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68coupe · 12:55 PM

I feel I need to let you guys know about this internet site: www.firebirdman.com ......The owners name is Terry Ritter and he has a young boy who appears to be his "witness".....I contacted his site looking for a good usable steering column for my 68 Firebird which he said he has.....His method of payment is strictly PayPal which I'll explain later.....I sent him $150 for the column and $20 for shipping.....When I opened the box, I almost passed out!.....It looked as if it was sitting out in the elements, all rusty! and to top it off, the upper housing was all bent out of shape!.....When I contacted Ritter he stated that it must have happened during shipping, the shipper was DHL Express, and that he will file a damage claim with the shipper.....2 weeks went by with no response from him so I contacted DHL Express and they stated they never received a claim from Ritter......I contacted Ritter who stated he filed the claim and that I'll receive a refund when he receives it from the shipper......I also shipped the damaged column back to him and when he received it he stated that the column was in good shape when it was shipped out and that he has this young boy as a witness!....He further stated that he believes I damaged the column and that he will not give me a refund!.....He has my $170 and the column!.....I filed an internet fraud complaint with the FTC......He also sells items on ebay which are protected by PayPal but unfortunately the column was not an ebay purchase and I could not get PayPal to reverse the transaction!......This scumbag knows exactlly how to commit fraud using PayPal for non ebay items!......It will be your word against Ritter and his little boy witness and he knows he will get away with it!......Please DO NOT deal with this lowly scumbag or he will take your money through PayPal too!:mad:

jal · 09-30-2006, 09:21 AM

Thanks for the update.
This guy seems to hang out on the http://www.firstgenfirebird.org/ forums a lot.
I was looking for the dash ashtray for my firebird and, he contacted me.
I asked for a picture and what he sent looked like crap.
He wanted almost $60.00 for the peice and, it didn't even include the bracket.
A member here on the PY forums sent me one with the bracket for half of that.
That one instance was enough for me.
Thanks for the heads-up..

~joe

68coupe · 09-30-2006, 01:05 PM

What I failed to do was to ask to see pics of the column but I trusted him as he was recommended by a Vikki Papesh, who hangs out on that 1st gen site, and has her own site www.thefirstgensite.com She did not even want to hear my side of the story and quickly banned me from her crooked site!:mad:

Cammer-6 · 09-30-2006, 04:10 PM

I have several 68 Columns Ill sell and send a pic before.
I ll sell for less than that and include shipping.
Sorry youre having trouble,we all need to get along in this.

trmjr1 · 09-30-2006, 07:35 PM

Ron,

That kind of surprises me about Terry. I have dealt with him a couple times with good results. He can be defensive at times, but for the most part tries to do the right thing. I spoke with him last week about something and he did seem to be "out of it" more than usual.

Can't help you w/Vikki.

Hope you two can get this resolved.

Tom

68-421 · 07:56 PM

Not sure who I would believe? What wasn't mentioned is that Ron has been booted out of just about every Pontiac Forum for the 1st gen there is. Not that there's anything wrong with that... :confused:

Where as this is the only complaint I've ever heard about Terry. Sure he can be a purist, and a little short and to the point at times, but he's always been very fair on prices and even sent stuff out before it's paid for if he knows who he's dealing with etc. He goes out of his way to be helpful, and to find the parts. He has has a tough year or so, with some injuries... but he's never seemed to be the least bit devious... not that I have ever heard of or seen.

As far as his prices being too high for something, if you talk with him about it, he always works with you on the price. A few things he's even shipped for free out to Cali, for added value...

Anyway, I find it hard to believe that it went down as stated? No offence Ron, but you don't have a great track record on things like this. I don't doubt that there was a dipute, just not sure I personally can believe that's how it went down... But that's just me. :sorry:

Kustom!

68coupe · 09-30-2006, 08:01 PM

Thanks Cammer-6....I have no money to complete the car this year due to the rip offs!.....My faults are being to trusting and not requesting pictures......As if this wasn't bad enough, I purchased yet another supposedly good usable column from a Bill Edmunds, aka Early Birds, who also hangs out on that crooked 1st gen site..... I paid $100 plus $25 shipping which he overcharged me because the actual postage was like $14 and some odd cents!.....Anyway, upon opening the box, I discovered the threads on the steering shaft were all stripped up making it impossible to install the steering wheel!.....I contacted this jerk and he said that the first few threads are supposed to be stripped and worn down tapered!, "that's the way it was made from the factory" and that it will work OK!......I sent him the stripped shaft back per his request and he determined that I stripped the threads!.....I might add, this jerk is buddies with that other scumbag which I found out later!.....He continues dicking me around with his silly emails saying that "he knows he has an extra shaft, just don't know where it is at this time!.....In the meantime, my car is sitting in the garage with no steering column and I lost $295!......I'm asking you guys to stay away from that Firebird forum site and do not do business with these crumbs!......At the beginning, they come across as being nice guys to get your money but when you need them the most, they'll give you the shaft!:mad:

68coupe · 09-30-2006, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 68-421

Not sure who I would believe? What wasn't mentioned is that Ron has been booted out of just about every Pontiac Forum for the 1st gen there is. Not that there's anything wrong with that... :confused:

Where as this is the only complaint I've ever heard about Terry. Sure he can be a purist, and a little short and to the point at times, but he's always been very fair on prices and even sent stuff out before it's paid for if he knows who he's dealing with etc. He goes out of his way to be helpful, and to find the parts. He has has a tough year or so, with some injuries... but he's never seemed to be the least bit devious... not that I have ever heard of or seen.

