Any German members here that could help me please?

[tosh]

First off apologies to the mods for putting this here.
Allow me to explain....

Many will no doubt know that I am utterly obsessed by Wenger, or to be more specific the Wenger Rangers.
When I heard back at the beginning of 2012 that Wenger was to cease production, I decided to concentrate solely on Wengers. But the sheer volume of their models was such that I realised it would be hopeless trying to collect them all, so I decided instead to go after just the Ranger/Rangergrip models and if possible pick up the matching 85's along the way.

Its pretty much impossible for me to say just how difficult it was, most models were not available in the UK, some only in the USA but the majority were only to be found in Eastern Europe. The language barrier was by far the biggest single obstacle, Paypal was magnificent. Then after payment was sent, I would receive a email (foreign language) which had to be translated to discover that a certain model I had bought and paid for was actually out of stock..this would then result in frantically trying to get a refund, plus source from elsewhere whilst at the same time trying to still find the models I didn't have in my collection.

It got so bad that I eventually quit, the amount of time and money was becoming ridiculous. I had a 3-4 month break then decided to see what was still around.....Virtually nothing!

2yrs on and I still get notified by ebay everytime a wenger ranger is listed. 9 times out of 10 I already have whats offered.
A week ago ebay notified me a Ranger had been listed. I quickly checked, saw it was Blue and without hesistation clicked the buy-it-now in an instant.
Since then the seller has flatly refused to send to the UK. What's worse is that he also doesn't accept paypal. I have messaged him several times asking for banking details so that I can try to arrange bank transfer. But the seller is simply not replying to any of my messages. Today the phone alerted me yet again, the seller had relisted the item even though I had already agreed to buy previously.
I don't really know what I can do. Ebay will probably not assist because they will not allow knives to be listed here in the UK.

What's so frustrating for me, is that the Tool layout on this Wenger is one  I don't recognise. The blade has a name on it which I cannot quite make out. So I'm beginning to suspect that the whole tool was commissioned as a batch.

Given just how much time and effort I've gone and put into collecting Wenger Rangers
I would absolutely love to have this in my collection.

If any German members can offer me any advice or help me try to get this I would be so grateful.
 

[T14]

While only being a neighbour to germany, I will be happy to help if I am able. My schedule frees up 3 days from now.
1) Some german sellers will not ship outside Germany. If this applies to your seller, I will be unable to help.
2) the bank transfer thing is convoluted and unfortunately quite expensive when done across borders. Last time I went through the motions I ended up paying some 25 quid or so in bank transfer fees alone.
3) German banks will require you to supply the postal address of the bank transfer recipient as proof of transaction validity. Experienced german sellers will have their postal adresses listed in the small print section of their sales listing. if this is not the case for your wenger, you will have to get the info through personal messages.
4) I'll be happy to be an occasional middleman for our british members. Talk to Oxford_guy if you need a reference.
-Tom

[Grant Lamontagne]

That certainly is a frustration, but for me that kind of thing adds to the enjoyment of collecting something.  The thrill of the chase is always exhilarating. 

Unfortunately I would be of little help, as the German words I know are not likely to be used in the average sales page or auction. 

Def

[tosh]

Thank you to you both for replying.
Unfortunately he has already stated categorically he will not ship out of Germany.
What is so annoying is that both times he listed this as buy-it-now he also listed as "make an offer" option too. I am perfectly happy to pay his asking price and stated I would be willing to pay 20 euros for shipping too. But he simply will not respond.
It is for me unbelievably frustrating verging almost on witnessing a kind of xenophobic attitude.
I also offered to send cash by recorded delivery too...still no reply.

I really would have liked to have had this in my collection as it proves that Wenger obviously did do special versions as one offs.
But the hassle and the anguish he's creating is diabolical.
In all the purchases I did with sellers in Europe, the constant language barrier, the constant stream of emails back and fro...I've never come across such arrogance...ever.

[Grant Lamontagne]

I'm sure we have more than a few members from Germany here that would be willing to help.

Def

[ToolJoe]

Are they hard to come by in the US? If possible, I'm willing to help out..

[glenfiddich1983]

While only being a neighbour to germany, I will be happy to help if I am able. My schedule frees up 3 days from now.
1) Some german sellers will not ship outside Germany. If this applies to your seller, I will be unable to help.
2) the bank transfer thing is convoluted and unfortunately quite expensive when done across borders. Last time I went through the motions I ended up paying some 25 quid or so in bank transfer fees alone.
3) German banks will require you to supply the postal address of the bank transfer recipient as proof of transaction validity. Experienced german sellers will have their postal adresses listed in the small print section of their sales listing. if this is not the case for your wenger, you will have to get the info through personal messages.
4) I'll be happy to be an occasional middleman for our british members. Talk to Oxford_guy if you need a reference.
-Tom

A bank transfer to countries outside Europe (like US and Canada) is expensive, yes.

