Don't buy from Ebay Seller ThinkpadWorld

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visio · #1 Post by **visio** » Thu May 10, 2007 2:17 pm

(I hope this is not in the wrong forum. I figured this would be the best spot but feel free to move it if deemed necessary)

The ebay seller ThinkpadWorld is a crooked lier:
http://myworld.ebay.com/thinkpadworld/

I bought a laptop from him almost 6 weeks ago. In his auctions he makes it sound like he has them in stock when in reality he doesn't. This is against Ebays terms. I CONTACTED HIM over a week after ordering, having not heard a word from him. I specifically asked him to send me an email when it was shipped OR if there were any problems. He never did. Instead when I emailed him he finally replied and told me to call him.

DON'T EVER CALL AN EBAY MEMBER IF THEY ASK YOU TO. IT IS JUST A WAY TO MAKE SURE THERE IS NO WRITTEN AGREEMENTS OR ANYTHING THAT CAN BE HELD AGAINST THEM. ALWAYS MAKE THEM EMAIL YOU SO YOU GOT PROOF OF WHAT THEY SAID.

I called him and he said that IBM lost the order(I contacted IBM and they said "nearly impossible") and that I could have this other one, down-grade, pay the same but get a lower spec machine. I said no way, you got higher spec laptops give me one of them if you don't got what I ordered. He wouldn't, but all of the sudden he found one so he said he would send it out right away(within 2 days). I foolishly agreed.

A whole nother week later I called back to see where it was. The little twit told me "ohh yeah I think we shipped that out the other day"(which would have been a week later than he said. CAN ANYONE SPELL LIER?) - They finally asked a chicken(*sarcasm*) and it said that it had already been shipped

By this time I was totally sick of his lying, he said it had been shipped twice now and it hadn't, twice he said he had something and twice he didn't. So i said NO! I said give me my money back and we will forget it. You have taken me for a ride and I am sick of it.

He denied the request for a refund and said the laptop had already been shipped. So we contacted our CC company(went through paypal)

The next day we get the laptop. It was OVERNIGHTED(we didn't pay for that. We paid for standard) THAT NIGHT AFTER he said it was shipped. Just another outright lie. The CC/Paypal told us to refuse it because of what he has put us through so we did, he got it back and he still has our money.

To make a long story short we never got anything after 6 weeks we still haven't got merchandise or money.

If you have purchased a laptop from him, keep bugging your CC company till they give you your money. Give him bad feedback and DON'T mutually withdraw. Contact Ebay and submit a claim so they will start an investigation. Ebay said they would deal with it, and the more claims the sooner.

So don't buy from him. Tell alll your friends. I probably never will buy a computer off ebay again, I will pay the extra couple hundred and get it direct from Thinkpad.

I'm not here to bash the guy. I am here to review his service so that others can be warned.

After reading his feedback and going to other thinkpad forums I hear he buys laptop bodies and sticks old parts in them and sends them as new. I can't say this is true because I don't know however his feedback pretty much condemns him. I wish I had read it first but I assumed 6 years on ebay, thousands of good feedback and silver powerseller meant something.:rolleyes:

ThinkpadWorld is definitely not a place to put your money. If you want head-ache want to donate to crooks and don't want anything in return buy one of his laptops. His support even sucks and will call you names if you ask too many questions or if you confront them on their lies.

Moderator edit: Move to Off Topic from General TP News. Also, there are other threads about this seller already.

Note from Admin: Locking duplicate thread.

#2 Post by **carbon_unit** » Thu May 10, 2007 4:33 pm

visio wrote: CAN ANYONE SPELL LIER?)

?? Can you? ?? Make sure you are spelling it right before you ask that question. Google is your friend.

#3 Post by **Kyocera** » Thu May 10, 2007 4:53 pm

There have been mixed reviews in the past on Thinkpadworld, did you check this forum (there are some post's maybe quite a ways back but I remember specifically reading some from last year) for post's referencing them or check anywhere prior to making this purchase?

#4 Post by **ryengineer** » Thu May 10, 2007 6:59 pm

visio wrote:So don't buy from him. Tell alll your friends. I probably never will buy a computer off ebay again, I will pay the extra couple hundred and get it direct from Thinkpad.

