Tom. We're pretty much just believing every word he says

      was there not emails from paypal themselves originally saying something to the effect they were going to handle it? so far everything in toms emails sounds legit enough for me and im usually extremely sus of everything by nature.

      Paulb5's comment here says he has spoken with both tom and ebay and if you look at previous comments by them before that point they were somewhat critical of tom so i believe Paulb5's comments to be true and trustworthy

      there is just to much evidence to point towards this being ebay/PP screwing tom over and tom being up front about this so far, unless you care to shine a light on something you think ive missed while ive been following this since it began?

      unless of course your just making uneducated arsesumption?

    • tomclancy on 14/09/2014 - 20:19
      +1

      In addition to 100% agreeing with nodan's comments:

      It could be just that he's had too much of a headache

      For the sake of $38k I'm sure he could find a couple of panadol and get on with it. Nothing is too much of a headache to walk away from that amount of cash.

      eBay/Paypal… are just doing their job

      Yep and ebays job is to make more money for ebay. If eBay had even the slightest care about the sellers or buyers on their site they wouldn't price gouge in the first place.

  • Paulb5 on 14/09/2014 - 21:21
    +4

    Tom even attached his credit card statement to one of his emails showing the payments he'd already made before his accounts got frozen.

    Appliances online have the stock and are ready and waiting. Can't really blame ebay for originally doing what they did as I think tom had something like 200k moved from paypal to his account.

    However from speaking to Tom on the phone they were a bit heavy handed and got lawyers etc involved when he was happy to transfer money back to cover the cost of the bbqs. Hopefully it all works itself out and tom has some fun with his well deserved profit.

  • zone on 15/09/2014 - 18:32
    +1

    Ok, all I am concerned now is at this rate will I be receiving the bloody BBQ before Xmas?

  • gooseberry on 16/09/2014 - 00:01

    To everyone bagging eBay/PayPal for freezing Tom's funds - if you take a look at it from their point of view - to them, Tom is an unknown, and all of a sudden he has $220k of funds in his PayPal account - half of which is eBay's money, and they wouldn't know if he's got those actual items to sell/send to buyers. (if it was only buyers money, they may not have acted so quickly, but since it was $110k in eBay's money, I'm guessing they'd be quick about it)

    They probably froze his funds early on - got their lawyers onto him - then found out how he was intending to get the stock (from appliancesonline), then said they'd takeover the processing, then found out it would be a hassle, so handballed it back to Tom.

    Good on Tom for taking on the opportunity to make a good amount of money - if he is genuine. But you can understand it from eBay/Paypal's point of view on why they would freeze his funds to find out what was going on.

    I just hope I get my bbq soon!

    • NosDan on 16/09/2014 - 00:16

      if you take a look at it from their point of view - to them, Tom is an unknown

      if you have any idea about ebay/paypal you will understand that EVERY trader is an "unknown"… your logic completely fails. it is ebays business model to reward "unknowns" at the expense of "legitimate" bricks and mortar stores…..

      • gooseberry on 16/09/2014 - 00:27

        "EVERY trader is an "unknown" … your logic completely fails"

        Uh no, every merchant who has an ebay store is not an unknown. The Good Guys who also were selling bbqs on eBay are not an unknown, and eBay/Paypal wouldn't freeze their funds.

        • NosDan on 16/09/2014 - 00:29

          your logic is completely flawed

          GG are only maybe 0.00001% of sellers on ebay? probably less. 99.9999% of sellers on ebay are not a well known "store"

        • NosDan on 16/09/2014 - 00:31
          +1

          oh… i get it now…..

          gooseberry » user profile
          Member Since
          12 Sep 2014

          carry on. hopefully in time you will also become wise enough to have a valid opinion

        • mmd on 16/09/2014 - 01:00

          @nosdan:
          Non-trolling legitimate question Nosdan: Why do u think ebay froze his account details?

          1) Over the last week I have been in intense legal negotiation with eBay and PayPal and their legal team. Basically at the moment I have a frozen bank account, credit card and PayPal account. This all sounds very bad but all organisations have to run risk profiles and they do have a point, I haven’t sold any BBQ before the other Sunday.