As far as his prices being too high for something, if you talk with him about it, he always works with you on the price. A few things he's even shipped for free out to Cali, for added value...

Anyway, I find it hard to believe that it went down as stated? No offence Ron, but you don't have a great track record on things like this. I don't doubt that there was a dipute, just not sure I personally can believe that's how it went down... But that's just me. :sorry:

Kustom!

Who cares who you believe, I'm telling the truth!....The fact that I've been booted and don't have a great track record has nothing to do with the real issue which is being ripped off!:mad: ......I believe you hit the nail right on the head when you stated Ritter has had a tough year!.....He probably needs all the money he can get even if it involves fraudulently obtaining it using his PayPal account!:mad: .....No offense Kustom, but with 2 posts, you have a great track record don't ya!:D

trmjr1 · 09-30-2006, 08:34 PM

Ron,

I don't want to be jumping into this again, but someone needs to defend Bill (Early Birds). I don't know how well you know Bill. He is a great guy and honest. I have been to his house and have purchased several items from him over the years. He is the most organized used parts guy I have ever met. Every part I have purchased from Bill has been very clean. He even bead blasted all the bolts I have purchased from him.

What you may not know about Bill is that many years ago, he was working as a manager of a place and was shot during an armed robbery and has been in a wheel chair ever since. He has a beautiful Firebird in his garage that he restored from that wheel chair. He has an offsite storage area that he keeps his parts in and you can image the work it takes him to go out there and get stuff and get it shipped.

You mentioned he charged $25 for shipping but postage was only $12. What about packaging, taking the part to the post office, etc. $25 sounds reasonable for that size part since I am sure he has to pay someone to package it up for him.

Tom

68coupe · 09-30-2006, 09:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trmjr1

Ron,

I don't want to be jumping into this again, but someone needs to defend Bill (Early Birds). I don't know how well you know Bill. He is a great guy and honest. I have been to his house and have purchased several items from him over the years. He is the most organized used parts guy I have ever met. Every part I have purchased from Bill has been very clean. He even bead blasted all the bolts I have purchased from him.

What you may not know about Bill is that many years ago, he was working as a manager of a place and was shot during an armed robbery and has been in a wheel chair ever since. He has a beautiful Firebird in his garage that he restored from that wheel chair. He has an offsite storage area that he keeps his parts in and you can image the work it takes him to go out there and get stuff and get it shipped.

You mentioned he charged $25 for shipping but postage was only $12. What about packaging, taking the part to the post office, etc. $25 sounds reasonable for that size part since I am sure he has to pay someone to package it up for him.

Tom

I'm telling the truth when I'm saying he sent me a steering column with stripped threads on the steering shaft, making it a useless piece, and accused me of stripping it!:mad: .....What would you do?.....If I lived closer to him, I'd personally pay him a visit and straighten it out!.....I even offered to buy a shaft from him and he's still leaving me hanging!.....Great and Honest!....I think not!:confused:

68-421 · 11:54 PM

"Who cares who you believe, I'm telling the truth!"

Ah... yeah... that goes a long way!:heh:

Now here we have two well known, upstanding people, well respected in the Pontiac Community, and who both have very good ratings on eBay. Both are known by Many, and no one else has had a problem with them, if there was any issue, they both go out of their way to make it right.

Then we have some one who is known for being difficult, who is know for being banned from multiple forums...

I think that says it all. Especially for any one who has ever, done business with Terry or Bill!

Oh and don't assume... just because some one doesn't have a lot of posts that they don't have your number. You have made quite a rep for yourself (we all know how you play things up and try to stir things up) and I've been around these boards and many others for many years... :heh:

JimFB400HO · 10-01-2006, 01:36 AM

I certainly don't know details, from both sides, on the original dispute discussed; however, there have been some good and knowledgeable people and web sites disparaged by the originator. I find the approach and name-calling inappropriate. I hope readers look objectively at this. I personally have had good experiences dealing with Terry.

Bjorn · 10:59 AM

Hate to take sides here ,but I know Ron very little and as 1 of 4 Admin. on FGF site I am "fairly familiar" with him (to say the least) ...we had to ban him ,for several different reasons, which should not have to be mentioned here, and should not be part of this discussion...

