QTH.COM Swap Chat

N9ZDZ - Ripoff Report (Buyers/Traders Beware) - he advertised a high-end HF transceiver for sale as being in excellent condition, showing a photo with a brightly lit LCD display. I asked a few questions (but not enough - see below!) and agreed to purchase the radio. What I got was very different from what he described in his posting - the radio had an obvious odor of tobacco smoke, which he didn't disclose (when asked, he said "I'm a smoker so can't detect tobacco smell"), and the blue LCD display on front panel (brightly lit in posted photo) was so dark it was hardly visible. One of the cabinet feet was broken in half (pull-down type, so not from shipping damage) and the VFO knob was stiff and did not turn smoothly. After informing him of all this he agreed to accept the radio back but 'had to wait for his wife to come home' 5 days later to OK the refund. At that time he wrote, "my wife feels we can't afford to refund your money. I'll offer to send you a replacement foot and suggest you try to find someone who owns an expensive ozone machine to remove the smoke odor". So in other words, he didn't want the radio back because he knew that in the condition he sold it to me he couldn't re-sell it again for what I paid him and his wife would be pissed. I offered to accept a partial refund to cover cost of correcting the various problems I discovered with the radio, but got no response. This guy is a real scoundrel and is not to be trusted. He initially requested to trade this older radio for a more modern, newer one - believe me if I had done that trade with a newer, mint condition radio for his, I'd really have been po'd and made a visit to his QTH to get my radio back! Bottom line - don't buy or trade anything with this guy. He'll deny any problem issues up the wazoo, not tell you he's a smoker unless you specifically ask, and if you want your money back will tell you his wife is the only one who can refund money, and in all likelihood she'll say 'we can't afford it', or just not respond. Buyer/trader BEWARE!

Yes I did refuse because you seen the pics and you new what it looked like. You also wanted me to refund your money back first before you send the radio back sorry but I am sure only scammers would ask like that. I have also read online where scammers will buy radios and take parts out of them and replace with old parts just to fix there's. I am not stupid. And any body in there right mind would send the radio back to be cheaked first before refunding anything .I was not about to refund money and then hope and prey I got my rig back all in 1 peace. When I asked other hams about it they all told me that sounded fishy to them so I didn't take that chance. There was nothing wrong with the rig I talked every night on it and can give names to prove it they will tell the radio was great sounding . And its your fault you didn't ask about smoke. But believe me after this I don't smoke in the house or around any of my radios. Lesson learned. I have good reports on qrz and qth that I am trust worthy. you cant make everyone happy all the time. You expected $950 radio for 700 and when you got it you wasn't happy. it was a old rig but a good one. I am sorry you feel this way.