Wampum

The mystery unfolds...

When I took readers Michael and Donna's advice and started the claims process at PayPal and Ebay, I began to do a little investigating myself, starting with the seller's actual company and location. That was a tad challenging, as here is the label from the package:

At the time it arrived, I didn't think much of the missing top of the label; but now, of course, it's quite clear (from the box cutter marks, including the gash where the label was lifted with the point) that the label was purposely damaged to obscure the seller's address. Fortunately, they left the four digit zipcode. Thank god for Google.

So I was able to determine that the brick and mortar operation from which the generator purportedly shipped was Brown and Wiser, Inc., (9991 SW Avery St., Tualatin, Oregon.) Brown and Wiser does not list itself as a distributor for Kipor generators, however, it's clear from a web page available through Google, but delinked at the main site, that they once did. Funny thing, though. They list as their Kipor parts partner, Clear Choice Power Solutions.

When I made my payment after winning my Ebay auction, the money went not to West Coast Power and Tool, but to a company by the name of Clear Choice Property Solutions, LLC. Interestingly enough, a search of that name on Google comes up completely empty. Just a small difference, probably not enough for the seller's bank to return any checks made out to Clear Choice Power Solutions, or Property Solutions, depending on the buyer. But enough to make finding Derek, my email contact from West Coast Power and Tool, aka, Clear Choice Power/Property Solutions a bit more difficult.

While I was in the midst of my own investigation, I was contacted by another Ebayer who had dealings with West Coast as well. His communications were most interesting. He had contacted KiporAmerica after his genny failed and the seller was uncooperative, and had learned that the seller had previously been an authorized dealer, but had lost that designation. (He forwarded me his correspondence with Kipor regarding that information.) He also claimed that West Coast Power and Tool's generators were illegally smuggled in from South Korea, had their serial numbers removed and counterfeit EPA stickers. I haven't been able to verify the South Korea smuggling part of the story, but I did open up my Kipor this morning and found this:

According to Kipor, this should be the location of the generator's serial numbers. As this picture indicates, that serial number has been removed.

I plan on following up on the South Korea trail, as the informant has asserted that both Chinese and US government officals are now involved. But what is also disturbing is that the Ebayer stated that he's contacted Ebay about this situation on three separate occasions, and that Ebay has done nothing to stop the seller from auctioning, if nothing else, generators, advertised as "brand new" which have had their serial numbers removed.

There is definitely more to the Ebay angle of this story as well. A glance at West Coast Power and Tool's Ebay seller's page indicates that at some point in the recent past, a change in "management" occured. When this major event took place, did Ebay require the new "management" to re-certify, or post bond, or anything other than assume the old management's name and reputation, including its sale history (6526 items) and positive feedback rating (99.1%)? Can every Ebay seller turn over their history and reputation to anyone at anytime, and how are potential buyers informed? These are questions I'll next be asking Ebay.

Stay tuned. Without a generator, it looks as though the Koufaxes might be delayed a bit. We're looking into alternatives, as well as hoping Paypal will come through (if they do) sooner rather than later. On that, I'm not holding my breath, as Ebay and Paypal are essentially one and the same.