Abbath78 scammed me

[lespaul6]

Just wanted to add to this thread that I have experienced two fraud related disputes on Ebay over the last month! After being on ebay with no problems since 1999, times are changing.

The first was a dispute through paypal stating the 4 Celestions I sold were unauthorized transaction on his credit card. I contacted the buyer and he said he never disputed the charge? Paypal was contacted and they eventually returned my money- no explanation given.

Next up.. just sold an amp to a guy in Kentucky.. a few days AFTER the amp was delivered I get a dispute claim, this time through ebay, indicating the "amp never arrived". The ole "package never arrived" thing. I provided the tracking again indicating the package was delivered to the customer per fedex. The guy never emailed me directly ever.. went straight for the ebay dispute channel. Very strange fraud going on these days. The dispute is still open even though ebay told me over the phone that they will be siding with me based on the evidence.

Its really souring any eventual selling that I do.. I dont like the power paypal has to confiscate when anyone can make a claim and the seller has to prove the negative. My selling days are numbered I think. just as well anyway, all the amps I buy make me sound like me anyway. lol

 

[harddriver]

Next up.. just sold an amp to a guy in Kentucky.. a few days AFTER the amp was delivered I get a dispute claim, this time through ebay, indicating the "amp never arrived". The ole "package never arrived" thing. I provided the tracking again indicating the package was delivered to the customer per fedex. The guy never emailed me directly ever.. went straight for the ebay dispute channel. Very strange fraud going on these days. The dispute is still open even though ebay told me over the phone that they will be siding with me based on the evidence.

Its really souring any eventual selling that I do.. I dont like the power paypal has to confiscate when anyone can make a claim and the seller has to prove the negative. My selling days are numbered I think. just as well anyway, all the amps I buy make me sound like me anyway. lol

Sounds like this guy isn't too bright, since he did not ask for a signature required for delivery, it is on him if it gets ripped off from his house once it's delivered unless something has changed policy wise, FedEx won't pay a claim for a stolen package. Ebay or paypal can't possibly expect you(the seller) to cover a situation like this, can they? PP seems to be becoming quite authoritarian as of late. I've also heard they are demanding PP members send them a photocopy of a drivers license and social security card, I wouldn't trust them with that info, it's bad enough they have access to your Bank account.

I think people are just setting the stages with PP with their purchases so they can buy and try used gear and with the 90 days refund period PP is enforcing on sellers is draconian and even longer than Sweetwater's 45 day return policy. I see alot of private sellers leaving the market place if this keeps up.

 

[scottosan]

In 15 years of the speaker business I've had five disputes. Every single one was by a scammer or idiot trying to pull a fast one. The last time I had one was about 3 years ago. A bozo here in So Cal bought a new Scumback M75 to match his used M75. Told me it got damaged in shipping, shipped it back damaged even further than his description. I have hidden date codes on my speakers, then a "Shipping Date" on the label. The rat bastard swapped the new label to the old speaker, kept the new one and filed a dispute. I showed paypal the build date, then the ship date. When they were 18 months apart, they agreed that I probably didn't build his speaker 18 months in advance, then put a new label on it.

Paypal then told me he had four different paypal disputes in three months over shipping damage, and two claims with Fedex over it, too. So the rat bastid was buying used/dead speakers, getting his money refunded by both paypal and Fedex.

I put a stop to that.

Some people are just plain wired wrong, and think they can do anything.

Seems like a genius way to do a low overhead reconing business

 

[Deleted member 13074]

One vital piece of the situation is missing, although it will not excuse Abbath's moves, but may help explain them..
What were the preamp tubes Fatgagg sent with the amp?
For an amp this new in production and that high up the boutique scale, there would be a reasonable expectation that the amp came with the original tubes, as preamp tubes last many years, and if not, then a newer set of the same model tubes would be the minimum I would expect
If they were a 'mish mash', as Abbath has said, and that would set off anyone having dropped big money on such a new piece
It seems to have driven a previously reliable buyer to meltdown and lose his usual reasonable approach
That balance to the situation is needed to help give a fuller picture

Even if it had a mix of proper tubes, that could have been easily handled. However, the amp had a sovtek lps in the PI slot, and the other positions were the Bogner recommended Shuguang 12ax7B. If that’s a mixed batch of tubes to cause a problem...

Again, however, in either case, the stacked lies and claiming it was broken and tying up my money and amp? As well, he NEVER mentioned an issue with mixed tubes until he tried to defend himself here. If you look at the messages posted, my first response to his dispute was I offered to buy him an entire set of tubes and send it. The problem at its core, however, was he just didn’t want the amp, hence immediately selling it while disputing with me via PayPal. His outlook was that he was getting his money either way. If he won the dispute, he got his money back to try another amp. If he sold it first, he would drop the dispute...which is what happened, other than he got caught lying/manipulating everyone.

