[NTLK] Weak sound on the MessagePad 100?

[James Fraser]

Hello,

Sam Speake said:



>Just a quick note on this, not sure about eBay US but in the UK you can't leave 
>negative >feedback for a buyer, as far as eBay is concerned as long as you paid 
>then the seller has 
>
>no possible reason to leave you negative feedback. The option is only to give 
>positive >feedback. 
>

As of May 2008, that's how it works in the US as well.  Buyers can leave sellers 
positive, neutral or negative feedback while sellers can only leave positive 
feedback for sellers or file a non-paying bidder dispute with eBay.

As usual, there's a way to game this system (at least somewhat): the false 
positive.

http://preview.tinyurl.com/7v2p7um


zhenghui.lim said:

>I just acquired a MessagePad 100 from eBay;I overpaid for it by a considerable 
>margin, 
>

If it's any consolation, you're not the only guy who has ever been a little too 
quick on the eBay trigger. :)  


I, too, have had to learn that the only real solution for overpaying is to 
exercise more restraint when bidding.  Not the easiest thing, I know, but unless 
the particular item you're bidding on is a handmade something-or-other, chances 
are good it's going to come up for sale again on eBay; there are relatively few 
genuine "one of a kind" items.  It helps to bear that in mind whenever you 
suddenly find yourself getting excited about a particular auction (even one for 
a MessagePad).

My own rule is to wait at least 24 hours before making any given purchase.  I've 
often found that a particular "must-have" item doesn't seem quite so necessary 
after I've mulled it over for a day or two.

>Upon tuning the volume up to the max the sound was barely audible in a silent 
>room, and >yes of course I was extremely disappointed,especially since this 
>'defect' wasn't mentioned >in the description of the auction ..

Before you do anything else, you might want to go back and carefully reread the 
item description, taking care that the phrase "as-is" (or something similar) is 
nowhere to be found.  It's easy to overlook something like that when you're 
anxious to own something (I speak from sad experience).

If, however, the seller explicitly listed the item as being in full working 
order (e.g. "fully functional") and "excellent cosmetic condition," then the 
seller deserves an email from you outlining the defect(s) you've encountered.  
The idea is to give the seller a chance to explain himself and make good before 
you take any adverse action like leaving negative feedback.

Meanwhile, can you please tell us the exact steps you took to turn up the volume 
in the unlikely event you may have missed something?  Did you turn up the volume 
under "prefs," for instance (Extras/Setup/Prefs)?  I'm afraid I don't have an 
MP100 in front of me at the moment to help you troubleshoot with, but I did want 
to ask, just in case.

You didn't say whether the seller included a manual or not, so here's a link to 
a MessagePad handbook:

http://www.newted.org/download/manuals/0307258ANEWTONMP.PDF

I'm afraid the handbook is dated slightly later than your MP100 (a copyright 
date of 1995 is given).  I wasn't able to find a working link to an actual MP100 
manual, but someone else on the list might know of a better link if that one 
isn't quite the ticket (my Google-Fu is not the greatest).


Best,

James Fraser