          I assumed it was because Tom was selling concert tickets one day, to selling bbqs the next day.

        • tomclancy on 16/09/2014 - 11:43

          @mmd:

          I posted the below comment in the deal thread.

          PayPal do have set (and presumably documented if I could be bothered looking) levels for locking funds. Once you receive more than $1,000 your PayPal account is locked automatically (this is true for everyone not just Tom) until you verify your identity with Medicare card or passport. Then after you provide your verification documents PayPal claim "2-3 business days to unlock your account". I also believe another lock happens at $20k per month.

          Remember, tom_9_8_7 had just 80 feedbacks before this, it is entirely possible he did not sell $1,000 worth of goods yet and therefore didn't reach PayPal's initial lockout limit, let alone the larger limits that must exist.

          I'd wager that this is why Tom's account was frozen, not because he did something 'dodgy' or broke any rules.

        • mmd on 18/09/2014 - 19:27

          @PBG:
          Ah ic, I've stopped monitoring the deal thread.
          Yes, thats what I meant. He didnt sell any BBQs prior to that Sunday (I think He was mainly selling concert tickets).
          I wonder why Ebay's legal team was involved tho?

    • Turd on 16/09/2014 - 16:34

      It's not eBay's money.

      The buyer used a code to get a discount.

      The transaction is between The seller and the buyer. How would the seller know if they used a code or not, they dont.

      NOT EBAY's money

      • gooseberry on 16/09/2014 - 21:06

        It is eBay's money.

        I'm an actual buyer of one of the bbqs Tom sold. I can see it in the transaction details.
        $350 went to Tom's Paypal account from my Paypal account. To fund this $350 transfer, Paypal took $175 from my credit card. The other $175 is shown as coming from eBay International AG.

        • Turd on 18/09/2014 - 09:31

          PayPal and eBay are two SEPARATE companies.

          So is Westpac and St George
          So is NAB and Ubank
          etc etc…

          *facepalms

        • hellbound on 18/09/2014 - 14:29
          +1

          @Turd: But eBay International AG and ebay are the same right? And that's where the money's come from for half the bill, so it is ebay's money.

        • tomclancy on 18/09/2014 - 19:13

          @hellbound:

          I think Turd means is that the 15% is covered by PayPal, not eBay

        • gooseberry on 18/09/2014 - 19:32

          @Turd:

          I didn't make any claim about whether they are separate companies or not - so I don't know why you bring that up.

          You had said "It's not eBay's money"

          and I just replied to say that it is eBay's money because in the transaction details it shows that 50% of the funds came from eBay International AG.

        • gooseberry on 18/09/2014 - 19:32

          @PBG:

          If you read my comment, it was not covered by Paypal, it came from eBay. And it was not 15%

  • Paulb5 on 16/09/2014 - 10:00
    +5

    My weber is being delivered today. Not sure if Tom has been unfrozen or he just likes me. If you want a weber hang in, I think tom has fulfilled about 200 so far its just no one has come forward and said so.

    • Hen on 16/09/2014 - 10:07
      +3

      Just heard from Tom that mine is to arrive tomorrow. Yippee!

  • zone on 16/09/2014 - 10:24
    +2

    Got an email from Tommy this morning saying mine will arrive tomorrow. Can't complain if it appears at my door tomorrow.

  • Paulb5 on 16/09/2014 - 11:37
    +3

    Well let's see if we can get his ebay feedback rating above 80%

    • tomclancy on 16/09/2014 - 11:45

      Lol. If only it mattered :)

      • Spizz on 17/09/2014 - 22:31
        +1

        If only to rub it into Ebay whom have banned him, to see people posting a positive result from Tom's auction.

  • t_c on 16/09/2014 - 14:34
    +3

    Looks like the positive feedback is starting to roll in.

  • p3t0r on 16/09/2014 - 17:02
    +2

    I received my receipt from AppliancesOnline via Tom. Delivery for tomorrow!

