Are fruitcakes running rampant on eBay lately? Selling, buying, listing, feedback, etc...

[whoisbiggles]

Hilarious eBay message exchange last night over $15 polybag sale:

My bog standard message to buyers after a purchase sent it hundreds of times:

Hi and thank you,

I’ll drop this set off at my local post office tomorrow morning.

Regards 
 

Was not expecting this reply:

"What do you mean by your local post office?"

 

Huh WTF? 

 

Hi,

I will hand this over the counter at my local post office (Stafford Heights 4053) tomorrow morning.

Regards 

 

Thinking that would be the end of it, Oh farck I get this reply and realise this going down hill fast:

 

"I live in Viewbank, in Melbourne. You will have to send it to me. You advertised free delivery so you will have to send it to me."

 

OK so she thinks she'll have to travel 1700kms (1000 miles) to collect this item from my post office.

 

Hi,

Apologies for any confusion.

I will be sending this set to you tomorrow morning.

My message was to let you know I will be posting your set to you tomorrow. I lodge my outgoing mail at a post office.

I also wanted to convey that I post items as quickly as possible.

Regards 
 

Finally

Yes I was confused as I thought I had to pick it up from your post office.
Thankyou for getting it sent to me asap
 

I would add her to my BBL - but anyone who pays $15 for a Chima polybag is a highly valued buyer.

 

 

[donbee]

Hilarious eBay message exchange last night over $15 polybag sale:
My bog standard message to buyers after a purchase sent it hundreds of times:
Hi and thank you,
I’ll drop this set off at my local post office tomorrow morning.
Regards 
 
Was not expecting this reply:
"What do you mean by your local post office?"
 
Huh WTF? 
 
Hi,
I will hand this over the counter at my local post office (Stafford Heights 4053) tomorrow morning.
Regards 
 
Thinking that would be the end of it, Oh farck I get this reply and realise this going down hill fast:
 
"I live in Viewbank, in Melbourne. You will have to send it to me. You advertised free delivery so you will have to send it to me."
 
OK so she thinks she'll have to travel 1700kms (1000 miles) to collect this item from my post office.
 
Hi,
Apologies for any confusion.
I will be sending this set to you tomorrow morning.
My message was to let you know I will be posting your set to you tomorrow. I lodge my outgoing mail at a post office.
I also wanted to convey that I post items as quickly as possible.
Regards 
 
Finally
Yes I was confused as I thought I had to pick it up from your post office.
Thankyou for getting it sent to me asap
 
I would add her to my BBL - but anyone who pays $15 for a Chima polybag is a highly valued buyer.
 
 

Lol. Yes, HVB. Until she leaves negative feedback complaining that it wasn’t fully assembled as it appears in the picture on the bag.

[fuzzy_bricks]

I'm probably going to jinx myself by sharing this, but it has been a month and I haven't heard anything since the initial exchange.  I received this message and pictures for a set I sold.

Hi. My son bought the Lego Technic Ocean Explorer set. At this point, there are three pieces missing and one that was obviously chewed on by a dog. I understand it was not in its box but I was guaranteed that it was new in original packaging. This does not seem to be the case. I have included pictures. We are disappointed and at a building stand still. How can we settle this matter?
I expect some kind of financial compensation for the product's misrepresentation.
Thank you,

 

 

If I would have received this message earlier in my selling career, I would have probably coughed up a few bucks to make this go away, but after learning from the steady hands here, my first thought was "partial refund, homie don't play that".

Since I have had a dog chew up a package before,  I knew it was going to be impossible for it to happen with such precision to only damage one piece.  I suspected that her dog was responsible since she labeled the picture "obviously dog chewed".

I responded with the following and have not heard anything since.  (knocks on wood)

I'm sorry for the trouble that you're having.
While it is rare, I have seen damaged and missing pieces in a new Lego set. If you would like to keep the set, new pieces can be requested from Lego's site. I have done this in the past and it is a great service to get you building again. The other option would be for me to send you the missing pieces from spare parts that I have, this may be slightly quicker than Lego's service.
If this is unsatisfactory we can look at returning the item and issuing a refund.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks,

[Alpinemaps]

Here's my fruitcake story.

This is being disputed, as a "damaged during shipping"

Here's the pic that was provided:

[BillyBricks]

1 hour ago, Alpinemaps said:

Here's my fruitcake story.

This is being disputed, as a "damaged during shipping"

Here's the pic that was provided:

A PM of the buyer's name would be great for adding to the ol' blocked list. That is pretty ridiculous. 

