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

[Phil B]

Media Mail guidelines are pretty clear. Paraphrasing here as I am not able to verify now, but when I started selling I read the description and knew immediately I couldn't ship commercial materials using Media Mail. I think it explains how this is intended for contracts etc. (paperwork).

[LegoEdison]

18 minutes ago, newbie77 said:

look at the right hand side on sequence of events. it will show what happened when. with highest number being the latest.

Maybe i skipped that part when i send the label.

right now i have "no action required" in my case but my case is waiting me to refund the buyer? maybe i am waiting the buyer send me back and refund?  

[randrace]

Holy crap that's dumb. But I get the strict point they are going with. But that's dumb.
Edit to add: my kid's Curious George books wouldn't qualify either, since they have a "other Curious George books" set of pictures on the back cover.
Not shooing the messenger. Just think they are dumb.

The Curious George books would be okay (from USPS website):

Media Mail Packages may not contain advertising except that books may contain incidental announcements of other books and sound recordings may contain incidental announcements of other sound recordings.

[Alpinemaps]

1 hour ago, randrace said:

 

The Curious George books would be okay (from USPS website):

Media Mail Packages may not contain advertising except that books may contain incidental announcements of other books and sound recordings may contain incidental announcements of other sound recordings.

 

Yeah, I just read that too.  Damn, I wanted to be outraged!

[redghostx]

2 minutes ago, Alpinemaps said:

Yeah, I just read that too.  Damn, I wanted to be outraged!

Makes me think of The Simpsons - Shake Harder, Boy

 

I appreciate all of the discussion in this thread over the last day because it's very informative.

 

 

[Average Guy]

13 hours ago, randrace said:

 

I swear I'm not a Media Mail Troll, but instruction manuals would not qualify for Media Mail if they contain advertisements for other LEGO sets.

http://about.usps.com/notices/not121/not121.htm

I found this out the hard way when I tried to send some comic books Media Mail and was turned away by my local Postmaster, because they contained advertisements.

 

Actually you are correct. Advertising is not permitted. Because Media Mail is so much cheaper than all the other services people tend to cheat on it therefore Postal Clerks will open Media Mail often to inspect it. You would presume a Clerk would let a comic or magazine by because advertising is only a small percentage of the entire item. However similar to being pulled over by a policeman, if a Clerk goes to the effort to open the parcel then any violation of the service and the Clerk will probably  hold the parcel for the correct postage due. Please read Media Mail restrictions carefully and do not abuse the  cheaper service. 

[dmc]

Selling a loose Marvel Legends action figure on Ebay. The word "loose" is in the title in allcaps. It's the only word in allcaps. The photos are of a loose figure. The first word in the description is the word "loose." Item specifics state that it comes without packaging.

 

New message from: ubaldie (0)

Is the figure loose?

[AirborneAFOL]

Selling a loose Marvel Legends action figure on Ebay. The word "loose" is in the title in allcaps. It's the only word in allcaps. The photos are of a loose figure. The first word in the description is the word "loose." Item specifics state that it comes without packaging.
 

New message from: ubaldie (0)

Is the figure loose?

Sorry about that, I had a few whiskeys tonight and I wanted to troll you...

[Lordoflego]

18 minutes ago, dmc said:

Selling a loose Marvel Legends action figure on Ebay. The word "loose" is in the title in allcaps. It's the only word in allcaps. The photos are of a loose figure. The first word in the description is the word "loose." Item specifics state that it comes without packaging.

 

New message from: ubaldie (0)

Is the figure loose?

Well is it loose or not for crying out loud!?  

[Alpinemaps]

My fruitcake story for the evening...

Sold an AA last week. Sent it to a place in Texas that is not a residence, via FedEx Smart Post. Verified eBay and PayPal address. Delivered yesterday.

Got an eBay message that says the following: "Hello, item arrived several damage."

No request for refund, no request for a return. I do have a 30 day return policy with buyer having to contact me via eBay messaging, request a refund, pay for shipping, and return the item in the same condition sent.

I haven't responded. Not sure if I should? He's not asking for anything (yet). Not sure what to do with this info.

