Has anyone had any issues with ebay seller Macvanderstein?

[jom]

I might not have read all of the posts, but I didn't see anyone defending the seller. If I missed it, please point it out to me. I did, however, see one or more posters pointing opining that if buyers don't know what they're doing, they shouldn't be taking risks. That's very different from defending unethical and/or rude sellers.

 

I'm afraid that I was the one who started that and I now realize my mistake. My apologies for derailing the thread.

 

jom

[GoldFinger1969]

I would think that if you record illegally, whatever "proof" you obtain would amount to "no proof at all".

 

Still better to have than not have; besides, you could always announce mid-way through the call or at the end that you are going to record the phone call from that point.

 

I'd still rather have it than not. And with the phone itself doing the recording, I'm not sure that technically you attached a listening device.

 

Here's the relevant state statutes:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone_recording_laws

 

Twelve states currently require that all parties consent to the recording: California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii (in general a one-party state, but requires two-party consent if the recording device is installed in a private place), Illinois (debated, see next section), Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana (requires notification only), Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Washington. However, three of the above states that permission is given if any of the parties announces that they will be recording the call in a reasonable manner if the recording contains that announcement.

 

One-party consent states

 

All other states (and the District of Columbia) not listed above require only that one party consent. Illinois courts have ruled that "eavesdropping" only applies to conversations that the party otherwise would not have been able to hear, thereby effectively making it a one-party consent state. However, there still appears to be confusion and debate over the law.

 

Michigan courts have ruled that eavesdropping only applies to: "a third party not otherwise involved in the conversation being eavesdropped on." This is because the law uses the wording, "the private discourse of others", rather than the wording, "the private discourse of others or with others". Michigan law is often misinterpreted as requiring the consent of all parties to a conversation. The California Supreme Court has ruled that if a caller in a one-party state records a conversation with someone in California, that one-party state caller is subject to the stricter of the laws and must have consent from all callers (Cf. Kearney v. Salomon Smith Barney Inc., 39 Cal. 4th 95 (2006).

[stldanceartist]

I just thought this was interesting:

 

Today I received a notice from eBay that I lost my Top-Rated Seller status. Since I take pride in my level of service and the quality of my listings, this would at first seem like it doesn't make sense. But someone who either had an axe to grind or was a completely unreasonable person left me two 1 or 2 DSR's during a consignment of toys I listed for a friend. I'm pretty sure it was this lot, because I monitor my feedback. And I'm pretty sure there was nothing I could have done, because NO ONE has sent me a message complaining about the listings I've had, and I take great care to provide excellent photos and descriptions of my listings.

 

Why does this relate to Macvanderstein? Because HE still has Top-Rated Seller status. With 32 neutrals and 19 negatives in the last 12 months, and the customer service we've discussed above, this seller has the volume to overcome seemingly any negative ratings.

 

This happened once before, about two years ago, when I sold even fewer coins there, and ONE person left me a 1 or a 2. That was enough to kill my TRS status (and the 20% discount on FVF that comes with it.) I called eBay, and would you like to know the first thing their CS Supervisor said to me?

 

"Maybe you should provide better service."

 

So, I just want to say this is a great example of why I have started my own website to sell coins. I will still keep my eBay account to cherrypick coins from other sellers, and to sell a few coins that will include a business card directing people to my website. But I already have one foot out the door, because I've done everything a seller could do to provide the most excellent customer service except

 

HAVE LOTS OF MONEY OR PRODUCT.

 

 

 

[GoldFinger1969]

STL, goes to what I said: that creep could be selling tons of inexpensive coins to real buyers or fake buyers, but on the expensive stuff he is playing games.

 

He sells enough stuff for $100 and less so that he can screw people on more expensive items.

 

Ebay isn't perfect and nobody expects them to be, but you'd think they would have someone to deal with this.

