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

[Alpinemaps]

2 hours ago, Alpinemaps said:  

Yep. You are good. You've got your funds, and an order to ship. You are only required to get it to the global shipping center. After that it's out of your hands.

Thanks for the info! I just thought of another related question. Does the global shipping center open up the package to confirm/check the contents before shipping it off to the international buyer? I would imagine (logistically) that it would suck for eBay and the foreign buyer if a scammer shipped a brick instead of the actual item. 

As far as I know they don't repackage the item. Hopefully someone else can confirm this.

[gregpj]

19 minutes ago, Alpinemaps said:

 

As far as I know they don't repackage the item. Hopefully someone else can confirm this.

They don't repackage it, but they are usually opened and re-taped with a special "eBay" tape. We have a thread somewhere about global shipping... I've had very good luck with one exception - they put the loose bricks back on the bottom and the set box on top. The weight of the box caused indents and scratches all over it despite the bricks being in a plastic bag... (yeah it mattered, it was an SDCC set that'll never leave the box).

Someone else has had them cut the LEGO box with the knife used to open the box... so make sure you guys leave a little air space at the top or put a scrap piece of cardboard under the tape seam!

[oneknightr]

2 hours ago, gregpj said:

They don't repackage it, but they are usually opened and re-taped with a special "eBay" tape. We have a thread somewhere about global shipping... I've had very good luck with one exception - they put the loose bricks back on the bottom and the set box on top. The weight of the box caused indents and scratches all over it despite the bricks being in a plastic bag... (yeah it mattered, it was an SDCC set that'll never leave the box).

Someone else has had them cut the LEGO box with the knife used to open the box... so make sure you guys leave a little air space at the top or put a scrap piece of cardboard under the tape seam!

Thanks for the info. Time to go find the Global Shipping Program thread to learn more about other people's experiences.

[gregpj]

2 hours ago, gregpj said: They don't repackage it, but they are usually opened and re-taped with a special "eBay" tape. We have a thread somewhere about global shipping... I've had very good luck with one exception - they put the loose bricks back on the bottom and the set box on top. The weight of the box caused indents and scratches all over it despite the bricks being in a plastic bag... (yeah it mattered, it was an SDCC set that'll never leave the box).

Someone else has had them cut the LEGO box with the knife used to open the box... so make sure you guys leave a little air space at the top or put a scrap piece of cardboard under the tape seam!

Thanks for the info. Time to go find the Global Shipping Program thread to learn more about other people's experiences.

http://community.brickpicker.com/index.php?/topic/6233-eBay-Global-Shipping-Program-questions

That's the topic... But it's probably been discussed in the regular eBay shipping thread.

[colossus]

On 10/29/2015, 3:09:15, colossus said:

So I avoided eBay since 2008 after I ran into a scam for a hard drive I sold (the buyer oddly was just 5 miles away from me) - was such a pain dealing with Paypal and getting a police report that I quit selling.

Last month eBay had a promo for $100 matched for selling a phone - so I sold a Samsung phone for about $115.  The buyer was in the Bronx and had a feedback rating of 1 (account was made just 2 days earlier).  I suspected trouble but followed through and shipped to a verified address.  Buyer left positive feedback on eBay without me prompting.

Unfortunately this is where it turned bad. I guess the buyer decided to scam me and reported that the item was not received or was paid for illegally (I'm not sure what the issue was) but Paypal sent messages to an email  stopped checking frequently because I assumed since the buyer left positive feedback I wouldn't get screwed.  Well the buyer filed the claim on the 14th and on the 24th of October it closed and the $115 was sent back to the buyer.

I just spotted this since I happened to log into that email and was like WTF! I called Paypal and let them have an earful and explained about the last time I sold on eBay I was scammed only to have it happen yet once again back to back. They asked for tracking (which I provided) and told them the buyer even left positive feedback on eBay.  They said they will try to get my money back.  I know the onus was on me to respond within 10 days but I seriously didn't think the buyer would backend me like that.  I guess since eBay/Paypal have separated buyers can do this and pray on a seller's inattentiveness.

I don't have confidence in Paypal given their track record (in my experience).  I know this not a Lego but it scares me I am just getting back into selling only to have the worst nightmares come back.

I'm going to call Samsung and see if they can black list the IMEI if I don't get my money back (TMobile can't do it becuase it was a factory unlocked phone).  Sorry for the rant - any advice or suggestions to take a chill pill are appreciated

 

Follow up to my emotional rant.  I did some digging on some law enforcement sites and did the following:

- Called the police department in which the buyer lived - they refused to help and told me to use my local law enforcement

- Filed a police report at my local Sherrif's station.