[Saruman]

I sold a LEGO 10266 a couple weeks ago and the guy that bought it lived in Chile. The thing was is that he put his address as a GlobalshopEx which is in Florida. There was NO WAY I was going to ship it to GlobalShopEx and hope they get it to him so I canceled the order putting my reasons as an illegitimate buyer address. Then he went and and left me bad feedback! I asked him to remove it and I reported the buyer because he was acting all fishy when we messaged back and forth. Then I went to feedback revision and asked eBay to remove it. Is there anything else I can do?  After getting 27 positive feedback from customers he was my very first negative feedback.

Edited August 9, 2019 by Saruman

[redghostx]

I've shipped to freight forwarder companies with no problem and you didn't really provide a good reading for cancelling (nor can you prove its an illegitimate business).

 

You may have to eat this negative and know that if it's a confirmed address, and you ship to it, then you're usually safe, whether your buyer gets it in the home country or not.

 

 

[Alpinemaps]

On 7/31/2019 at 11:50 AM, Alpinemaps said:

Here's my fruitcake story.

This is being disputed, as a "damaged during shipping"

Here's the pic that was provided:

To finish off my fruitcake story, eBay initially refunded him.  I appealed and after a 20 minute phone call with very pleasant reps, they reversed the decision.

[JoshB]

2 hours ago, Alpinemaps said:

To finish off my fruitcake story, eBay initially refunded him.  I appealed and after a 20 minute phone call with very pleasant reps, they reversed the decision.

What was the explanation you gave to the rep?

[Alpinemaps]

What was the explanation you gave to the rep?

It was simple. He provided that sole photo, and the reason he requested a refund was that it was SNAD.

I asked the rep to review all of the messages and photos between us, and to note that:

1. He got the product he paid for (he never said in messages he didn’t)
2. There was no damage to the box (I had photos showing the box appeared the same as his photo)

[Mark Twain]

33 minutes ago, Alpinemaps said:

 

It was simple. He provided that sole photo, and the reason he requested a refund was that it was SNAD.

I asked the rep to review all of the messages and photos between us, and to note that:

1. He got the product he paid for (he never said in messages he didn’t)
2. There was no damage to the box (I had photos showing the box appeared the same as his photo)

 

Collectors are a different breed of crazy when it comes to filing claims. Did he also leave negative feedback? The nice thing about winning a case beyond keeping your money is that any feedback is also taken down. Though, you may have to call. 

[minicoopers11]

10 hours ago, Saruman said:

I sold a LEGO 10266 a couple weeks ago and the guy that bought it lived in Chile. The thing was is that he put his address as a GlobalshopEx which is in Florida. There was NO WAY I was going to ship it to GlobalShopEx and hope they get it to him so I canceled the order putting my reasons as an illegitimate buyer address. Then he went and and left me bad feedback! I asked him to remove it and I reported the buyer because he was acting all fishy when we messaged back and forth. Then I went to feedback revision and asked eBay to remove it. Is there anything else I can do?  After getting 27 positive feedback from customers he was my very first negative feedback.

I don’t understand this. Why not ship to a freight forwarder? Sure things can always go wrong. I’ve had orders go wrong, but none with a freight forwarder even after dozens of orders like that.

[Saruman]

10 hours ago, minicoopers11 said:

I don’t understand this. Why not ship to a freight forwarder? Sure things can always go wrong. I’ve had orders go wrong, but none with a freight forwarder even after dozens of orders like that.

I am a pretty small seller and I don't want to risk it. I would rather wait for another buyer to come along and me ship it to them. If you have had good experiences with freight forwarders than good for you! I am sure it probably would have been fine, but I was busy at this time with other stuff and if something did go wrong with this order I didn't want to deal with it, so I canceled. And technically it was OK for me to do so because I state that I only ship to the US and he was in Chile.

[iahawks550]

1 minute ago, Saruman said:

And technically it was OK for me to do so because I state that I only ship to the US and he was in Chile.

I don't care what you do with your account, but technically, you are wrong. You have zero responsibility after you ship it to Florida.

I have shipped dozens of things to the coast that are ultimately being put in a shipping container to China or Japan, for the end user. I don't sell overseas either.

But, that is why the buyer, who wants things from this country, gets them shipped to a US address. Because it absolves you of blame (you shipped to a certified address) and lets them buy from sellers who otherwise wouldn't sell to them.

 

[Brickshopper]

58 minutes ago, iahawks550 said:

I don't care what you do with your account, but technically, you are wrong. You have zero responsibility after you ship it to Florida.

