Has anyone here dealt with Automobile Visintin GmbH? (Germany)

[viotti600]

 I've been having a somewhat difficult time collecting payment for some Abarth OT1000 engine parts that were sold/shipped to Automobile Visintin GmbH (ie: Jörg Visintin) located in Rathenow, Germany (just west of Berlin). Has anyone here ever done business with this company/individual before?

ATTENTION: Hans Strohband  - You emailed me once about this transaction indicating things would be handled correctly. It has now been over 3 weeks since, no payment has been received, and my multiple emails have gone unanswered. Please respond... ???

The Abarth OT1000 parts in question are shown in the photo below.

[zippyfiat]

Hi Viotti, are you saying that you shipped some parts to Germany before getting payment?  Of all the countries I have dealt with on ebay, Germany has been the worst.  I think I have been scammed a total of 3 times there.  I've also been told that the postal workers there are among the most corrupt of any country in the world.

Gil

[Scorpione]

Hi Jeff and Gil,

I'm very leery of the Germans as well, as I have heard from a German expat that there are a lot of scammers there. Also I have been scammed myself by a fellow that was selling 'original' Abarth photos and posters and they turn out to be nothing more than colour photocopies (cost me approx 400 euros for all items that I thought I was getting). I'm also surprised that you shipped items over before getting payment. All I can wish you is good luck!

Cheers, Gordon

[viotti600]

Hi Viotti, are you saying that you shipped some parts to Germany before getting payment?

  Not exactly, I know better than to do that! The long story is...The parts were sold via eBay to Mr. Visintin (eBay ID "maxxum22"). A friend of his in the USA paid me using their credit card via Paypal, so I shipped the parts to the winning eBay bidder as I normally would. The friend in the USA later reversed his credit card payment (aka a "chargeback") claiming he never received the parts. Even though I provided proper package tracking info (which showed the package going to Mr. Visintin in Germany), Paypal refused to cover me under their Seller Protection policy because I didn't ship the package to the address shown in the Paypal payment (the payer's USA address). So now Mr. Visintin has my Abarth parts & I am out the price of the parts + the shipping costs to Germany (almost $800 total).

  In the midst of my numerous emails to Mr. Visintin, I received a reply (via the eBay mail system using maxxum22's eBay account) written by Hans Strohband indicating that the item had been received in Germany, & matters would be settled accordingly.

  My many emails sent to all 3 people (Mr. Visintin, the USA payer & Mr. Strohband) have since gone unanswered. I'm apt to call this a scam, but I'd like to resolve the issue amicably since I do see the possibility of the shipping mix-up (payer in USA thought I'd be shipping to him). I've seen Mr. Strohband's name on various Fiat 850 forums...sounded like a legit guy to me.

  Some detective work on my part (no thanks to Paypal or eBay at all) has given me the addresses & phone numbers of all 3 people. Might have to have a few (ahem) "associates" of mine pay these folks a visit in person? hahaha! ;) 

Of all the countries I have dealt with on ebay, Germany has been the worst.  I think I have been scammed a total of 3 times there.  I've also been told that the postal workers there are among the most corrupt of any country in the world.

  In my 11+ years of selling Fiat/Abarth parts on eBay, I have never had any problems whatsoever (until now) with German buyers or the German Postal Service. Maybe it's because I'm of German heritage? (haha)

[Pantdino]

Sounds like a perfectly orchestrated scam to me.
They saw a loophole in the system and used it.
What was the reason they gave for the actual buyer not paying with his own credit card?

I would file negative comments on ebay re that buyer-- he received the items and you have not received your money. 

Most complaints I read about from the buyer's side and the feeling is that ebay does not care because it is the SELLERS who keep them in business. You ARE a seller.  If they don't care about you then they don't care about anyone.

Jim Oddie

[Tom]

Also, question his/their behaviour on the forums you found him on. That way, he won't get to do business again with anyone. If he cares about his good name he will sort everything out (hopefully).

[viotti600]

I would file negative comments on ebay re that buyer-- he received the items and you have not received your money.

Ebay was absolutely unwilling to do ANYTHING about the situation. All they would tell me was "Contact Paypal about it". Typical pass-the-blame game... With eBay's "new" Feedback Policy, Sellers are now NOT ABLE to leave negative feedback for any transaction. Only Buyers can leave negative feedback, making it a very uneven playing field.

Most complaints I read about from the buyer's side and the feeling is that ebay does not care because it is the SELLERS who keep them in business. You ARE a seller.  If they don't care about you then they don't care about anyone.

Ebay has clearly shown me that they don't give a damn about Sellers AT ALL - it's the Buyers that they're coddling & fawning over. Higher selling fees, new biased rules/requirements, an unfair feedback system, shipping cost calculators that DON'T WORK...all these things only make it harder (& more work) to sell on their site (sigh).


-JS.

[viotti600]

Also, question his/their behaviour on the forums you found him on. That way, he won't get to do business again with anyone. If he cares about his good name he will sort everything out (hopefully).

For clarification, the person whose name I noticed on other forums (Mr. Strohband) was only indirectly involved - he was neither the eBay Buyer nor the friend who initially paid via Paypal. I do not hold him responsible for the other 2 people's fraudulent actions.

-JS.

[Pantdino]

You might want to call the German consulate or embassy, or look online for it.
GmbH is the German equivalent of Inc in the US-- not something that would be cheap to set up. If this seller is fraudulently advertising himself as being incorporated, implying that he is a big, reputable company when he is really just a person or small business, the German government might not be too happy about it.  Germans are really into laws and enforcing them, so it might be worth a look.

[guy moerenhout]

hallo Jeff,I can call him iff you wish and ask where is probleme ? send  me a mail for  the amount whe are speaking about it and I can cal him for you