Had guessed all the negative feedback associated with this seller was from not so inteligent folks who had difficulty understanding the concept of "as is". After several purchases and reasonable service I grew comfortable with this assumption. Then came auction #. 170056576434 and a reality check. Two rolls of Duralar (an acetate like material I intended to use for stenciling) which I won for 99. cents. . Having no independent knowledge of the weight of the two rolls I went through checkout and paid the $53.06 shipping and handling plus the .99 cents. The Bargainland invoice, received with package, says the 2 rolls weighed 85 lbs the accompaning UPS invoice says the items weighed 11 lbs -which in fact was the weight. I thought, no problem, I'll simply send them a scan of the relevant evidence and they'll give me some bargainland bucks or refund the overcharge.

  Bargainlands customer service response: "Only customers have access to inputting the shipping method and personal information to creating the invoice. The method and cost cannot be changed as you have the ability to verify the cost of shipping prior to bidding by going to the shipping quote page. These policies are in effect to avoid possible fraudulent activities." .

   My response: When purchasing items through Bargainland's checkout the accuracy of their scales is stated in writing. The customer service response Is insufficient on the the following grounds; The error was not with the purchasers (my) inputting of the shipping method or personal information, The error/fraud was with the weight input by Bargainland personnel. The weight input on Bargainland's invoice is 85 lbs, the actual weight of the UPS ground package invoice for the item is 11 lbs. I had no independent verification of that weight and should not be held to account for it's validity. All data input by myself remains uncontested. While I did not believe anyone intended to defraud me per se, ( I do now) I googled mail fraud and found: ...

 ....the government, however, does not need to show intent to cause harm or injury; all that is required is simply an intent to defraud, which the government can establish in a number of manners. See United States v. Welch, 327 F.3d 1081, 1105 (10th Cir. 2003). Because direct proof of fraudulent intent is often unavailable, "courts have long permitted fact finders to rely on a variety of circumstantial evidence, including evidence of actual or contemplated harm, to infer such intent." Id. Reckless indifference to the truth of a representation may establish the intent to defraud. Id.

  Then I read Ebay's Excessive Shipping Charges Policy. The actions they could take... but from what I now see, never have taken against Bargainland.

   I understood "as is" and had considered most of Bargainland's negative feedback to be unjust -This is not the same issue and having now googled bairgainland + fraud I'm convinced "as is" has not been the issue for thousands of others. The most dissapointing revelation is EBAY's blind eye... what a shame and what a huge misscalculation. Has any one ever considered a class action lawsuit against Bargainland? I read elsewhere the Attourney general of AZ was a good place to start. PS 4/29/07 google "bargainland injuction" a case is being made in TN and the Office of the Attorney General is takaing afidavits

   Post script 3/21/07__ Bargainland eventualy refunded me the overcharge when I asked my complaint to be reviewed by BL's legal council and threatened legal action. Shipping fraud is systematic with BL and has happened with about 40% of my transactions with them. So far, with persistence, I have eventually been able to get a refund.

   PPS 3/23/07 received 3 BL items yesterday -all 3 were shipping overcharges.

  Item 170089075829 described as "3 sheets" is in fact ONE sheet weight on BL invoice incorectly states 51 lbs weight on UPS invoice for item says 27 lbs

  Item 170089559266 weight on BL invoice incorectly states 120 lbs weight on UPS invoice states 65 lbs -ps 4/29/07 bargainland response "Please be advised that the shipping is not only based on the weight but as well as the dimensions of the packages. The billable weight of 120lbs are for packages that are ship in oversize boxes."

  Item 170089075829 described as "Braden Sutphin 40 lb Bucket Gold Sheet Printing Ink NR"..."Item has been opened and a small amount of product was used. " small amount? product was almost 1/2 empty. BL invoice incorectly states weight at 45 lbs UPS invoice states weight at 34 lbs)

  AGAIN, BL SHIPPING FRAUD IS SYSTEMATIC check your UPS weight vs BL invoice weight. They are doing this because EBAY maintains a hands off attitude and most of BL's customers either don't notice or give up in the face of unresponsive customer service.

   Duplicate posting: BL's habit of double posting items continues unchecked. Case in point -I won Item 170078510699 and noticed a second posting of the same item 170078515049. I considered winning both auctions, but instead, sent an email to BL "customer service" asking what action they would take having double posted the item. I asked, that before I send payment, they give me some assurance the item would not be sold to the other bidder or that there were 2 of the items. Of course no one replied and after a week a non paying bidder action was taken against me claiming I had not contacted them. I paid for the item ($1333.25) a over month ago and have yet to receive a coherent response to my requests for a status update.(PPS__3/23/07 BL sent me a form letter and a refund.)

   Toner fraud: BL lists Toner as "new and sealed in box" In fact the cartridges are empty and in a prepaid shipping box addressed to a toner cartridge recycler (see item purchased by my girl friend 170082082673).

   BL will take a few quality items, cover some damaged or useless items (in the auction photo) and list them in such a way as to create the impression it is an auction for all quality items (again a purchase from my girlfriend item 170085512781) The photo shows a box overflowing with womans apparel when in fact 35lbs of the 40lb box were damaged M&M's world sweatshirts. The BL customer service response was "please be advised the auction stated APPROXIMATELY 50, the warehouse were unable to account the item and therefore they could not guarantee there will be exactly 50 woman apparel. I will offer $5.00 in store credits for the shipping charges of the jersey, otherwise you may return the item under our buyers remorse policy." This was for a $696 dollar purchase from a stay at home mom hoping to make some extra money reselling. BAIT AND SWITCH

  Items not as described: item # 170088703261 described as - "NEW Case Of Assorted ATV Back Rack Pack NR" ... "This box contains a Case Of Assorted ATV Back Rack Pack . The color of the items are black. No more information available about this item." Box contained ONE bag.. BL described it as "items", it's not unreasonable for me to expect at least 2 items.. I would not have bid as high if it had been described as one item.. pending resolution. (PPS. 3/23/07 BL gave me an RMA -I've sent the item back and am awaiting their determination of full refund eligability).

  Items never received: It seems with so many items to keep track of BL routinely ends up not sending some of them... maybe a lot of them. Item 170077191339 still in BL limbo well over a month is one of my latest bad BL results.

   And yet some of my best purchases have been made with BL. It's an EBAY sanctioned unregulated form of gambling. Time will tell -I have been videotaping the opening of every BL purchase and documenting the absurd customer service. One of the largest food chains in CA, notorious for overcharging it's customers, was ordered by a judge to refund all monies paid on any subsequent overcharged purchases. A similar order would slap the hell out of BL.