Worst Ebay Answer Ever
 

Some guy is selling a fork on Ebay. He had one dimension, the length of the steerer tube. Ok, fine, but I'd also like to know how long the blades are, you know, seems reasonable, length from crown to dropouts. So I ask this and get (and I quote):

"wtf for .99? I already have it packed in a box. It is a road fork, and I
gave enough measurements. Don't have time."

Anyhow, the auction is here, maybe some of you guys will have some luck prying more info out of him.

Yeah, but 49 1/2 cents of that will go to homeless animals.

Better than a guess...could be worse.

He does say it's for a 27" wheel. So what do you really need to know? 50% to the dogs and cats, I give him a pass.

That doesn't really tell much, however. Not all forks are created equal (in length). robatsu likely has specific plans for fenders and a certain tire size that may or may not clear the fork crown.

I wanted to know how long the forks are. Figure out how big a tire I can run and whether it would work with reasonable well on a frame for which I need a fork. I'm just glad I didn't ask if the crown race seat was ISO or JIS or what was the threading on the steerer tube or any other silly old thing that would render the item useless to me. Seemed like a fair question to me, certainly not inflammatory and deserving of being essentially cussed out. But that's just me. Well, maybe he's a lot nicer to the dogs and cats than people.

First time I ever got a anything like that back from a seller.

if he gives a good answer then maybe two people bid on it and it goes for $2. I've listed things for .99 with the hope that they would sell for more than that. Not very interested in making 50 cents.

yeah... it seems that the guy does not want to sell what he has. On another thought, that crown looks mighty familiar. Let me venture in my garage tomorrow to see what I can see.

Any good at brazing, robatsu? I've got a 27" fully chromed Fuji fork with a bent steerer you can have for the cost of shipping, and I'll measure whatever you need to be measured!

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y21...perbe_0001.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y21...perbe_0010.jpg

Not much of a brazer, but thanks anyhow. Maybe you should take a look at this guys auction, the fork crown looks awful similar to yours. Looks like you need it more than I do.

Any idea what model that fuji is? Newest or Finest is my guess. Did you strip the paint? I've got a 73 Finest frame I'm going to be building up, paint is pretty beat, maybe I could go that way. Chrome looks pretty shiny everywhere the paint is scratched off on mine.

If a sellers response includes a swear word in the first sentence I'd stay away.

I think he spent too much time answering. He supplies all the information that you could possibly need. The fork is a crap fork. It is built for 27" wheels. Show me one single crap fork ever built for 27" wheels that did not accept a 27" x 1 1/4" tire and fenders. There, you have your information.

I generally write "all sensible questions will be replied to" in my auction descriptions and your question would not meet my criteria of sensible.

Lol!

The essence of his response isn't offensive; it's the arrogant manner in which he argued his point that is.

-Kurt

I have no idea, but the frame is toast. The chrome on the frame tubes appears very thin, about the same quality you can see on the fork leg above. Doesn't bother me, though, because I bought it for the nearly complete Superbe Pro group. For whatever reason, it seems someone upgraded to the Superbe after the crash.

+1

(If it was my sale, I'd probably just sigh heavily, measure the thing, and send a terse response. But I'm a nice guy.)

He could go to 700c and get much wider tires.

Different strokes, I guess. I've sold lots on ebay, I wouldn't have thought that was a ridiculous question if someone asked me. And when somebody asks me something nonsensical, well, rarely I just don't answer at all. But I'm always polite/businesslike.

My thought is that you don't want to field random questions, don't sell stuff on ebay, but again, that's just my personal opinion. And anyhow, he wasn't marketing it as crap fork, he was marketing it as nice tange fork. Of course, he wanted folks to take that on faith as well I guess. Anyone man enough to ask him how he knows it is a tange fork?

Anyhow, I just presented this rather lightheartedly, I didn't mean to stir up some big fuss. I thought it was sort of funny, really.

Jay, it looks like a Newest to me, the chrome is nicer compared to the Finest. I'm checking a a fully painted Newest today.

Scott

Here are some more photos. Unfortunately, both the top and down tubes are buckled. The 55cm frameset without headset weighs 6.13 lbs, and the frame alone weighs 4.54 lbs. Sorry I don't have better frame pics. The seat stay caps are semi-wrap around.

As I mentioned above, the chrome looks very thin on the tubes, almost as if it's been sprayed on rather than plated, if that makes any sense. I think you can make it out in some of the photos below.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y21...perbe_0005.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y21...perbe_0006.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y21...perbe_0007.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y21...perbe_0008.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y21...perbe_0009.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y21...perbe_0014.jpg

The fork looks like an early 80s Fuji to me. Maybe a mid line, due to the chrome.

everyone should ask the seller the same question

Almost every time I have asked a question of an eBay seller, and then got a flip, or angry response, it has been a bad transaction when I've won those bids. I ALWAYS pass on anything like this.
There is no reason for any seller, of anything anywhere to be anything less than cordial, and friendly with a prospective buyer. What would you do if you went into a LBS somewhere and the jerk at the counter gave an answer like that?

+1

Whether or not it is a sensible question, I think a schmear of courtesy isn't too much to ask in any situation where one person wants something from another. There's a whole breed of Craigslist sellers that post ads that are aggressively condescending; e.g. "I know what I have and don't need to sell - make a reasonable offer." If you're selling something in a public forum, you should be prepared to encounter many folks who don't know as much as you do, IMO. If you can't deal with it, then sell it in a more private venue.

Also, I don't pack up the Ebay goods until the sale is done, for this exact reason.

That head tube/top tube lug extension with the circular cutouts looks like a Newest.

Darn shame, that. Those frames are pretty hard to come by.