G.B. auction... fishy?

[pistolero805]

****UPDATE****
I spoke to the gentleman today and he told me he had already sent the light back to surefire. We will keep in contact and see where it goes from there. Hopefully all goes well.
******************

Here's the story.... I won an auction today on gb for a nib surefire x200 and here's the response I got back from the seller:

Hi,
I just took this out of the box and it doesn't work. Looks as if the battery terminals were installed wrong. Rather than ship you a light that doesn't work, let me have my dealer call surefire to see what, if anything can be done.

I am going to gone on the 16 and will return on the first.
I am truely sorry, I'll be in touch. Best Regards, XXXX

Do you think he sold it up from under me?
What would you guys do?
Thanks in advance.

[redneckshootist]

Did you send him any money?

[hawk1]

If you haven't sent any money to him, then where's the problem? I'd rather find out it didn't work before I paid and he shipped.
Besides, it's not the last X200 around.

[sorensen440]

I see no reason to believe the guy wasn't being honest with you
hows his feedback?

[redneckshootist]

wanted to add that if you havent sent money I wouldnt worry about and would think he was legit, and glad hes honest. If you have sent the money I would ask for a refund.

[pistolero805]

Maybe I was just looking too much into to it out of frustration. I know there are many x200's out there but for $150 shipped, I thought it was a good deal. Good thing I didn't order that pressure switch cuz that would have sucked.

Here's another question...
Since I won the auction, can I request that he send it to me in the condition that it is in? I am not interested in leaving negative feedback or anything like that. I am just new to GB so I didn't know how things work over there. Thanks again.

[tlillard23]

calm down.
did you send the money?

[pistolero805]

Calm down? I'm calm, I was never worked up about it. I was dissapointed more than anything. Maybe the "WTF" made it seem that way. I have not sent money or anything. Maybe I should have explained myself better. I just wanted some input before asking him if he does get a replacement from surefire, would he honor the auction. I just didn't want to be out of line by asking him that.

[Black Majik]

I just wanted some input before asking him if he does get a replacement from surefire, would he honor the auction. I just didn't want to be out of line by asking him that.

Sounds reasonable to me. Maybe that was what he was implying by contacting Surefire.

[pistolero805]

Cool thanks. Also, since I most likely wont hear from him until after the 1st of january, is there an expiration or time limit on auctions? Thanks again. I appreciate the help.

[zinfull]

Sounds like you have nothing to worry about. Check the dealers feed back ratings and then decide. Sounds like he is being a good dealer. Why send you something broken and receive back feedback. Only bad is you will not have it for Christmas.

Jerry

[user5412]

If he has good FB, I wouldn't worry about it. Just one thing you should know about GB. They have no power to force the seller to do anything. If the seller screws you, and tells you it, GB won't do anything till s/he has screwed a few more people. (!)

[bones138]

I know someone who would use this kind of excuse on ebay if his product didn't sell for xXx amount. It's a lame way to get out of the deal but it happens.

[hawk1]

Be sure and follow up with him on this.
Thank him for finding the defect before he sent it out. Let him know you expect him to follow through with the auction as soon as Surefire replaces the unit.
Be firm but also polite.

[Fate]

If it weren't for the fact that you DID get a screaming deal, I'd agree with everyone that he's just being a good seller. The winning bid price would give me pause to accept any "story" that would end with product not being shipped. In that case, I'd seriously think about leaving negative feedback. Though it's a tough one to "prove."

Case in point, I found a screaming deal on a piece of long sought militaria from a seller on another forum I frequent. His price, no haggling, I placed the "I'll take it" and he told me it was mine. Paypal payment. All's a go. At 1 week after it was "shipped via Priority Mail" I inquired the status as it hadn't shown up. Waited another week. Nope. No dice. Still asked to "wait." On week 3, I asked for a refund. Seller said "I guess it got lost in the mail, haha" (still have the PM) Seller still took another week to refund payment (as he had to sell something to put $ back in his PP account), but in the end I wasn't out anything except time and frustration. Was it sold out from under me or pulled back because someone offered more? Hard to prove. However, another member there posted positive feedback for the seller two weeks into my wait. The unusual thing is that the seller had not had anything other than "my" item for sale in months. Didn't leave negative feedback, because I couldn't prove much...but I will tell my story to friends and potential buyers of this guy's items.