Ralph Fichtl- a man to avoid.

Stuka Stunt Main Forum · 8 of 8 known posts recovered

Jon Ramsden · May 15, 2001 10:51 PM

Ralph Fichtl- a man to avoid.#0 source

I recently bought on action (Ebay) an "NIB"
Fox.29XBB for 228.00.The picture looked good. The engine described as NIB. When it arrived it had an Enya thrust washer and OS prop nut on it. The compression was so weak I checked the pug. It was loose and I put a washer under it and tightened it down. NO ChANGE. The piston and liner are completely worn out and caked with carbon. The piston is so scratched it looks as if it were crashed in dirt and run without cleaning. When the box and engine were pictured they were carefully arranged so that the oil stains on the bottom of the crankcase
did not show and the box insert was laid out as if it were the bottom of the box with a paper towel folded in it so you could not see that the box was not complete.
Mr Fichtl said the engine looked new to him and that if I could not tell by the picture it was my problem, this even though he called it "NIB".
I will file a fraud claim with EBay and have left feedback. He has stated that he will not refund or adjust and doesnt want to hear from me again. At one point he hinted that the factory test run must have been the problem and later that I must have damaged it. Please, a lot of you know me and I hope know that I would not missrepresent something this serious. Stay away from Mr Fichtl. He will do it again. He is [email protected]

Larry F · May 16, 2001 04:33 AM

RE: Ralph Fichtl- a man to avoid.#1 source

LAST EDITED ON May-16-01 AT 04:36 AM (EST)

Jon --

I have heard many Ebay horror stories, mainly through another hobby (typewriters). Most have concluded that Ebay is a lousy place to buy most anything, but especially valuable collectible items. There are too many Ralphs!

In contrast, Leonard's classified is a different place, not because of any controls Leonard has put in (my opinion) but because nearly all are by folks you already know (at least informally) through posts. I have bought items from Currell and Racefella here, and everything was better than advertised.

Sorry to hear about your experience! Nothing worse than waiting for that precious package to arrive, and finding a pile of dung when you open it.

Larry F

denlip · May 16, 2001 06:59 AM

RE: Ralph Fichtl- a man to avoid.#2 source

Sorry to hear about your misfortune on EBay. I have bought several items there, although not at the price range that you paid. My experience has been positive because of a few things to do. If it is expensive don't send a Money order thats the kiss of death if the mans a crook. Use pay pal or bidpoint and be verified and use your credit card. You can always put it in dispute and file charges through them. Credit card companies vigorously prosecute frauds. Next make sure that you contact the person before you bid have him send you additional pictures of the item . If he won't then walk away. What i'm saying won't save you from the pro but it tends to weed out the casual crook. This man can be prosecuted in the town where he lives, also he might be able to be charged for mail fraud. At any rate EBay will not do anything for you but they might not let him post again.
He will then probably go under a new alias and start over again.
Whatever appeals to you on ebay and you don't get it at your price don't despair it always appears again usually in the immediate future. So don't be a victim of auction feaver Dennis

Currell · May 16, 2001 07:07 AM

RE: Ralph Fichtl- a man to avoid.#3 source

Jon: I'll sell you an excellent Fox 29XBB for considerably less than your ebay price.

Larry: Thank you for the kind words, but I have to disagree re your ebay comment. I have bought many items there, and have never been disappointed. Guys in this hobby tend to be very straight. There are a few that give everyone else (including ebay in general) a bad name.

That Feedback section in ebay is a powerful motivator. This Fichtl guy will be brought to heel quickly.

Currell

The Kiwi · May 16, 2001 10:36 AM

RE: Ralph Fichtl- a man to avoid.#4 source

LAST EDITED ON May-16-01 AT 05:17 PM (EST)

Generally, my eBay experience is decent. Three deals out of a hundred or more were unsatisfactory and couldn't be resolved to my favor. But I want runners, not show-pieces. The price levels that I'm willing to gamble at probably don't attract crooks.

I used eBay's search, for expired items, to find that the only two 29X BB's to have been sold recently were both snapped up by Ramjet; I also saw that Fichtl claimed to be based in Broken Arrow, OK.

(eBay's URL on that auction = http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=582004352)

We have a sizable community of C/L folks who are on the internet from around that area. If any of those good folks know anything about this character, maybe that will help Jon. (Incidentally, FICHTL seems to be turning out to be another of those semi- illiterate type jokers I do so enjoy making fun of!)

Kiwi

Jon · May 16, 2001 06:22 PM

RE: Ralph Fichtl- a man to avoid#5 source

Atta boy Kiwi, you can be amusing. Currell, NOW you tell me. I did buy both of these motors and am awaiting the arrival of the second with anticiption and trepidation. I have located a new piston and sleeve for the first engine and will send it to Fox for installation. One of the two will be auctioned later to recover at least some of my money. You can rest assured it will be very accurately described. I am in touch with Bob Reeves in Tulsa. Maybe he can come up with an idea.

Larry F · May 16, 2001 06:44 PM

RE: Ralph Fichtl- a man to avoid.#6 source

KIWI --

Three failures per 100 or so trials is a poor failure rate for transactions. I am zero for one (failures) on Ebay, and decided to pocket my winnings like a good statistician, now that I know the odds.

Larry F

The Kiwi · May 16, 2001 08:32 PM

RE: Ralph Fichtl- a man to avoid.#7 source

>KIWI --
>
>Three failures per 100 or so trials is a poor failure
>rate for transactions. I am zero for one (failures) on
>Ebay, and decided to pocket my winnings like a good
>statistician, now that I know the odds.
>
I suspect that some others will say my rate is so high because I expect some failures. I've become a cynic, with less faith in my fellow man's common sense than I formerly had. But I am bidding low and losing twice as many auctions as I win. The result is a "low average cost" for anything I obtain in substantial numbers, including OS Max's of a wide variety, many of which I'll probably sell in a year or two once I choose specific ones for specific uses and can estimate backup/spare parts needs better.

Right now, I'm enjoying the charge of having something like four times as many operable engines as ever were in my possession all at once when I was most active in flying and competition.

The K.