Am I In the Wrong? Am I a Jerk?

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justinlcecil

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So I was doing my typical ebay search for cool ukuleles and i stumbled upon a vintage banjo ukulele. The seller didn't know anything about his uke. I have owned 2 and restored one of this particular uke. It was a supertone banjolele made by Lange. Thinking I would do the right thing I informed the seller.

Q: "What you have here is a beautiful 1929-30 Supertone Banjo Ukulele made by the William Lange Company for sears and roebuck. The headstock inlay and the decal on the resonator give it away. The only thing it is missing is the paper supertone label on the back of the headstock. The geared tuners will hurt it a little bit but it is in wonderful shape. They are very desired when they have the resonator like yours. If you had the grover champion jr friction tuners it might bring just north of $200. I think you can expect $150-175 as is. Good luck with the sale." May-27-13
A: Thank you!! I am glad for the Information ... Brian

The starting bid for this uke was $100. It sold for $153.50. Keep this in mind.

I get two messages from a bidder that says the following.


"I'm writing to speak out and give you a piece of my mind. This is regarding the auction, "BANJO-UKULELE, may Be AVALON", Ebay item no# 251280193383. I read the comment posted at the bottom of the auction that you felt compelled to send the seller identifying the instrument, commenting on what great shape it was in and how much you thought he could expect to sell it for.
What is it about jerks like you who feel the need to show off their knowledge about an item someone is selling without giving any thought to anyone but yourself. You're like the jerk at a yard sale or garage sale who walks up behind someone about to buy something at a great price and you open up your big mouth and ruin it by telling the seller that what he's selling is worth a lot more than what he's asking for it and everyone within earshot hears you and all of a sudden 5 more people want to pay more for it. I see jerks like you on Ebay who ruin it for potential buyers all the time. -CONTINUED-....

message 2 because he couldn't get it all in one message.

Why can't you just keep it to yourself? You can't stop yourself from notifying the seller and all potential buyers what a great item is available and all you're doing is making it more competitive for everybody which pushes the price up even further. If the seller and many potential buyers don't have this info that you can't keep to yourself then it's more likely that someone can get a good deal. The seller wasn't even aware of it and that happens all the time. So what! He would have been happy just to sell it but you have to put your 2 cents worth in to show how smart you are and push the price up, BIG MOUTH. I'm sick and tired of idiots like you all over Ebay who ruin a potential great deal. KEEP YOUR DAMN COMMENTS TO YOURSELF, MORON! If I ran into you doing that in person I'd spit in your face! Don't waste your time responding and telling me off because you know you're wrong! DAMN JERK!"

His username looked familiar to these forums as well. That made my heart sink a bit. Am I the Jerk here?
 
my response to his message.

"I'm sorry you didn't win the auction. But im not sorry that I helped the seller to determine what they had. I didn't ask the seller to post my message. The uke still brought a little less than it was worth. It in no way benefited me to inform the seller about the uke. I just wanted to help them out. My apologies. Put yourself in the shoes of the seller. Wouldn't you want to know what you own? Keep looking and you will find one for less. Maybe consider a maxitone or one of the cheaper banjo ukes on ebay. I recently bought one with resonator for around $30...granted it was completely covered with paint but I removed it and polished out the brass and replaced the head. It's a beauty. It should be worth around $150 now. Good luck finding yourself a banjolele. They are neat little instruments."
 
My opinion: There is a jerk involved, but it ain't you.
 
You did nothing wrong and I would have and have done the same thing. That guy was a complete idiot!! If he does happen to be a member here then let him speak out but I highly doubt he will unless he wants to expose himself as the one that sent that unbelievable message.
 
I'm actually a bit surprised that this guy was able to see your user ID along with your question. You are right that the seller didn't have to pin the question to the auction, so that really is on them. However, I don't think I've ever seen the user ID attached to a question. I'm wondering how this guy was able to get in contact with you at all. Ebay has made the user ID's of bidders concealed to prevent improper solicitation, and I thought there was also a provision to protect people who ask questions too. Whatever the case, I'm not usually one to raise a stink about things, but if I were you I'd probably report this to ebay. Even if it never gets back to the offender, ebay should be aware that this kind of thing is going on.

-Steve
 
I'm sure that would have broke his bank which caused him to spend so much time sending you that senseless message. It must have made him feel really good about himself.
I kept him from maybe saving $50 on a uke.
 
I was wondering the same thing myself. I checked to see if my username was posted on the question and it wasn't. I reported it to ebay.

I'm actually a bit surprised that this guy was able to see your user ID along with your question. You are right that the seller didn't have to pin the question to the auction, so that really is on them. However, I don't think I've ever seen the user ID attached to a question. I'm wondering how this guy was able to get in contact with you at all. Ebay has made the user ID's of bidders concealed to prevent improper solicitation, and I thought there was also a provision to protect people who ask questions too. Whatever the case, I'm not usually one to raise a stink about things, but if I were you I'd probably report this to ebay. Even if it never gets back to the offender, ebay should be aware that this kind of thing is going on.

-Steve
 
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I just looked at the listing - I see your question, but nowhere do I see a user id associated with it. How could he have found you out, unless he asked the seller and the seller told him?

