Check out this friendly seller from EBay... had a set of OEM BS wheels...

[Direct]

Originally Posted by rkjacobs63 "Direct" has had these wheels on Ebay for many, many, many, weeks. I'm sure somebody out there can figure out and tell us exactly how many. No need to solicit what you cannot figure out for yourself; we've had sets listed for at-least 8 months. Originally Posted by rkjacobs63 And no, EBay isn't geared for favoring "buyers". What's favoring buyers is called a recession. A publicly-traded company, eBay is constantly looking for ways to increase it's revenue and profit. Gaining buyer confidence from what began as an 'online flea market' has been their focus. Therefore the steady stream of policy changes, all geared toward the buyer. Am I complaining? Perhaps a bit. But I'm also very grateful, as our eBay business may not be as profitable as our wholesale end (to dealers and body shops), it has been consistent. And growing. Originally Posted by rkjacobs63 Everything is a buyers market right now Sure, everything. Like health insurance. And gasoline. You just go name your price on anything you want RK. I've been out of real estate since 2000. Yes, I missed the run up but I sure avoided a hell of a comedown. Anyway, I've been trying to buy this one piece of property for 6 months now. Both my agent as well as myself feel the price is just too high, and further the seller hasn't had any notable offers. Comes a point - when one has a unique item and are not desperate to sell, people will not sell below a certain point. Period. Originally Posted by rkjacobs63 So yes, I offered $2k. The last planet I visited...that's how auctions work, right....? As with most of the items we sell, this is not an 'auction'. It is a 'listing'. If you want it, you pay the Buy-It-Now price. Originally Posted by rkjacobs63 Seller puts their stuff up for sale, if they get no bids, they lower the price, buyer counters with a lower price, so on and so on.. and viola! sooner or later they come together with a agreed upon price. Absolutely. On cell-phone chargers. And CD's. Which you can also get at Wal-Mart. Right next to CLK63 Black Series wheels/tires. Which begs the question for the second time as you've conveniently avoided it: How many sets of these have you seen - in this condition - and at what prices have they sold? Are you going to answer this one question this time, RK? Originally Posted by rkjacobs63 I don't think my first offer is out of line for an item that has been for sale for some time. Of-course you don't. Wouldn't serve you to the fullest possible extent. Originally Posted by rkjacobs63 Now, I do read (like you all can as well) that he ("direct") said in his email to me... he had "3 sets".. well somebody is fibbing, because his ad description on Ebay says that they are (in quotes) "Obviously My ONLY Set" (I'm sure he will change this now)... Hmmm 3 sets or the "ONLY set." Ooh, you got me there RK! (let's see if your ego can allow you to concede even a minor point to me). I handle competitive procurement, and I write every listing. Currently we have between 1600 and 1700 active listings and not only did I write every one, with the churn I easily write or tweak about 2000 to 2500 a year. That's an awful lot of computer work. When I originally created that listing, it was true and that was our 'only set'. Further, as I recall, we sold that first set fairly quickly, then I used the 'relist' feature to list the second set. So the information was true and correct again. But we did receive the third set while we had the second set. So somewhere in there an overlap did exist, where we maintained 2 sets at the same time. Guilty as-charged. For about 3 weeks. Originally Posted by rkjacobs63 Anyway, I'm sure "Direct" will now sell these wheel since I have given him the best forum he could ever wish for to sell his BS OEM wheels. Lol! Forums as this provide the most challenging customers. Of-course I'm not labeling everyone but surely you've seen the 'keyboard ninjas' with like 30,000 posts under their belts - they are far-and-away the most difficult customers. Nah, I'll bet this last set will sell to another insurance company. Originally Posted by rkjacobs63 I think I'm due a commission? So, in summary I don't think a starting offer (like mine) deserves the response that I received. I never said anything mean or disparagaing to "direct".... I simply made a offer. So I do think he should fine tune his cutomer service practices.. or sell me those wheels for $2k.. what do you think? Originally Posted by rkjacobs63 (wake up people) Originally Posted by rkjacobs63 And sell me those damn wheels for $2k.. (COD) of course. If you do you will go to heaven when you die. The ego on you. It's been this attitude all along. This is the sort of thing that makes it clear you are a full-blown It's been at-least 2 years since I've had a forum exchange even close to this. This was interesting and up til now (or at-least, my previous post) necessary IMO. But time to move on - there's work to be done! I DO want to thank this forum for bringing these cars more to my attention. I stopped by a local dealer after the gym last night who had one for sale and I previously never gave these cars their due - they really are unique and as prices drop below $80k are becoming exceptional values. Thank-you all (yes, even you RK and I pray someday you learn the reasons why) and God Bless.

