I hate buying things on eBay, especially when they're coming from China...

Xeon CPU.

Back in late June I ordered what was identified as an E3-1275V2 CPU, from a U.S. based seller, on eBay.

What arrived a few days later (no tracking number, but at least it did arrive) was an E3-1270V2. No internal graphics. Won’t work with my build. Annoying troubleshooting process. Tried to reach the seller, no response.

Opened a case with eBay. Theoretically, today or tomorrow, I can ask them to step in. Meanwhile, I ordered a replacement E3-1275V2. Also a U.S. based seller. The tracking number they put in shows it bouncing around Massachusetts (shipped from Texas), the opposite coast from where I am in California. It was supposed to be here on the 9th. Guess what ...

So I wait, still limping along on a Core i5 3rd gen. It’s just frustrating, I want to have all the pieces installed so I can button this thing up and get to using it. Right now it’s just a messy workbench project in progress that I can’t finish.

Likewise ...

V100 GPU Board.

Same day I ordered the first Xeon I ordered a V100 package (SXM2 form factor, this seller bundles it with a PCIe adapter card that incorporates cooling, saving me the hassle of finding a board, a GPU module, and a heatsink or cooler and then hoping everything I got works together seamlessly). This piece I could only find coming from China. It seemed to ship relatively quickly (just 3 days after I placed the order, sigh), but the DHL tracking number they supplied to eBay showed delivery in San Diego. They were up against the shipping deadline and put in a fake tracking number. They admit to this:

The Yun tracking number they gave me seems at least a little suspicious, with long periods of inactivity and an improbably long international flight (3 days...):

Many - probably most - of my eBay t transactions go off without a hitch, but when they don’t, the delays in recourse, the sellers who disappear or pull shady shit like put in a fake tracking number, the interminable waits (“usually ships within 2 business days” ... and then uses the slowest USPS service possible 🤬) ... I’ve gotten so spoiled by Amazon. Love to hate ’em, but gotta admit, their logistics are on point. More or less. Occasionally they won’t get things delivered on the day they say, or they try to deliver to the office after 5 p.m. when our instructions clearly say they can’t, etc., but by and large, way less hair pulling and drama.