Beware of George G. Robbins (aka: reddat)!!!

[texasz]

Just a warning to all who buy Z parts online, there's a guy on eBay that is located in Houston, Tx. that sells Z parts on eBay under the name reddat who's real name is XXXXXXX and contact info is (this is ONLY so you know who he is if you come across him and want to avoid doing business with him):

XXXXXXXXX

This guy really gives the Z crowd a bad name by selling falsely advertised items. When asked for a better description and provided a picture he assurred me that what I provided a picture of is what he was selling but when it arrived it was something completely different. I then send a picture of his item and what he said it was side by side and he still could not see the obvious differences! Refused to take the item back then told me to "get a life". This guy is a worldclass jerk! Please be careful if you choose to do business with him...he'll also screw you on shipping (charged me $10 on something he only paid $3.53 to send in a reused box).

Lesson learned. If the guy can't figure out how to take good pix or even view a pic sent to him he's probably not capable of accurately describing what he's selling either.

[Mr Camouflage]

Did you report him to ebay?

[mperdue]

Do your duty and leave negative feedback. Right now he's got 99.4% positive feedback - those are good odds so I'd still buy from him. Also the couple of neutrals I saw were regarding shipping costs. He doesn't list the shipping cost on the auction - big red flag to check before bidding...

[Bambikiller240]

Since his real name, email, and home address do not appear in the auctions I feel it is extremely inappropriate for you to list them here.

I am in complete agreement with Carl on this one. I modified your message to only include things that area available on ebay.

-- Mike

[Mike]

Oops... sorry Carl. I edited your message instead of replying to it! Your quote was kept. Sorry about that. I messed up.

[Mike]

Originally posted by texasz

Lesson learned. If the guy can't figure out how to take good pix or even view a pic sent to him he's probably not capable of accurately describing what he's selling either.

If you made an attempt to work with him and he didn't respond, I would give him negative feedback. Give him a warning that you are going to do this and perhaps he will make it better.

-- Mike

[texasz]

Many emails have been exchanged and the guy is just blind, I sent a pic of the item he sold me and what I was expecting and still couldn't see the difference (a chimp could tell!). The item I was expecting I even sent a pic of it to him before I bid and he confirmed that it was what he had (the pic in his auction sucked and he would not provide another one).

I only placed his other info on here to help people be aware of who he is incase he tries selling outside of eBay they would know it's the same guy. If here were to post here nobody would know it unless he joins this forum (or any other one for that matter) as reddat. Really just trying to help keep others from having problems with him. Sorry if you felt the info was inappropriate; it's just hard to avoid someone if you do not know who he is that's all.

Neg feedback will be left for him! He has several negatives and neutrals for shipping cost, bad items, and poor communication but his over all rating is good which is why I bought from him. Should have trusted my gut and passed. At least we are only talking about a total loss of $25 and not more.

[Bambikiller240]

So what was the item? I wouldn't think it would be inappropriate to post the pic from the auction and the pic you sent him so that readers of the thread can (perhaps) judge for themselves.

FWIW, most sellers that I have dealt with have been more that willing to provide more pictures and detail to a prospective bidder. If a seller will not assist me as a propective bidder, I consider that to be a red flag as well.

FWIW #2, Negative feedback is always a viable alternative, and (at least in my opinion) feedback from a buyer generally carries more weight to it than from a seller. If he reciprocates with poor feedback to you, you can "respond" to it to clarify your position.

PS: If you didn't see my post before Mike deleted it, I was stating that I had bought from him and only had problems with way over priced shipping and as a result I would no longer consider buying without a firm shipping price quote. His feedback may be 99.4%, but his pictures are generally not good, and shipping is overpriced.

[wal280z]

Zbyter

I use this only as a guide to my online buying and selling..

Would I buy from reddat? Nope, never again! Not if he was the only source for parts.... thank God for Chloe!!!!

just my 2 cents..

Wayne

[waynekarnes]

i bought a few items from redat

he advertises nissan parts, they are instead items that will work, but are not the correct nissan parts ( at least what he sent me ). nissan dealership presented me the same rivets. i had the dealer special order rivets for my 72, when they arrived, the special order rivets have the correct post in the middle. the rivets sold by redat are press in rivets, no center post, same as what the nissan dealer had in stock.

he doesn't list his shipping costs until after the sell, which is understandable, when one doesn't know when and where ( i sell things on ebay ), however as has been suggested, he added over half the cost of my items for shipping.

items were packaged in a left over box ( i'm all for recycling that's not an issue ), the issue is he charged me 6 bucks and change for shipping. items that cost him a buck 34 to ship. no where does he say that he charges for handling. i would not have bid, had i known there was going to be a 4 dollar surcharge.

when i bought the items, i figure ... i ship stuff, 2 bucks 50 at tops, $3 if he uses one of those jiffy bags from the post office. i was told, against california law to charge handling and not state it as such.

items arrive, wrong interior rivets, after assuring me that they were the correct ones. the firewall heater grommets will work, but they are not right for a restoration.

shipping was fast, he is extremely courteous, and responded to every e mail.

i think he doesn't know his market, has universal parts that work for several cars and makes. probably figures he is doing buyers a favor by putting these parts out there. kinda like the tools at the dollar store, might work in a pinch.

i don't believe he is a rip off artist. i've dealt with rip off artists.

i think he is just ignorant of the quality and intended purpose of what he is selling.

i have no problem with anyone selling a universal part, that will function properly for my intended purpose. the issue is, i believed that i was buying the stock 1972 parts, not universal parts that will work.

plus, not knowing they were universal parts, i bid as if i were purchasing either authentic reproductions, or period correct genuine nissan parts.

he should state that while not exact, they will work, instead of inferring the parts are an exact replacement.

all that said, i suggest if looking for quality restoration parts, don't buy from redat.

on the other hand, if your heap is in need of some parts and there are no z's in the wreckers near you, and you can deal with used parts, or universal parts, where function is more important than correctness, something to get you on the road, like those tools at the dollar store, then go ahead and deal with him.

but don't pay premium dollars for dollar store parts.

pass the word.

wayne

oh, i tried to leave that info the feedback i left.

[Bambikiller240]

ebay has had a nice little feature called "Shipping Calculator" for at least the past 6 months. Seller opts to include it in the auction (free of cost) and the bidder can enter his/her zip code to get a shipping cost quote based on USPS, UPS, or FED EX. Seller can even set it up to include a "handling fee" in the calculation.

To not use this handy little tool, or state a fixed cost in an auction leaves the door wide open for a shipping cost rip off. Beware of people who choose not to use it, or state shipping costs.

[waynekarnes]

the way around the shipping calculator is ...

the seller puts the size, small med large or extra large, and weight of the package. this gives an estimate. by pumping up the size and the weight, the seller gets more for shipping than the actual shipping costs.

but as you suggest, it is going to be closer to the actual shipping costs, than the 4 to 8 dollar profits that some sellers make on shipping charges.

in my case, i under estimated the size of the boxes when i shipped those 6 spoke wheels i sold ( the guide included was wrong ), cost me 40 bucks more than my estimated shipping cost. buyer refused to make up the difference. ended up selling em for less than i paid for em. if the shipping had been correct, i'd a broke even, and that was all i wanted. oh well ...