Acquired my first bogus bricks set.... thanks Amazon.....

[AmazonSucks]

So I'm a long time lurker here, and a long time seller on Amazon.

Sold a 10221 SSD FBM, purchased it at discount many years ago.

A week after the user received it I get a counterfeit claim, buyer claims it was not authentic. I immediately send the buyer a return label. And surprisingly enough, the buyer actually sends it back without an issue.

It arrives opened so I inspect the pieces. It surely is a SSD, but a knockoff version. Tons of bags of pieces and a lovely book that has "bogus bricks" stamped on the front. All stuffed in my previously minty LEGO SSD box.

I talk to many people at Amazon... they don't care. Tell me that it could have been like that when I purchased it. I inform them these knockoffs did not exist back then, it falls on deaf ears.

I'm down one SSD, a big hit on my account, and shipping costs. In return I got a nice pile of toxic bricks.... thanks Amazon

 

Not sure if anyone else has been hit by this yet, but a new trick by the scammers. Soon enough they'll be using hair dryers to loosen seals then switching it out without anyone knowing. You'll send back out a set that still looks sealed, and you'll truly be sending out counterfeit goods.

[Val-E]

This was my main fear when I heard about the fakes. Your word against theirs and buyer will always win that argument.

Problem is when sellers do pull that trick too.

[Kenxxx]

Wow... that really sucks. I feel very sorry for you.  At the same time, don't say I didn't try to warn you! Selling an SSD on Amazon - especially FBM - that's like playing Russian Roulette with five live rounds and one empty chamber.

You also bring up a good point about scammers, seals, and returned merchandise.  If I ever get a sealed return from Amazon, eBay, or anywhere, I definitely will open it before selling it again.  Thanks for sharing your experience.

[c_rpg]

This is not new. There have always been people trying to con sellers (and buyers for that matter). If they are not sending you back fake bricks, they will send you a bunch of random stuff and still file a claim. It's very hard to prove what you have actually sent, but taking pictures does help.

I'm afraid the only way to minimize risk is by not selling on Amazon or eBay (ever since they completely screwed up the feedback system). In my experience, there are a lot less dishonest people on bricklink and they at least have a functional feedback system.

[Val-E]

That´s a hard call to make. Bricklink scams exist too and if you accept paypal you are bound to their rules. Also BL users could have the knowledge to do the switcharound.

Every sale has its risk and that´s why I already got rid of all my large expensive sets, apart from the prices no longer going up.

[siddji]

Wow. I am so sorry to hear that . It's tough to swallow that one especially the SSD. Shameful what people resort to these days. That's one of the reasons I refuse to sell $200+ items on eBay or amazon. Too many people out there trying to con others.

 

[Lego_Monsters]

There's really no way to win even if you have the scammer's name and addresses. I reported a scammer that took my Tower of Orthanc and claimed non-received even though the tracking number shows delivered. I reported to USPS postal inspectors, FBI website, and another one I forgot. Nothing was done, I'm out a $200 set and money got deducted from my account. But damn...an SSD? Must hurt. This is the reason I pulled all my $200+ sets out of Amazon.

Edited April 27, 2017 by Lego_Monsters

[carini26]

33 minutes ago, siddji said:

Wow. I am so sorry to hear that . It's tough to swallow that one especially the SSD. Shameful what people resort to these days. That's one of the reasons I refuse to sell $200+ items on eBay or amazon. Too many people out there trying to con others.

 

That's why I refuse to buy anything for more than $150+ unless it's a can't miss QFLL opportunity - which is rare.  I ask myself 'would I be comfortable losing X amount of money' if someone were to screw me?  Not a high roller or high volume seller so, at this stage, my comfort zone is spending no more than $60 on one set.  While I recognize this means losing out on most high dollar sets and creating additional work buying higher volumes of lower priced sets, this mindset puts me at ease accepting it's an inevitability/part of the business and I have to factor it in my efficiency/waste calculations.   

That said, very sorry to hear this @AmazonSucks and hope you can make it up quick via more sales through honest buyers.

