Modern Vespa

...or conned.

On one of the excellent Robot's recent videos, to remove the air box on a late model Vespa,
he used a small wrench with double ended swivel heads-referring to it as a handy tool.
I could see this in my toolbox. So on to Google . It appeared to be an 'EZRED 4s04 Stubby Ratchet I couldn't find one in NZ but several US sites offered to supply o'seas. I elected to get one from BUYHUNDAY who offered a '30 days refund! Up to 30 days refund. Guarantee!'
And a quick postal service.
Email confirmation with order No. was received along with a tracking No. Excellent I thought.
Tracking the package was very odd. All the entries were in Chinese and it took many days to arrive at the mail center in Auckland. But NOT to me. A Post NZ investigation showed it to be a totally different item from a different supplier to different recipient.
Back to the companies emails. Ah! a help- address. Sent off all the details from NZ Post. Back bounced the email . No such address. The companies 'Contact US' also elicited zero response. Money from my card went to 'pricesmiley.comrawlings' Which, I found has some very negative comments re its operations.
They say 'a fool and his money is soon parted' Also; Caveat emptor !

That's no good. Can you contest the charge with your bank?

I only ever pay online using PayPal because they've always been good about solving refunds

Yes, PayPal is my usual go-to . This did not appear as an option at the check-out.

I guess that should have sounded a warning. Isn't hindsight a wonderful thing.

I bought a gift for my granddaughter on Etsy last year from a vendor in Indonesia. There was a pretty long shipping time, but I didn't need it that quickly anyway.

When it didn't come at all, I tried contacting the vendor. No luck. Etsy was also not helpful.

So I filed a claim with Paypal. They investigated it and then refunded my money.

So, yeah. Paypal.

Wanna buy a bridge?


I got taken for $15 about three months ago on Ebay. It does suck, even more when your 20/20 hindsight kicks in. And it's not about the money. Someone needed $15 more than I need another topless garden gnome on a stripper pole.

It's a cost of doing business on the internet.

I'm sorry you got robbed. How much did you loose?

I confess that "stubby ratchet" caught my eye. I'm fixated on ratcheting tools for tight spaces on my Vespa. So I googled the EZRED 4s04 and it comes up on Amazon for $38.97 and next day delivery. Decent but mixed reviews. Looks like a nice tool to have around.

So will you continue your quest for this model stubby ratchet or look for an alternative?

Thanks for the reminder warning! Robots videos are great but occasionally his tool descriptions are sketchy imho.

These kind of issues are much easier to resolve if you go through a site such as eBay.

Even then international orders can be tricky, for example the cost of return shipping is usually prohibitive. That means unless the item isn't as described, or otherwise defective, a return might not be possible.

I try to stick with reputable sellers with a track record and ordering through sites that will refund the money in case a seller does not respond.

I've had a bunch of shipping issues this year, from reputable companies. It might be nothing nefarious but call your credit card company anyway.

this, if nothing else, file a chargeback. AMEX almost always take care of these type of frauds for me. Chase much longer.

I bought an aftermarket headlamp the Suzuki from a supplier in England last year. All went well and the headlamp arrived intact...

And then the credit card bill came in with one headlamp, a stereo system and two round trip tickets to Dubai on it.

Luckily the deviation from my usual spending was noticed by the bank, the account locked and the charges reversed, but it was a royal pain in the ass getting it all straightened out.

Now its paypal or I don't bother.

I had much the same issue a couple of weeks ago. I was searching for a particular e-reader which was sold out at my usual source. My Microsoft browser offered up an alternate source at a good price. I went to that site and it appeared to be a US based discount seller. I placed an order through the site and paid with PayPal. The first question arose when I didn't receive the expected on-line confirmation. The next arose when the PayPal charge did not appear to be the same seller as the website and included additional charges. I questioned the transaction with PayPal. They said they would contact the seller and give him 10 days to respond. I never received a response of any kind from the seller, but PayPal received what appeared to be a shipping notice. PayPal's guidance was that I should wait to see if the item arrived. I was not so patient. The "shipping notice" used a third identifier for the seller and made it clear that he was located in China. The "shipping notice" contained no link or other information which could be confirmed, and did not even acknowledge the identity of the purchased item. I blocked the payment and contacted PayPal again about the legitimacy of this seller. This time they agreed that the misleading identities, the concealed location, and other aspects of the purchase were questionable. They finally agreed to refund the cost of the purchase - actually they agreed to stop trying to collect the cost from me so the billing and credit cancelled one another. They also blocked future transactions through PayPal by this seller.