[1897 Barber-migration]

http://toolhaus.org/cgi-bin/negs?User=macvanderstein&Dirn=Received+by

[wdrob]

 

Personally...I was raised in a church (although I'm no longer religious) and then went though the military, so I just want people to do what's right and treat me with fairness and respect. eBay failed. Macvanderstein failed. Ron Denis failed to do that.

 

And you failed my friend!

 

After reading how Ben was 'taken' for a ride with this guy I kept my eye out for anything that might be a 43 DDO and if I found it I would send it to him and let him do his stuff. I don't know much about varieties and have very little interest. I just felt bad for him.

 

I found a 43 that was raw and by the looks of the coin to me it might have been a DDO so I bought it for a measly $15.00 plus shipping and when it arrived I took many photos and sent them to Ben and asked if it might be a DDO and if so I would ship it out to him. He was undecided so I said I would send it to him anyway and if it was a DDO then he could do what he wanted with it and reimburse me for the initial cost.

 

If it wasn't a DDO then he could keep it and not worry about returning it. That was back the 29th of January of this year.

 

On February 15th of this year I sent PM asking if he ever received it and if it turned out to be anything. The PM was read but - NO RESPONSE

 

Finally on March 5th of this year I sent him another PM and asked again what he found out. The message was read and still - NO RESPONSE

 

You know; "I just want people to do what's right and treat me with fairness and respect." Not everyone that does something nice for another person has a guilty conscience or is up to something bad.

 

I still hope that you have resolution to your 43 that you won and I actually still hope that the 43 I sent to you was a DDO and you made a killing. But don't play yourself as a 'Boy Scout'. I was treated better by Macvanderstein as he was nice enough to at least respond.

 

 

[TheMightyDuke]

Macvanderstein....WOW, an infamous seller from my past. I, and a few others, was cherrying him on some Washie varieties. These used to bring $300-$400, before the pops starting growing. However, these were being 'picked' for a tad over melt, the avg cost of a plain, ol' BU silver Washie. Seems like he had a roll of them, minimum. He must have caught on, as they were starting to be listed for way more. I have no problem with this. I would do the same if I knew what I was selling had a premium, due to the variety commanding more $$ than a common, non-variety (though, not nearly as valuable as the '43 FS-103), as I'm sure everyone with half a brain would do.

 

My issue was, that not long before he started using a higher startling price (like less than a week), he was listing images of the variety coin (he doesn't use stock photos, and virtually every one that had the variety, from the very first one, his images clearly showed the variety, which I found unusual that he could pick up the variety, obviously by accident, as you do need a loupe to see it...but I digress). I purchased 4 of them prior to his raising the prices (I did get a number of them prior to his realizing he was giving the variety away, and the flips/sticker [his inventory method?] did reflect a normal date/MM, and all the coins purchased were the same coins as imaged).

 

Upon receiving the last 4 (most likely the last ones listed before he discovered/was informed of the variety), they weren't the ones imaged, as was evident by the 'unique' identifying marks on each coin. As anyone who's purchased from him knows, he clearly has his unique way of ID'ing them on the flip. Three of them, it was obvious he peeled (not very successfully) off the label, and put new ones on. BUT, on one, I noticed he had the FS# on the sticker on the back of the flip, and it was crossed out, the staple had been removed from the corner, and wasn't restapled in the exact same spot (the removing/exchanging to the non variety coins was evident on the other three, as well, due to the restapling, and, as stated, the restickering of the labels....don't know why a guy like this would be so cheap as to not just toss the flips and use new flips/stickers, when he's swapping coins). I contacted him (well, tried to), to find out WTH was going on with not receiving the imaged coins I bought. Days later, he said I did get the exact coin that was imaged, and he proceeded to block me from bidding or contacting him immediately following his response. I'll never buy from him again, but as has been said, with the amount of sales he has, and the amount ebay makes off him, one less buyer is certainly not going to be missed. But, I'd NEVER recommend him to anyone.