    • p3t0r on 17/09/2014 - 20:17

      Just confirming that it was received today. Awesome Job Tom. Enjoy your ~30k

  • [Deactivated] on 16/09/2014 - 18:01
    +13

    This has been a pretty fun read :) I didn't buy a BBQ from Tom or anyone else, but I've been following the drama nevertheless and am happy that people are receiving their goods.

    Can't help but feel bad for the 12 people that left negative feedback on his eBay account. Way to jump the gun and screw themselves over like that. How on earth did they miss all of Tom's emails? Sounded like he maintained constant, updated communication throughout. I don't see how it could've been handled any better, tbh.

    Their loss. Shame.

    • Paulb5 on 16/09/2014 - 19:15
      +5

      I hope they go back on and see all the people getting their webers. I'll be leaving a nice message to really rub it in to them.

    • tomclancy on 16/09/2014 - 21:15

      I'm also enjoying Tom's responses to the ebay feedback. He has a great sense of humour and writing style.

      • [Deactivated] on 16/09/2014 - 22:32

        lol yeah "what makes you think I'm a man!"

  • k0p1t3 on 16/09/2014 - 18:24
    +1

    Got mine delivered this morning :)

  • svenson on 16/09/2014 - 18:41

    I agree. This story has been great to follow

  • Mikaela on 16/09/2014 - 22:27
    +2

    This has been a very interesting read. It is good to hear that people are receiving their BBQs

  • droodle on 16/09/2014 - 22:29

    can i see a link to the feedback pls ?

    • [Deactivated] on 16/09/2014 - 22:32
      +1

      Link

  • junkyster on 18/09/2014 - 01:39
    +1

    Mine got delivered on Tuesday too. Left my +ve feedback as well.

  • p3t0r on 18/09/2014 - 16:17
    +1

    latest update…

    Hi all

    Very quick status update.

    Most BBQ orders have been processed and many already delivered. Please check my feedback to see this. Anyone who has had an order processed has received an email from me and it is marked as posted in ‘My eBay’.

    Of the remaining orders. All will be processed by the end of the weekend. With delivery Monday or Tuesday for people central and possibly a couple of days later for non-central customers or those with specific requirements.

    When will I get my BBQ?
    Please see above.

    I am in talks with eBay about how to process orders that have been disputed but still want a BBQ. These will be processed last but obviously not long after the weekend if not before.

    Regarding Tax invoices. These will be sent out after all processing of orders in completed.

    Regarding feedback. Thanks for those taking the time to share their experience, obviously as per eBay tradition a green will result in a green for yourself but this is not my priority at the moment as I am sure you will understand.

    This is really the last bulk email. I know some of you like my jokes but no time for jokes today sorry and for those who don’t well today you can also be happy, something that is important in life!

    Cheers

    • ChickenTalon on 18/09/2014 - 16:35
      +5

      This guy needs $30k and some kind of award. such a champion.

  • eddypiper on 19/09/2014 - 06:48

    It's interesting that no one has mentioned how much tax he will have to pay on this profit.

    Assuming Tom doesn't earn any other money, based on $38K he is looking at a Tax bill of at least $4K, that would realistically bring the profit down to around $34K.

    You can bet the ATO will be very aware of these transactions.

    Also, we have no idea how many people actually cancelled their orders which could lower the profit even further, possibly under 30K, depending on how desperate people were to receive their Weber's ;)

    Having said that, $30K is a decent profit even for the all the hassle of frozen bank accounts, the stress of dealing with eBay, Paypal, sleepless nights dealing with hundreds of emails, etc. All in all, a very stressful situation and i'm not sure how many people with regular jobs and family life could have managed this.

    I hope Tom puts that profit towards some relaxation time after this is all done and dusted.

    As someone mentioned above, this won't happen at least until the 45 days PayPal dispute period is over…

    • t_c on 19/09/2014 - 07:08

      Is the c/rewards taxable income, also according to my banks BDM normal credit cards cant be used for business purposes its apparently in the t&c, so doubtful Tom will get any c/rewards. Hopefully he was able to negotiate a wholesale rate with AO. He's only making $59 per unit on the q1000's.

