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General shipping questions, tips and answers


speedpro50

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Here's a return shipping related question. I just received an Ebay purchase - about a dozen minifigures in a display case. Upon opening the case the cigarette smoke smell almost knocked me over. Needless to say, each minifigure reeks and the display case (which I had been planning to sell off) is completely unusable and gross.

I requested a return, and the seller says send it back. Here's my question - in this scenario who should pay the return shipping? I am considering this "damaged" because it is completely unusable and think the seller should pay for the return. I haven't asked for them to do this yet, but I don't see it going well because they balked at me using a return reason of damaged saying that these were in great condition - which they are, other then that horrible, horrible smell.

Am I being unreasonable? I suspect if I have to fight this Ebay will side with me, but wanted a second opinion being doing so.

I don't think you are being unreasonable. If it smelled that bad the seller should have said that in the listing and that would be my basis for the case. ebay will most likely side with you in a case because they are slanted towards buyers anyway. You can wash the minifigs in the washing machine and the smell will come out. I bought a used set once that REEKED of smoke and after 2-3 washes in the washing machine (use one of those mesh clothes washing bags that zip closed) the smell did come out. It was too good of a deal to return. :)

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Did the listing say the item was from a smoke free home?

what is the sellers return policy on this item?

how much is shipping?

The seller accepts returns with the buyer paying for shipping. But I'm still trying to figure out if knock-you-down-stank is grounds for calling the item damaged or not as described. It did not say anything about a smoke free home, but it did say that it "has been kept in storage". I guess that doesn't necessarily mean anything in regards to smoke-smell, but one would think an item kept in storage would run the risk of having said smell. Also - in general because I know a lot of people have that "from a smoke-free home" note in their ebay listings - how should that be perceived by buyers? It seems like that should be assumed - if you are selling something stinky isn't it misleading by omission when you don't mention that? I know severity of smells are going to be perceived differently by people and can't be precisely measured like the function or even the appearance of an item can be, but still - moving forward do I need to assume that an item could smell if it's not explicitly stated? DO I need to check with every buyer before purchasing an item to douvble check that if it's not in their description? Seems like a low bar.

The deal I got was good but not great, so the effort to try and clean the figures doesn't seem worth it to me. And the carrying case is a combination of plastic and a cardboardy type material - so submerging it to get it clean won't work. I think the case is pretty much toast.

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I requested a return, and the seller says send it back. Here's my question - in this scenario who should pay the return shipping? I am considering this "damaged" because it is completely unusable and think the seller should pay for the return. I haven't asked for them to do this yet, but I don't see it going well because they balked at me using a return reason of damaged saying that these were in great condition - which they are, other then that horrible, horrible smell.

A good seller would either send you a prepaid label to ship it back or tell you to keep the items for free. I would request a prepaid label and go from there. Unless the listing stated smoke damage it is certainly not as described.

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absolutely, open a not as described case, contaminated is entirely reasonable grounds for full refund & dinging the seller for a deficiency mark on their record.   The seller should work out a deal with you to avoid that.  ebay is quite clear that all aspects of an item is to be described in sufficient detail for a buyer to be comfortable buying unseen.  

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I would at least give the seller a chance to respond before opening a case. If they offer good customer service and make you whole I would not neg or neutral them but that is me. Buyers who open cases without communicating or neg after being made whole is a large part of the reason ebay is the POS platform it is today.

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Not to side with the seller, sounds like it was a bit of a raw deal you got, but as a smoker you get desensitized to the smell of smoke. If you're immersed in it or consuming it all the time, something smokey smells normal, and something normal smells normal. So perhaps they never thought to mention it as they couldn't personally notice it smelled like smoke (cause their whole friggin house did at the same time). Still a Not as Described situation, but it's possible the seller wasn't outright trying to mislead and shaft you, so giving some benefit of the doubt may keep your own karma intact if you believe it that sort of thing. A smoker's 2c.  

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

I've read through the last several pages and did not see this question asked/answered, but I apologize if I missed it previously.

I sold an item through the global shipping program (not my first gsp sale) on 9/30.  I'm still waiting for payment a week later.  Ebay, naturally, charged final value fees already and I hate to cancel the order because this one was done with the 20% off final value fees promo.  Any recommendation on how long to wait for payment?  I did reach out to the buyer earlier today just to see where things stood but although I've had great success selling on Ebay, I find the communication from most buyers to be lacking.

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I've read through the last several pages and did not see this question asked/answered, but I apologize if I missed it previously.

I sold an item through the global shipping program (not my first gsp sale) on 9/30.  I'm still waiting for payment a week later.  Ebay, naturally, charged final value fees already and I hate to cancel the order because this one was done with the 20% off final value fees promo.  Any recommendation on how long to wait for payment?  I did reach out to the buyer earlier today just to see where things stood but although I've had great success selling on Ebay, I find the communication from most buyers to be lacking.

Since you went ahead and contacted the buyer, you'll probably want to wait 24 hours but don't wait longer than that. It'll have been 8 days after that right? Time to open an item unpaid case to get the buyers attention. You don't need to wait more than 3-5 days IMO to open an unpaid item case.

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Since you went ahead and contacted the buyer, you'll probably want to wait 24 hours but don't wait longer than that. It'll have been 8 days after that right? Time to open an item unpaid case to get the buyers attention. You don't need to wait more than 3-5 days IMO to open an unpaid item case.

Thanks for the reply. I'll give it a day and then open a case. Appreciate the feedback as I've not had this scenario before.

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I have a higher percentage of buyers not pay from the GSP.  I am pretty sure it's because they don't realize how much shipping is actually going to cost.  Before you relist, I would double check your weight, to make sure it is fairly accurate.  It might be high and causing the GSP to overcharge the customer shipping on their end.

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Thanks for the tip.  I'll double-check the weight.  I do weigh the packed set with my postal scale, so I'm pretty sure it is correct--but no one is above simple human error sometimes.

Yeah, my problem is when I piggy back off of another listing (either mine or someone else's) and the weight is incorrect.  But I think that "sticker shock" of paying through the GSP is what gets alot of people to change their mind after they hit "Buy it Now"

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  • 2 weeks later...

Am I the only one confused by ebay shipping options?  I sell most lightweight items "free shipping", but over a pound or two, I usually opt for buyer paid shipping.  Whenever I create a listing, ebay now presents me with about 50 different shipping options which look like...

Flat:USPS First Cla(FREE), Same Business Day

Flat:USPS First Cla(FREE), Same Business Day#0

Calculated:USPS First Cla(FREE), Same Business

Calculated:USPS First Cla(FREE),USPS Priority

Calculated:USPS Priority(FREE), Same business

Calculated:USPS Priority(FREE), Same business#0

Calculated:USPS Priority, Same business day#0

Calculated:USPS Priority, Same business day#1

Calculated:USPS Priority, Same business day#2

Etc..

What are the difference between these?  I am always ready to ship within 24 hours, and for those listing I have that are free shipping, it should say "fast and free" right? How do I make my listings display the ebay logo "fast and free shipping!" ?

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I've read in other threads about items getting "stuck" in USPS sorting facilities.  After how many days do you report the item a no show?

I ordered item on 10/2.  It has been tracking in my hometown sorting facility for the past 9 days.

I sell more than I buy on eBay, and this is a first for me.

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I've read in other threads about items getting "stuck" in USPS sorting facilities.  After how many days do you report the item a no show?

I ordered item on 10/2.  It has been tracking in my hometown sorting facility for the past 9 days.

I sell more than I buy on eBay, and this is a first for me.

3 days for me. You can email USPS directly. They don't ever email back but every time I've sent an email it's started moving within 24 hours...

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