Faulty DVD rom what should I do

[mikesbytes]

Hi, I purchased a Lite-on DVD rom drive off ebay and it doesn't read DVD's what do you think I should do?

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5238460976&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%...MEWN%3AIT&rd=1

The sellers response is: "When i sent you the dvd rom it was in perfect working order i had played a couple of dvds on it and it was fine.it was only a month old and i sold it because i bought a dvd burner combo. If it is damaged in any way it is not my fault it would of been through postage and i have no resonsabilty for that. it sounds like the laser is out of alignment"

[jimmalenko]

That's what you get for buying off ebay.


Cut your losses and buy a brand new one for between $35-$50.

[mikesbytes]

True, I was trying to be lazy and not go to a shop and buy one. But having got it, is there anything I can do, assuming its an alignment problem.

[ROF]

When you buy anything off E-Bay you take the same chances you take when you buy at someones garage sale. It may work, it may work for a month, it may outlive you, but sometimes you get someone elses lemon.

I've gotten burned too many times in online auctions and don't see the benefit of buying modern tech in those places. Sure you may get a deal of the century, but you also take the chance of getting nothing for something. For a DVD-Rom, the cost to fix an alignment is not worth it unless you have the tools and test equipment to make the repairs yourself.

[jimmalenko]

You could try taking it apart yourself and seeing if there's anything obvious wrong with it. You could end up buggering it up altogether though. Or you could take it into a repair shop, who'll probably charge you $50 an hour or more to fix it (if whatever is wrong with it is fixable). Or you could save yourself the time and $$$ of either of these scenarios and buy a brand new one, complete with warranty. I'd drop the cash on a new one and be done with it.


I sorta found it funny how the sender seemed to have a more than reasonable idea of what could be wrong with it though ???



$38.50 + postage - http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=93_49&products_id=201&ccsid...2f40c318f604fb

[mikesbytes]

Only got a response once I stated that I was going to proceed with the necessary actions to recover the money. IE the nice emails were ignored. It's not the $$$, its the principal . Perhaps I should red mark him and move on. Only problem with red marking, is that they can red mark back.

That reminds me of a Mel Brookes joke. "What happended to honorsty, integrity....." response "we're lawers"

[lumis]

if it were me, i'd buy a bus ticket and pay him a visit.. some people do consider me a bit over-reactive though..

but if someone is obviously robbing you, then i would get my revenge no matter what..

what was the "+ BONUS INSIDE BOX", aside from the fucked up dvd-rom?

[Cobra]

Moved you through to the Computer Forum. I can see why you put it where you did, though.

Damaged in the post? Not sure about that - when has anyone ever recieved a damaged optical drive when ordering from a retailer online? How well was it packaged by the seller?

[mikesbytes]

Power DVD and Kodak EasyShare

Bus trip - good idea. But unfortentaly its a 2 to 3 day bus trip each way, so I might have to put a cap on prinicipals for this one.

Anyone want a free CD reader (use to read DVD's) including the special bonus software that lives near Ashfield, Sydney Australia!

[mikesbytes]

Packaging was good, he used proper Australia Post packaging.

Interesting to note that he knows what the problem is.

Is there any way I can test the alignment? some software perhaps?

[waheed]

I would give him a negative feedback and report him to ebay. Item not described as is. As you've stated he knows what the problem is and therefore was aware of it when selling on ebay.

[ROF]

Please tell me you didn't pay $30+ for a read-only ROM? I just bought a 16x DL Burner for that price. My bonus was a working drive.

[budz]

I once bought a LITEON DVDROM from some teenage kid. He shipped the mferrr in a regular manila envelope with no bubble wrap. The drive arrived with the tray sticking out about 1/4 in. I emailed him for a refund and told him don't be blaming USPS cuz the item was not packed well. He sent me a refund in CASH which is why I know he probably was a kid. I've only had 2 dvdroms that I had to ask for refunds and was successful. All you do is be nice in your email and tell him you'll use EBAY'S DISPUTE RESOLUTION that usually works for me!

For the price of a DVDROM you may as well get a dvd burner.

[mikesbytes]

Please tell me you didn't pay $30+ for a read-only ROM? I just bought a 16x DL Burner for that price. My bonus was a working drive.

$35 - $50 in Aus. I was just being lazy in that I didn't need to waste my saturday morning driving accross town to a discount computer shop.

[mikesbytes]

I once bought a LITEON DVDROM from some teenage kid. He shipped the mferrr in a regular manila envelope with no bubble wrap. The drive arrived with the tray sticking out about 1/4 in. I emailed him for a refund and told him don't be blaming USPS cuz the item was not packed well. He sent me a refund in CASH which is why I know he probably was a kid. I've only had 2 dvdroms that I had to ask for refunds and was successful. All you do is be nice in your email and tell him you'll use EBAY'S DISPUTE RESOLUTION that usually works for me!

For the price of a DVDROM you may as well get a dvd burner.

Good idea, I'll use the dispute resolution.

DVDROM or a Second burner? I have a A109.