- Filed a complaint on USPS Mail Fraud website and noted the police report number

- Filed a complaint with ic3.gov (noting police report and USPS case numbers) which is the public access handle for FBI to catch internet crimes

I called up Paypal and the customer service agent basically told me too bad so sad.  I asked to speak to a supervisor and told him about the 3 reports I filed and he returned my money within 33 seconds of speaking to me and apologized for the headache and agreed to look at the buyer's account for fraudulent activity.

For those of you who got your money back but still feel like you were cheated because somebody is walking out there with your TH or HH - consider spending the 1-2 hours that it takes to do the above.  Yes it's a pain but if the names/addresses are not added to the database ic3.gov tracks then they can't build a history.  These crooks think their quite smart because they're able to jump on unsecured wifi and place orders with stolen CCs - but sooner or later they'll leave a trail that can be traced back to them. Even if the buyer claims they were not part of the scam the information helps because the IP addresses, emails, aliases and cities are tracked.

Edited November 11, 2015 by colossus

[Agsimpson13]

Unsolicited offer for two sets of Series 2 Mixels.  Sorry, maybe I'm heartless, but I don't buy it.

 

Dear agsimpson13,

Would you consider 80 for two sets shipped? I am trying to get these for my daughters. This is the one thing that has brought their spirits up after their mother died. Unfortunately, I don't have lots of money, since I am a disabled veteran myself. Thank you for your consideration.
 

[chinothegeeko]

Unsolicited offer for two sets of Series 2 Mixels.  Sorry, maybe I'm heartless, but I don't buy it.

 

Dear agsimpson13,

Would you consider 80 for two sets shipped? I am trying to get these for my daughters. This is the one thing that has brought their spirits up after their mother died. Unfortunately, I don't have lots of money, since I am a disabled veteran myself. Thank you for your consideration.
 

I don't either especially on veterans day.

[Alpinemaps]

Good advice colossus. I think I will try and I will see if I can contact the person that got ripped off and see if they can do the same.

[cissi]

Sold a partial set through GSP with all the bags/instructions/stickers pictured. Buyer now requests a return or else threatens to leave negative feedback. He compared the price of the sold item to a full FAKE set and requested the rest of the set. I should have expected troubles coming because he only got 3 feedbacks. Yet, I have had sales to low-feedback buyers without any issues. I usually checked with the international buyers to confirm the purchase before shipping out the item but for some reason did not do so with this one. Waiting for his reply now. But one lesson learned: never too busy to check with them and it's worth holding off shipping the international sales.

Edited November 12, 2015 by cissi

[KShine]

30 minutes ago, cissi said:

Sold a partial set through GSP with all the bags/instructions/stickers pictured. Buyer now requests a return or else threatens to leave negative feedback. He compared the price of the sold item to a full FAKE set and requested the rest of the set. I should have expected troubles coming because he only got 3 feedbacks. Yet, I have had sales to low-feedback buyers without any issues. I usually checked with the international buyers to confirm the purchase before shipping out the item but for some reason did not do so with this one. Waiting for his reply now. But one lesson learned: never too busy to check with them and it's worth holding off shipping the international sales.

I don't know the details of your transaction, but if a buyer specifically threatens to leave a negative unless you comply with their demands, it can be removed.

[cissi]

10 minutes ago, KShine said:

I don't know the details of your transaction, but if a buyer specifically threatens to leave a negative unless you comply with their demands, it can be removed.

Thanks. Well, I have no problem with the return as long as he pays for the shipping for his buyer remorse. But I guess this again pointed out the damage counterfeits can do.

[gregpj]

20 minutes ago, cissi said:

Thanks. Well, I have no problem with the return as long as he pays for the shipping for his buyer remorse. But I guess this again pointed out the damage counterfeits can do.

If he referenced that fake set or fake listing, make sure you take a screen cap of the listing in case it disappears... then if he tries the SNAD route you have your backup plan.

Wouldn't you just like to tell these moron buyers to go fly a kite?

 

[California92563]

27 minutes ago, cissi said:

Thanks. Well, I have no problem with the return as long as he pays for the shipping for his buyer remorse. But I guess this again pointed out the damage counterfeits can do.

If he used your feedback as leverage you can even report him to eBay since they take feedback blackmailing serious 

[cissi]

12 minutes ago, California92563 said:

If he used your feedback as leverage you can even report him to eBay since they take feedback blackmailing serious 

in term of reporting... should I report before or after the return case is closed?

