I know a lot about old Ford stuff, and probably have pissed off a few dozen sellers on the classifieds by sending them a message that they are mis-representing (wrong year usually) a part for sale. But I feel I should do this so some other HAMBer doesn't buy a wrong part. I have gotten a few STFU messages from those sellers. On the other end, I feel a buyer should know exactly what he is looking for, or be willing to risk the $$ spent. Many guys are selling stuff they have no idea what it came off of. They take a wild guess and type a buzzword in the classified's title. Ding ding! Just sold that "32 Ford 3-window muffler bearing".
Can’t a man just be grumpy without others chiming in? Lol.. it happens, but with opening post like yours, people WILL chime in. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
While building my 40 coupe I purchased a brand new pair of Bob Drake 1940 Ford Coupe window regulators very cheap off of ebay from a private seller. Received and peeked in the box to say "yep they are new" I did not have the old ones to compare them to......fast forward about 10 months or so, went to install and they were for a Tudor, about 3-1/2" too long. Ordered new ones from Drake and sold the Tudor's at the next swap meet for what I paid for them. All ended OK with a minor hick up.
Two ways to do this car stuff. Know what you want, Hunt deals and buy when the deal presents itself. Requires storage space and preparedness to buy and patience for the hunt. Second is to know what you want and buy what you need when you need it. Requires time and cash reserves for rapidly dispersed income. This usually is the 1-800-hotrod build or at least paying more because they have it and you need it now. What they have in common is knowing what you want. Each has their place.
I agree with @Ryan on this point and I have been lucky over the years with vendors for the most part. I am not sure how vendors of new parts in this industry deal with the loss that they often seem to be willing to absorb. Used parts is an entirely different proposition. I have shipped parts that were not in as good a shape as I assumed ( that's on me) but have been lucky enough that the buyer was savvy and let me know right away. If I shipped a part as good and it turned out to be bad a year later I may not have the cash for a refund. Best I can say is if you are dealing with someone like me is check it right away. Or plan on trying to work it out in a different fashion then you would a big vendor.
While I agree the Coker tires may fall into a consumable category. I must say Coker’s Imbalanced tires are not something uncommon. Yes the time element does throw in questions of Improper handling. But if an individual or company want happy customers, just follow Summits values posted on another thread.
I see good points on both sides. If I mislabeled the item, I would take it back but I would not hold any one to the deal if I was the buyer after so long a time period..
I am not one to actually tout a vendor but I have to say that I have been dealing with Summit since the showroom and warehouse were still on Ohio, in the same building. They have always had one of the best return policies in the industry and they will work with you if they need too.
I have a bit of a cynical viewpoint. I'm not throwing accusations at the OP, or anyone else, just outlining a potential variable in the scenario: After 5 months, who's to say that the crack was there when the seller shipped the item. Did the crack happen due to a drop during shipping? Did the buyer accidentally drop the intake after receiving? Was something dropped or piled on top of the intake during the past 5 months? I've bought and sold my share of parts over the years. I've never intentionally mis-represented an item, but if I did, and a refund was asked for during an acceptable time period, I'd certainly do what I could to make it right. But 5 months later, the seller shouldn't be held accountable. It's yours now, you own it. 5 months after you buy a new car, you can't go back to the dealership and tell them it was scratched when you bought it.
As was said, you're not alone. Thankfully, there wasn't a LOT of money involved, and much worse things can happen. You'll find the pedals you need and maybe someone needs the ones you have, etc. and it'll be alright. But I understand...it's not so much the money, but how it affects your "faith in mankind"...and it'll bumb ya out a little sometimes. Maybe it wasn't intentional. And take consolation that there are still some very good people around...even here...lol. Seriously, don't regret posting...it's good to talk among ourselves about this and other aspects of hot rodding...share the burdon and maybe learn something. Happy Holidays, 48fordnut!. And the same to everyone here!
Well I've been guilty of buying stuff when I had the chance for "someday", and recently it bit me as well. Back in the mid 90's I bought a set of inside door rest for my OT car, as I wanted to change the colr. Fast forward 20 years and my kid now drive the car and the never-changed door rests were separating. I told her no problem, I bought a set long ago...I pulled them down from the rafters, opened up the box and found out I was sent two passenger side arm rests. I just laughed. Okay, maybe my example is a bit extreme..
Don't be so hard on yourself...you have no idea how valuable these conversations are to guys like me. Anything I buy site unseen will be inspected as soon as I get my hands on it! And you helped me form this new good habit...so Happy New Year!
I just went through this very thing 2 weeks ago. I sold a fellow Hamber a set of door handles, door tracks( new) , and window tracks( new) for a 40-41 Willys. The window tracks had a set of crimps/dents where the rollers run that I did not see. These were Brand New the way I received them from the manufacturer. We went electric instead of manual and I never even mocked them up. Buyer received them and was upset with the window tracks.- Very Understandable. I felt that I should have caught that . I refunded all of his money plus shipping and paid for shipping everything back to me. I was brought up differently ( I am 50 by the way). My word is all I have at the end of the day. I realize that is out of date by today's modern standards/ morels. But I have been able to finish and build some nice stuff because of this site( because of the money made and the very hard to find parts found). I have never had a bad deal here on the Hamb. And I follow the Golden Rule. As stated earlier- I don't need a contract/ signed piece of paper. I have often said I was a child of the 50'S and got fast farwarded to this time as a cruel joke. 48fordnut no harm done we have all been in that spot. NOTICE something here though- appears even through this discussion- everyone has been respectful. Rare these days- might still be hope
15 or so years ago when I was working on my sunliner I really did not want to drill holes in the pair of NOS front fenders so I looked for a pair of good used,contacted someone out west that dealt with old Ford parts and he said he would get me a pair that had all the correct holes and had no patches welded in. He treated me good on other parts I bought so he said he had a pair of fenders so I payed him good money and had them shipped,I made the mistake of not unwrapping them for about a year thinking he was good on his word but got a suprise when I took them out of the wrapping. One was from a 56 Mainline with no holes for the trim and had to weld two holes for the parking light extension and the other was from a 55 Customline that had the Customline holes sloppily welded up and Fairlane trim holes drilled and it had patches and the 56 fender was completely skimmed with bondo. I did send a email saying I did not like that he did not send what he told me he was going to send and that since it was a year or so that I did not expect him to do anything and was my fault for not checking but said no more purchases from him in the future,the fenders are not that bad and had original metal under the headlights where they usually go around here but the NOS fenders are going on when I paint it and will keep those for a future project.
Mitchell, Only been burned once by a Willys guy...sold hood sides and hood for '36 Willys to a guy near Calgary Alberta (about $600 worth of parts, and a hundred to ship it )from my place to Alberta. There was a part missing which I later found, but would not ship until the $$ were sent...about 5-6 months went by, and I could not reach him by phone as he wouldn't answer when I called. Found a guy in Alberta that knew him, and even he could not get the guy (Tom) to contact me. Its been several years, and I am out the money and the parts...bummer, '36 Willys parts are hard to come by, and I would certainly take them back and even pay the shipping (for the 2nd time) g-willys
I bought a windshield frame with glass at a swap meet when I was gathering parts for my five window. Went to inspect it some time later peeled the large for sale sticker off, low and behold BAD SCRATCHES under the sticker. Rendered the fricken glass useless. Burned
I think that this has happened to most of us. Did to me. Lesson learned. Great thread by the way. Thanks, Snowman
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