Needing advice on an ebay sale

[MrSam]

Hi folks. 

I sold an Osprey to someone in Italy a while ago MISB. It took ages to arrive, and has apparently arrived damaged and they want a 100% refund through eBay.
I've heard enough horror stories that I'm not 100% surprised, but am unsure what to do from here. 

They paid $1400US+postage, so they obviously have a huge incentive to get their money back by claiming damage etc. They sent photos which, to be fair, make the damage look fairly genuine (of both the set and the packaging I sent it in). While it's super frustrating, I don't think it's my place to accuse them of doing the damage themselves. Even if that is the case, A: I like to believe the best in people and B: I have no way to prove it and it wouldn't achieve anything if I could.

At this point, the set is now only worth, say, $500US. DHL quoted me $250US to return it.

My question is, is it worth paying $250 to return a set to myself when there's a chance they'll fill it with rocks and I'm completely screwed out even that money (I mentioned I like to believe the best in people, but I know these things do happen and I'm a pretty calculated man).

Another out-of-the-box but valid option is (probably the best option, really) if anyone knows people in Italy who would be keen on the set, I could have it shipped to them for ~$50. If it arrived in damaged but sealed condition, they could pay me a fair but cheap price and keep the set so it's at least not my problem any more. If it's stones, well, at least I didn't spend $200 more on postage, and they're no worse off.

I'm trying to balance a number of risks here! 

Would love your wisdom.

Edited October 5, 2020 by MrSam

[Voltron]

Offer them a partial refund and buyer to keep item, you do not want this set back as price has dropped significantly and better than receiving set back with possibly missing pieces etc.

Did you sell via ebay GSP or ship yourself?

 

[MrSam]

21 minutes ago, Voltron said:

Offer them a partial refund and buyer to keep item, you do not want this set back as price has dropped significantly and better than receiving set back with possibly missing pieces etc.

Did you sell via ebay GSP or ship yourself?

 

Unfortunately they've made it pretty clear they don't want to keep the set as they're apparently a MISB collector.

Had to ship it myself - ebay have to GSP option here in NZ. 

[Ferruz]

Hi,
to which city did you send it to Italy?

How much could "fair but cheap price" be?

[KingKiwi]

4 hours ago, Voltron said:

Offer them a partial refund and buyer to keep item, you do not want this set back as price has dropped significantly and better than receiving set back with possibly missing pieces etc.

Did you sell via ebay GSP or ship yourself?

 

I somewhat agree. If I sold a set for that much of a mark-up, I would be prepared to offer the buyer a very generous refund of 50%, which would likely tempt them and then walk away from it with my reputation intact. If this means "only" tripling your buy-in on an Osprey, it's better than a kick in the nuts and possible damage to a previously excellent seller reputation (100% feedback?). If there's an eBay case, be prepared to lose.

The upturn in scams makes me nervous anyway and the risk of shipping overseas means that I will only sell low value (say <£100) sets overseas, only use GSP and also insure it for full value on the way to my local GSP.

MISB buyers or "Box Tarts" as I like to call them are an absolute pain in the arse and I hate dealing with those awkward bastards. When I list an item for sale (not just Lego), I always describe it a little worse than it is and say that it may have some shelf wear and minor cosmetic blemishes, but is in otherwise good retail condition. I will only ever state "mint" in a listing if the item was officially graded or certified. If I add a photo, I always chose the set in the worst condition if I had several. Honesty and a customer getting better than was described can really pay dividends.

I still fail to understand why Box Tarts want to stare at just a box, when they can open and build the damn thing. They annoy me so much that I would love to unseal the glued edges with a heat gun, replace the contents with <crap from Ali Express> and then reseal it. But, I didn't say that, did I? Since I trust nobody, I would have to open an expensive set that I bought off a reseller for that reason, but I'd only buy off a reseller to build anyway.

 

[MrSam]

14 hours ago, Ferruz said:

Hi,
to which city did you send it to Italy?

How much could "fair but cheap price" be?

Buyer was in Mondovi 12084.

I'd prefer to deal with someone with more reputation, but feel free to PM me we might be able to work something out.

 

9 hours ago, BorderTerrier said:

I somewhat agree. If I sold a set for that much of a mark-up, I would be prepared to offer the buyer a very generous refund of 50%, which would likely tempt them and then walk away from it with my reputation intact. If this means "only" tripling your buy-in on an Osprey, it's better than a kick in the nuts and possible damage to a previously excellent seller reputation (100% feedback?). If there's an eBay case, be prepared to lose.

I agree, that would be great. But the buyer isn't interested in keeping it unfortunately (which does further raise red flags for me)

I know I'd lose an ebay case, it's not even worth trying (plus I have no reason to fight what could well be a legitimate dissapointment to the buyer if it's my fault (well, the post offices fault)). 

[Ferruz]

11 hours ago, MrSam said:

Buyer was in Mondovi 12084.

I'd prefer to deal with someone with more reputation, but feel free to PM me we might be able to work something out.

Hi,
no problem, I have been reading the forum for a long time but I hardly ever write

In any case, it is unfortunately too far from my city.

I hope you can solve the problem.