Date: Fri, 6 Jun 2003 08:39:46 -0500
Reply-To: Fredrich Hesterberg <FredsVW@WEBTV.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Fredrich Hesterberg <FredsVW@WEBTV.NET>
Subject: Re: Side Tent on EBay/personal experience
In-Reply-To: Doug Alcock <doug.alcock@HEWITT.COM>'s message of Fri, 6 Jun 2003
08:51:31 -0400
Content-Type: Text/Plain; Charset=ISO-8859-1
Funny thing is people think old style Campmobile tent is overpriced.
It is heavy duty, sounds easier to put it up than this item, and holds
it's value good.
It does not take an hour to put up, I know that, and doesn't blow away
in wind.
Why buy cheap ?
Get cheap,and aggravated.
Good Morning,
Fred
Hey all-
Well, I really hate to admit this but... I was one of the suckers that
bought one of these tents. I contacted the guy after the auction was
over and asked him if he would negotiate his price. (But of course he
would!!) So
he sold it to me for $300 plus shipping. I suppose my judgement was
clouded
with dilusions of grandeur, but having just sold my beloved Westy I was
a little weak. I thought this would be the perfect solution to camping
in my
Carat with 2 basset hounds.
WRONG!
This tent has been a bit of a disappointment (for $300, anyway.) First
of all, it is not very well made. Secondly, it takes like an hour to
assemble the thing by yourself. It's just all over the place, and really
clumsy. If my neighbors were watching me try to put it up, they probably
got a good laugh! The seams tear very easily if your not super careful.
It's probably a
good concept if you are going to be somewhere for two weeks, but if
you're just going for a couple nights, it is a large PITA to put up.
Once it's up you have to secure six or eight points or it will blow
over. Very hard to re-pack.
I don't know what I was thinking, but I really don't see us getting alot
of
use out of this thing. I don't mean to dis a product that Ron carries,
but I
just have to pass on my $.02.
ch-chinggggg
Scott
----- Original Message -----
From: "The Bus Depot" <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Thursday, June 05, 2003 7:52 PM
Subject: Re: Side Tent on EBay
There's a "brand new" side tent up on E-bay, no bids yet and the buy it
now price is $350
it looks identical to this one: http://199.217.241.240/tent.JPG that
Ron sells at
the Bus Depot for $199.99 --- presumably also "Brand New". No wonder
there are no bids ---- (and no wonder I don't think much of ebay).
Pretty funny. Yes, it's the same tent I sell, but for almost twice my
price. Lots of questionable stuff in his listing, too. For example, he
claims to have bought two but only needed one, so it's "brand new -
except that he assembled it to take the pictures." Why, if he already
has another one just like it that he is using, did he have to open up
and assemble this "brand new" one to take pictures of it? Also he claims
it fit Eurovans, which it does not without a drip rail adapter.
You're right about ebay. Buyer beware. There are good deals there
sometimes, but also plenty of ripoffs. I often see parts there selling
for more (sometimes much more) there than I and other retailers sell
them for everyday (and without the safety net of dealing with an
established business) . Used parts are a mixed bag - sometimes cheap,
other times more than a new one would have cost! The problem is, of
course, that some people go nuts bidding. I once put a CD burner on Ebay
privately and mentioned right in the description that it sold for $100
brand new. Would you believe it bid up to $125? Good thing there's no IQ
test required to get an Ebay user account. :-)
- Ron Salmon
The Bus Depot, Inc.
www.busdepot.com
(215) 234-VWVW
_____________________________________________
Toll-Free for Orders by PART # : 1-866-BUS-DEPOT
Fred
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