Did something dumb today.

[Wlmedley]

I've never heard of a Captiva but I don't get out much .

[Jim_Rogers]

Jim, so how many miles per gallon did you end up getting on this trip?

Average was about 24 miles per gallon. Drove it over 2400 miles
Jim Rogers

[Ljohnsaw]

Little did I know or realize that the gas gauge sending unit was broken.

Back in 1980 or so, I bought a 1968 VW Squareback.  Had to rebuild the engine.  The gas gauge wasn't working (always on empty).  Pulled the unit out and found it was a long nichrome wire with a cork float that would go up and down on the wire making the circuit longer (empty) or shorter (full).  The wire was broken right at the end.  Being a broke college student, I decided to fix it.  I solderer the wire to the connector not really paying attention to the length (made it about 3/8" shorter).  I was driving for a few days to school getting great gas mileage. :  As I passed through a traffic light, it died.  Was able to push it about 50' into a gas station.  Then I realized what I did.  So I re-soldered it right at the end of the wire and it was fairly accurate.

[samandothers]

My 2007 2500 HD Chevy has the opposite issue.  It will show near empty when still 'probably' 1/2 full.  I have become accustomed to 'filling up' a 3/4 ton with 14 gallons or so.

[Don P]

Long tanks in the hills means your gauge is sort of a serving suggestion  :D.

[firefighter ontheside]

I hope I didn't do something dumb.  I found a guy selling a Woodmizer BMS25 sharpener on facebook.  I told him I would buy it.  He shipped it and I bank transferred money.  The more I got into paying him the more it seemed fishy.  I'm not going to go into details, but its just not the way I do business and perhaps he is accustomed to being a younger person.  Hopefully I will know today if he shipped me an $800 brick or actually the sharpener.  So many scams these days and folks with fake names and using trac phones that can't be traced.  I would have just shelled out the money for a new sharpener, but that would take many, many months.

[Old Greenhorn]

I understand your concerns and I really hope this works out. Finally we will get to hear from someone how it works.

[doc henderson]

I have a 2007 chevy HD3500.  I had a "60" gallon tank installed.  It is prob 7 feet long and installs under the bed between the frame rails.  had to adjust the sending unit, but still if I came to a stop going down a hill, the fuel could all run to the front, and stall the engine.  It would take a bit to restart so I know it ran dry.  I also have the Fass fuel system so at least I do not have to raise the hood to prime the stock suction fuel system.  It sucked!   :D  the other issues with it is that when almost full, lots of foam comes up the filler tube.  I can get another 5 gallons in if I am patient, but makes an occasional little mess on the slab frothing over.  so I fill up at 1/4 tank and can get about 35 gallons in at that point.  I think the usable volume is closer to 45 or 50 gallons.  i get about 18 mpg on the highway, and 11 if pulling a 41 foot camper or 24K gooseneck.

[doc henderson]

some prob. remember me stopping on the hill at jeffs at the pig roast, and we pushed/coasted to the bottom flat area by the barn and it started back up.

[Resonator]

I remember that pig roast and hearing about doc's downhill fuel tank... ;D

[firefighter ontheside]

Well, my package now says it will arrive on the 18th.  Of course I'm working OT that day, so I will have to wait til Saturday unless I have Cindy open the box and see whats in there.

[Southside]

I eBay purchased a Milwaukee M18 nailer, purchased being the key word. Inside of the Milwaukee box was an old HF air nailer. Contacted the seller and he pretended that something had happened and he would make it right. After a couple days of nothing I contacted eBay and they actually took care of me. He had to pay to return it, of course I chose the most expensive option and the extra pickup fee. There are some men you just can't reach. 

[Crusarius]

I bought something from geekingn.com that was way to good to be true. I should have known better. they sent my a 20 cent pair of socks instead of a 5' york rake. took quite a while of back and forth to finally get my money refunded they offered to give me 60% of my money back because shipping cost them. I said to bad go after the shipper like everyone else. so finally after a bunch of back and forth they agreed to all my money back

what I have found is there are scams like that all over the place. they are using the scam money to finance the company running and hold on to the funds as long as they possibly can then give them back. since they do give them back they do not get reported and therefore stay under the radar.

beware, if anything looks like to good of a deal it is!!!!

