Ebay - Question/Answer - Was I Harsh?

[amjedm]

Need your opinion peeps

Someone on ebay was selling some fans and I asked a question


Me: "Hi

Does the fan come with the 3pin to 4pin converter? Just want to confirm - it does have the rpm monitoring wire (usually yellow).

Thanks."


Reply: "Hi,
Some people just come up with the most complicated questions.
Aint no boffin but the pack is sealed but i can see a yellow and a red wire if this helps. If not then typing the model number in google could come up with some info.
Regards
Paul"


Me: "Hello

I didn't expect my questions to be complicated. I expected you to know something about what you're selling! I would apologise but I wouldn't mean it!

The reason I asked about the yellow wire is because one of the fan controllers I use utilises this wire. These fans retail for roughly twice what you're selling them and I wanted to know if these are 'specials' or genuine fans you've managed to purchase at a good price.

With regards the 3 pin to 4 pin converter, this allows you to plug the fan directly in to a power supply (molex) connector instead of the motherboard or fan controller. Again this indicates something about the product.

Kind regards "


Colleagues at work (couple of them - only ones I've asked) think I was a bit harsh but I don't agree.

Your opinion(s) please.

[OV3RCLOCK3R]

Not harsh at all - I'm surprised he said complicated questions when there's nothing complicated about it.

[greektony]

Dont worry about it, you werent harsh at all. Ebay is full of muppets! If I'm bored, its always fun to trawl through auctions and find ones where what they are selling is way overpriced and informing the seller and the potential buyer of this. Some of the response are classic. GREAT FUN

nb - I sometimes get very bored at work

[Mike Fishcake]

If they're someone who has a store selling PC parts, I'd probably hope that they should know.

However, if it's just some private seller selling a couple that they might just have lying around, then yes - it was a bit harsh. Not everyone knows everything about every product that they sell, and I think it's a bit much to expect that they should do.

Regardless of the situation though - I personally wouldn't have replied like that; It's not like they were rude to you is it? He tried to help and at least he was honest rather than just saying yes to make the sale and hoping he was right.

Dont worry about it, you werent harsh at all. Ebay is full of muppets! If I'm bored, its always fun to trawl through auctions and find ones where what they are selling is way overpriced and informing the seller and the potential buyer of this. Some of the response are classic. GREAT FUN

Oh come on!! Are you one of those people that goes around PC World being smug because the sales assistant could answer your question about the latency of the RAM in a Packard Bell media centre PC?

[amjedm]

...it was a bit harsh. Not everyone knows everything about every product that they sell, and I think it's a bit much to expect that they should do.

Regardless of the situation though - I personally wouldn't have replied like that; It's not like they were rude to you is it? He tried to help and at least he was honest rather than just saying yes to make the sale and hoping he was right.

IMO he shouldn't have started off with "some people ask the most complicated questions". It wasn't complicated and if he'd left that line out I wouldn't have replied like I did.

I agree, some people don't know much about what they're selling but my questions could be answered by looking at the fan.

[MadduckUK]

Oh come on!! Are you one of those people that goes around PC World being smug because the sales assistant could answer your question about the latency of the RAM in a Packard Bell media centre PC?

its "a huge 1 Guh Buh of Are Aye Em"

[Blitzen]

Need your opinion peeps

Someone on ebay was selling some fans and I asked a question


Me: "Hi

Does the fan come with the 3pin to 4pin converter? Just want to confirm - it does have the rpm monitoring wire (usually yellow).

Thanks."


Reply: "Hi,
Some people just come up with the most complicated questions.
Aint no boffin but the pack is sealed but i can see a yellow and a red wire if this helps. If not then typing the model number in google could come up with some info.
Regards
Paul"


Me: "Hello

I didn't expect my questions to be complicated. I expected you to know something about what you're selling! I would apologise but I wouldn't mean it!

The reason I asked about the yellow wire is because one of the fan controllers I use utilises this wire. These fans retail for roughly twice what you're selling them and I wanted to know if these are 'specials' or genuine fans you've managed to purchase at a good price.

With regards the 3 pin to 4 pin converter, this allows you to plug the fan directly in to a power supply (molex) connector instead of the motherboard or fan controller. Again this indicates something about the product.

Kind regards "


Colleagues at work (couple of them - only ones I've asked) think I was a bit harsh but I don't agree.

Your opinion(s) please.

The guy is obviously stupid or ignorant.
Buy elsewhere would be my opinion.

[IBM]

its "a huge 1 Guh Buh of Are Aye Em"

But only if you're living in Yorkshire

[MadduckUK]

But only if you're living in Yorkshire

Oo-arr Aye Em?

[0iD]

Top answer imo, I'd have been just as scathing, if not moreso, caveat emptor indeed.

[this_is_gav]

Only dodgy bit would be your "I would apologise but I wouldn't mean it!" phrase, but that's the sort of response I'd give too. I have much more respect for people who tell it like it is. Unfortunately, many others don't follow this approach, and as such, it's easy to offend them by just being yourself.

I guess this was one such individual.

Thought his original reply was harsher though - could have been tongue-in-cheek mind.

[amjedm]

Thought his original reply was harsher though - could have been tongue-in-cheek mind.

My colleagues said this as well.

If only he'd used a after the statement.

[ACiD303]

Sellers should make an effort to answer any questions thrown to them imo. If his advice was to "google it", I wouldve taken my own advice if I were him.

Probably tongue in cheek - for something low value he probably doesn't think it's worth bothering about. Still, that attitude is not on, especially to what seems like a valid and genuine enquiry.

[TiG]

Given the fact we're talking about such a low value component i'd really wonder why you are getting so wound up about it. Commenting back surely won't help especially given the first response.

I'd suggest you just go and get it elsewhere.

TiG

[Kezzer]

Given the fact we're talking about such a low value component i'd really wonder why you are getting so wound up about it. Commenting back surely won't help especially given the first response.

I'd suggest you just go and get it elsewhere.

TiG

I was actually going to say the same thing. It is the Internet after-all, you shouldn't get wound up by it

[moogle]

kinda harsh because he probably doesn't know much about the fans I guess.