I never buy new laptops from ebay, if you are spending your big bucks then why not opt for buying something offered by Lenovo by spending a few more hundred dollars difference, if not equal?

I hope you get your money back.

#5 Post by **carbon_unit** » Thu May 10, 2007 7:11 pm

Seriously, I hope you get your money back too. But the next time you need to vent, check your spelling.

Temetka · #6 Post by **Temetka** » Thu May 10, 2007 8:47 pm

About 4 months or so I a bought the laptop that is in my sig from him. I received the unit in near pristine condition less than 1 week after sending my payment. IBM confirmed my warranty status.

Problems:

Instead of the 60GB 7200RPM drive I had *paid* for, I received a 40GB 5400RPM drive. It took a few weeks, a couple of calls and e-mail but finally he got IBM credit to send me the correct drive. I shipped IBM back the old drive (in a pre-paid DHL box, nice!) and all was good.

The browser forward key was flaky, but IBM overnighted me a new keyboard.

All in all I would rate my personal experience as satisfactory with caveats. Although I did have a problem at first, the seller did rectify the problem. Although I wouldn't buy from him again, I did leave positive feedback.

tueurkate · #7 Post by **tueurkate** » Mon May 12, 2008 1:44 pm

I'm also having a lot of problems with this seller.

I bought an X41 Tablet from them in October '06. In February '08, I started having problems with the thing freezing on me. After installing different operating systems and having the problem persist, I was sure it was a hardware problem. No matter, it had a 3 year warranty. This is exactly what the auction stated. This, however, was back in the day before they some customers became angry with being lied to and they now specify that it is actually a warranty with Mack. I'd never heard of Mack until this little nightmare...

Feb 11 - Kate: Hi, I bought a Thinkpad X41 tablet from you in October 2006. I need to use the 3 year warranty and before I called IBM I decided to check the status of the warranty online. It says that the warranty ended in August 2006.
Feb 11 - Ken: Not sure how we advertised since the order is too old, but most of our items are sold with Mack 3 year warranty, not IBM. What is the ebay item number, your full name, phone number and address?
Feb 11 - Kate: *****
Feb 11 - Ken: Since it is too old, we are unable to see the description of that item, anymore. Do you have an invoice from us? Invoice number?
Feb 11 - Kate: The only invoice I have simply refers to the ebay item number. Would you like me to describe the item? If it helps, the product type is 1866-6GU and the serial number is *******.
Feb 12 - Gibril: Hi It is under Mackcam warranty We will register it and email you to information Thank you
Feb 12 - Ken: Although we can't see the item description anymore, we were able to find your invoice in our records. According to our records, Mack warranty was shipped with the item and you were supposed to register with them when you receive it. You may contact our technician if you have some technical issue, but I don't think you can register Mack warranty anymore since it is too old. Sorry.
Feb 12 - Kate: I don't understand what you mean. All that I received was something that said if I had any problems that I was to call IBM Global Financing. I called them and they told me that it must be some external warranty.
Feb 12 - Kate: Hey, I received a message from someone else with conflicting information about this warranty. Are you registering it? The other person said I need to register it, but I don't actually have something to register and I never did. I don't know what he is talking about.
Feb 12 - Kate: I'm guessing you won't read my previous message until tomorrow, so here is some more information that might help speed things up: The contents of the shipment were as follows: X41 tablet, 8 cell battery, adapter, power cable, digitizer pen, RJ45 cable, phone cable, Lotus Smart Suite, setup guide pamphlet, service guide book, 4 papers (attached find scans of each). My understanding was that the item on the packing list entitled "Disclaimer of Warranties" was referring to the slip that mentions IBM Global Financing and the indication that they were to be contacted in case of problems, which I did, and they referred me back to you. Thanks, Kate
Feb 13 - Gibril: Hi Sorry about the confusion but after I send the response I find that the Mack warranty was send and that it is to late Sorry about it Thank You
Feb 13 - Gibril: Hi The Mack-cam warranty is different for the attachment it is a registration card we send it with the packing Thanks
Feb 13 - Kate: I didn't receive a card. Everything that I received is also listed on the packing slip.
Feb 13 - Gibril: Hi Try to contact our technician John at *** *** **** For help if you have technical issue Thank you
Feb 13 - Kate: I was supposed to hear back from someone today, but I did not. Here is some more information in the meantime. I have reproduced an error that I saw previously when attempting to boot the laptop: <error message>. Do I just need to change some settings in the BIOS to resolve this? Thanks, Kate
Feb 13 - Kate: I ran PC Doctor 5 and all of the tests pass except for the test on video memory. The computer freezes during this test.