[donbee]

not sure where you are coming from and basing facts off of.
a. when IRS looks at your business. they want to look at your income and expense. they want to look at your bank statement. that's the only way you can prove you paid for the items that you are saying you paid.
[ their belief is if you can't prove you paid for an item then someone else paid for it. its kind of ridiculous way of saying things but you can't counter that. 
its not me saying thing. talk to any of your Accountants or people who have dealt with IRS they will validate what i am saying. ]
now if you are not keeping your personal and business account separate then when you try to prove your business side then you open up doors for them to look at other sides. so be careful sometimes its worth to pay that $5 or $10/month they charge for business account. 
again, consult your accountant or attorney to determine what is best for your circumstance.

I've never been audited by IRS, so I will grant that I don't know exactly what that entails. But I've had two CPAs and have heard on TV often enough that the only way to prove your expenses is with receipts. Your bank account says you spent $300 at Target, but for what? 14 Iron Golems, or 30lbs of Ribeye?
I have a 6 year old business, S-corp, I use QB, which does have my business bank account info on it. And I do keep stuff separate, because it is an S-corp. but I had another business on the side that I reported through Schedule-C. No separate account. Just a box full of receipts I kept track of on QB and gave to my CPA.

Now I have my Lego business, to which I opened up an LLC and got a local b license that allows me to sell goods on the internet from my home. As with many other sellers. I have several credit cards for discount purposes. The only way I can prove what was bought for business, and what for personal, is receipts. Items bought with discounted gift cards, receipts.

I believe the original question wasn't whether it would keep him safer from the IRS, whom I don't fear, but whether it was required for him to have one. Because his bank was telling him he needed one.

To which I said it wasn't required by the IRS to have one.

If I find myself making significant money doing this, which I don't expect to Because I don't want to work that hard, I will move to a stronger/safer format. But I doubt the IRS is going to be sweating me and my $12,000 a year gross sales. Especially since I'm giving them a cut.

[LegoBro]

3 hours ago, Alpinemaps said:

My fruitcake story for the evening...

Sold an AA last week. Sent it to a place in Texas that is not a residence, via FedEx Smart Post. Verified eBay and PayPal address. Delivered yesterday.

Got an eBay message that says the following: "Hello, item arrived several damage."

No request for refund, no request for a return. I do have a 30 day return policy with buyer having to contact me via eBay messaging, request a refund, pay for shipping, and return the item in the same condition sent.

I haven't responded. Not sure if I should? He's not asking for anything (yet). Not sure what to do with this info.

I guess I'll be a similar fruitcake...lol  I've actually messaged a seller when item came with what seemed to be a smoke odor.  I wasn't looking for a refund, but I felt the seller should be aware of the issue as nothing was stated on listing as item coming from a smoking household.  The seller responded and denied of course and I let the issue go as again I wasn't interested in returning or getting a refund.  Had the seller not responded though, I may have left bad feedback.  You're better off responding in my opinion. Sometimes us fruitcakes just want some acknowledgement. A little love so to speak.

[randrace]

I also vote for responding to a message about damage. I always assume I'm getting scammed, but communicate as if the person on the other end has the best of intentions. I never offer a discount for damage. What I do is send a message apologizing and explaining in detail how to initiate a return. I don't say anything about shipping being at their expense; they will figure that out if they actually follow through on a return.

All my listings include a 20% restocking fee, which I have yet to charge on a return. It's more of an insurance policy if something is fishy. In some cases, it could protect you against losses with a damaged box or missing pieces.

I sold a woman a built Tardis recently split from the Ideas Dr. Who. She wrote me very upset about the size of the Tardis. Bought it as a Christmas gift for her neice and thought it was something more substantial.

Here's how I handled it:

 

HER: 
Built from the box... Where is the box, instructions? This thing is tiny! I can't give this to my niece for Xmas. Seriously disappointed.

 

ME:

This sale was for the Tardis only. Box and instructions are not included. I do accept returns. Go to Purchases. To the right of the item click on More Options. Then Return Item. Follow instructions from there.

