Let's get proactive about LEGO scams on eBay.

[pickleboy]

I'm really impressed by anyone who has no questions about making pickles. I'm also impressed by those who read everything about making pickles before diving in.

 

Point being, both posting on eBay and making pickles are activities that require knowledge and skill. Knowledge that is readily available, and skills that can be learned. I'm not going to just try to make pickles and see what happens and hope for the best. It seems much smarter to me to read something about how to make pickles first before asking the equivalent of "should I eat these pickles".

 

I'm not saying people won't have questions...they will. Questions about "how should I ship things internationally" should have been answered before a listing was ever posted on eBay.

 

People shouldn't dive into things they don't understand. That's how people get burned, which is exactly what I'm pointing out. There are buyers out there who prey on people exactly like the OP.

I know NOTHING about making pickles

 

[emes]

I'm cautious because I've had a couple of bad experiences in the last year with USPS First Class International. 

 

That's the thing...you should never use USPS First Class International because it doesn't meet the requirements of PayPal Seller Protection. All the buyer has to do is click a button and say they didn't receive their item and you lose. I always use USPS Express Mail International, but this dramatically increases the cost to the buyer.

 

Some members here are fond of the Global Shipping Program.

[emes]

I know NOTHING about making pickles

 

 

LOL

[akohns]

My rule of thumb. Clearly state you only ship with tracking, insurance and delivery confirmation and state that you reserve the right to cancel the sale if you are unable to ship safely and securely to any international location. I usually ship USPS priority, insure with ebays Shipcover. 

Charge enough to pay of all of that or it's not worth shipping. I have lots of items sell that the shipping fees are higher than the actual cost of the item. If they want it they have to paid to get it to them safely and keep you protected or it's not worth selling it to them.

[emes]

I have lots of items sell that the shipping fees are higher than the actual cost of the item. If they want it they have to paid to get it to them safely and keep you protected or it's not worth selling it to them.

 

I see that all the time as well. It always puzzles me. We sold a $12 item the other day that someone paid $70 to ship to Brazil.

[akohns]

The value of an item is what someone will pay for it. And our value of the item is $12 and a Brazilian's value is $82. So what if it's crazy. If it makes you the $12 that so be it! I started offering international shipping on pretty much everything even cheap stuff in that fashion.

[emes]

The value of an item is what someone will pay for it. And our value of the item is $12 and a Brazilian's value is $82. So what if it's crazy. If it makes you the $12 that so be it! I started offering international shipping on pretty much everything even cheap stuff in that fashion.

 

I think you're my new favorite person here. We do the same...offer international on everything...if they want it they'll pay whatever it costs.

[emes]

Emes- I'm almost ready to start on a "beginner's guide" shipping blog article, so that should be coming soon.

 

Quacs...while I think your articles are really informative and well-written, I feel like the same 15 people will actually read these articles. I know the page hit count is probably higher, and that I'm using a ridiculously low number to illustrate a point, but the point is still valid. The problem with threads like this is that the person is not reading even some of the information out there that already exists.

 

Articles like yours are great for driving traffic and offering value to the people who will read and comprehend, and overall good for the site, but thinking that if you post one here and suddenly everyone that's new to eBay is going to read it is a bit naive.

 

Also, I think it's funny how every one of these threads follows basically the same pattern. Someone sells something, and then asks a question that they should have asked before they ever listed the item for sale. When they get responses they always post about how they have thousands of feedback and have been on eBay for a decade or more. I could be wrong, but I just don't buy it...

 

The other thing that we see is that lack of knowledge about how eBay/PayPal works is someone else's fault. Secondary markets for everything are ruthless. If you don't arm yourself with at least as much, if not more information than the competition you will be competed out of the market. Being a seller on eBay is not suited to low-information people.

 

I'm not saying that my wife absolutely does everything right, or always has, but we both read a ton of information before we ever listed our first item on eBay. We also learned from mistakes over the years and continued to research. We learn from others as well, and there are a handful of people here that I sense have taken a similar approach, and that I listen to about eBay...Quacs, Tigereyes, StarCityBricks, Jeff, FCBarcelona, eracine, Grolim, akhons, Veegs, a couple of the guys with "Darth" in their name, and perhaps a couple of others...if I've left anyone out please don't take it personally.

[Jackson]

emes, have you ever had an instance in which you refunded a buyer?

[emes]

emes, have you ever had an instance in which you refunded a buyer?

 

Yes, just did one recently where my wife sent the wrong item. It was a face cream that we received that was in the wrong package when we received it. Not really her fault, but we're still accountable for it. It was clear from our pics of the package and the item that the package and item we sent didn't match, and the listing my wife made matched the package.

 

It was all of $12.99 that we refunded for an item that we received for free. We lost $2.04 on the postage and packing, but kept a customer who has already purchased other items.

[willy431]

I've been on Ebay since it started, but only recently started selling.  Succesful so far with no issues--but exlcuded international.  I would love to read an article on Ebay for idiots.  Ebay does make it super easy to post things for sale---I had no trouble without reading anything--all my items sold succesfully.  I am a typical male---I never RTFM.  Short articles and tutorials yes---RTFM no.