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[Doctodd33]

Originally Posted by Direct

My business is the seller in this matter. We will do $2 Million on eBay alone this year and that is about half of our annual revenue, the other half coming from sales to dealers and body shops. It is my business that I built from nothing. We have four full-time employees including computer, office and warehouse and this year we added health insurance for everyone. We work very hard to make all of our customers happy, and given that about 1/2 of what we sell is deemed 'used', there is a subjective opinion therein. What I'm saying here is - it is very hard to make as many people as happy as we do and anyone with a SELLING feedback rating over 1000 knows what I'm talking about. But we do our best and we do a very good job of it.

Where does our stuff come from? Some comes new from the manufacturers and items such as the CLK63 Black Series wheels/tires came from a custom tuner shop when someone changed out their wheels/tires. Just about everything we sell is OEM. I'm not trying to make a sales pitch here (there is no link) but I am compelled to explain. And not because I'm afraid of losing whatever business we do/don't get from this website but because I think readers should be able to see both sides of the story.

First, I personally do not regularly handle e-mail inquiries. I have a wonderful person who answers about 150 e-mails a day including just a ton of low-ball offers. I spend most of my energies in competitive procurement. So given how hard I work to FIND the items people want at prices they'll want to pay, I'm grateful to be buffered from most of that not-so-nice stuff. We actually had a total of 3 sets of those wheels/tires - all from the same tuner that seemed to be modifying those cars. I'm sure you people here know, what it would take to attempt to duplicate the value in them, over the Mercedes-Benz dealer's parts counter. And suffice to say, my company paid dearly for them. So low-ball offers are insulting, but that I/we can handle that. And further, two sets are gone and we have our last set. Who will buy them? Well the first set was bought by an insurance company when someone's wheels/tires were stolen, and the second set was exported to South America to someone I believe wanted a set for racing. Each party 'had' to have OEM, and again - you can imagine what the dealer gets for them.

Again, I do not regularly answer e-mails but I will from time-to-time scan them for the higher ticket items as-these, and suffice to say rkjacobs63' 'offer' was not only low, it dripped with sarcasm. THAT was not necessary. And at the end of a particularly long and challenging day, and in-light of the aforementioned, he was duly served. Do I regret it? Hmm, perhaps. But only because that sort of activity is draining to one's inner peace and I was already drained.

Just how often, do you see these particular wheels/tires on eBay? At what point, does an offer become an insult? Are buyers entitled to freely insult sellers - and I'm not talking just about the amount of money, but the sarcastic attitude? eBay has become terribly rigged in favor of buyers, from feedback all the way through to chargebacks, it is a buyer's paradise at the expense of sellers. Thankfully, as eBay Titanium PowerSellers we are provided with a talented and readily available representative so we are 'armed' so to speak to buffer unfairness. Nevertheless, may I remind you that eBay was based on the premise that,
"People are generally good."

So does needlessly being sarcastic, qualify as being generally good?


And further, with regard to his rally-cry above of:
"Maybe a few more of us can annoy him with offers lower than what he is asking for them, see what other coomical replies we can get out of him."

Well, God Bless you sir.

My fiance put it quite well - if you want to see into a person's true character, watch what they write online anonymously, as well as how they behave in traffic.

Perhaps rkjacobs63 is an exalted poo-bah here, his directive will be followed, and we'll be besieged with annoying e-mails, to which my eBay person could care less as she is unaffected by insulting offers. Or perhaps some of you will read between the lines and decide for yourselves.

