NS Oscar Problems/Questions

[jeremy8810]

Hey guys,

Just wanted to get some input and thoughts from you on this. I bought a used Oscar on ebay about two weeks ago. I'll spare you all of the details and try to sum this up, and see what you guys think I should do. Here is a list of my problems.

- It was listed as a reservoir model, but I received the plumbed model. I know it's more expensive, but it's not what I want for my home brewing. Pretty hard to set that up in my house.

- There is a minor leak at the top of the steam wand. Makes it dang near impossible to get microfoam when you sink it to warm the milk.

- The highest temp I've read of the water directly out of the machine was 180 F. Most of the time its 175 or lower. I don't think that's nearly close enough to get proper extraction.

- On about 20% of the steaming it sputters inconsistently.

- On about 25-30% of the shots there is a chemical smelling smoke coming out of the top of the machine.

I've been in communication with the seller, but I'm not sure what to do. I don't know if he will take a return. This item was listed as "new: fully refurbished" and was described as being professionally renovated. I'm starting to highly doubt it. What do you guys think? If I return it, I'll be out about $50-60 for return shipping and almost a month of wasted time. Could I sell this machine to anyone that may want to fix it up and throw it in a cafe? How much could I get for something like this?

[mp]

It sounds like the seller was a little bit less than honest.

If he does not live anywhere near you it may be difficult to launch any legal action because of the distance.

Did you pay through PayPal?

 

[jeremy8810]

Yeah, I paid through paypal and it is covered by the ebay buyer protection policy. It's just a lot of trouble, and I'm not really sure what to do. Will probably go that route, but just wanted to post here to see what you guys thought. I posted here probably mostly to vent...haha. Needed to share my frustrations with "my people"

[Tex]

Unless you got a killer price, or can get a hell of a partial refund, I'd file an Item Not As Described claim with PayPal. If you want to keep it you'll find there's not much to these machines and they're easily repaired. But the plumbed in thing would be the real deal breaker unless you have a place near the pipes available?

You'll have to pay return shipping costs if you go the PayPal route.

[peter]

I just went through a ebay dispute on an Allman Bros. album I bought.  It never came, the seller never responded, so ebay refunded the purchase price and shipping.  It seems your case is solid, and you should be entitled to a full refund and not loose any money, only your time.

Or, if you can get a good guess on the machine's value as it is, and get half of it refunded and still keep the machine, you may be able to flip it as a way to compensate for the time you have invested.