      • tomclancy on 19/09/2014 - 07:59
        +2

        according to my banks BDM normal credit cards cant be used for business purposes

        Lol. You'd better warn the 6,000,000 small businesses who run their business off their personal credit card then. Either your bank's BDM is clueless or more likely BSing you to try upselling you to a costly business credit card

        so doubtful Tom will get any c/rewards

        Cash rewards is an affiliate marketing website and pays cash back irrelevant of payment method. You can pay cash and still get CR cash back

        • t_c on 19/09/2014 - 09:51
          -1

          Lol. You'd better warn the 6,000,000 small businesses who run their business off their personal credit card then.

          Tom did say his credit card account was Frozen, so clearly buying a large amount of bbq's raised a red flag on his account. They would have then called him, he would have had to explain how he's selling these bbq's on ebay for profit. I'm sure he would have been made well aware of the T&C's then.

          Either your bank's BDM is clueless or more likely BSing you to try upselling you to a costly business credit card

          To make a statement like that without reading at least one credit card T&C's is, as Hockey would put it, Lazy Analysis.

          Let me google that for you

          Section 4.8, Page 14
          An account must be used wholly and exclusively for
          your private, domestic and household use

          I stand corrected on the c/rewards I thought it was credit card rewards.

        • tomclancy on 19/09/2014 - 10:12
          +2

          @t_c:

          I'm not trolling, but seriously there are millions of small businesses using personal credit cards to keep their business cash flows in order. I, for one, put $25k per month of business expenses on mine. I don't care what the T&Cs allow me to do, its a fact. And to be fair I don't think the c/card companies care either - they still make a fortune from us.

          Tom did say his credit card account was Frozen, so clearly buying a large amount of bbq's raised a red flag on his account

          Maybe if Tom put $160k worth of payments through his credit card then this might be the case but his accounts were frozen before he bought a single BBQ. His accounts were frozen by PayPal when he received $223k - they put the freeze order on. Nothing to do with the purchase side of things at all. In fact it is more than likely he would have to pay for the BBQs from his PayPal account anyway and not from his credit card. Who (apart from Turd) has $160k spare on their credit card?

        • t_c on 19/09/2014 - 18:56

          @PBG:

          Maybe if Tom put $160k worth of payments through his credit card then this might be the case but his accounts were frozen before he bought a single BBQ. His accounts were frozen by PayPal when he received $223k - they put the freeze order on. Nothing to do with the purchase side of things at all. In fact it is more than likely he would have to pay for the BBQs from his PayPal account anyway and not from his credit card. Who (apart from Turd) has $160k spare on their credit card?

          Yes but Tom did say his credit card was frozen as well, Paypal have nothing to do with that, the only way that could happen is if he started purchasing bbq's with his credit card to bridge the gap while his paypal funds were frozen.

          ("Basically at the moment I have a frozen bank account, credit card and PayPal account") - Tom

        • tomclancy on 20/09/2014 - 00:23

          @t_c:

          Its a possibility, but IMO a long bow to draw. Another possibility is PayPal called his bank and told them "this man just received $200k+ funds so we have frozen his account on suspicion of money laundering, we suggest you do too because he is trying to withdraw it to an account held with you".

          Or maybe even more likely scenario is that Tom was exaggerating?

          We'll never know for sure I suppose

  • berger on 19/09/2014 - 08:31
    +2

    seems to be getting a LOT of positive feeback…

    Guess people could not wait a few extra days. Sucks to them

    • ChickenTalon on 19/09/2014 - 09:21
      +2

      good things come to those who wait.

      Can't really feel sorry for them, Tom was upfront at all times, and there was never any real risk as these people paid with paypal. Glad they didn't get their BBQs

  • stuckster on 19/09/2014 - 11:00

    I seem to be missing something here…

    Why didn't buyers simply order their BBQ through AO's eBay store?
    Q2000
    Tom = $500 less 50% = $250
    AO eBay = $369 less 50% = $184.50

    Did AO not have any BBQ's listed at the time of the promotion??
    Perhaps $369 was Tom's wholesale/dropshipper rate? But I don't believe he did any prior negotiations.

