6/2     Help. I purchased 2 RAM modules from eBay, and the listing says
        "These units were pulled from a Compaq Proliant Server being
        stripped for parts and are in excellent condition." At the same
        time, it says "Item sold as is." When I got the RAM they have a
        strong burnt smell, and just as I feared, they don't work on ANY
        of my motherboards. I contacted the seller and he says sold
        "AS IS." This guy is dishonest. I feel jipped. Can I actually do
        something to remedy this, besides giving negative feedbacks? Does
        dispute resolution actually work on eBay?
        \- you can set up throw away accounts and mess with his future
           auctions. --psb
           \_ I thought about that but I don't have throw-away credit cards
              required by eBay. Come on, isn't that kind of childish?
              \- you can try googlebombing him then.
                 if you cancel a CC does ebay find out about it?
                 \_ oh, googlebombing, I'm sure the seller is SCARED!!! OOOO
        \_ Skipping all the mumbo jumbo about legality and what not,
           if it came from Proliant, I'd guess that they're registered
           DIMMs.  What kind of motherboards are you putting them into?
           Most consumer boards don't support registered memory.
        \- You can resort to credit card dispute resolution service.
           that has worked for me 3-4 times. dunno how that will work
           in this case [assuming you paid via paypal].
        \_ Isn't that totally the point of AS IS? What you should look
           for is a "DOA guarantee". "As Is" means "buyer beware".
           \_ Unless the post said that they were working, it's your
              fault.  I always avoid "AS IS."
                \_ Excellent condition would imply working.  The seller
                   probably had no clue if they worked or not and didn't
                   want to test them out.  The seller is just covering his
                   ass, he should refund you your money but he doesn't have
                   to since it was "as is".
                   \- i do agree that if you didnt even bother to ask
                      the seller "did you even try to verify it is working
                      or do you have no idea" the fault is yours.
                      a nice seller out to refund minus shipping maybe
                      but ethical and legal obligations diverge ...
           \_ I honestly didn't see the as is claim. Looking back, it's
              embedded in a very small print, "Seller's payment instructions
              Please see item description Item sold as is." It's a run-on
              sentence too. Argh, not happy about this.
        \_ Based on what I remember from contracts (and a quick search
           on lexis), "as is" effectively cuts off any liability the
           seller may have had.
           \- the large print giveth and the small print taketh away.
              i doubt you have any legal recourse that makes sense to
              pursue. it's a matter of cost-benefit now ... i.e. is a
              bad review worth the money to the seller, how much time
              do you want to spend on this being an asspain etc.
              \_ Actually OP says that the "as is" clause was in the
                 small print which he didn't really see. This may
                 change things.
                 iirc, a statement that the ram is in "excellent
                 condition" could be viewed as an affirmative
                 representation of the quality.  Even in used
                 goods, this can give rise to a limited warranty.
                 If OP had seen or should have seen the "as is"
                 statement then the warranty would be waived, but
                 if OP couldn't have seen or had no reason to see
                 the "as is" statement, then the warranty may not
                 be waived. Contracts wasn't my best subject so
                 I could be a bit off here.
                 I agree that it isn't worth bringing a case in
                 small claims ct over this, but OP might have a
                 valid claim.
                 \- as you know even if he gets a small claims judgement
                    he will never get the sheriff to go collect for him.
                    how much money are we talking about anyway? what is
                    LOCATION of seller etc.
        \_ My location is CA, his location is WI. Cost is $40. I can spend
           $30 on small claims+serve, plus $600 plane ticket. I don't mind
           doing in on the basis of PRINCIPLE. That motherfucker needs
           to learn a lesson. On the other hand, it may be just as
           worthwhile to create eBay accounts, win, then give him bad
           ratings. The second option looks very tempting so far. How do
           I go about creating disposable eBay accounts? And will they
           affect my existing accounts?                         -op
           seller may have had. If you had asked him if the ram worked
           and he had said yes, you might be able to rescind the sale.
           Absent this, you can't really do much other than give him
           negative feedback and maybe annoy him by calling him up
           randomly and leaving irate messages on his voice mail.
              i doubt you have any legal recourse. it's a matter of
              cost-benefit now ... i.e. is a bad review worth the
              money to the seller, how much time do you want to spend
              on this being a pain in the ass etc.
           \- you may wish to read Martin Amis: The Information
           \_ The eBay way to handle this is to request a refund, and if denied
              leave negative feedback to the effect that he knew he was selling
              burnt-out goods.  He will either leave a negative feedback on
              you, or negoriate to get you to withdraw your feedback in
              exchange for a partial refund.