The Curta.org Bulletin Board

[Graham Nash]

This is my third post to the discussion board, and it takes the form of a cautionary note.

Regarding Curtas on ebay .... be very certain of what you are getting before you part with your money.

Well over a month ago I purchased a misrepresented item.
thereafter followed a chain of very unsatisfactory email exchanges with the seller. Many photos were sent, many detailed explanations were sent, and links to relevant info on the web were sent .... these were all met with very evasive responses, polite at first ... but not for long.

Eventually I came to the conclusion that the seller was just burning up time...... There is a finite period in which you can leave feedback, and more pointedly there is also a time limited period during which you can actually mount an official action on ebay. Be aware of this.

Regrettably this dispute did become official.
More regrettably there is a bunch of things you need to be aware of BEFORE you initiate an action, that you don't find out until you have.

It turns out that Curtas fall into the high value claims category, therefore you are required to provide ebay with an appraisal of the item by "a qualified, authorised dealer" .... not an email ... an actual document.
They also request that this is provided in a very short period of time.

If you don't happen to live just down the road from the handful of people on the planet that actually offer Curta repair services this is going to be rather difficult.

If you live in Australia you will find that you are pretty much screwed.

So the moral is "caveat emptor" (buyer beware) .... always.
Don't necessarily trust glowing appraisals made by ebay sellers. If you have any doubt about anything ASK.

AND if you think that you are headed for a dispute .... get official supporting documentation organised before you initiate anything, otherwise it may not turn out well.
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Lost on the far side of the world, where Curtas are seldom seen.

[murff]

Sorry to hear your bad story...
The risk is part of the game - but it's annoying to have the bad experience to get a non working Curta - even if it was described as "pristine". I had the luck in the past to receive always Curtas as described. But I also have the situation that not all of them are working - and my Curta repair service is no longer in business, it seems... (the possibilities get rarer the next years to find someone with the Curta repair skills - not only in Australia).

Maybe it would useful that you post the sellers name here in the forum - maybe this will help to avoid a similar story.
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:: m u r f f
:: curta.li

[Pete]

Graham, sorry to hear of your trouble. But I'm not sure the seller in this case can go after you for defamation or something, and if it's someone who sells a lot of Curtas like the Frenchman ("VERY GOOD STATE" guy) it would be useful to flag him for other purchasers - some of us are still buyers.

Bloody frustrating. eBay is a great tool but it sounds like this seller knew you would end up getting the shaft if he slow-played the complaint, which smacks of dishonesty to me. Folks like him maybe don't deserve the same respectful treatment you might give other honest vendors.
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Cheers, Pete