Selling Lego on Amazon.com

[baldilocks]

I need advice.

I am a fairly new seller on Amazon and I sent out a factory sealed set to a customer and this is what they wrote.

This was advertised as factory sealed, but when it arrived there was tape to close the bags and ALL of the action figures were missing!!!  PLEASE kick off this seller!

any advice on how to deal with this?

[Deadfraggle]

13 minutes ago, baldilocks said:

I need advice.

I am a fairly new seller on Amazon and I sent out a factory sealed set to a customer and this is what they wrote.

This was advertised as factory sealed, but when it arrived there was tape to close the bags and ALL of the action figures were missing!!!  PLEASE kick off this seller!

any advice on how to deal with this?

Was this FBA or shipped by you? Is there any possible way this set was previously purchased, the minifigures looted, and returned to a retail outlet before you purchased the set? I generally think these type of things are buyers trying to pull one over on us sellers, but at the same time I stop and ask, is it possible they're being honest?

Amazon approves returns for just about everything under their A-to-Z. I'm guessing you have to eat the loss on this one unless FBA. Not sure if there is any way to fight the feedback, but you can respond with your own comments. I had a seller leave me stupid, and quite frankly inaccurate negative feedback, so I left explanatory comments for customers to view.

[newbie77]

44 minutes ago, jbacunn said:

Sold a RE yesterday. Shipped it out this morning. Got a return request this evening with the following description:

Return reason: Didn't approve purchase
Customer comments: My 4 year old son was playing on my wife's phone and ordered almost $800 in random purchases and things that were in our cart. We did not approve these orders at this time.

Sounds like BS to me. My price was not the lowest so what are the chances that a 4 year old scrolls through the list of RE sellers and picks mine and adds it to the cart? Also don't buy the "things in our cart" explanation. It's going to be another 1-2 days before they receive the shipment. Any advice on how I should handle? My thought is to tell them to let me know when they receive the package and confirm that they did not open the box. I will authorize the return at that time and they can ship it back without even opening it. I will check the box for shenanigans when I receive it and then refund less shipping charges assuming everything is ok. 

 

you are 100% correct its a BS. but there is nothing we can do. and seller support of Amazon is pretty much worthless... all portion of business including A-Z and support is out-sourced. and you will be lucky to find a decent english speaking person there.

two things:

1. did you purchase insurance on this (i mean separate insurance)? i know its $50 USPS for priority but note the tricky part if the tracking shows delivered and customer claims not received then USPS doesn't pay the claim. it will be denied.. 

if you have insurance then you can play the wait and watch game i.e. if the customer claims non-receipt you can file insurance and see if you get paid.

2. do you have signature confirmation? that's the only thing AMAZON considers as proof of delivery. and i have had A-Z (against me) even when i had signature and in those cases USPS ended up footing the bill because i "buy insurance" 

if the answer to (1) and (2) both are NO. then 

a. send message to customer that the item has already been shipped via USPS. they should refuse delivery and not accept delivery. if they accept the delivery then they will have to pay for the return shipping and yada yada.

see how it works.... 

 

 

[baldilocks]

3 minutes ago, Deadfraggle said:

Was this FBA or shipped by you? Is there any possible way this set was previously purchased, the minifigures looted, and returned to a retail outlet before you purchased the set? I generally think these type of things are buyers trying to pull one over on us sellers, but at the same time I stop and ask, is it possible they're being honest?

This set was shipped by me directly. I purchased them at Walmart originally, so I guess it is possible, but I checked all of the seals multiple times and saw no signs of tampering.

Is there anything I can do or do I just have to eat it?

[Phil B]

This is the Selling on Amazon forum Phil. Have you had a few cocktails this evening?

Only thing I've had is a few too many unread forum posts .... ;-)

[newbie77]

9 minutes ago, baldilocks said:

I need advice.

I am a fairly new seller on Amazon and I sent out a factory sealed set to a customer and this is what they wrote.

This was advertised as factory sealed, but when it arrived there was tape to close the bags and ALL of the action figures were missing!!!  PLEASE kick off this seller!

any advice on how to deal with this?

few  things i repeat most of the time:

1. did you weigh your set when purchased and compared weight with the same set? 

2. did you check the seal of the set? how was it? to be more precise where did you purchase it?