I get where you are coming from, but the tubes were all the same minus the PI spot. On another note, it is not uncommon to have various Preamp tubes either. I mean you can order sets from most tube store for these amps with 3 or more different tube types. But I understand an amp this new might look better with all matching tube types, which it DID have. I wish the deal could e gone smooth as well, even if I had to do a return, I would honor that, no problem. But I won’t be used as a ‘try before you buy’ and lied to.

No counter from Abbath.
Your info seems legit, and you know your tubes.
I would have simply thrown in a new tube into the first position and assessed the sounds from there.

The Eclipse is quite an assault, and as a seasoned Bogner user, was not a sound I was expecting when I demoed the amp.
Seems like this case was buyer's remorse gone ballistic.

 

[Scumback Speakers]

Seems like a genius way to do a low overhead reconing business

I'm sure he got away with it with some companies, just not mine. Still it was a real fucktard move, IMO.

 

[maddnotez]

I have hidden date codes on my speakers, then a "Shipping Date" on the label.

That is pretty awesome honestly. Foolproof way of not getting beat by on of these guys.

Shouldn't have to worry about those things but unfortunately you do.

I agree that people should look out for each other, especially gear nerds. Weather it be a good company, a forum dude or whoever. Karma is a bitch though.

 

[napalmdeath]

One vital piece of the situation is missing, although it will not excuse Abbath's moves, but may help explain them..
What were the preamp tubes Fatgagg sent with the amp?
For an amp this new in production and that high up the boutique scale, there would be a reasonable expectation that the amp came with the original tubes, as preamp tubes last many years, and if not, then a newer set of the same model tubes would be the minimum I would expect
If they were a 'mish mash', as Abbath has said, and that would set off anyone having dropped big money on such a new piece
It seems to have driven a previously reliable buyer to meltdown and lose his usual reasonable approach
That balance to the situation is needed to help give a fuller picture

Even if it had a mix of proper tubes, that could have been easily handled. However, the amp had a sovtek lps in the PI slot, and the other positions were the Bogner recommended Shuguang 12ax7B. If that’s a mixed batch of tubes to cause a problem...

Again, however, in either case, the stacked lies and claiming it was broken and tying up my money and amp? As well, he NEVER mentioned an issue with mixed tubes until he tried to defend himself here. If you look at the messages posted, my first response to his dispute was I offered to buy him an entire set of tubes and send it. The problem at its core, however, was he just didn’t want the amp, hence immediately selling it while disputing with me via PayPal. His outlook was that he was getting his money either way. If he won the dispute, he got his money back to try another amp. If he sold it first, he would drop the dispute...which is what happened, other than he got caught lying/manipulating everyone.

I get where you are coming from, but the tubes were all the same minus the PI spot. On another note, it is not uncommon to have various Preamp tubes either. I mean you can order sets from most tube store for these amps with 3 or more different tube types. But I understand an amp this new might look better with all matching tube types, which it DID have. I wish the deal could e gone smooth as well, even if I had to do a return, I would honor that, no problem. But I won’t be used as a ‘try before you buy’ and lied to.

No counter from Abbath.
Your info seems legit, and you know your tubes.
I would have simply thrown in a new tube into the first position and assessed the sounds from there.

The Eclipse is quite an assault, and as a seasoned Bogner user, was not a sound I was expecting when I demoed the amp.
Seems like this case was buyer's remorse gone ballistic.

Damn near every amp I've sold had a preamp cocktail. Alot of times I rolled tubes and left the best compliment in it. The Bogner probably had all JJ or all Chinese, neither of which would be my choice. Hell, an LPS in the PI is typically an upgrade. I normally go with a Tungsol in V1, JJ in 2 & 3, and LPS in the PI.

 

[japetus]

One vital piece of the situation is missing, although it will not excuse Abbath's moves, but may help explain them..
What were the preamp tubes Fatgagg sent with the amp?
For an amp this new in production and that high up the boutique scale, there would be a reasonable expectation that the amp came with the original tubes, as preamp tubes last many years, and if not, then a newer set of the same model tubes would be the minimum I would expect
If they were a 'mish mash', as Abbath has said, and that would set off anyone having dropped big money on such a new piece
It seems to have driven a previously reliable buyer to meltdown and lose his usual reasonable approach
That balance to the situation is needed to help give a fuller picture

Even if it had a mix of proper tubes, that could have been easily handled. However, the amp had a sovtek lps in the PI slot, and the other positions were the Bogner recommended Shuguang 12ax7B. If that’s a mixed batch of tubes to cause a problem...

Again, however, in either case, the stacked lies and claiming it was broken and tying up my money and amp? As well, he NEVER mentioned an issue with mixed tubes until he tried to defend himself here. If you look at the messages posted, my first response to his dispute was I offered to buy him an entire set of tubes and send it. The problem at its core, however, was he just didn’t want the amp, hence immediately selling it while disputing with me via PayPal. His outlook was that he was getting his money either way. If he won the dispute, he got his money back to try another amp. If he sold it first, he would drop the dispute...which is what happened, other than he got caught lying/manipulating everyone.