 

 

Edited April 27, 2017 by carini26

[LegoMan1212]

37 minutes ago, Lego_Monsters said:

There's really no way to win even if you have the scammer's name and addresses. I reported a scammer that took my Tower of Orthanc and claimed non-received even though the tracking number shows delivered. I reported to USPS postal inspectors, FBI website, and another one I forgot. Nothing was done, I'm out a $200 set and money got deducted from my account. But damn...an SSD? Must hurt. This is the reason I pulled all my $200+ sets out of Amazon.

There has to be a company out there that will get revenge.  I wonder if these guys are still around ...  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120654/

In all seriousness, sorry for your losses.  Almost makes me want to only sell sets that have been opened and pictures can be taken.  Take the 5-10% hit upfront but not much of an argument can be made about Fake stuff being inside.  Still can't get around 'items being delivered" but "not delivered" though.  Can't win either way.

[mizeur]

You could always sue in small claims court.

[KShine]

1 minute ago, LegoMan1212 said:

Almost makes me want to only sell sets that have been opened and pictures can be taken. 

Sorry, but that still won't guarantee anything (other than the peace of mind of knowing for a fact that you did get screwed).

While these thing do happen - thankfully, it doesn't happen too much (although it always does hurt, a lot).

Follow the guidelines of the selling platform, and always try to avoid being the easy target. The scammers will still get to you once in a while, but certainly less so.

[buidee]

I had a few CL sales where the buyer cut open the seals right in front of me and checked contents inside to make sure they were real lego, not bogus bricks or some other clone brand.  They told me they were scammed before when buying both on CL and ebay.  It makes you want to cut open all your expensive sets and sell them OPEN BOX sealed bags.  I did that with my Taj Mahal and 10030.  I was willing to lose a few hundred bucks rather then lose thousands to scammers.  

[marcandre]

Wow that sucks. You would have been better off had they not sent anything back. Amazon may have paid the claim and just dinged your metrics. 

I'm only selling large sets via CL now. Fakes, scammers, and ridiculous amazon/ebay/pp 'buyer always wins' policies are killing this game, at least for me. 

[lodibricks]

It's kind of interesting. When I was buying tons of small sets (still am, can't stop), I was reading and starting to agree that only buying large exclusive sets would be the smarter way to go. Hearing stories like these have me doing another 180. A lot more work and storage, but less risk with each sale. 

[Phil B]

Time to create an "authentic collectibles" marketplace, with seller and buyer protections in place. Will never have the traction of an Amazon, but might be interesting to get started

[Lordoflego]

Worried now with 2 more SSDs in my inventory. Maybe I should contact my repeat OfferUp customer and let her have one for $700.... 

[Val-E]

5 minutes ago, Lordoflego said:

Worried now with 2 more SSDs in my inventory. Maybe I should contact my repeat OfferUp customer and let her have one for $700.... 

TRU parking  lot on weekend after Last Jedi opens should be a better bet.

[brickelements]

Amazon Sucks....you probably received this:  https://www.amazon.com/Lego-Star-Compatible-Super-Destroyer/dp/B01LX6X9EZ

[Guest TabbyBoy]

This is why I never sell a >£150 set online to a stranger. I will only deal in cash and the transaction takes place in a safe public area away from home and away from where sets are stored. If it's an SSD or another expensive set, I ask a buddy to meet me and stay in his car until (hopefully not) needed. Also, my buddy gets a free dinner afterwards!

As Mulder said, "Trust no one" and it's a shame it's come to this.

Of all 43 >£100 sets I "sold" on eBay using BIN during the last 6 months, 16 were bought using hacked accounts - a shocking statistic. The last 9 were sold via auction (with disappointing final bids), but no rip-offs..... yet.

Since you have the mailing address, why not just send the police round?

The ID of this scamming buyer needs to be shared I think.

[Lego_Monsters]

On 4/27/2017 at 11:50 AM, LegoMan1212 said:

There has to be a company out there that will get revenge.  I wonder if these guys are still around ...  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120654/

In all seriousness, sorry for your losses.  Almost makes me want to only sell sets that have been opened and pictures can be taken.  Take the 5-10% hit upfront but not much of an argument can be made about Fake stuff being inside.  Still can't get around 'items being delivered" but "not delivered" though.  Can't win either way.

Yeah, one of the reason why I have decided to stop buying and start dumping. Money can be better invested else where.