As mentioned earlier, the quest for O’riordan whistles is entering the feeding frenzy stage. I bought an o’riordan from a member on this site and it has turned into a nightmare.
We negotiated a price, but he was unable to accept paypal as the ad had said. He was also unwilling to accept a wire transfer.
At that point I should have given up - but when he wrote back and said he’d take American Express travellers checks, I agreed and went to the bank and got a stack - made them out to him - and mailed them off, crossing my fingers. This seller came highly recommended from others who had bought whistles from him on this forum…
A week later I get a pm here that nobody would cash the checks and what was I going to do about it. He insisted I needed to pay him in British Pounds Sterling - and that was all. Did I want the checks back..? I asked him to return them, but I’m thinking my bank might not take them back either. i explained that to him and have not heard from him since.
Anyone live in England willing to go over and give him a $400 kick in the rear?
Now I wait - all the maybes - maybe he’ll send the checks, maybe the bank will take them back - maybe he’ll be a gentleman and send the whilstle anyway (doubtful) - - sigh.
One thought comes immediately to mind: I’d not be buying anything else from this person. If his ad said he’d take Paypal, and then he wouldn’t, that’s not only unethical, it consitutes breach of contract and is against the law.
Ditto on the traveller’s checks: once you say you’ll accept a form of payment, you are obligated to do so.
I am based in the Uk so if there is anything I could do to help Pm me,
It maybe that the seller realised he would have to pay the paypal charges on the transaction which would have only been about $15 dollars, direct bank transfers can be charged to the buyer or seller, I have used this system a lot, if the seller was recommended then I would guess he will honour his side of the bargain, did he say why he could’nt cash the cheques, I have always found my bank will cash Amex travellers cheques with no problem at all.
I doubt it is a breach of contract in British law if his site says he will accept Paypal but he choses not to. However, he IS in breach of contract by agreeing to take travelers cheques and later changes his mind. If he can’t cash them then that is his hard luck as he made a contract to accept them. He should send you the whistle immediately. It is not hard to cash the AE cheques in the UK anyway.
This is really unfortunate to say the least. Can you at least contact American Express and explain what has taken place (perhaps show a copy of the emails you have received) they may be able to stop any cashing of the checks. I know from experience that there are some places that will not accept American Express; however, in England, I’ve used them very frequently, without a lot of problem.
Frankly, it makes me wonder if the individual that you purchased the whistle from actually had a whistle in the first place? It is possible that the next thing that takes place is that the checks will be cashed and still no whistle and no contact with the seller (you know, he/she has the money and you have dead air.) By profession, I’m a law enforcement officer as well as a substance abuse therapist and to me it has all of the earmarks of a classic “bait and switch” deal. For one, I would like to know this individuals name so that I can avoid any dealings with him in the future. Would you send me his name in a PM? Thanks, Don.
It’s not cool of the guy to change his mind, no, but if he can’t cash the checks, he can’t cash the checks, and so the payment isn’t actually completed.
what a d^%##$bag. do not send more money until you see your checks back. i would advise stopping payment, if that is possible with AMEX checks. and definitely do not send more money until you know you can get your checks reissued or worked out with your bank. and then get out. run away.
this is the downfall of buying from people on here----if you get screwed -game over------------no point in getting dale in on this either --he stays out of these affairs----------the only real thing you can do is wait and if no replies BLACKBALL HIM-------------LET EVERYBODY KNOW so we dont get hosed
A lot of buying and selling goes on on the C&F forum, some of it invisible. I can see how Dale wouldn’t want to be involved in remedying the problem, but maybe we could have a new section of the forum for positive and negative feedback on sales. That might help Squeezebox99 because most people won’t want bad reviews posted publicly.
Luckily the negative experiences are the exception. I’ve been very happy with all of the transactions I’ve had on C&F. The other people all seemed to be interesting and generous people, the kind of people it’d be fun to meet them at a whistle gathering.
it could be a small problem --------a buyer could be inexperienced in the instrument and assume it is bad and taint a good name------or just plain be mean------
I will wait until the mail comes on Wednesday, then call AmEx. I have to hope that people are basically good, and that this is a huge misunderstanding. I remain naively optimistic. By midweek next, I’ll be riding my broom.
Still looking for a connection in Hest Bank who can go kick some booty. ooh. did I say that out loud?
If this is in reference to the second whistle of a pair of O’Riordan’s offered for 200 pounds each about a month ago, I bought the other one. There was the same mixup with Paypal payment, but we quickly settled on a bank wire transfer to exchange the money. I was nervous, but I checked, and the poster had been doing business on the C&F for years, so I went ahead and wired the money. Despite being shipped across the Atlantic Ocean, the whistle arrived one week later, and as far as I can tell (speaking as the owner of a number of O’Riordan whistles) is exactly what the seller claimed it was.
So assuming we are talking about the same person, my thought is this is some sort of honest screw up rather than a scam.
I am the said owner of this whistle.All I have wanted to do is sell it.Due to my separation from my wife as I explained our bank accounts have been frozen including Paypal which is why I could not accept payment.
Due to this I offered a £25 discount.Then Travellers Cheques seemed the obvious answer.These however cannot be cashed.
NO payment,no whistle.And as I lost out to selling to 2 people in the UK for my origonal price I am Not too Happy either.
I have NOT changed my mind about anything.I have a whistle for sale BUT I would also like the money for it.!!!
Another excellent option for future notice is to have a bank here do an international check. Many banks will cut you a check in Pound, euros or wampum for about $20.
I am waiting for the checks to be returned. I still think biscuit should have been clearer about the specifics of the sale. Telling me now that I should have left the checks blank isn’t helpful. Saying my bank should have told me to do this is unlikely. I do not inform my bank of my sales dealings, but am certain they would have told me it was a stupid risk to send so much money in travellers checks - through the mail - blank!
Come on.
Take some responsibility at least.
I’m sorry you must be having a tough time right now, but taking it out on me isn’t right.
I only hope the checks come back and I can get my $$ back after all this. I like to believe musicians treat each other like family. I have bought and sold instruments hundreds of times and this is my worst experience.
I should have asked on the forum for suggestions!!
PS I have bought many whistles from Doc Jones - now that’s an upright guy! Still waiting for a used wooden weasel!! I love pvc one. I love the alba too - but I sold it to buy the o’riordan. Kick, kick, kick (the sound of myself kicking me own bum)
do not send more money until you see your checks back. i would advise stopping payment, if that is possible with AMEX checks. and definitely do not send more money until you know you can get your checks reissued or worked out with your bank. and then get out. run away.
right now. I keep my fingers crosed for you! 