[Magicman]

I have always been quickly "made right" with faulty eBay purchases but Amazon will drag their feet on complaints.  My Cabala's CapitalOne card and PayPal have always stepped up to the plate when I had an issue that seemed to be stalled.  I recently had Amazon to contact me and ask that I contact them with any complaint and gave me their contact information after CapitalOne spanked them.

[WV Sawmiller]

   My experience with Amazon has always been first rate even when it was my fault. Maybe I have just been lucky. I have not used eBay so can't provide any eval on them.

[rusticretreater]

I have never had a problem with Amazon and am a Prime member.  My wife and I should be UltraPrime we order so much from them.   When I need to send something back, I file through the website and they send you an email with a return label.

I have also bought a bunch of stuff on EBay and have had a couple of shenanigans.  The key point is to always use paypal.  

I have an old 11" delta lathe that I was buying accessories for to make it a complete set.  There were 11" and 12" versions of the lathes and the parts looked similar, some were interchangeable.  I told him I had an 11" lathe and the part looked like it was for a 12".  He sent me a picture of the part with a ruler in front of the part at a deceptive angle and asked me what I thought.  I told him it was what I thought, a 12" part.  Then I reported him to EBay.

The other one was when I bought a fuel injector pump for my Kubota BX25.  It was advertised as new and it certainly looked new when I got it.  After installing it and finding that it didn't work(the tractor started but made a racket and had exhaust smoke), I got brave and took it apart.  It had been reassembled incorrectly.  I put it back together and the tractor ran fine.  I decided to keep it as it was working and I was busy. But I did make a report to Ebay.

[firefighter ontheside]

A guy that works for me suggested in the future that if I want to do a purchase like this again I do it thru ebay.  Tell the seller the only way I will purchase it is if he puts it on ebay with buy it now price that we agreed upon and then I promptly buy it.  That way it gets the buyer protection of ebay and easy way to exchange funds.  It will be my policy.

[bigblockyeti]

I hope it shows up and is as described but I know some folks, myself included, wouldn't sell on fleabay for anything.  Too much of a PITA and if a buyer complains about something, they always side with the buyer, it is good for buying stuff though.

[Tom K]

Plus ebay charges a commission fee so in that scenario the seller would have to charge more than the original agreed upon price to be made whole. 

[Magicman]

The great majority of what I order can be found on eBay, cheaper, and with free shipping. 

I very recently ordered a hand pump and fuel filter from Amazon for the Diesel transfer tank that I placed at the farm.   Neither of the items were delivered and it was necessary for me to get CapitalOne involved to settle the claim.  Amazon sent me an email stating that I would be credited within 3-5 days, but I was not credited two weeks later.  CapitalOne immediately credited my account with the cost.  That is when Amazon decided to send me the additional contact information that I mentioned above.

I then ordered both items from eBay for the same cost or cheaper with free shipping which reinforced my resolve to use eBay whenever possible and avoid Amazon.

I am not a seller of anything, only a buyer of what I need.

[Walnut Beast]

Never ran into anything that crazy on EBay that happened to Southside. But I've done it all on there as a seller and buyer. From cheap stuff to expensive stuff. For the most part everything runs smooth. I've seen it all with bids and buyers backing out on items that were several thousand dollars or if you make a offer on a item and it's usually a 48hr one and the seller sells it in that time frame to someone else that's a no no. The buyer protection or seller one is not all what it's cracked up to be. I've been on both ends and it's a process to put a claim in. What gets people moving is they get dinged and could loose privileges to sell. Basically it's 13% EBay takes on their cut if your the seller. It used to be it went to Pay pal and you were paid instantly when seller paid and EBay then sent a statement and charged seller fees now it's a whole different ballgame. They did away with that. And it's all through EBay.  They have your checking account and they take everything out right away. And you wait several days to get paid. They are totally in the drivers seat! 

[firefighter ontheside]

Yeah, I understand it would be a hassle for the buyer.  If he isn't interested then I'm not buying.  I wouldn't do this with someone I know or if I'm going to meet this person for the sale.  I've never tried selling on Ebay, but my guy who works for me used to run a business selling on Ebay.

[firefighter ontheside]

It's official.  I did something dumb.  The blade sharpener was a scam.  Be aware, sawmill accessories are being used as the bait for scammers.  I got an email from the "shipper" saying that I needed to send them $500 for insurance on my shipment before they can complete the delivery.  I will get that money back upon delivery.  

[Crusarius]

hopefully your not out all of your money? 

[firefighter ontheside]

Called my bank as soon as I got the email.  There is nothing I can do.