    • stuckster on 19/09/2014 - 11:07
      +4

      Seems they don't list BBQs on their eBay store… wow, massive opportunity lost there. As an online retailer you would expect them to be all over such opportunities. Pity someone at AO wasn't as enterprising as Tom.

      • Turd on 19/09/2014 - 14:02

        eBay fees are too high.

        • stuckster on 19/09/2014 - 14:24

          If Tom can extract a profit of $38k in one day, eBay fees wouldn't appear to be a problem.

      • AppliancesOnline.co… on 26/09/2014 - 10:32
        +10

        We hear you. Unfortunately some suppliers explicitly state we are not allowed to sell their products on eBay via our store. There's a lengthy exclusion list of products that we cannot upload to eBay.

        LN

    • stuckster on 19/09/2014 - 16:47
      +11

      If that's the case then so is anyone who buys something for $1 and sells it for $2.
      Ozbargainers respect his tenacity to firstly spot the opportunity and secondly having the stones to see it through.

    • matt_will_fix_it on 19/09/2014 - 16:47
      +5

      He is a hero and not a scalper.

      He didn't buy & stockpile all the BBQ's so no one else had stock. Hey gave people BBQ's at a discounted price and made some profit along the way.

      • mmd on 19/09/2014 - 19:09

        cashews was referring to his prior ebay sales. If you look at his listings prior to the BBQ Sunday, he was selling concerts tickets.

        I like to think of him as the unofficial applianceonline ebay store, lol.

        I personally think that he is a smart man, different to a hero. The ability to research and identify the needs of the community and then find a supplier. This was well planned in advance. He would have known the number of BBQs appliance online could supply.
        The only problems were the unforeseeable issues after the sale (i.e. paypal locking his account, ppl not reading his emails and then submitting paypal disputes.)

    • ChickenTalon on 19/09/2014 - 17:03
      +4

      ticket scalper

      not even close. It's not like he went out and hoarded all the BBQs so that others couldn't get them, then sold them at an inflated price because there was no other option.

      He leveraged the ebay sale to dropship BBQs so that buyers could get them for a cheap price. He filled the void left by the slow moving retailers, took a big risk and a fairly modest profit (in the scheme of things).

      Tom is a hero in my book

      • eddypiper on 20/09/2014 - 05:17
        +2

        Not trying to be difficult, but every single comment you make is EXCESSIVELY in support of Tom. Is that you Tom? ;)

        You refer to him as a 'hero' and a 'champion', do you have a secret man crush on him? LOL

        It's not like he saved a person from death or found a cure for cancer. Calling him a hero is going a bit too far. Just saying…

        Respect for taking on the venture, if I had the need, I may have done the same thing.

        • [Deactivated] on 20/09/2014 - 20:36
          +3

          I'm in support of him too. Possibly excessively so, as well. I'm definitely not Tom. I doubt ChickenTalon is either :P I think Chicken, myself, and anyone else in support of Tom is just really really happy that someone managed to stick it to eBay in the way that he did and get such a nice profit out of a promo.

        • NosDan on 20/09/2014 - 20:42
          +5

          I'm in support of him too. Possibly excessively so, as well. I'm definitely not Tom

          i call shenanigans

          not only are you tom, but your also secretly chicken as well as anyone else in support of tom. this has just been as well thought out and played out strategy for years hedging your bets that one day…. ebay would have a 50% off bbq sale that you could cash in on to the tune of $30k but make out that your really not all these fake identities

          well played turnip… well played..

          :P

        • ChickenTalon on 21/09/2014 - 05:59
          +4

          It's not like he saved a person from death or found a cure for cancer. Calling him a hero is going a bit too far. Just saying…

          Thousands now enjoying their weber bbqs. Who otherwise wouldn't. That's up there.

  • nikey2k27 on 21/09/2014 - 20:46
    +1

    top guy i got mine today very happy.

