Why do people do this?

[crosscreekcraig]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Shopsmith-Belt-Sander-/161111678816?pt=Power_Tools&hash=item2583011f60

Why would anyone put something like this up for sale at the price asked? I bought a used SS belt sander about 6 weeks ago. The pics looked pretty nice and the guy included two "new" belts plus the used belt on the machine. I paid $165 plus $40 shipping and was the only bidder; I happened to find it while it was in the final hours of the auction. When it arrived and I opened the box I was greeted by a plume of old saw dust; it had coated the entire contents of the box during shipping- what a mess! The next thing I noticed were the belts - the used one was broken at the seam and the "new" ones were so old the seam tape was dry rotted and worthless. I immediately turned to tearing down the main assembly and blowing the years (1993 model) of impacted sawdust out of the drive and idler drums and the frames. I ordered new bearings for the drive assembly and overhauled the idler assembly. I also noticed from years of use that the left and right main frames were BADLY worn underneath from a poorly adjusted/tracking belt, but they're still useable. I still have tracking issues from time to time, but I think it's more user error or maybe non-SS belts than the old machine - I think. I did write to the guy and share my experience pretty much the way I wrote it here because he didn't disclose in his listing the worn parts nor did he bother to clean it before shipping. I didn't feel I'd really been ripped off for the price I paid, but more dismayed and disappointed at other people's inconsideration. He did apologize, but he explained it away as a matter of "perception" (??). Whatever. The link above just reminded me of my experience with the belt sander I bought. As an e-bay seller, I clean up anything used and make it look as clean and appealing as possible - I've sold Harley-Davidson parts, left over Shopsmith parts from my upgrades and updates, and miscellaneous electronics and other do-dads. Why would someone put something like that up and merely say "Shopsmith Beltsander" and expect anyone to pay any price based on that and a picture of a neglected and mistreated piece of junk?

[billmayo]

Yes, it is sad that around 75 to 80% of the Shopsmith parts on Ebay are over priced, poorly maintained, rusty or plain junk. I find that sellers with good parts will have several cleanly focused pictures of the part(s) most of the time. Actually reading the feedback comments for any seller and leaving accurate feedback each time helps weed out a lot of sellers whom you do not want to buy from. I believe pride in workmanship is slipping these days. There are only a few sellers I will buy Shopsmith parts that I know have clean and nice parts. The sad part is that all of the previous sellers I brought from in past years have given up on selling on Ebay. I have always tried to list Shopsmith parts that I would use myself on Ebay and have only had a couple of problems which we cleared in hundreds of tranactions.