Quartermaster Stores (ebay seller) tampered MKVII bag

FerFAL · Post by **FerFAL** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 10:42 pm

I bought this bag from them on ebay, supposedly new ( old but never used) and unissued , 100% original and in very good condition.

The example pictured, worn by a person, looked very good and that was what I was expecting to get.

But 100% was not what I ended up receiving, not by a long shot.
I paid 29,10 USD for a bag that had one of the strap metal rings missing, and what was left of the strap had simply been crudely sewed to the side, not even carefully done, with several stitches our and around the place.

Here’s what they supposedly sold (ebay article pic) :

And this is what I ended up receiving, the metal ring missing and the strap just sewed to the side.

I sent them a message through ebay and emailed the company.

Supposedly they say they will “refund the full cost of any items which are received as faulty or damaged” But two days have gone by and there’s no reply from them, when I used to get replies before within the day.

So guys, be careful with this particular ebay dealer and this company.
Living in Argentina the exchange rate is almost 4 times as much, so 30 USD may not seem like much, but it is a lot of money for me. I deserved much better than the product I received and the non existent customer care.

Be careful and stick to the well known and reputable dealers!

FerFAL

Magno · Post by **Magno** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 11:24 pm

That *****. I would contact eBay about it, and they will take care of it. Although with your currency situation, it may be wise to just repair the one you have into something wearable. Certainly is a shame, I'm sorry mate.

binkmeisterRick · Post by **binkmeisterRick** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 7:51 am

If it is not the bag that was advertised, then they need to make it right. If not, report it as fraud to eBay.

FerFAL · Post by **FerFAL** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 8:07 am

I will do that indeed, but it takes time and I don’t want more people being victims, it ***** to open a package and find what I did.

The article said "non issued" and "new".
It also said "100% original" and highly collectible.

What I got was a broken item that was cheaply fixed with a few stitches and a metal ring missing.

I read some of the good comments again on the “auction site”, the ones that convinced me it was a good deal, and noticed a similar pattern in nearly all the MKVII related posts, as if they were fake purchases. Same sentence construction, same expressions used again and again.

This person has several other bags for sale and I wanted to warn people that may fall for it, like I did

Anyone can make a honest mistake and send a broken item, I'll give them that much, but not even replying when a customer complains due to a broken article, there's no excuse for that.

Again, just be careful. You may think you are saving a couple bucks like I did, but it's better to read a lot and buy from dealers that have good reputation that can be verified.

I'm buying from known dealers from now on, the ones folks here at Obi wan Club forums speak highly of.

FerFAL

gwyddion · Post by **gwyddion** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 3:34 pm

FerFal, I bought a Mk VII from this seller as well and it got lost in the mail. I contacted him and he sent me a new one. But, it took several days for him to answer my e-mail. As I had to e-mail him several times I can say that the standard time it takes for him to answer an e-mail is 4 days. Why? I haven't got a clue, but he will answer eventualy and usualy is very helpfull.

The bag could be a manufacture defect though: I've seen vintage bags that had all kinds of strange defects and most of them were unissued (probably the reason the were unissued in the first place) so I dont think this should nescessarily be a used bag that had a sloppy patch job. Remember, these were made by hand during WWII and when a worker had no more rings but still needed to attach one side of the strap, pressure on production could have caused them to just stitch them on instead.

Regards, Geert

binkmeisterRick · Post by **binkmeisterRick** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 3:44 pm

Maybe, Geert, but if that top picture was supposed to be the bag advertised, you can see the far strap also shows a bit of loop indicative of being threaded through a ring. It looks to me like he received a different bag than was advertised.

gwyddion · Post by **gwyddion** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 4:05 pm

well....yes obviously, but he's using the same picture for a long long time now. He's sitting on a pile of the things and has been selling them via e-bay for quite some time.

I got the impression he just goes to his pile, takes one of, puts it in an envelope or box and ships it, without inspecting the bag first.

Point is, when I had a problem he answered my e-mail and made things right, even if it took a few days for him to respond. I'd say have a little patience: I'm sure he will respond.

If he doesn't respond at all or refuses to resolve the issue, by all means burn him at the stake. Just give him a little time before you do so.

Regards, Geert

FerFAL · Post by **FerFAL** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 8:55 pm

Three days now and no reply. Before this problem, I used to get a reply within the day or the following day, but now he's gone.

I would have waited more had it been a person simply selling stuff on ebay, but this is not the case since they have an online shop and I emailed their sales department immediately when I received the bag. I got their brochure inside the package I received.

A store that takes 3 days to answer an email sent to their sales department?
I used to get replies much faster, until I had this problem.

I'm not holding my breath.
I understand war efforts and their quality control, but we are not at war right now and I was supposedly buying sometihng somewhat similar to the picture ( by somewhat I mean at least a bag that is not broken and isn't missing any metal component)
Am I supposed to believe they simlply prepared the package with their eyes closed and didn't notice the obviosu, and now they just happen to be taking longer to reply?

FerFAL

Indiana O-Town · Post by **Indiana O-Town** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 2:14 am

If you paid via PayPal, then you can go to them as well as Ebay. Pay Pal will shut their **** down if you issue a complaint. Take it to ebay as well. This is definitely not cool if they're avoiding taking care of you out of either guilt or embaressment at the having sent a shoddy bag accidentally. I'd say a business week (5 days) would be enough to let them hang themselves with. I would still look into fixing the bag yourself, if you know someone who might be able to do it... I wouldn't be surprised if you could manage to keep the bag AND demand a refund. Paypal will simply take the funds back. If you paid by check or money order... well... I'm sorry you got hosed.

191145 · Post by **191145** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 9:22 am

I didn't get anything on an ebay search for 'Quartermaster Stores'. I was trying to determine if it is a part of a major catalog business, either 'Brigade Quartermaster' or 'Quartermaster', in which case I would suggest you just be patient. Sometimes these larger businesses take a little more time to take care of little problems like this. Can you post an item number or a link to another of his auctions?

FerFAL · Post by **FerFAL** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 11:29 am

That's what makes it worse, it seems to be amajor catalog business.

http://www.qmsarmystores.co.uk

Read their return policy. Sounds good, too bad they dont stick to it.
I did email them right away when I received the bag. No reply.

FerFAL

Indiana O-Town · Post by **Indiana O-Town** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 2:49 pm

Could you get us the ebay seller's account page? That'd help some of the other board members look into it and maybe they can help! Don't give up on the seller yet. ;-) Sometimes they do have multiple things going on at once and simply haven't got back to you... and yes, even if they did before it doesn't always mean it'll be the same response time.

191145 · Post by **191145** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 11:26 pm

Nevermind - it's in UK. All bets off.

riothamus · Post by **riothamus** » Sun Nov 16, 2008 9:31 pm

That's odd, if it's the same seller, I ordered several from them and they are all in tip top condition. It looks like the same pic as the seller I bought from.

Sorry you had a bad bit of luck with them. Any luck since?

Riothamus