Apparently this forum is for CLK63 Black Series owners and enthusiasts. While I concede I do not have one nor follow them very closely, I do occasionally participate on another automotive enthusiast forum for owners of a particular exotic car. My point is, these aren't cheap cars and chances are, to own one you have to be reasonably well-off, and likely, moderately to fairly intelligent.
Ergo, you have the wherewithal, thank-you for your consideration.

respectfully submitted,

Direct Performance

quoting this to keep it handy......thx sir for your reply and your time. All i can say really is your response was a reflection on you, not the low ball offer. We wont ever know what he said, but you could have just ignored it and moved on. What you did, like your fiance said about people in traffic, is equivalent to road rage, and is a reflection on you. I hope you dont waste anymore of your life responding to low ball, sarcasm, or insulting offers. It just isnt worth it.

[Frankster]

There really is no point in this type of bickering. For the OP, it wasn't necessary to bring this on to a public forum. I see that both parties here should move on and grow up.

[Sincity]

It would be interesting to see if DIRECT will post what OP sent to him now that we've seen the response.

[chuck z]

Originally Posted by Sincity

It would be interesting to see if DIRECT will post what OP sent to him now that we've seen the response.

IMHO, there should be some handed out for posting offline correspndence/conversation to a public forum! There's already been too much of that in this thread......

[FastDonzi]

HOLY SHEET! this guy Direct is out of control. to take the keyboard away from your employee and waste this much time to write such a ridiculous response, just because you think this guys offer was too low, is outrageous.maybe a couple of cocktails prior to typing,could of yielded a nicer response.i never heard of a low-ball offer on e-bay.what's up with that? anyway.bottom line is.if you want to build a reputable business,you can't fly off the handle and respond to anyone in this manner,because it might just wind up on some forum and possibly turn off any future customers. SAD.

[rkjacobs63]

Sorry "direct"... Good luck in selling your set. I wish you the best and really, I meant no insult nor harm to your business or your wheels/tires... It was just an offer. Be well and happy EBay selling. But you really should chill out. Your only selling used wheels/tires on an auction site. It's not that important.

[Akademiks]

I can't believe anyone is actually standing up for Direct-- or that Direct actually has a wife. She must be the submissive type.

Rkjacobs, you made an offer. Just because he needed to cry that day didn't mean he had to be a douche and respond to you in such a childish way. You did nothing wrong, thank you for posting.

[Riley Martin]

Originally Posted by Direct

No need to solicit what you cannot figure out for yourself; we've had sets listed for at-least 8 months.

One of my wheels has a little nick in it. Will you take three fiddy for an unblemished rear wheel?

[mkonei]

Originally Posted by Direct

My business is the seller in this matter. We will do $2 Million on eBay alone this year and that is about half of our annual revenue, the other half coming from sales to dealers and body shops. It is my business that I built from nothing. We have four full-time employees including computer, office and warehouse and this year we added health insurance for everyone. We work very hard to make all of our customers happy, and given that about 1/2 of what we sell is deemed 'used', there is a subjective opinion therein. What I'm saying here is - it is very hard to make as many people as happy as we do and anyone with a SELLING feedback rating over 1000 knows what I'm talking about. But we do our best and we do a very good job of it.

Where does our stuff come from? Some comes new from the manufacturers and items such as the CLK63 Black Series wheels/tires came from a custom tuner shop when someone changed out their wheels/tires. Just about everything we sell is OEM. I'm not trying to make a sales pitch here (there is no link) but I am compelled to explain. And not because I'm afraid of losing whatever business we do/don't get from this website but because I think readers should be able to see both sides of the story.