Not a good experience, and PayPal as a firewall only worked to a point. The moral - do not do business with on-line sites which are not known to you, use payment mechanisms such as PayPal, AND closely monitor transactions and payments for any sign of unexpected actions or questionable practices. It is a jungle out there. The time and effort required to overcome problems is worth more than the money saved by a "bargain" purchase.

Any hints...?

I know folks are having shipping problems. That is well documented.
If using eBay I only use sellers with near 100% ratings....including Chinese sellers. They will often post with the advert. that the item can take weeks to arrive . But if you check buyer feedback you'll see that it came very quickly. I guess the seller does this to cover his bases.
I've received many items very quickly from Chinese sellers on eBay.

On a Saturday evening I bought a helmet from a seller in The Netherlands who had excellent feedback from buyers. The shipping was free.
The following Wednesday morning it thumped against my front door - in Ohio, so it had to have come by plane.

O.S.

I have to say although I have had some FAILS with buying on EBay the platform has always settle things to my satisfaction. Case in point- I just received a sidestand pad for my Yamaha Tracer 9 GT. The price was $16 vs. $60 for the non China version. It did not fit my bike even though it was advertised to. Notified the seller who asked for a pic to validate the issue then promptly provided a refund. I took the pad down to the work shop and ground it to fit my bike. Ive also had a top case which seemed to be in a weird tracking loop that got close to my house- but not. eBay promptly refunded that as well. I always use PayPal to process.

I've had good luck with Indian and Chinese sellers but once got stiffed on an RE gas tank, but the seller refunded my $250 after I complained.
Sometimes the deals are worth the risk.

I've been doing a bit more follow up into the one who got my money ie: pricesmiley .com WY
and here's a sample of what I found on Bizapedia:

"I purchased a tv stand with an electric fireplace insert on nov 8,2021. I did receive an e mail that my order has been shipped and a tracking number which sends me to 17track package tracker, the order shows it was being prepared for shipping from china!!! I ordered this from facebook that used cosco as the front apparently. My bank account was charged $99.28 so you got my money and yet i've sent emails and no one has responded. This i will label a scam. I will be contacting my bank for this fraudulent charge.
I will also be reporting you to every platform starting with the bbb, in your state and mine. The federal trade commission at 1-877-382-4357 (for all others to call as well). I am also reporting you to facebook for your many masks you use to cover your true company (such as cosco).
I would expect an email back if you find my statements incorrect and that you are truly a legitimate and ethical business."

Yep. Same tracking info. leading to same black hole.

PS Attempting to contact MY bank is proving to be another lesson in futility!
You gotta laugh really

This thread started with the sad story of the OP getting ripped off trying to buy a EZRED 4s04 Stubby Ratchet as recommended by Robot at Scooter West. Sad as it was, I got intrigued by the "Robot Wrench". Not surprisingly I devoted an hour or two or three looking at reviews/deals and the Robot video where he used the tool. Ended up just buying on Amazon and it arrived yesterday. Time will tell, but it looks like a good quality tool and it is small and flexible. Someday, it's going to help me get a task done in a tight space.

SPDTWN, I hope you are successful in getting your money back. All the best.

Caveat emptor. Latin for "Beware as a buyer".

Interestingly enough, contacting my bank and their response was the only good news in my story. I was able to get their customer service line on the phone with a few minute wait. They blocked the questionable payment immediately and instructed me to go to my branch office the next morning. The branch manager saw me after a short wait and worked out a more complete response with me including closing one account and opening a new one. All this was accomplished while I was there and I walked away with confirmation and instructions for additional steps I should take.

Two options for each of us. The first is learn how to make appropriate and timely contacts to your bank in the event of fraud - or alternatively move your accounts to a different and more supportive bank if the first approach proves not possible.