Ron Johnson here. This posting was brought to my attention last week by Chris C. but I have not had the time or energy to reply due the passing away of my father 2 1/2 weeks ago after a long illness. If any members have lost a family loved one, you know how painful it is. However, this has nothing to do with the issue at hand. This is my first posting to this BB and I will add my contribution for the record.
I have been involved in the Pontiac only parts business for almost 28 years. I started as a collector, it went to a hobby and progressed to a full time business 16 years ago. I have gone to all 4 corners of the country and everywhere in between to bring high quality nos and used parts to the east coast where most of it is bad. I am on the road 70-90 days a year with the exception of this past year. Enough of that.
The facts of this transaction are as follows:
1) This was an ebay auction. Those of you who wish to view the original auction with the photo look at #594486993. It is still there as of today.
2) It appears to be represented that the ashtray piece was the only item in the auction when indeed it was all 3 pieces of chrome across the dash. Whether anyone agrees or not, $46.00 was a great deal for these pieces. Regardless, I am bound to sell for this price, even though it is worth much more.
3) To the best of my knowledege, the high bidder, Norm Johnson of Orland Park, Il, ebay user name pmd70, never asked any questions prior to bidding. In addition, Mr Johnson and I have had no futher communication whatsover other than the exchange of information right after auction end. The only time I knew there was a problem when he hit me with an unjustified negative feedback.
4) None of these ribbed parts digitally photogragh very well compared to other parts. Bidders need to keep that in mind and ask questions for further evaluation if necessary.
5) I realize that the auction stated "all sales final", but it does not hurt to ask. The worst that can happen is a refusal, which never happened in this case. I used this phrase for protection against dishonest buyers, and they are out there, for a while, but discovered it was a bad business decision and ceased using it after a short time. I am not aware of Norm J. emailing me requesting a return or refund. This is contrary to his statement. I answer every email, especially when it comes to ebay auctions specifically to AVOID a negative feedback.
I sincerely am sorry that this transaction had to end up being a subject of controversy on the BB and Mr N. Johnson was a disappointed customer. As most of you can see from the other posts, I try very hard to represent my parts honestly. I make enough without having to take advantage of anyone and certainly DO NOT want to end up with a moniker like "Barely Marginal" I feel Andre Rayman described it best. I think that if you ask any 64-65 A-body owner if his dash chrome is totally pit-free I feel that you would get an overwhelming NO! I think this crappy potmetal stuff was pitted from the time it was new. I stand by my description of this item 100% and believe I truly represented this item honestly. If you Norm J. would like to return this item, I will GLADLY refund your money, including freight. I would have then and will now. Contact me at sd7369@aol. com if you want to do so.
My return policy for my business, past, present, and future is any item is returnable within 30 days as long as it is in the same condition as received.
The following is my opinion:
I get the impression from your actions that you are probably a good guy but a newcomer to the hobby. No problem, everyone has to start somewhere. You have chosen a highly desireable but expensive to restore model as almost every 65 owner needs the same expensive hard to find parts, (i.e. taillamp bezels, center panel, other potmetal). You will find as you pursue parts for this car that it is not as easy as most people think. Anyone who has done this for 10 years or more knows how hard parts are getting to find. I truly wish you luck and good fortune in your project.
Lastly, I would like to thank all of my friends and loyal customers for their support by taking the time to post a message on this board, be it good or bad. Like Chris C. stated, maybe we all can learn from this issue. I know I have!
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