Cheers,
[me]

 

She opens a return. Return reason was 'changed mind.' In the comments section of the return she writes,
I thought it was a real Lego set that you build. It s basically a plastic box with a Lego top and very small. Wow! A restocking fee???? Unbelievable! And I have to pay for shipping it back???? So I get what, like $10 back??

 

I feel bad for her, and email her this:
Hey [her], It's [me] from EBay. Sorry about the misunderstanding about the LEGO Doctor Who Tardis.

There is a silver lining. I have located the set at a LEGO Store that is close to you, and it's on sale. 

Here is a description of the set:
https://shop.lego.com/en-US/Doctor-Who-21304

Here is the LEGO Store near you:
[address]

Here is their phone number:
[phone #]

I just called them and they have the set in stock. When you arrive ask for, "The Doctor Who Ideas Set."
It's due for retirement at the end of the year, so if you want this set for your niece, this is the month to pick it up.

I hope this helps,
[me]

She then closes the return writing,
I'm going to keep it. Thank you for the legwork on the Lego store, but I purposely don't shop at that overpriced mall. Plus around christmas, parking is horrid. That s why I shop on ebay.

Who knows if it was my buyer-unfriendly return policy or my friendly email that dissuaded her, but this is how I like to handle returns.

Edited January 20, 2017 by randrace

[stackables]

Wondering how you guy/gals would handle this?  I bought a "lot" of star wars figs from ebay.  Picture shows 18 figs and description says 17 complete droids.  The lot had zero droids by the way.  I got the figs the other day and there was an extra complete fig (one of 6 that were actually complete).  Thought cool and extra good fig.  Spent several hours going through the figs to inspect and identify them.  Of course 60% have the wrong pieces and heads.  Some parts were severely worn so I threw them in the trash.  I got an email from the seller and they state they sent some wrong "lego droids" please send back.  Do I have any obligation to send anything back?  I have already spent hours inventory pieces I have to get to complete the figs and I threw several pieces away.  Thoughts?

[exciter1]

2 minutes ago, stackables said:

Wondering how you guy/gals would handle this?  I bought a "lot" of star wars figs from ebay.  Picture shows 18 figs and description says 17 complete droids.  The lot had zero droids by the way.  I got the figs the other day and there was an extra complete fig (one of 6 that were actually complete).  Thought cool and extra good fig.  Spent several hours going through the figs to inspect and identify them.  Of course 60% have the wrong pieces and heads.  Some parts were severely worn so I threw them in the trash.  I got an email from the seller and they state they sent some wrong "lego droids" please send back.  Do I have any obligation to send anything back?  I have already spent hours inventory pieces I have to get to complete the figs and I threw several pieces away.  Thoughts?

No, don't respond.

[randrace]

Wondering how you guy/gals would handle this?  I bought a "lot" of star wars figs from ebay.  Picture shows 18 figs and description says 17 complete droids.  The lot had zero droids by the way.  I got the figs the other day and there was an extra complete fig (one of 6 that were actually complete).  Thought cool and extra good fig.  Spent several hours going through the figs to inspect and identify them.  Of course 60% have the wrong pieces and heads.  Some parts were severely worn so I threw them in the trash.  I got an email from the seller and they state they sent some wrong "lego droids" please send back.  Do I have any obligation to send anything back?  I have already spent hours inventory pieces I have to get to complete the figs and I threw several pieces away.  Thoughts?

You are not obligated to send anything back. People often throw in extra pieces in a shipment, so you are also not taking advantage of an obvious mistake. You could send a one sentence reply stating that the pieces have have already been added to your inventory and you won't be able to send them back.

[stackables]

3 minutes ago, randrace said:

You are not obligated to send anything back. People often throw in extra pieces in a shipment, so you are also not taking advantage of an obvious mistake. You could send a one sentence reply stating that the pieces have have already been added to your inventory and you won't be able to send them back.

I ending up stating that I didn't receive any extra "droids" and that most of the "complete figs had wrong parts or severely damaged.  They responded saying that must have sent them somewhere else.  They were selling lots of battle droids so maybe indeed they got me mixed up with another buyer but I don't know if they call all lego minifigs droids.  I have indeed inventoried everything and that did take some time due to the majority of the figures being slightly frankensteined.