But Danmark (although of course not a member of the Euro zone) is a member of the EU and SEPA, so you shouldn't have to pay any transfer fees if you pay someone in a country that is also in SEPA (all EU countries and some other countries like Switzerland and Norway).

As long as you transfer to a IBAN bank account and you transfer Euro's the transaction itself is free. Only thing you need to take into account is the currency conversion (DKK to EUR).

[glenfiddich1983]

@Tosh you're probably best off with someone from Germany itself, but if there is anything I can do from out of the Netherlands let me know.

[Tomcat_81]

Hey there, I'm from Bavaria (which, by mistake, is still somehow seen as a part of Germany) and willing to help!
Pm?
Tomcat

[Tomcat_81]

Just searched ebay to do a quick buy for you, but couldn't find the Wenger you described... is it still there?

Just mail me a link and advise me to either buy now or name an amount of money I should offer the guy.
I'll be in the UK in a couple of months and could post it there OR send it to you via a carrier of your choice.
Keeping my fingers crossed!

Tomcat

(and, if anyone has Tosh's number, tell him I'm here. I'll check this thread till late at night)

[tosh]

Thank you to everyone here for your offers of help....I really do appreciate that.

@ Tomcat I've sent you a pm with the link to the item. Hope it comes through OK

[tosh]

Update: I contacted the seller tonight and he replied instantly that the Knife has now been sold!

How he can do that I honestly do not know. I have theoretically purchased this knife Twice, as he relisted it again on Saturday morning. Even though I had already purchased it the previous week. So, again I clicked the buy it now, sent a message that I could supply a German address, was prepared to pay via any means Paypal, Bank Transfer, Cash...in short I honestly do not know what else I could have done.

First time I have experienced this kind of xenophobic discrimination....not very pleasant.

Here's the link..

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=201789932418

Would also like to give a big thumbs up to Tomcat_81  , he couldn't have tried any harder to help me. Really do appreciate your time and effort, thank you 

[Tomcat_81]

We still have one (small and maybe blind) horse in the race. Who knows...
 If you ever find a Wenger of your choice on Ebay.de again, I'll gladly help.
And one day we'll find that scythe for you!

Tomcat

[Aloha]

Tosh I'm sorry you weren't able to get the item you wanted.  Irritating to say the least.  Tomcat_81 big thumbs up to you  for trying to help a fellow member. 

[tosh]

We still have one (small and maybe blind) horse in the race. Who knows...
 If you ever find a Wenger of your choice on Ebay.de again, I'll gladly help.
And one day we'll find that scythe for you!

Tomcat

You're a Star Tomcat, A Star I tell ya!!

[Tomcat_81]

Nah, I'm just a fellow collector ( and, gladly, a Vic-one ;-) ).
 I know what it's like to have just that little bit of hope for a well-meaning seller who'll send a certain knife to you, even though you're not Conus, not in Switzerland or wherever the seller would prefer you to be.
And then a long and sour wait for the postal services, the benevolence of customs and finally that this precious package of yours will actually be delivered to you and not just put on the postbox for everyone to run off with...

One day we'll find one, I'll be on the lookout!

Tomcat

[SteveC]

 

[tosh]

I'll post up a picture.
The scales and the tool layout are a complete one-off

[ColoSwiss]

Neat looking knife. Good luck in your hunt. Know your pain; a lot of European dealers won't ship to the U S. 

[gregozedobe]

I've had a similar experience - paid for a Buy-It-Now MT on US ebay, then the seller decided that he had put too low a price on it so he reneged on the deal (I must admit the price was low).  Instead of being honest about his reasons he tried to insist that it was because I wasn't a US buyer, even though his only stated restriction was US addresess only ( I had given him a US address).  What really peeved me was he kept my money for a fortnight before refunding it, and then only because I raised a dispute with ebay.  I tried to leave negative feedback but because he had refunded me I couldn't - GRRRR !   

Buyers are permitted to withdraw items before they are sold, but aren't supposed to once they have been sold.  But they still do, and this is one of the few instances where ebay seems to side with the seller (usually the buyer gets favoured over the seller in most disputes).

Unfortunately there's not much you can do in cases like this, except try to forget about it (no sense churning your guts over something you can't change), and continue looking for another one.  Good luck with your search.