I have shipped dozens of things to the coast that are ultimately being put in a shipping container to China or Japan, for the end user. I don't sell overseas either.

But, that is why the buyer, who wants things from this country, gets them shipped to a US address. Because it absolves you of blame (you shipped to a certified address) and lets them buy from sellers who otherwise wouldn't sell to them.

 

Not entirely true there is no protection on eBay from a not as described claim if someone wants to scam it is pretty easy and they can make a claim through PayPal if it was damaged in international shipping. Youve been lucky but I would not say any sale on eBay is risk free. Most of the buyers using forwarders are good and we haven’t had many problems. If item is damaged after the forwarder they can still open a claim you would be responsible for return shipping from US address it was sent

[spener90]

21 hours ago, Alpinemaps said:

To finish off my fruitcake story, eBay initially refunded him.  I appealed and after a 20 minute phone call with very pleasant reps, they reversed the decision.

This is why I always add a disclaimer on my orders that items may have minor box damage or shelf wear. I am aware that it eliminates certain buyers, but I feel it prevents a lot of problems too.

[Saruman]

5 hours ago, Brickshopper said:

Not entirely true there is no protection on eBay from a not as described claim if someone wants to scam it is pretty easy and they can make a claim through PayPal if it was damaged in international shipping. Youve been lucky but I would not say any sale on eBay is risk free. Most of the buyers using forwarders are good and we haven’t had many problems. If item is damaged after the forwarder they can still open a claim you would be responsible for return shipping from US address it was sent

 

6 hours ago, iahawks550 said:

I don't care what you do with your account, but technically, you are wrong. You have zero responsibility after you ship it to Florida.

I have shipped dozens of things to the coast that are ultimately being put in a shipping container to China or Japan, for the end user. I don't sell overseas either.

But, that is why the buyer, who wants things from this country, gets them shipped to a US address. Because it absolves you of blame (you shipped to a certified address) and lets them buy from sellers who otherwise wouldn't sell to them.

 

Ok, look I am not expert on this thing so I was wrong. I figured I would be responsible but since GlobalShopEx is an official freight forwarding compay and if they take responsibility for mistakes then I guess I am covered. Thanks for that info, it will prove helpful for future orders!

Edited August 10, 2019 by Saruman

[Alpinemaps]

On 8/9/2019 at 1:26 PM, Mark Twain said:

Collectors are a different breed of crazy when it comes to filing claims. Did he also leave negative feedback? The nice thing about winning a case beyond keeping your money is that any feedback is also taken down. Though, you may have to call. 

Luckily, no feedback.  Or if he did, they already removed it.

 

[$20 on joe vs dan]

Is this fair?

I received an advertised "new" set with broken seals; seller claims it was open by mistake but inside bags are still sealed

My options to the seller:

refund me 10%, or

accept return, or

I give negative feedback for poor communication

[iahawks550]

10 minutes ago, $20 on joe vs dan said:

Is this fair?

I received an advertised "new" set with broken seals; seller claims it was open by mistake but inside bags are still sealed

My options to the seller:

refund me 10%, or

accept return, or

I give negative feedback for poor communication

If he wasn't willing to do A, I would do both B and C. Especially if he knew it had been opened. 

[fuzzy_bricks]

14 hours ago, $20 on joe vs dan said:

Is this fair?

I received an advertised "new" set with broken seals; seller claims it was open by mistake but inside bags are still sealed

My options to the seller:

refund me 10%, or

accept return, or

I give negative feedback for poor communication

I wouldn't mention leaving negative feedback, I believe eBay has a policy against trying to negotiate with feedback.

[$20 on joe vs dan]

3 hours ago, fuzzy_bricks said:

I wouldn't mention leaving negative feedback, I believe eBay has a policy against trying to negotiate with feedback.

ah...gotcha...thanks

[zaphoid]

Every time there is a new post in this thread I click on it and it just hope that no one is talking about something I sold or am selling.  Is it just me or do others do the same thing? 

[Mark Twain]

1 hour ago, $20 on joe vs dan said:

ah...gotcha...thanks

To be specific and clear, what they are referencing is eBay's Feedback and Extortion policy. I've linked it so you can read. I've invoked it in cases where a buyer has asked for money back or threatened negative feedback and won each time.  Those buyer accounts no longer exist, so I'm guessing it means ban. Simply put don't do it. 

[Saruman]

6 hours ago, zaphoid said:

Every time there is a new post in this thread I click on it and it just hope that no one is talking about something I sold or am selling.  Is it just me or do others do the same thing? 

Link me to your store and I can complain about something here if you want. Just saying.