  • Daniel Plainview on 25/09/2014 - 11:37
    +8

    Hmm well I contrast what this guy did - which seems completely within the rules and common sense standards of conduct set down by Ebay.

    And then you have the big retailer The Good Guys, who is WIDELY reported by OzB members as having jacked their prices up on a whole range of products in advance of a 20% off promo they're having through their Ebay store on this weekend.

    Now it seems Ebay came down very hard on 'Tom' essentially for what I can only see is outsmarting them - and yet I suspect TGG will get off scotfree in doing something which could actually be against Australian Consumer Law.

    Seems a tad unfair and duplicitious.

  • AppliancesOnline.co… on 26/09/2014 - 10:53
    +17

    Hi all,

    My name is Lucas Ng and I look after customer acquisition at AppliancesOnline.
    I (and many of my colleagues) have been monitoring this and the other threads regarding Tom, eBay and Weber BBQs.

    Our main objective in this saga was to ensure customers were not disappointed and got the BBQs that you ordered via an eBay promotion.

    There are many details that have not been shared by Tom, eBay/PayPal or AppliancesOnline but you can take it from me that it was a mini-Game-of-Thrones-esque epic unfolding behind the scenes. We took this unique case as a challenge to providing legendary service and we are glad there has been a happy ending for the majority of buyers. There was a supreme level of effort required to get Weber, eBay and PayPal aboard and I have to repeat that not disappointing Tom's customers was our #1 goal.

    Taking nothing away from Tom and his entrepreneurial spirit, this type of order is not something Appliances Online normally condones.

    Let me know if you have any other questions related to this and I (or some of my colleagues) will try to answer you.

    FYI: these are my personal thoughts and not necessarily reflective of AppliancesOnline. I'm using this account so you know I'm an employee of AppliancesOnline.

    LN

    • NosDan on 26/09/2014 - 12:31
      +3

      this type of order is not something Appliances Online normally condones.

      what exactly about it do you not condone? by making that statement you sound like your calling out dodgy behaviour (on face value it looks like your calling out tom)?

      is it simply the size of the order tom made with you? do the rules change if its a single sale on ebay versus 2 or 200?

      • AppliancesOnline.co… on 26/09/2014 - 12:55
        +16

        It's not simply the size of the order. The main concern was disappointing our potential customers by not being able to fulfil orders.

        We have built our reputation on providing amazing customer service.

        Tom used our name and brand in good faith because he felt like we would be able to fulfil the orders.

        However, this was not and will not always be true - for example, we did not have 500 Webers ready to ship out from the right warehouses in each state. A lot of legwork was done with Weber to get the BBQs in place. Secondly, some suppliers do not want us to be selling on eBay. So not only did this deal have the potential to disappoint customers, it also could have seriously hurt our relationship with Weber.

        So to answer your question, it does sound like we're calling out Tom, but mostly from the perspective that Tom used our brand name without consulting us beforehand. That had the potential for a huge customer backlash which is why we don't condone someone doing this in the future without prior consent.

        LN

        • Daniel Plainview on 26/09/2014 - 14:56
          +5

          IMHO completely fair and logical.

          I don't pretend to know the in's and out's of this whole saga but I think AO's rep should be given a bit of credit for taking the time to post in this forum and also for being so honest and direct.

          I don't know if there really is a true villain in this whole matter but if it is I don not feel it's A.O but rather Ebay for a very poorly run and administered promotion.

          Which as stated they seem to want to perpetuate by letting The Good Guys laud a 20% off sale but prior to this jack a lot of their prices up across the board. Ebay are certainly privy to this practice and should be policing their vendors far better.

        • Spizz on 27/09/2014 - 09:30
          +3

          @Nikko:

          Agree with your comments. However I would find it hard to believe that Weber Australia would of turned away, or would of been upset with over $200,000 worth of sales (less AppliancesOnline profit margin for said BBQ's) for over 500 BBQs that they would not have potentially sold under normal circumstances during the year (e.g. if there wasn't that amount of discount offered on their product).