After some more phone discussions, they agreed to fix it themselves. I shipped the laptop via Fedex International Priority on February 19th and it arrived February 22nd.

Mar 2 - Kate: Hi, I was just wondering how the laptop repair was going and when I might expect to get it back. Thanks, Kate
Mar 3 - Gibril: Hi We will find out we the tech guy and let you know Thank You
Mar 12 - Kate: Hi, I was wondering if you spoke with the tech guy yet. Thanks, Kate
Mar 15 - Kate: Hi Gibril, I sent a message a few days ago with no response. I was wondering if my laptop has been repaired yet or when I might expect it to be repaired. Thanks, Kate
Mar 17 - Gibril: Hi Our technician is waiting to receive the replacement part Thank You
Apr 7 - Kate: Hi, I was wondering if the replacement part arrived yet. If not, how long will it take to arrive? Thanks, Kate
Apr 8 - Gibril: Hi As per John we didn't receive it yet He will check again tomorrow after we receive our shipment Thank You
May 3 - Kate: I have a new address. When my laptop is fixed, could you please mail it to: *** Have you received the motherboard yet? Thanks, Kate
May 5 - Kate: I sent the laptop over two months ago. Why is it taking so long to receive the part? Where has it been ordered from and when was it shipped from there? Thanks, Kate

A week has passed and still no response. I'm starting to think I've lost my laptop. Does anyone have any suggestions?

tueurkate · #8 Post by **tueurkate** » Wed May 14, 2008 6:25 am

unlocked (Thanks Bill), bump

ajkula66 · #9 Post by **ajkula66** » Wed May 14, 2008 7:16 am

Have your attorney call them. Seriously. And then follow up with a certified letter if this doesn't get resolved within a week.

The best of luck in dealing with these....

tueurkate · #10 Post by **tueurkate** » Wed May 14, 2008 8:43 pm

So I got a hold of them. The first guy I spoke to put me on hold for a while, came back, and told me what I'd heard by email, that the part had been ordered and had not yet arrived. I asked him when it was ordered and who it was ordered from. He put me on hold for a while again. He came back and told me that it had been ordered a month and a half ago from their supplier.

"Who is the supplier? Can he order it from somewhere else that has it in stock?"
"... I can't keep going back and forth like this"
"Well, do you have a direct email to the tech guy so I can talk to him? I emailed the general email and haven't heard back in over a month."
"Hold on"

He connects me to the tech guy. I'm not sure why he didn't do this in the first place.

The tech guy proceeds to explain to me that he placed the order with IBM two months ago and that it has been out of stock, but that as soon as it arrived that he would fix my laptop. He also explained that he could not order from somewhere else because then it would only have a 30 day warranty or something of that sort.

I then explained to him that the laptop itself is no longer under warranty (which is why they are fixing it and footing the bill in the first place) and that, as a result, I don't care about getting one part of my laptop placed under warranty. I would rather get my laptop as soon as possible. After a pause he mumbled something about getting back to me tomorrow. I gave him my new number (I've changed addresses and phones since I last spoke to any of them).

I'm more than positive that they simply chose to ignore my email, since they've been in contact with other customers recently. I don't know what they were thinking. IBM has supposedly been out of stock for two months. How long did they think I'd be okay with waiting? It has been gone just shy of three months now. If I hadn't been so insistent, then I would have even gotten them to the point of considering an alternative method. Ridiculous.

I'm hoping that he complies with my request. I'd certainly love to receive my laptop this year.

#11 Post by **underclocker** » Wed May 14, 2008 9:12 pm

YIKES!