3. before shipping out did you weigh the weight of the set and have it noted?

if you have done 1, 2 & 3 its pretty clear that your item is correct and the person on the other end is a fraud. you have to deal with the fraud while knowing that person is a fraud.

if you have not done 1, 2, & 3 then we ourselves won't know what the truth is. when you are in those situation its better to accept it as a loss and move on i.e.

write back apologizing that. either send return label to get the item back or cut the losses for the full refund.

if you have done 1, 2 & 3 then write back saying sorry we sent you sealed item with this weight and seal. we have no knowledge of the inside but we are happy to take the return. send return label and wait for the return. refund the $

by the look of the email it looks like "your buyer is one of the BP'er who visits this forum and tries to scam people @ amazon "

[baldilocks]

This is my response:

I apologize for any inconvenience.

The Lego set was sealed when it left here, so there was no way for me to know that anything would be missing inside the box.

I did not intentionally send you a bad product.

I will be looking into the procedure for a return as this is actually my first return.

I understand that you are upset, but please know that this was not intentional.

 

This is her response:

I'm sorry but I'm not buying that.  The scotch tape on the outside of the box is a very clear indicator that this was already opened.  A real seller would have carefully inspected the box as it is obvious this was already opened.  If you are really saying you didn't know, then that only means you did not do your due diligence when selling.  I expect an immediate refund.  If not given I will be on the phone with Amazon first thing in the morning as I buy $1000s of dollars of stuff from amazon every month and have never run across this issue from a seller.  Shame on you....

 

This is my first return on Amazon, so I am not really sure how to proceed. It would be nice to get something back even if it is just the Lego's for my son without the figs, but I don't want a bad score from Amazon.

[Deadfraggle]

2 minutes ago, baldilocks said:

This is my response:

I apologize for any inconvenience.

The Lego set was sealed when it left here, so there was no way for me to know that anything would be missing inside the box.

I did not intentionally send you a bad product.

I will be looking into the procedure for a return as this is actually my first return.

I understand that you are upset, but please know that this was not intentional.

 

This is her response:

I'm sorry but I'm not buying that.  The scotch tape on the outside of the box is a very clear indicator that this was already opened.  A real seller would have carefully inspected the box as it is obvious this was already opened.  If you are really saying you didn't know, then that only means you did not do your due diligence when selling.  I expect an immediate refund.  If not given I will be on the phone with Amazon first thing in the morning as I buy $1000s of dollars of stuff from amazon every month and have never run across this issue from a seller.  Shame on you....

 

This is my first return on Amazon, so I am not really sure how to proceed. It would be nice to get something back even if it is just the Lego's for my son without the figs, but I don't want a bad score from Amazon.

Well let's assume you didn't miss something as obvious as scotch tape holding the box shut (or your buyer is an idiot and doesn't understand what a LEGO factory tape seal looks like). By the indignant tone of the email, sounds like she knows she's scamming you, and has clearly pulled this trick before. Out of curiosity, is this a set where the minifigures are of any significant value that's worth this effort?

[baldilocks]

It is a kylo ren shuttle

 

[justapilgrim]

reading through the posts I sold 2x RE on amazon this week, a little nervois

[baldilocks]

is it better just to give her the refund or make her pay to send it back to me?

That seems to be my only 2 options unless I am missing something

[Deadfraggle]

2 minutes ago, baldilocks said:

is it better just to give her the refund or make her pay to send it back to me?

That seems to be my only 2 options unless I am missing something

Pay for the return shipping yourself, as I'm fairly confident Amazon will side with her if she pushes the issue. You can sell the set complete w/o figures on eBay or keep for personal build. Write the sale off as an inventory loss. You win some....lose some. Sorry.

[baldilocks]

Thank you for the advice Deadfraggle. I appreciate it.

[Deadfraggle]

2 minutes ago, baldilocks said:

Thank you for the advice Deadfraggle. I appreciate it.

No worries.

[thoroakenfelder]

ugh, it's stuff like that that makes the whole buying and selling thing so much less worthwhile. I'd be on the phone to Amazon myself as a seller letting them know that you think someone is trying to blackmail and threaten you with something that is patently untrue. Unfortunately, it's your word against hers, and they are more likely to accept her word.

[newbie77]

20 minutes ago, baldilocks said:

is it better just to give her the refund or make her pay to send it back to me?