I get where you are coming from, but the tubes were all the same minus the PI spot. On another note, it is not uncommon to have various Preamp tubes either. I mean you can order sets from most tube store for these amps with 3 or more different tube types. But I understand an amp this new might look better with all matching tube types, which it DID have. I wish the deal could e gone smooth as well, even if I had to do a return, I would honor that, no problem. But I won’t be used as a ‘try before you buy’ and lied to.

No counter from Abbath.
Your info seems legit, and you know your tubes.
I would have simply thrown in a new tube into the first position and assessed the sounds from there.

The Eclipse is quite an assault, and as a seasoned Bogner user, was not a sound I was expecting when I demoed the amp.
Seems like this case was buyer's remorse gone ballistic.

Damn near every amp I've sold had a preamp cocktail. Alot of times I rolled tubes and left the best compliment in it. The Bogner probably had all JJ or all Chinese, neither of which would be my choice. Hell, an LPS in the PI is typically an upgrade. I normally go with a Tungsol in V1, JJ in 2 & 3, and LPS in the PI.

Almost every time I have bought a used amp on the internet, I have told them to just take the tubes out and keep them. Send it with no tubes.

 

[SBlue]

https://youtu.be/R0wla6Q1elY

 

[dooredge]

In 15 years of the speaker business I've had five disputes. Every single one was by a scammer or idiot trying to pull a fast one. The last time I had one was about 3 years ago. A bozo here in So Cal bought a new Scumback M75 to match his used M75. Told me it got damaged in shipping, shipped it back damaged even further than his description. I have hidden date codes on my speakers, then a "Shipping Date" on the label. The rat bastard swapped the new label to the old speaker, kept the new one and filed a dispute. I showed paypal the build date, then the ship date. When they were 18 months apart, they agreed that I probably didn't build his speaker 18 months in advance, then put a new label on it.

Paypal then told me he had four different paypal disputes in three months over shipping damage, and two claims with Fedex over it, too. So the rat bastid was buying used/dead speakers, getting his money refunded by both paypal and Fedex.

I put a stop to that.

Some people are just plain wired wrong, and think they can do anything.

Douchebag Pfapin... if I recall correctly. Dude is/was shady.

 

[Mklane]

Sad day when Guitar Center has become the best place to buy used gear.

 

[Scumback Speakers]

Douchebag Pfapin... if I recall correctly. Dude is/was shady.

Nope, not in this instance, but he definitely tried to. He actually fucked Fedex with his return shipment of speakers. His uncle ran a UPS store. He had his shitty packing job "certified" by Fedex with false information about the contents. The Fedex claims guy came out, inspected the damage due to 1/2" of packing for four speakers (two boxes of them), and told me they were screwed because of the way it was represented and certified. He declined to tell me what was stated or represented, but the guy was pissed. So pfapin05 he got all his money back, purposely packed the speakers badly, and skated on being a douche 18 months later.

That's the kind of crap I'm talking about, though, so you did guess right on one count.

 

[Fiesta Red]

Count me in as one of the people having problems with this guy

Here's my thread: https://www.rig-talk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=203166

 

[overthemountain]

Looks like the pattern continues. I had a couple of pending deals with him that he never followed through. He'd ask about a guitar, we'd agree on a price, I'd give him my paypal info, then nothing. No reply to me asking if it was still on, nothing. Would see him posting gear FS whatever all during this. Then a few months later he'd start the process over again. Never reported it as he never truly "scammed" me, but still... got a bad feeling to the point I wouldn't have tried to sell him anything again. Good move he's been banned.

 

[zuel69]

Looks like the pattern continues. I had a couple of pending deals with him that he never followed through. He'd ask about a guitar, we'd agree on a price, I'd give him my paypal info, then nothing. No reply to me asking if it was still on, nothing. Would see him posting gear FS whatever all during this. Then a few months later he'd start the process over again. Never reported it as he never truly "scammed" me, but still... got a bad feeling to the point I wouldn't have tried to sell him anything again. Good move he's been banned.

Wow, I have been through the same exact thing with that guy..super flaky dude.

 

[maddnotez]

Wow, repeat offender. Any grace is certainly gone.

Ban this guy already.

 

[Fiesta Red]

One of the other threads said he was gone.

What a stain.

 

[WizardSouth-JP]

he has a guitar listed for sale in the classifieds and his profile still looks active - guess he's not banned.

 

[WizardSouth-JP]

So did Abbath send you this Eclipse back? I see you have an Eclipse for sale in the classifieds section...

 

[Deleted member 3520]

Haha, No this one was bought brand new. Actually I traded a Knaggs for it in a store in Atlanta. I am the original and only owner of this one. I really dig this one, Bogner has it fitted with non Shuguang tubes, and while I normally love those, the amp is WAY quieter and eased back on the gain on this one. If any proof is needed I can give you the guys store I got it from. Different serial as well. I wouldn’t touch anything abbath78 ever had his hands on. I am having a new neck done for my Suhr, and I have another amp so I’m going to sell this one and put the money aside for the neck, and use $1500-2000 on an amp. Probably get the MK50, 101b, or a Suhr Hedgehog.

https://youtu.be/LzKB4Wvo39A