VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 Warning about buying parts on eBay

Every transaction I have done on eBay has gone wonderfully with exception to one seller, and I would like to warn others of him. Michael Hahn is doing business as kesslers@midwest.net on eBay, or as Kessler's Antique Auto Parts in Olney, Illinois.

I won an auction for a id tag (sill plate with VIN) for my 1931 Chevy car on August 5, 2002. I sent nearly a dozen emails over the next three weeks, never receiving a reply. I had to track down a phone number and make half a dozen phone calls, leaving messages that were never returned, finally making it through to him after four days of trying.

I was told he had been out of town the week and a half prior. I was also told that the item had been shipped via USPS during that time. I don't know how he was able to ship the item while out of town.

I paid $4.00 for shipping on the tag. It was not sent out until Aug. 22, 17 days after the auction. It was sent via USPS, with a mailing cost of $0.49. Pretty hefty gouging on the shipping! I complained to Mr. Hahn on the phone regarding the slow shipping and told him I would seek my money returned via Paypal and eBay if the item did not arrive within a certain time frame. This was met with "Whatever dude" followed by him hanging up on me.

I don't want anyone else to have to deal with this jerk's antics, so avoid him if you can. Every other transaction I have done on eBay has been wonderfully smooth, and I have bought pistons, running boards, speedometer, and other things. Watch out for him, and buy via The Filling Station if you can--their service is great!!!

R. Todd Owen

Trowen: Check the following thread under the "Vendor's & Suppliers - Parts" forum for additional information regarding Kessler's on eBay: DON'T BUY MY RINGS!

Also, Kessler's has negative feedback on eBay, and it is always a good idea to check a seller's feedback before making a bid. Sorry that you had to go through this. :( :( :( :( :(

Guys If you want to get even go ahead and bid on his stuff and DO NOT send any MONEY till the parts arrive! Send him a good old "Monkey Wrench Gang" message or two. Don't get mad, get even!

Hold on-- bidding on an item and not honoring your bid is not good for your own e-bay standing.I wouldn't advise doing it. Word of mouth reports, such as this site will get the job done.

Junkyard Dog,

Thanks for pointing us to the post on here about him. It didn't surprise me from my talk on the phone with him. I did check his feedback at the time we won the auction--the negatives had been quite a while back, most were positives, figured it would be OK. Boy was I wrong.

Item was actually delivered, so left neutral feedback, but am detailing his tactics in the feedback. Hoping to keep others from dealing with him anymore. Figured VCCA chat here would be a good place to get word of mouth out, a high percentage of people here would likely see it and know to steer clear.

Not going to stoop to his tactics, will keep it honorable, like everyone else I have dealt with on eBay besides Hahn.

Todd Owen

Hey Todd! You are doing the right thing by keeping your side of the transaction honorable, and glad that this forum was able to point you in the right direction about this person via the other postings about Mike at Kessler's. Some reports are that a few fellows never did receive their items. Also, for the low number of positives that he has on his feedback he has way too many negatives, since there are sellers on eBay that have three or four thousand positives with only one or two negatives. At any rate, you have helped others by putting the word out about this man, and I'm glad that you did finally get your serial number plate.

By the way, the Filling Station sells them too, and they give you next day shipping if they have the item in stock. Good luck my friend, and thanks for telling us about your experience with Kessler's.

Man-o-man does that name bring back bad memories. doesn't deserve it. :(

Hahn is going to this business into the

Hey Gator! I think that Mike has already Kessler's into the from what I'm hearing from various dudes around the country. :( :( :( :( :(

See there is karma, what goes around comes around (unless it is a F#@d).

Hahn is a who makes people !!!!

Start and pretty soon he won't even have a :cool2:

Rod, It isn't really any more dishonest to withhold payment till an item arrives than to require payment before the item is sent, you have just been conditioned by E-bay's propaganda. At most auctions I attend you pay after receiveing the goods, a deal is a deal makes no difference if you are a buyer or a seller, remember "Buyer Beware!"