Even if you kept your mouth shut, and the bidders went on the seller's suggestion, wouldn't an Avalon be worth at least $150 (except for the gawdawful geared pegs they put on it)?
If anything, the seller could be miffed at you that you capped his action.

The person who messaged you is mentally unbalanced and their comment need not cause you another moment's unrest.
 
So sorry to see this happen to you...You say he/she might be a member here...hmmm I am sure he was one of those who buy on ebay and resells them ...a regular...
that was cutting into his profit margin and provoked him...I cannot believe he said such a thing hiding behind a screen....Well I guess he doesn't know you are 6' 4''
and 300 pounds...I'd like to see him spit in you face that high..... you are not wrong my friend, you were just helping inform the seller and the buyers too....
 
Two new messages from him just now.

Edited for language*

"-CONTINUED- I don't want to but one and clean paint off of it. KEEP YOUR F*CKING SELF RIGHTEOUS NOSE OUT OF AN AUCTION THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU. IT'S NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS. IT'S BETWEEN ME & OTHER BIDDERS AND THE SELLER. PERIOD!
PS, I hope I run into you someday at a lawn sale. Let's see how right you are then. I bet you used to get your pip squeek little a*s kicked in school for telling on other kids for not paying attention. FOOL!"

the next message reads

"You stupid hard headed fool. First of all, I never said it benefited you other than you probably did it to make yourself feel important like some sort of authority. You're still a jerk because you believe that you did something positive by helping out the seller but by doing that, you put potential buyers at a disadvantage. Of course I would want to know if something I was selling was valuable but you're too thick to realize that that is not the point. As a seller it's up to me to find these things out and if I don't realize that it's worth a certain amount, and I still want to sell it and it's an open auction, it means that I can accept whatever it sells for. Then a an a*s like you comes along and sticks his nose inside a closed door and gets involved with something that has nothing to do with you. Again, if I saw you do that to me in person, as a potential buyer, the very least I would do is spit in your nerdy face and if you went on talking about not doing anything wrong I'd probably knock you off your feet. Don't you get it now you self righteous a*s?
IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS. IT'S BETWEEN THE SELLER AND POTENTIAL BUYERS. IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN AN AUCTION ITEM ON EBAY AND YOU KNOW IT'S WORTH A CERTAIN AMOUNT, WOULDN'T YOU WANT TO GET IT FOR LESS? YOU KNOW DAMN WELL YOU WOULD. IF YOU GOT IT FOR LESS THAN IT'S WORTH, WOULD YOU CONTACT THE SELLER AND TELL HIM YOU WANT TO PAY MORE? YOU KNOW YOU WOULDN'T. THEN WHY DO YOU THINK IT'S OK TO DO THAT TO SOMEONE ELSE? BY CONTACTING THE SELLER LIKE YOU DID, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE DOING. YOU'RE DOING THAT BY ALERTING EVERY POTENTIAL BUYER WHO DIDN'T KNOW ANY BETTER THAT IT'S WORTH MORE THAN THEY REALIZED WHICH INCREASES THE CHANCES THAT THE BIDDING WILL GO HIGHER. DO YOU UNDERSTAND NOW, YOU SMALL MINDED FOOL?
Don't tell me what instrument to consider other than the one I wanted. I've been collecting banjo ukes for over 35 years you pip squeek little nerdy sh*t. "
 
I suggest you forward the posts you received to Ebay. This is harrassment for sure and Ebay will have something to say. I'm sure they would like to know also how he got your address.

If he does this too you, he does it to others as well. You did the right thing for both the seller and potential buyer.
 
I actually agree with the guy...
...in that I dislike when people do stuff like you did. IMO that kind of communication with a seller is better suited to a forum (like this) and not on ebay. Let the sellers (and buyers for that matter) do their own homework. If they really care, they'll join a forum, make some friends, and ask for assistance...
...otherwise it's just business.
Of course his anger went too far.
 
That person is starting to sound scary crazy! It may be to late for even meds to help his obsessive problem.
 
I typically agree with you as well. But i remember when I came across my first supertone. There was absolutely no information to be found on them and it took me days to figure out what it was. I guess I just assumed he couldnt find anything on it as well. He did do some research based on his description. Oddly enough my first supertone was purchased on ebay and the seller didn't know what he had. I paid $240 for it + shipping. I eventually figured out what it was when I found an archive of old sears and roebuck catalogues =)

I actually agree with the guy...
...in that I dislike when people do stuff like you did. IMO that kind of communication with a seller is better suited to a forum (like this) and not on ebay. Let the sellers (and buyers for that matter) do their own homework. If they really care, they'll join a forum, make some friends, and ask for assistance...
...otherwise it's just business.
Of course his anger went too far.
 
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I suggest you forward the posts you received to Ebay. This is harrassment for sure and Ebay will have something to say. I'm sure they would like to know also how he got your address.

If he does this too you, he does it to others as well. You did the right thing for both the seller and potential buyer.

:agree:

I agree, notify eBay of this person's conduct. It is curious how he found out you sent the message. I can't hardly believed the buyer told him, unless he told the buyer a story to get it.
 
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