So last week I e-mail gulfcoastgoodies4u in regards to this auction:

http://cgi.ebay.com/3dfx-Voodoo5-5500-64MB-AGP-VIDEO-CARD-NO-DOA_W0QQitemZ5235800943QQcategoryZ40157QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Asking for better pictures.

http://i9.ebayimg.com/04/i/04/a5/30/ff_1_b.JPG
http://i13.ebayimg.com/03/i/04/ae/b7/e6_1_b.JPG
http://i23.ebayimg.com/01/i/04/b6/a0/e4_1_b.JPG

So they send me the same blurry crap that is posted in the auction!

So I e-mail them back, "Sorry, pictures are not sharp enough to make out any details."


So then I get the following e-mail today:

"Are you running windows XP or 98SE  ??  That card worked super great on my husbands computer with XP 32 Bit colors. He reinstalled it in  his newer computer with a Gigabyte PRO 400 motherboard which supports 8X and it worked great. That video card supports 1x,2x

I've tried to research your email to find out which video card you have and what auction you won??"

I e-mail them back-

"The card will burn up in about 3-6 weeks if run on an AGP x 8 motherboard."

Which they respond:

What auction did you bid on??


I respond-

" I was inquiring about an item you had for sale on Ebay, for some reason you sent the fuzzy pictures to this address.

Since you didn't send better pictures, I didn't bid on the item.

They responded-

"Apparently your computer coudn't handle a simple jpeg file cause I checked every computer in my house 7 in all the picture were very clear.  Secondly I did run a 4x on a Gigabyte PRO400 Motherboard which could handle 8x for about a month and a half with no problems as did my son with the exact same motherboard.  We didn't have to dial 911 for the local fire department and the gentleman who won the card is very happy with it.Enjoy your day..."

I responded with-

"My computer certainly handle something as simple as a jpg, all one has to do is review the auction pictures you posted to see they are badly out of focus.

BTW- Just how did you manage to cram a 3dfx AGP 1/2x video board into a motherboard that only supports 4/8x video boards?

You are aware that the boards are keyed so it's impossible to for some fool to install a 2x video board into a 4/8x motherboard that doesn't support it right?"

No e-mail since, hehe.

lol, nice one, im thinking my ebay days are over, i seem to find all the cheating low lifes some how >:(

It's a lot of work to find good deals on ebay. If you have the cash, sometimes it's better to buy from a fellow collector here. At least you know who your dealing with.

When I'm unsure about the ebay item, I look at the feedback, and sometimes do my own research. I know that the 1x & 2x AGP cards are slighly different than 4x & 8x agp mobo's. And yea, like you said, it would probably burn up if you can fit it in there.

Sellers on ebay must know their product well, like if it works, if they tested it, model name, basic consumer info. Other stuff like would this work on my pc etc. can be researched on your own most of the time.

Hi Gamma, that looks like a nice pc there, NLX Formactor with a baby at power supply right? I have a Micron PC that looks like that, thou it's 133Mhz pentium 1. Power supplies for those boards and pcs like 1998 Acer Spire model 1812 are hard to find, even on ebay, my Acer requires LPX formfactor case psu and it's not atx, (two 12 pin connectors to mobo).

This incident doesn't change my mind about ebay. As it has many items, some hard to get like voodoo graphics cards.

gdonovan, I did hear something rediculusly funny and yet sad in the news about ebay. Some guy actually sent crap, to people. Opening up a smelly box sounds funny but if it were me I'd be ticked off.

Well, that ebay seller, I don't think he would send you crap, but he does sound new and doesn't know much about the item he's selling.

gdonovan, thanx for the warning. You are good guys here. You, FalconFly and the gang make life better, even for guests who just browse here  :)

wrote on 07.09.05 at 10:02:54:

gdonovan, thanx for the warning. You are good guys here. You, FalconFly and the gang make life better, even for guests who just browse here  :)

Not as much warning as just the whole exchange was somewhat amusing.

I forgot to mention I did a quick google of the motherboard mentioned and it comes up as a PCI-E piece.

oh well it's just some other n00b trying to make big money from people, I normally skip these things, cause the way the items are pressentated allready explains enough.

BTW Good move Gary I would of done the same. 8)

Yeah, some sellers just don't know better, but some don't even bother to re-check what they state in an auction despite being handed better knowledge on a silver plate.

Luckily, those are a minority but one always has to double-check whatever abnormality is found in Auction text.
Nothing is worse than people (seen that myself) selling a "4MB A Model xy" for a "64MB B yz" :P

It would be great to make a fixed topic where we would put down the names of sellers who caused us problems for transactions, mainly for 3dfx stuff, but possibly for all sort of items.
I see some forums doing this and in my opinion, it wouldn't be a waste of time letting know other eBayers and FalconFlyers ( ;D) who to watch out for.

Hum!

:)

Any Ebay admin are abit slacky on users like the one you showed us Gary, they should grab thier minds togeather and give those user a big fat warning,and give true info on what the product really is, because what the bloke shows and say about is item is totally bullcrap right ;)

everyone in the computer world should know that an AGP x2 based Videocard wouldn't work on an AGP x8/4 based slot right ;)

Maybe the pics are the most of all importance afterall.

wrote on 07.09.05 at 13:33:44:

everyone in the computer world should know that an AGP x2 based Videocard wouldn't work on an AGP x8/4 based slot right ;)

There are some motherboards with universal AGP slots but they are few and far between and all out of production as far as I know.

wrote on 07.09.05 at 13:29:47:

It would be great to make a fixed topic where we would put down the names of sellers who caused us problems for transactions, mainly for 3dfx stuff, but possibly for all sort of items. I see some forums doing this and in my opinion, it wouldn't be a waste of time letting know other eBayers and FalconFlyers ( ;D) who to watch out for. Hum! :)

Doing that without bulletproof vests and a set of lawyers ready could turn out to be an extremely expensive error for me.
It's okay for people to report isolated Problems with EBay sellers, but having a fixed, sticky and growing "blacklist" would earlier or later get me in front of a court, so that's not an option.

You're right after all. Like we say: "Non si è mai abbastanza prudenti" (one is never cautious enough).

Sorry!

Joke here in that states- What do you call 1000 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean?

Answer- A good start.