[KShine]

33 minutes ago, cissi said:

in term of reporting... should I report before or after the return case is closed?

I would let the dust settle first. This way you could first see exactly what the buyer ends up doing (without escalating things).

To follow up - Once your case (buyer threatened, etc) is made clear, you don't want to muddy up the communications with too much back & forth. Don't ignore them of course, but just keep it to a minimum. Remember that an ebay/paypal person will be reviewing this without any knowledge of the situation - so the less they need to go through the better.

Edited November 12, 2015 by KShine

[cissi]

4 minutes ago, KShine said:

I would let the dust settle first. This way you could first see exactly what the buyer ends up doing (without escalating things).

got it. thanks!

[Sprocket77]

I've had a buyer of an auction message me saying they bid too much and asking to cancel the purchase. How do I go about this without it counting as a defect against me?

Do I then send a second chance offer to the under bidder?

[ravenb99]

4 minutes ago, Sprocket77 said:

I've had a buyer of an auction message me saying they bid too much and asking to cancel the purchase. How do I go about this without it counting as a defect against me?

Do I then send a second chance offer to the under bidder?

just go to the item page and to the left click "resolve a problem"  , then choose buyer asked to cancel the order, no defect.   There are 2 different systems being used right now by ebay. One will have a bunch of options and the other will just have 2, but either one will not count against you.

 

The older system says "buyer won by mistake or changed there mind" and the new one says " buyer asked to cancel the order or there is a problem with the buyers address"

 

something close to that anyways

[Sprocket77]

32 minutes ago, ravenb99 said:

just go to the item page and to the left click "resolve a problem"  , then choose buyer asked to cancel the order, no defect.   There are 2 different systems being used right now by ebay. One will have a bunch of options and the other will just have 2, but either one will not count against you.

 

The older system says "buyer won by mistake or changed there mind" and the new one says " buyer asked to cancel the order or there is a problem with the buyers address"

 

something close to that anyways

Thanks Raven

[BrickLegacy]

This is my first holiday season selling on eBay. When do sales really start to ramp up? Black Friday / Cyber Monday? I have a lot of inventory to move but want to be patient and maximize my sales. Do you typically see sales ramp up quickly around Thanksgiving?

[minicoopers11]

I start to see uptick in sales about now. 

In fruitcake news, well Amazon seller fruitcake news, a seller decided to accuse me of removing the set from the box, keeping the original pieces, minifigures, and instructions after a return (2 months after amazon refunded my money). Which is hilarious, because that's why I returned the item. Sorry, amazon fruitcake seller, a set arrives that is not factory sealed is not my problem. Have fun! Granted, this could be Amazon's fault, as it was FBA, with the seller merely having a mental breakdown, but not the buyer's problem, seller. Get over it.

[ravenb99]

8 hours ago, BrickLegacy said:

This is my first holiday season selling on eBay. When do sales really start to ramp up? Black Friday / Cyber Monday? I have a lot of inventory to move but want to be patient and maximize my sales. Do you typically see sales ramp up quickly around Thanksgiving?

they have been jumping now but peak prices will be around BF to Dec 12th or so.  Get a little lull from 13-20th from my experience and then the last minute panic buyers after that.  I try to have the bulk of my sales done by the Mid December though.  Nothing good comes from last minute shoppers when UPS and USPS don't make it on time.  You take the brunt of the backlash.  

Just to put in perspective sold 1812 items on my LEGO account in October and through today am at 1185 sold items in 13 days (on pace for 2734) and the last 5 days will be even more of a pace so wouldn't hurt to get your listings up now, can always adjust prices as you get closer to the end of peak time.  

[Darth_Raichu]

Has ebay been slow / unresponsive in the past 8 hours for you guys too or is it just me ?  This is seriously messing up with my shipping metrics

 

[Deadfraggle]

Has ebay been slow / unresponsive in the past 8 hours for you guys too or is it just me ?  This is seriously messing up with my shipping metrics

 

eBay was almost unusable for me starting about midnight or 1 am. I haven't checked this morning yet.

[redghostx]

1 hour ago, Darth_Raichu said:

Has ebay been slow / unresponsive in the past 8 hours for you guys too or is it just me ?  This is seriously messing up with my shipping metrics

 

***Congratulations on 7000 posts.

49 minutes ago, Deadfraggle said:

eBay was almost unusable for me starting about midnight or 1 am. I haven't checked this morning yet.

Seems to be fine now; I just printed my weekend labels with no delays.

Edited November 14, 2015 by redghostx
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