1) Marketplace on this forum
2) Lenovo
3) Lenovo outlet
4) IBM Certified Used

*** ONLY IBM/LENOVO WARRANTIES ***

When spending a lot of money on a laptop, you either have to avoid eBay or be an eBay shopping expert with luck.

Definitely have a lawyer send a letter. A trip to small claims court is never welcomed by small businesses.

Good luck.

#12 Post by **BillMorrow** » Sat May 17, 2008 1:37 am

ok, tueurkate here is my suggestion to you..

assuming that you know what the "part" is that they ordered from IBM (?) why not call boulder parts and see what the stock status is..

i find it hard to believe that the part is out of stock for such a long period of time..

and if you do NOT know nthe part number, call thinkpadworld and get it (if they will give it to you) and THEN call and learn if they are liars..

there is a term "time value of money" that also applies to equipment like a thinkpad.. or ANY electronic equipment..
the longer the time it is out of service the more it costs you..
or, there is a "time value of capital equipment" which your thinkpad IS..

its pure crap that they have strung you aolong for so long..

tueurkate · #13 Post by **tueurkate** » Sat May 17, 2008 1:57 am

I found the part number, 39T5521. Who is boulder?

He didn't call me back, as I expected.

May 15 - Kate: Could someone please remind the tech guy that he said he would call me today? Thank you
May 15 - Ken: Sure, we will.
May 16 - Kate: I didn't receive a call yesterday. Could you please remind him again today? Thanks, Kate (xxx)xxx-xxxx
May 16 - Ken: OK, we will.

EDIT: I figured out what boulder is and I think I also figured out why this is taking so long: "Item Price: $2,251.93". The availability says call, but even if it's in stock, there's no way they're going to order it from IBM

#14 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Sat May 17, 2008 8:15 am

Same part (motherboard 39T5521 for X41)
$370.- at http://store.ibmmedic.com/39t5521.html
$370.- at http://www.thinkpadmedic.com/thinkpad_p ... T5521.html
$319.- at http://cgi.ebay.com/39T5521-IBM-ThinkPa ... 0006293217
(whole base incl. CPU + RAM)

tueurkate · #15 Post by **tueurkate** » Sat May 17, 2008 2:12 pm

Yeah, I also found this: http://kaanza.com/shopping/productdetail514859.htm

Which has a warranty. That should ease his supposed concern.

#16 Post by **BillMorrow** » Sat May 17, 2008 6:50 pm

SO!
now you have some ammunition to call them and let them have it.>!
they are not crooks but they seem to come very close..
what they are doing is putting you on "ignore" in hopes that you will go away..

and each passing day costs YOU, not them..

FWIW i really dislike people like that..

i don't answer the telephone anymore since most calls are telemarketers..
most email is spam..
15% of all new forum members are spambots..

so it seems that the crooks, crumbs and creeps destroy anything they think will make them a dime by taking it over..

in the case of thinkpadsworld, you really need to read each "auction" because that factory warranty will turn into what you are experiencing with this so called mack warranty..

you are being abused and there is little that you can do about it..
write a letter to the local BBB and/or ebay..
ebay could not care less but at least it is a step forward..
and adding what will probably be one more complaint at the BBB will do less..

negative feedback will cause YOU a negative feedback and the one you give them will scroll off the page pretty fast..

Vurso · #17 Post by **Vurso** » Sun May 18, 2008 5:35 am

eBay is a minefield at best but there are some genuine sellers on there.

I contacted http://www.hidevolution.com/ from a recommendation on a Subaru Impreza forum.

The seller is called Ted and his communication is one of the best I have experienced on eBay, very informative and always keeping me up to date on my purchase.

The delivery was via FedEx and he did not hesitate to get the tracking information to me, over all a very pleasant experience.

I hope you get this sorted out as I think eBay is a bit of a joke when it comes to protecting the consumer.

Mike Blake · #18 Post by **Mike Blake** » Mon May 19, 2008 3:11 pm

My question: is the eBay vendor going by "ThinkPadWorld" the same
as the website http://www.ThinkPadWorld.com?

tueurkate · #19 Post by **tueurkate** » Mon May 19, 2008 3:22 pm

Mike Blake wrote:My question: is the eBay vendor going by "ThinkPadWorld" the same
as the website http://www.ThinkPadWorld.com?