BUT I have bought MANY parts from Terry over the years, ONCE he sent me a used rear axle that was no good, but as SOON AS I told him ,he replaced it with another good one , no questions asked, even paid for the shipping on the second one!....he`s an upstanding individual who goes out of his way to help out....
and to bash Bill Edmunds ,uncalled for.... I also have bought may parts from Bill over the past 6 yrs, I have ALSO visited at his home ,he`s a very good person, would NOT rip anyone off....so not knowing all the facts here , I would tend to lean towards the people I know and have dealt with...also having "dealt" with Ron, I would stand up and defend Bill,Terry and Vikki any day.... especially after calling our fgf site "crooked"...!

ANY timeI hear of people needing "hard to find" Firebird parts , my first reaction is to tell people to go to Terry and Bill......I put my reputation out there based on what I know about them....

My suspicion here is that if Ron got a bad part ,rather than telling Tery he got a bad one and ask for replacement or money back, he probably got very verbal and abusive up front!

And Vikki, for You who dont know her , probably knows more about Firebirds , or cars period , than 90% of the guys out there!!

For Ron to blast these 3 very nice people here (after my experience with Ron ) is just silly.

TAQuest · 10-01-2006, 11:29 AM

I will also chime in. Ron(the complainer), no credibility with my experiences. Terry, Bill, Bjorn, Vikki and Tom have excellent credibility. Need I say more...

rcrahn · 10-01-2006, 11:55 AM

I have purchased a couple of parts from Terry in the past.

First, a driver side window for a 69FB and second, an driver side inner fender brace. I was concerned about the window he sent because it had deep scratches, we talked and he sent another one immediately. It was fine. The inner fender brace he sent was the RH, not the LH. OK, mistakes will happen. I sent him a picture of what I wanted and he responded right away, sending me the correct one.

Through all this I talked with Terry on several occasions. I know he just loves 69FBs, like I do.

What I really appreciate is that he is out there finding parts and providing a valuable service, so that guys like you and me can complete our projects and fulfill our dreams.

Thank you Terry!

68coupe · 10-01-2006, 01:24 PM

My mistakes were being too trustworthy and not requesting pics of items before purchasing them:mad:

The results were devastating to say the least!

The fact is Terry Ritter,aka Backyard Parts, sold me a rusty, bent up piece of crap of a steering column for $170 and will not refund my money!....A legitimate business will include a sales receipt with the merchandise which I never received and which leads me to believe he is not declaring this as income to the IRS!....I usually keep my receipts for tax purposes.

The fact is Bill Edmunds, aka Early Birds, sold me a stripped up, useless steering column for $125 and refuses to give me a decent steering shaft to fix it!.....Again, a legitimate business will include a sales receipt which I never received, for tax purposes!

To you Poncho dudes who dealt with Ritter and Edmunds in the past with good results, I say good for you!;) ......I'm just giving a heads up to the guys who never dealt with them......All I'm saying is be very cautious and ask for pictures of the items before purchasing them and inquire about their refund or return policy and ask for a sales receipt.....:cool: :clap2:

Ron H · 10-01-2006, 04:26 PM

Not that I belong in this but I have seen a trend developing. I believe there is a tendency for Terry to send a not so good part though he is willing to replace it when questioned. Possibly Ron should have been a bit more tactful as to how he went about questioning him? Either way his money should be refunded as he did send it back. Was there ever any pictures taken?.
It's too bad when battles like this happen.

TAQuest · 10-02-2006, 09:04 AM

What battle? Ron has been spewwing untruths all over the internet. From site to site to site. Along the way he tries to make whoever he can look bad. It's a simple case of trying to make his peers look bad. It never ceases to amaze me how a person like Ron will cut people down. It seems that they do it to make themselves look better. It never works. The simple fact that he has been booted off multiple sites tells it all. It takes quite a bit to get banned from a site. Especially the 1st gen Firebird sites. The people running these sites are so layed back that you have to jump through hoops and do back-flips to even get warned about your behavior. One site has been around for 8+ years and Ron was the ONLY person ever banned. 5000 plus members and Ron was the only one ever banned.

Bjorn · 10-02-2006, 09:26 AM

I think he was the only one banned from Johnny Macs site too....;)

cudagal · 10:16 AM

I have not yet had the opportunity to purchase from Firebird Bill, but I have bought many items from Firebirdman and have received good, usable parts at fair prices with no shipping markup. Every part I bought was used, with normal wear for its age, but all were in good condition overall and a bit of cleaning and paint made them show quality.

I have spent considerable time online with Ron answering technical questions about his car.

Thanks, Ron, for the reminder why you were banned by so many sites. I gave you the benefit of the doubt by allowing you to rejoin after your initial ban and you chose your behavior. I banned you again solely because of your behavior in a public forum.

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