        • Daniel Plainview on 28/09/2014 - 06:48
          +2

          @Spizz:

          This is the same Weber that has a modified product through a range of dealers that they provide ONLY on the basis that they never discount the price on them.

          Weber has such a strong brand presence in their field (BBQs) that its absolutely certain they were far from elated at seeing so many of their products sold at heavily discounted prices.

          Saying it was sales they'd otherwise not have had is untrue as its all but certain many of those buyers would have eventually bought a Weber at an authorised dealer and at far closer to RRP.

          Equating it to turnover/sales they'd have otherwise not had is a gross over simplification as the most valuable thng Weber has is not its design but its brand reputation - and mass seling off like this pisses off authorised dealers, existing customers and folks who miss the sale and can only pay RRP via a normal sales outlet.

          If it were otherwise you'd see 'stock clearance sales' at Gucci, Mercedes-Benz and Cartier - but they don't as anything like this is very damaging to a brand. And that for an established manufacturer is absolutely critical.

        • matt_will_fix_it on 28/09/2014 - 07:52
          +1

          @Nikko:

          Saying it was sales they'd otherwise not have had is untrue as its all but certain many of those buyers would have eventually bought a Weber at an authorised dealer and at far closer to RRP.

          Why does it matter? Appliances Online/Weber still received the full payment.

        • matt_will_fix_it on 28/09/2014 - 07:57

          @Nikko:

          This is the same Weber that has a modified product through a range of dealers that they provide ONLY on the basis that they never discount the price on them.

          Do you have evidence of this? If so that's resale price fixing and is strictly illegal and please report it to the ACCC. Companies can not enforce a minimum price to sell at

          See below for the details
          https://www.accc.gov.au/business/anti-competitive-behaviour/…

          And here is an example of a company that was prosecuted
          https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/highest-ever-penalty-f…

        • Daniel Plainview on 28/09/2014 - 08:51
          +1

          @matt_will_fix_it:

          With all due respect I'm really not here to play heresay games - it's very well known in the BBQ community that a small number of dealers get Weber's enhanced models but to get this they always sell at the RRP. BIG DIFFERENCE between this practice and breaking law and then there's always the difference bwteen breaking a law and proving it in court. ACCC can't even prosecute a single petrol co for price gouging so you think Weber would be something that interests them? No. :-)

          Again with all due respect if you ask why does it matter that Weber sold hundreds of their products at very discount prices you're not familiar with the challenges that an established brand has in protecting its brand/product/dealers/customer base.

          A.O did well out of this and they were the ones that got sales they'd otherwise not have gotten, Weber definitely got some sales they'd not otherwise have gotten (as there'd be a % of people that wouldn't normally fork out the $ for a Weber) but really as a premium product in their segment they do not want/need to have these buyers as they're already a class leading product.

          Is hard to explain but from a marketing/brand perspective I can assure you Weber would definitely have rathered this didn't happen. A.O/Ebay sure would have not rather had the hassle but profitable business is good business for them - much different when it's your class leading product being sold at very low prices pissing off all and sundry of your stakeholders.

        • Spizz on 28/09/2014 - 21:07

          @matt_will_fix_it:

          Exactly. Beat me to it.

        • andyken on 07/10/2014 - 10:08

          @AppliancesOnline.com.au : i like game of thrones, can you please share us more of what happen behind the scenes :), maybe the story will be in hollywood one day

        • [Deactivated] on 08/10/2014 - 20:53
          +1

          @Nikko:
          Know what else is damaging to a brand ?
          Superseded stock on a retail front.
          There is a reason clearance stores exist for many premium brand names in places like DFO.

  • captain smash on 06/10/2014 - 21:02
    +2

    This is the greatest triumph of man in the history of the internet shopping

    'STRAYA 1 eBAY 0

  • berger on 07/10/2014 - 08:07

    to maintain a feedback of over 90% positive is good. half the negative comments were impatient buyers, and clone accounts.

  • The Champagne Mile on 06/11/2015 - 11:52

    Well it doesn't appear Ebay ever banned him. His account is still active.

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