Since there are many dead beat buyers on eBay, most sellers will not ship an item until it is paid for. The same is true when ordering items from a business over the internet. Until payment is received via either a check or a credit card, most dealers will not send the item. That is pretty much normal practice. I think that's why they say "Let The Buyer Beware". :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

Yeah, I've bought a lot of stuff off e-bay and not once has a seller offered to send the goods before they received payment. I've gotten items that must have been sent the same day as they received a check, but no one has said don't pay til you get it.
So bidding on something then not paying for it willonly get you a non paying bidder notice- this isn't conditioning, but standard practice.
If you want to get back at a fradulent seller notify e-bay and don't bid on their stuff.

Your defination of standard practice is just that "Standard" How much success do you have from big brother Ebay when your payment is received but your item never comes, You can post an unfavorable feedback, great! that is what I thought. There is nothing wrong with emaileing a seller explaining that you will bid on condition of seeing the item to insure it is as advertised ( high dollar items like an engine a car etc). But, nothing says that you can't do it your way. Then you can come over here and complain about being taken for a chump.

I agree with what you are saying. :)

The ONLY time I ever got something via email before I paid for it was from a fellow club member, Doyle Stokes, who sent me a show quallity '32 carb that I wanted before I had a chance to send the money order. So it pays to know who you are dealing with, real (not someone who joins to make a buck) club members are above the "standard".

So before buying on ebay, I will check and see if I can get the same stuff at the same price from people I can trust.

Before you purchase anything off from Ebay check it out first and as is said about investing in the stock market don't invest anymore than you can afford to loose.So many things are misrepresented due to lack of knowledge of the seller its a joke to read the description and when the part is viewed its not even for a Chevrolet or the year is way off..........As a positive note I have sold parts thru the G&D for over thirty years and have never had a bad check from a member

I have had real good "luck?" on Ebay by emailing the seller and also checking them out by emailing their buyers feedback, a predator like M.H. deserves no courtesy. I bid a little more if I find that a seller will agree to let you inspect the merchandise before paying to insure it is as advertised. The only time I refused to pay was on a engine in Oklahoma it was advertised as a fresh pullout 54 235 that was in excellent shape (with a fuzzy out of focus photo). I made arrangements to meet the seller with the cash after winning the bid, He did not show after I drove 200 miles , then had to stay overnight in a motel. Then when I found him the next day and saw the engine it was a 216 that was lying on a dirt floor covered in dirt I said "Fellow I wasted two days on this piece of **** " and got in my truck and drove off. Mrs Mack said "You look madder than hell!" and guess what.... I didn't post any feedback and neither did he.

For those who might be interested:

Kesslers Antique Cars & Body Shop
Michael Hahn
430 S. Richland
Olney,Il 62450
(618) 393-4346
kesslers@midwest.net (kesslers)

http://cgi2.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback&userid=kesslers%40midwest.net

Ok, I'll weigh in with a bad experience:

A few months ago, I bid on and won a pair of "NOS 19 inch Chevy wire wheels"... those of you who watch E-bay might remember seeing them. I'm not going to mention the seller's name, because I think he simply made an honest mistake, but then failed to accept responsibility for it. If you measure across the extremities of the rim, they are exactly 19". But anyone who knows wheel and tire sizes knows that the diameter measurement is bead-to-bead. The wheels are probably NOS (at least they are very nice), but they are 18" (they fit inside of my real 19 inchers). I failed to notice the problem for a month after I received them, which might have cooled the seller's enthusiasm for making an honest deal. Whatever, the seller and I agreed on a cash settlement, but he never followed through. I have enough stress in my life that I decided I'd just try to get rid of them some day... I don't think it's worth getting into a protracted battle with him or getting E-bay involved. For now my attitude is "If I can't buy something from someone I know or is in the club, I'll just go without".

So now I have seven 18" wires that I don't need. They are for sale if anyone is interested.