First, I personally do not regularly handle e-mail inquiries. I have a wonderful person who answers about 150 e-mails a day including just a ton of low-ball offers. I spend most of my energies in competitive procurement. So given how hard I work to FIND the items people want at prices they'll want to pay, I'm grateful to be buffered from most of that not-so-nice stuff. We actually had a total of 3 sets of those wheels/tires - all from the same tuner that seemed to be modifying those cars. I'm sure you people here know, what it would take to attempt to duplicate the value in them, over the Mercedes-Benz dealer's parts counter. And suffice to say, my company paid dearly for them. So low-ball offers are insulting, but that I/we can handle that. And further, two sets are gone and we have our last set. Who will buy them? Well the first set was bought by an insurance company when someone's wheels/tires were stolen, and the second set was exported to South America to someone I believe wanted a set for racing. Each party 'had' to have OEM, and again - you can imagine what the dealer gets for them.

Again, I do not regularly answer e-mails but I will from time-to-time scan them for the higher ticket items as-these, and suffice to say rkjacobs63' 'offer' was not only low, it dripped with sarcasm. THAT was not necessary. And at the end of a particularly long and challenging day, and in-light of the aforementioned, he was duly served. Do I regret it? Hmm, perhaps. But only because that sort of activity is draining to one's inner peace and I was already drained.

Just how often, do you see these particular wheels/tires on eBay? At what point, does an offer become an insult? Are buyers entitled to freely insult sellers - and I'm not talking just about the amount of money, but the sarcastic attitude? eBay has become terribly rigged in favor of buyers, from feedback all the way through to chargebacks, it is a buyer's paradise at the expense of sellers. Thankfully, as eBay Titanium PowerSellers we are provided with a talented and readily available representative so we are 'armed' so to speak to buffer unfairness. Nevertheless, may I remind you that eBay was based on the premise that,
"People are generally good."

So does needlessly being sarcastic, qualify as being generally good?


And further, with regard to his rally-cry above of:
"Maybe a few more of us can annoy him with offers lower than what he is asking for them, see what other coomical replies we can get out of him."

Well, God Bless you sir.

My fiance put it quite well - if you want to see into a person's true character, watch what they write online anonymously, as well as how they behave in traffic.

Perhaps rkjacobs63 is an exalted poo-bah here, his directive will be followed, and we'll be besieged with annoying e-mails, to which my eBay person could care less as she is unaffected by insulting offers. Or perhaps some of you will read between the lines and decide for yourselves.

Apparently this forum is for CLK63 Black Series owners and enthusiasts. While I concede I do not have one nor follow them very closely, I do occasionally participate on another automotive enthusiast forum for owners of a particular exotic car. My point is, these aren't cheap cars and chances are, to own one you have to be reasonably well-off, and likely, moderately to fairly intelligent.
Ergo, you have the wherewithal, thank-you for your consideration.

respectfully submitted,

Direct Performance

im surprised someone would actually admit publicly to being such an ******* via email.

[FastDonzi]

this thread is a bit strange! how the hell did "direct" find out about this thread the next day after it was started.

[forhamilton]

moderator please close this thread. lots of drama. rkjacobs63 is a low baller and direct is a jerk. let's move on.

[cigarette1]

Originally Posted by forhamilton

moderator please close this thread. lots of drama. rkjacobs63 is a low baller and direct is a jerk. let's move on.

Ditto

G

[Akademiks]

Originally Posted by forhamilton

moderator please close this thread. lots of drama. rkjacobs63 is a low baller and direct is a jerk. let's move on.

You mean it's wrong to try and get something cheaper then asking price? Who knew...

Anyone who thinks rkjacobs63 is wrong for making an offer-- even a low-ball one (which btw, as of this point is pure specualtion)-- is retarded.

[rkjacobs63]

Thx for the defense Akademiks. Maybe when "forhamilton" buys stuff, he/she just offers the highest price he/she can think of. I thought the way buying stuff on EBay (an auction site) works is... sellers make high offers, buyers make lower offers... and sooner or later you have a deal (or in the case you don't). Maybe "forhamilton" actually rides the short bus as his/her "public transportation." See her/his profile!