 

I like to be spoon fed.   In small bites. 

[Mdpadgett]

Sorry if I am not posting this in the right place but I think I might have just fallen for a scam on ebay. I was looking to buy a used jabbas palace to build and decided on just buying a new one instead. I found a great priced one at $90 and free shipping. I thought it was a pretty good deal so I went ahead and payed with it with my Paypal account. Now I'm afraid the seller might be a dropshipper and I really do not want to have an item that was payed with from a stolen credit card or whatnot. So what do you guys think? Is there anyway I can cancel my order that has already been payed for? I didnt suspect anything fishy until i had already payed....go figure. Here is a link to the item: http://payments.mobileweb.ebay.com/pay?cmd=ORDER_DETAILS_MY_EBAY&itemId=300929556376&nFB=true&trxId=840965810020

[CNH1974]

Sorry, that link does not work.

[comicblast]

Could you give us the link to the actual item? It seems that we need to sign into something with the link you provided.

[Mdpadgett]

Oops sorry guys. Here is the correct link. http://bit.ly/1beRnHs

[StarPod]

I wouldnt say its a scam. Top rated seller and none of the feedback hints at any dropshipping.

 

id say youre safe

 

however... all the feedback is private so you may be in the boat

[hollingsworthless]

I had a similar situation happen to me. I ordered a Kingdoms Joust for exactly $100 on eBay. I didn't realize what was happening until the package arrived and I saw the packing slip. It had been shipped to me directly from Walmart at full price plus shipping and tax, using my name and address to place the order, but not with my credit card. I called eBay and they were useless. I called Walmart, but the customer service rep I talked to had no idea what drop shipping was and told me that the order had used a credit card IN MY NAME. I don't think she knew what she was talking about, but I ended up placing a fraud alert on my credit and requested a credit report. I also called my local police department to see about looking into credit fraud. They wouldn't do anything without the credit report. You can't file a fraud report with Walmart without a police report. Eventually I got the credit report and found that no one had signed me up for a new credit card using my info. I've not heard anything from anyone since then. The listing on eBay ended up being removed and the user banned. I think I may have dodged a bullet with that one. I wouldn't expect to always be that lucky.

From now on, I will be a LOT more cautious when purchasing new, unretired sets from eBay that are discounted below retail.

[hollingsworthless]

Also, the user had 7 available when I bought mine. It wasn't just a single item like the one you linked to.

[comicblast]

I think you are safe. What makes you think that is is a drop shipper?

[Mdpadgett]

He has sold multiples of this certain set for all different prices. I guess I just did another one of my freak outs. Thanks for all of your help guys and sorry to bother you. I just don't want to get myself into scams and things that are hard to deal with. Since I'm only 13 funds are tight and I don't want to waste my money on something that is too good to be true. Thanks again for all your help!

[willy431]

http://www.ebay.com/sch/ddanieljordan-us/m.html?item=121135086376&pt=Building_Toys_US&hash=item1c3436bb28&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562

 

 

http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=ddanieljordan-us&ftab=AllFeedback&myworld=true

 

Yep.

[CNH1974]

This seller "looks" legit. Best thing to do though if you are not sure is to avoid.

However you can help yourself to make an "informed" judgement by looking at the sellers history. This seller has been on eBay for 11 years and has only one negative in past six months. Not sure what for. This suggests they are more likely to be legit.

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

He has sold multiples of this certain set for all different prices. I guess I just did another one of my freak outs. Thanks for all of your help guys and sorry to bother you. I just don't want to get myself into scams and things that are hard to deal with. Since I'm only 13 funds are tight and I don't want to waste my money on something that is too good to be true. Thanks again for all your help!

 

Lol don't worry about it. It's tough sometimes when you hear the horror stories.

 

To be honest, I have been victim to this several times, and I know what to look for. I have never had anything bad for myself come out of it. Not that I don't pursue it and try to get the seller in trouble.

 

Also, there is a really good article about dropshipping and what to look for here: 

 

http://community.brickpicker.com/blog/4/entry-28-drop-shipping-lego-how-to-avoid-being-scammed/

 

Generally in my experience:

 

1. Too good a deal.

2. Multiples.

3. Long handling time

4. Something in the feedback may point to it.

5. Not a long history of selling.

 

Another thing to do is email the seller before buying asking if its drop shipped. They will flat out tell you.

[ExoBro94]

I'm going to go against the grain and say that I think this is a dropshipper. I mean, it may be an outlier, but I would never buy from anybody if I saw any hint of a possible problem. Also, If I were you I would've payed the extra $5 to buy from a reputable source. 

 

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

I'm going to go against the grain and say that I think this is a dropshipper. I mean, it may be an outlier, but I would never buy from anybody if I saw any hint of a possible problem. Also, If I were you I would've payed the extra $5 to buy from a reputable source. 

 

 

 

Can you get a clean new Jabba for $95?