[AirborneAFOL]

Buyer pays, I print shipping label, now buyer wants to cancel.

I know how to void out the postage (and typically get a refund after a delay). Any tips on how to "cancel" the order at this stage? Does buyer need to request a "return" since the item status is "paid and shipped"?

[Phil B]

2 minutes ago, AirborneAFOL said:

Buyer pays, I print shipping label, now buyer wants to cancel.

I know how to void out the postage (and typically get a refund after a delay). Any tips on how to "cancel" the order at this stage? Does buyer need to request a "return" since the item status is "paid and shipped"?

I have not done this before, so do your own research on this, but AFAIK an EBay sale is by definition "final" and any cancellations are up to Seller's discretion. Since you've already shipped this item (ok, perhaps not yet dropped off, but you created the label) you can tell them that their only option is to return the item when they receive it (and depending on your return policy they might need to pay for return shipping).

[Jackson]

3 minutes ago, Phil B said:

I have not done this before, so do your own research on this, but AFAIK an EBay sale is by definition "final" and any cancellations are up to Seller's discretion. Since you've already shipped this item (ok, perhaps not yet dropped off, but you created the label) you can tell them that their only option is to return the item when they receive it (and depending on your return policy they might need to pay for return shipping).

Seems like that is asking for negative feedback. Pretty sure there is a way to cancel even though the label is already created, but this scenario has not happened to me in a long time, so I don't know the exact process.

[Phil B]

3 minutes ago, Jackson said:

Seems like that is asking for negative feedback. Pretty sure there is a way to cancel even though the label is already created, but this scenario has not happened to me in a long time, so I don't know the exact process.

What if the item indeed already got dropped off in a mailbox somewhere? I'm sure that the negative feedback that would be left would be erased quickly by a call to EBay, as the seller did what was expected from him/her.

Now, of course going above-and-beyond is the best way to go here, and my comment's intent was to show that there is no obligation on the seller side. If the buyer sent in a cancel request, I'd think that all you need to do as a seller is to accept the request and process the refund, but not having had such a case I would not know the specifics.

[Lordoflego]

Not eBay, today on OfferUp app, I listed Deep Sea Exploration Vessel 60095 for $89. Image shows somebody's offer and my reply.

[AirborneAFOL]

Seems like that is asking for negative feedback. Pretty sure there is a way to cancel even though the label is already created, but this scenario has not happened to me in a long time, so I don't know the exact process.

Yep, real easy from my desktop. There's an option to Cancel Order, even though it's in your "paid and shipped" queue.

[AirborneAFOL]

Time to vent. This one has been pretty frustrating. Buyer from Italy has me ship 2 items over the holidays to a Nebraska address and c/o addressee.

1 item was clearly stated in title, description, and pics as "no box". The other was NISB. Buyer drops this feedback:

At first I could only laugh and think it must be a mistake, like they used a response that carried over from previous feedback or something. But I've very politely messaged the buyer twice (expressing my confusion, inviting a little more detail, and offering to help resolve the dissatisfaction).

Crickets.

Requested revision.
Replied to feedback.

Crickets.

I've got 100% positive feedback (1225 total) and 2 "neutral". I probably shouldn't let it bother me, but I put so much damn effort going above and beyond to provide the utmost customer satisfaction that this is just a slap in the face to all the extra hours I put in every week doing the "little things" that most buyers may not even notice but guys like us definitely appreciate.

[randrace]

I feel your pain,@AirborneAFOL: I have 2100 transactions, and I really stewed over my one neutral. I've come to believe neutral/negative feedback is unavoidable no matter how good you are. As a frequent eBay buyer, I look at a seller's feedback if it is 97 or lower. Buyers can tell when neutral​/negative feedback is significant or not. If I saw feedback of a buyer complaining about a box for a listing titled "No Box," I would dismiss it out of hand. The sea of positive feedback mentioning 'fast shipping' or 'great packaging' tell a more important story.

Just 364 days until that neutral feedback all but disappears.