Yes.

I called the technician again today, successfully, and he told me that the part should be there within a week. This is fantastic news and I hope it actually pans out. However, even if it does, I felt like I was being taken for a ride as it wasn't until I started getting pushy that things just happened to start working out.

I certainly won't be buying from them ever again, but now that they have sorted out the clarity issue of the Mack warranty I could see people having successful purchases through them.

I'm just getting to the point where I'd rather spend a bit more and get quality service and professionalism rather than go for the absolute cheapest deal like I did as a student.

#20 Post by **Kyocera** » Mon May 19, 2008 4:14 pm

I'm just getting to the point where I'd rather spend a bit more and get quality service and professionalism rather than go for the absolute cheapest deal like I did as a student.

This is a good point and really kind of the lesson learned. I've seen a few people get into similar situations buy purchasing based on the lowest price they can find. I recommend buying from folks here who have established themselves or directly from Lenovo.

skitty4gzus · #21 Post by **skitty4gzus** » Mon May 19, 2008 7:05 pm

I know its like beating a dead horse, but the thing to keep in mind is to read and re-read and re-read the auction again. for buyers i would always use paypal because if the item is misrepresented in anyway shape or form paypal really has your back. i have had to use paypal a couple times to get refunds for items misrepresented. and how many times have we rolled up on auctions with less than a minute left and theres not enough time to read the whole auction real well or ask any questions? oh and make all communications through ebay and keep your emails, they will be used in paypal disputes if it goes that far. for this instance it was unfortunately the buyers fault for not really researching this mack warranty very far.

ajkula66 · #22 Post by **ajkula66** » Mon May 19, 2008 7:13 pm

skitty4gzus wrote:

for buyers i would always use paypal because if the item is misrepresented in anyway shape or form paypal really has your back

.

You don't really believe in this, do you???

tueurkate · #23 Post by **tueurkate** » Mon May 19, 2008 8:03 pm

skitty4gzus wrote:for this instance it was unfortunately the buyers fault for not really researching this mack warranty very far.

I don't know if you read everything, but allow me to sum it up for you....

I bought the laptop a few years ago. At this time, Thinkpadworld was still listing their auctions simply as having a 3 year warranty. There was NO explanation about Mack offered at this time. If you look at the new auctions, you will see that they have provided an explanation.

This occurred after numerous complaints about dishonesty or being misleading. Some people still complain that it is misleading with the information being in the fine print, but I think the information provided now is just fine. When I bought my laptop, it was not.

In addition the the auction not mentioning the Mack warranty, I was not sent the Mack warranty card like others were. Even if you had no idea about the Mack warranty when you bought the laptop then, you would sure know when you received the card that this is who the warranty is with.

As a result, I never filled out a card and sent it off, leaving my laptop without a warranty after the first 6 months or so that it was covered by IBM. My understanding at the time was that the *entire* warranty was with IBM, not just the first 6 months, and I had no reason to think otherwise.

#24 Post by **carbon_unit** » Mon May 19, 2008 8:38 pm

skitty4gzus wrote:for buyers i would always use paypal because if the item is misrepresented in anyway shape or form paypal really has your back.

Wow, They have your back? I wish they had mine. I could really use the $415.00 have owed me since Jan 17 2005.

Since then my credit card has had my back when Paypal shrugs their shoulders.

skitty4gzus · #25 Post by **skitty4gzus** » Mon May 19, 2008 9:11 pm

ive had 2 auctions now as me the buyer where paypal refunded me the whole amount after an item was misinterpreted. as a buyer whats a more accepted form of payment thats at least AS safe? I know credit card is about the safest, but not many sellers take direct credit card transaction. to the OP, no slam on your part intended. i think the whole thing stinks. they are taking their sweet time in hopes you go away. the listing was vague on their part, but thats our job as buyers to find out exactly what "warranty" means. im not sure if i would have known the difference either before i ran into this forum, but now i know about warranty and i can't plead ignorance.

Don't buy from Ebay Seller ThinkpadWorld

Don't buy from Ebay Seller ThinkpadWorld

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