Buyer Beware

[CORiverRat]

I just want to throw a warning out for anyone looking to buy a surfboard, especially if you're looking on ebay. Beware of a seller named electro39; business name is Sugio Alliance Group Ltd. I ordered a new board from this seller on ebay and, to start, he didn't even ship it in a box. It was wrapped in bubble wrap & packaging paper. It arrived with 5 core shots in it, and was missing a fin. For the past 2 months the seller has promised me I would be taken care of; he told me he would take care of everything & to just let him handle it all, claimed he would eat the cost if he had to, & now that I finally ran out of patience and demanded a refund, he is making me pay again to ship the board back to him before he will refund any of my money. This, after I already paid for shipping with full insurance. Why didn't the shipping company pay for it? No idea, because the seller never told me what the resolution was with his shipping company, he claims he could never get anyone to return his phone calls...maybe they gave him a refund and he decided to keep it, who knows! I'm still not done fighting this, will be trying to make my own claim with his shipping company, and am also seeking help from law enforcement. What was supposed to be the start of a very fun whitewater SUP season has turned into a nightmare of an unpaid part time job. My point is, be very careful when buying online or from this seller in particular! If you do buy on ebay & end up getting a damaged board, file a claim on ebay the day it arrives. Don't make the same mistake I did of trusting the seller to take care of you!

[tony g]

Ebay has a great buyer and seller protection programs that benefit both parties, but you must keep ebay customer service informed. I would contact ebay and tell them everything that has happened and they can go to bat for you. If you still have the original shipping label you can also contact the shipper directly with the shipping # and try to get info from them. Good luck!

[CORiverRat]

Yeah, unfortunately I was an ignorant buyer thinking the seller was taking care of everything, and didn't contact Ebay until it was about 4 days too late. Though, it seems leaving negative feedback can go a long way. So many things learned from this about how to protect yourself! I don't want other people to fall in the same hole I did.

[tony g]

Thanks for the heads up! Hopefully the seller, or shipping company will compensate you for the damage.