[alexander stemer]

Just an 'FYI"
I purchased a set of 4 new wheels directly from my MB dealer at their "drop price" which is the price the manufacturer charges the dealer. The reason they were willing to do this is that one of my new Corsas bubbled a sidewall, and no replacement tires were in the country, so they bought me 4 new Bridgestones (my choice). I asked for a favor on the rims, because when the Corsa came in, I wanted to mount it and have 4 street wheels and 4 track wheels. The service manager got the district rep's okay. (Thank you MB)
The drop price was about $3200 ( I could go back and check the receipt, but that is very close). Therefore, in my opinion, given 2 years have gone by, the cars have depreciated at least 40%, and the pre-owned wheels were not brand spanking new, the lowball price of $2000 was in fact fair.
If I were ready to sell my "as new" factory wheels (maybe 80 miles or 40 laps on them), I'd happily take $2000. Correct me if I am mistaken. AS

[forhamilton]

You don't need to be so defensive. If someone is asking 4500 for something and you offer them 2000, then you are a low baller by definition. Further, I called the seller a jerk and not you.

And yes I ride the short bus. I am unable to afford a long one.

Originally Posted by rkjacobs63

Thx for the defense Akademiks. Maybe when "forhamilton" buys stuff, he/she just offers the highest price he/she can think of. I thought the way buying stuff on EBay (an auction site) works is... sellers make high offers, buyers make lower offers... and sooner or later you have a deal (or in the case you don't). Maybe "forhamilton" actually rides the short bus as his/her "public transportation." See her/his profile!

[transferred]

Originally Posted by alexander stemer

Just an 'FYI"
I purchased a set of 4 new wheels directly from my MB dealer at their "drop price" which is the price the manufacturer charges the dealer. The reason they were willing to do this is that one of my new Corsas bubbled a sidewall, and no replacement tires were in the country, so they bought me 4 new Bridgestones (my choice). I asked for a favor on the rims, because when the Corsa came in, I wanted to mount it and have 4 street wheels and 4 track wheels. The service manager got the district rep's okay. (Thank you MB)
The drop price was about $3200 ( I could go back and check the receipt, but that is very close). Therefore, in my opinion, given 2 years have gone by, the cars have depreciated at least 40%, and the pre-owned wheels were not brand spanking new, the lowball price of $2000 was in fact fair.
If I were ready to sell my "as new" factory wheels (maybe 80 miles or 40 laps on them), I'd happily take $2000. Correct me if I am mistaken. AS

Again, great insight Alex.

forhamilton....I think people reacted to your comments as at first read I myself missed where you said "direct is a jerk."

I use ebay frequently, always been a pleasant experience...will ensure it stays that way by ensuring I steer clear of the jerk aka "Direct" (won't even put his name to his posts.)

-Rob

[i_am_amused]

i am grateful that this thread was started

count me among the growing number of those that will not be purchasing from "direct"

and I am damn amused by his follow-up post here. admits to being a complete tool without realizing it

[bigben320e]

Originally Posted by Akademiks

You mean it's wrong to try and get something cheaper then asking price? Who knew...

Anyone who thinks rkjacobs63 is wrong for making an offer-- even a low-ball one (which btw, as of this point is pure specualtion)-- is retarded.

+1. Rkjacobs63 did nothing wrong, as he stated and you Akademics he made an offer. As a business owner you either renegotiate or refuse the offer. The insult shows poor professionalism at best.

Sending an email via Ebay asking a seller about an item is not outside of Ebay and happens all the time. (RK stated that is what he did) I have been contacted by sellers items I missed that I was watching, and they offered to re-list at a lower price. As a seller on Ebay, people email questions and offers all the time. If too low, I saw that and counter. That's Ebay.

I have gotten insults and stupid, yes absolutely stupid responses unwarranted from making an offer, or even asking a simple question. Offering a low ball figure (low ball is very subjective) does not warrant an insult like he received. I am curious as to why the seller did not post the original question sent to him. I doubt if a insult was started by the OP.

Generally I stay away from these types of sellers.

[jmf003]

FWIW, an MB World member sold his CLK63BS wheels for $2,500: FS: CLK63 Black Series wheels