eBay Sellers....?

Trying to pick up a few things for my car (Euro headlights, etc.), and keep running into sellers that don’t seem interested in selling. Is this normal? I used to be pretty active on eBay 10+ years ago (both buying and selling) and never ran into this.

I’m looking at lights that are $600+ and have routinely asked sellers for more pics (half of them are blurry, or don’t show the inside), or more information (numbered specific questions), and I get half or no answers back, or just lazy replies like “item condition is reflected in the price. Better is more money” ???.. One guy sent me additional photos that didn’t even match the item for sale (was clearly a different set). I called him on it to clarify, and he just told me to phone him.

WTF?

R

Some people are just slummy sellers. I’ve never had someone not sell me something, but usually once they list something that’s it. A lot of these guys probably have warehouses of crap they are listing on ebay and until they actually go look for it, they won’t respond.

With that said, I’ve listed stuff for sale on ebay/Craigslist and sometimes you get people so OCD about something and then not be interested because the stickers are scuffed.

Maybe I expect too much when I spend $600+ and want to know what the actual item looks like. These are all “Top Sellers”, but I do get the impression they just have tons of crap to unload and don’t mind waiting until that one sucker comes along to buy without asking any questions, just constantly relisting until they do.

grrrr. Really want those lights.

R

I buy vintage bike parts. If a seller cannot accommodate a simple request like more/better pictures or answer simple questions about the item, I will avoid them as I can only assume they are hiding something.

ebay gives all of the power to the buyer, you can return anything for any reason, but you will still be out the cost of shipping and the hassle of returning something.

If you have not done so already, I would recommend expanding your search worldwide. 95% of my ebay purchases come from Italy. I can imagine they have more of your headlights on German ebay (ebay.de).

Hi Richard,

I’ll happily offer you my assistance in getting some vintage parts for your Benz directly
from Germany. Concerning the “Hauptscheinwerfer” for your W114 I do not see any
pair of NOS examples on sale:

I would not buy any of the offerings sight unseen. Have you already talked to Mercedes Benz
classic? I’d bet they still stock those, but I am uncertain if they are reproductions.

mo-i

P.S.: Are these DIN Reflectors even legal in Canada? Those are not “sealed beam” units…

Thanks. Think I got it sorted, through a bit of Google Translate and him understanding enough english to reply. It’s not the fogs I’m looking for but the “Scheinwerfer”…

The language thing is less of an issue compared to trying to figure out all differences between early/late models (some are flat, some curved), different lamps (H4 vs. Bilux, vs. H2), and if there are compatibility issues with different parts from different bands (Hella/BOSCH), not to mention what wiring is needed. Seems every one I see has a different configuration.

I’m sure MB Classic can get them, but they probably cost a fortune new, and wouldn’t really help my I don’t think in the US-Euro conversion. Worth a call maybe though. Will give it a longshot.

Anyhow, if I do need your assistance I will certainly reach out!


R

PS. As far as I know the Euro headlights are OK in Canada. My old 69 W114 car was Euro. I don’t know how anyone would even know. Safety inspections just require you have functioning headlights. And I don’t need a safety again until I sell it.

Well, having all this variation in parts during a fairly short production run did puzzle me also.
Their controlling might have been a little bit inferior to engineering at the time…

Feel free to give me a PM if you need something from this side of the pond.

mo-i

Richard: I agree that ebay has changed. So has the internet. It used to be a place for enthusiasts and now it’s a place for everyone.