Has Centsible Software gone out of business?
Guy Macon
I am having a bit of a problem contacting Centsible Software.
On December 12th, I won eBay auction #5145817402 (Commodore
Shopping Spree) which the auction listing said was "for the
purchase of $100. of Commodore 64/128 software." (See
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5145817402
for details.)
When I go to the Centsible Software website at
http://www.centsible.com/ there appears to be no way to place
an order without having the full amount charged to your credit
card.
I have emailed Centsible Software several times, directly and
through the eBay "message to seller" page. I get no reply.
Has Centsible Software gone out of business?
--
Guy Macon <http://www.guymacon.com/>
Riccardo Rubini
> I have emailed Centsible Software several times, directly and
> through the eBay "message to seller" page. I get no reply.
>
> Has Centsible Software gone out of business?
No, but you ain't the first who reports this very communication problem,
here in the newsgroup. Judging from people's complaints, people at Centsible
very often have problems replying to e-mails in a reasonable time.
On my personal experience, I've exchanged in the past e-mails with Bill
Griffin, the owner of Centsible, and I have to say I have always received a
prompt reply. I haven't ordered anything from him yet, though.
Riccardo
Guy Macon
In about a week I will have to make the decision whether to just let
him keep the money I sent him without him delivering what he sold
me, or to file a fraud alert with eBay which will reverse the payment
and is likely to get him kicked off of eBay.
I am very, very reluctant to do that over a piddling little
transaction - it would be too much like killing a fly with a rocket
launcher. On the other hand, if I think that he is incapable of
following the ebay rules (he is required to contact the buyer
within 3 business days after the sale), then perhaps it would be
best for him and his buyers for him not to have an eBay account.
I can see from http://www.centsible.com/invest.html that this
isn't the first time he has had eBay problems:
"The problems with them cause our ebay account to be unjustly
shut off and the problems with clearing that up took until
December of 2003. By this time things were so messed up that
it was easier to simply open a new Ebay account (which we did)."
Alas, the link to the page where he presents his side of the
story is dead.
If he gets kicked off a second time, they are unlikely to ever
let him on again. I feel like the fellow who is given the task
of maintaining control in a kindergerden class when the only tool
he has it a gun.
(Now watch someone flame me for having this discussion despite
my writing about my reluctance to hurt his business...)
Riccardo Rubini
> I am very, very reluctant to do that over a piddling little
> transaction - it would be too much like killing a fly with a rocket
> launcher.
Well, Guy, I gather you already paid for the items 100$. Whilst the dollar
isn't a currency as strong as it once was, it's still 100 bucks - to me it's
not little money. You have all the right to file a fraud alert with eBay and
get your money back.
I see your point, and this shows you're in good faith, but if this man is
really incapable of running a business, it's his fault, not yours. Your
fraud alert can also prevent this company to rip other people off, so think
about it.
Riccardo
Curtis McCain
Of course, that's with the centsisoft people. Not sure if it's the same or not.
Just my $.02.
Curtis
Guy Macon
Riccardo Rubini wrote:
>Well, Guy, I gather you already paid for the items 100$. Whilst the dollar
>isn't a currency as strong as it once was, it's still 100 bucks - to me it's
>not little money. You have all the right to file a fraud alert with eBay and
>get your money back.
Actually I am out $25, and it takes me 15 minutes to earn that much.
I thought the $100 of Commodore software for $25 was a good deal,
but it turned out to be too good to be true.
>I see your point, and this shows you're in good faith, but if this man is
>really incapable of running a business, it's his fault, not yours. Your
>fraud alert can also prevent this company to rip other people off, so think
>about it.
That's the other side of the coin. The next person that gets cheated
might not find $25 to be a small amount.
bud
'Lo Guy:
Group: comp.sys.cbm Date: Fri, Jan 7, 2005, 8:19pm (CST+6) From:
http://www.guymacon.com/ (Guy Macon)
script:
>(See >http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5145817402 for
details.)
>
>When I go to the Centsible Software
>website at http://www.centsible.com/
>there appears to be no way to place
>an order without having the full
>amount charged to your credit card.
With empathy for your problem,… I must point out that the auction page
does state that.
salaam,
dowcom
To e-mail me, add the character zero to "dowcom". i.e.:
dowcom(zero)(at)webtv(dot)net.
--
http://community.webtv.net/dowcom/DOWCOMSAMSTRADGUIDE
MSWindows is television,… Linux is radar.
Maybe Not Me
news:10ttrml...@corp.supernews.com...
I was trying to order some replacement chips for my SX64, I added them to
the cart but when I went to pay for them the page had an error. I call the
number and left a message and received a call back within the hour and all
is well now. I got the chips by paying his paypal account and the SX has
been resurrected.
The number of people dealing with C= stuff is getting too small, we need to
do all that we can to support them and their business.
my 2 cents,
Jeff
Guy Macon
>>(See >http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5145817402
>>for details.)
>>
>>When I go to the Centsible Software
>>website at http://www.centsible.com/
>>there appears to be no way to place
>>an order without having the full
>>amount charged to your credit card.
>
>With empathy for your problem, I must point out that the
>auction page does state that.
No it doesn't.
It says "Purchase $100 worth of software for the cost of your
winning bid." My winning bid was $25. There appears to be no
way to place an order for $100 worth of software without having
the full $100 charged to my credit card.
Jim Brain
may never come, so I bid accordingly. Thus, if a purchase does not
arrive, it won't break me. That said, I've broken my rule at times
(Gee, Jim, I *NEED* that expensive item...), but I've also received all
of my purchases, in a timely manner.
Nonetheless, as a business owner, I encourage you to file a complaint,
if you feel you've exhausted the other options. Either it will cause
the business to respond and amend it's practices, or it will warn others
that they should take their business elsewhere.
If you're worried about unnecessarily putting a blight on the eBay
seller's record, I would not. No seller of any merchandise is going to
have a perfect record, even if they are great sellers. Buyers know that.
jim
--
Jim Brain, Brain Innovations
br...@jbrain.com http://www.jbrain.com
Dabbling in WWW, Embedded Systems, Old CBM computers, and Good Times!
bud
'Lo Guy:
Group: comp.sys.cbm Date: Sat, Jan 8, 2005, 2:19pm (CST+6) From:
_see.web.page_@_www.guymacon.com_ (Guy Macon)
script:
>>With empathy for your problem, I
>>must point out that the auction
>>page does state that.
>
>No it doesn't.
>
>It says "Purchase $100 worth of
>software for the cost of your winning
>bid." My winning bid was $25. There
>appears to be no way to place an
>order for $100 worth of software
>without having the full $100 charged
>to my credit card.
My bad. I thought that you were talking about a 'store credit' card.
If they didn't give you a 'credit' instrument when you paid them,… it
_does_ look fishy.