That seems to be my only 2 options unless I am missing something

send her return label. and tell her that you will process refund once you receive the item.

few suggestion:

a. its a business. never explain to customer your side of things. [ like its your first return etc... ]

b. don't get personal.

i know its hard but it is what it is. hopefully you will get the item back.

btw, i thought kylo ren [ 75104 ] was gated. how did you get past it? or its the secondary listing? if you are listing items under secondary listing you are looking for trouble don't do that. if she pushes amazon might ask you for invoice of purchases or remove you from that listing. [ this one sharing from personal experience ]

just list the item under whatever UPC codes provides? 

Edited June 10, 2016 by newbie77

[baldilocks]

Thanks newbie. I just listed it, it didn't say I couldn't. It was not a secondary listing.

[newbie77]

4 minutes ago, baldilocks said:

Thanks newbie. I just listed it, it didn't say I couldn't. It was not a secondary listing.

so basically 75104 kylo ren shuttle has 3 listings

1. B00WHZ80HG

2. B014WXAP1Y

3. B00SDTTHVI

and just the shuttle 

B014X4R5W4 [ but there are idiots who are listing factory sealed items under this listings. ]

only the first listing [ B00WHZ80HG ] is the one when you use the "UPC" from the 75104. [ i believe that listing is gated and i don't think you can list it under there unless one has been granted permission ] [ but things may have changed ]

[Average Guy]

5 hours ago, baldilocks said:

This is my response:

I apologize for any inconvenience.

The Lego set was sealed when it left here, so there was no way for me to know that anything would be missing inside the box.

I did not intentionally send you a bad product.

I will be looking into the procedure for a return as this is actually my first return.

I understand that you are upset, but please know that this was not intentional.

 

This is her response:

I'm sorry but I'm not buying that.  The scotch tape on the outside of the box is a very clear indicator that this was already opened.  A real seller would have carefully inspected the box as it is obvious this was already opened.  If you are really saying you didn't know, then that only means you did not do your due diligence when selling.  I expect an immediate refund.  If not given I will be on the phone with Amazon first thing in the morning as I buy $1000s of dollars of stuff from amazon every month and have never run across this issue from a seller.  Shame on you....

 

This is my first return on Amazon, so I am not really sure how to proceed. It would be nice to get something back even if it is just the Lego's for my son without the figs, but I don't want a bad score from Amazon.

Welcome to the wonderful of selling to resellers.

[redcell]

I need advice.

I am a fairly new seller on Amazon and I sent out a factory sealed set to a customer and this is what they wrote.

This was advertised as factory sealed, but when it arrived there was tape to close the bags and ALL of the action figures were missing!!!  PLEASE kick off this seller!

any advice on how to deal with this?

Approve the return, swallow the loss, and move on. It's the cost of doing business on Amazon. It happens from time to time, and you have to be prepared to eat it if you want to sell on Amazon.

[biking_tiger]

Speaking of gated, how long is the embargo going to last on Force Awakens items at Amazon? 

Anyone? Anyone? 

And can we expect the same on Rogue One?

[biking_tiger]

On 6/9/2016 at 11:41 PM, newbie77 said:

send her return label. and tell her that you will process refund once you receive the item.

few suggestion:

a. its a business. never explain to customer your side of things. [ like its your first return etc... ]

b. don't get personal.

i know its hard but it is what it is. hopefully you will get the item back.

 

Yes... b, highlighted in bright yellow and posted somewhere you will see it every day. 

Rule #1: It's not about you. 

[exciter1]

9 minutes ago, biking_tiger said:

Speaking of gated, how long is the embargo going to last on Force Awakens items at Amazon ? 

Anyone? Anyone? 

And can we expect the same on Rogue One?

I'm not sure. I was about to call and ask.

[biking_tiger]

10 minutes ago, exciter1 said:

I'm not sure. I was about to call and ask.

It has changed my buying practices. Even though I don't flip much while still in production, I'm looking down the road to selling. If Amazon is ever off the table, it's a game changer for me. 

[redcell]

Speaking of gated, how long is the embargo going to last on Force Awakens items at Amazon? 

Anyone? Anyone? 

And can we expect the same on Rogue One?

As far as I know, Amazon gating is permanent and we can definitely expect the same for Rogue One. It's unclear whether the gate for Rogue One will be the same as the one for TFA so that if you're in for one, you're in for both. I've asked, but never got a straight answer yet.