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

[dmc]

12 minutes ago, hockeyweasel said:

I got an order on Sunday the 17th and created a USPS priority mail label on Monday the 18th and took the package to my regional distribution center.  The line was out the door and pre-paid packages were directed to drop off in the scattered bins. That made me justifiably nervous because that batch of packages didn't get their acceptance scan or a departure scan.  They were listed as 'label created' until they started showing up at the destination sorting facilities. I had two going to the Houston area that were in limbo and looked like I never shipped them.  One buyer expresses his unhappiness on the 22nd that it hasn't been shipped.  I explain with what I wrote above, share his frustration with the postal service and he thanks me for the update.  It shows up on the 27th and he claims that it's squashed and nearly torn in half.  The gift recipient is okay with it, despite the box condition, and the buyer decides not to return it, but he gives me negative feedback, stating it was guaranteed delivery and the box was squashed.  I asked the other Houston person if their box was in poor condition, and they said theirs arrived pristine.  I'm attempting a remove negative feedback request with the person, but suspect I'm going to be SOL. Any point bringing it up with eBay CS?  Am I likely going to have to accept the negative feedback for the USPS' poor shipping and handling at the holidays?

When he contacted you to let you know that it was late and torn in half, had he left feedback at that point? I would likely have offered a partial refund at that point. The buyer may have been willing to live with it, but he didn't get what he paid for. And it may have been USPS's fault, but sellers are responsible for getting the item to the buyer in the condition it was in the listing, so you are almost certainly out of luck on the feedback. Respond to the feedback with something like, "Damaged in transit. Buyer left feedback before contacting me so I could help." Alternatively, you could reach out to him now and see if there's anything you could get him to do to reconsider his feedback, but it may be too late, and he may not follow through on revising his feedback even if you help him.

[hockeyweasel]

2 hours ago, dmc said:

When he contacted you to let you know that it was late and torn in half, had he left feedback at that point? I would likely have offered a partial refund at that point. The buyer may have been willing to live with it, but he didn't get what he paid for. And it may have been USPS's fault, but sellers are responsible for getting the item to the buyer in the condition it was in the listing, so you are almost certainly out of luck on the feedback. Respond to the feedback with something like, "Damaged in transit. Buyer left feedback before contacting me so I could help." Alternatively, you could reach out to him now and see if there's anything you could get him to do to reconsider his feedback, but it may be too late, and he may not follow through on revising his feedback even if you help him.

I was actually on my way to offering him a partial refund when I logged into my account and saw the feedback had been left.  I'm most annoyed that he didn't even allow for me to respond to the item's condition and try to work something out.  I was going to offer the refund as thanks for his gracious understanding that the USPS was the culprit and for keeping it instead of going through the hassle of sending it back.

[dmc]

33 minutes ago, hockeyweasel said:

I was actually on my way to offering him a partial refund when I logged into my account and saw the feedback had been left.  I'm most annoyed that he didn't even allow for me to respond to the item's condition and try to work something out.  I was going to offer the refund as thanks for his gracious understanding that the USPS was the culprit and for keeping it instead of going through the hassle of sending it back.

I hear you. I would make it clear when you respond to the feedback that he didn't give you a chance to fix it before leaving feedback. Good luck!

[Mark Twain]

22 hours ago, KShine said:

Has the buyer made any reference to leaving you a negative feedback if you don't comply? If so, ebay will remove that feedback (on request), as it is Feedback Extortion.

Sometimes you can (cautiously) give a buyer just enough rope to hang themselves.

He knows the system pretty well. Says insulting things like “liar, grinch, etc.” but nothing that would violate the system. 

He’s left over a half dozen negative feedback comments for other buyers in the last six months, many reply in the feedback they’ve given him a refund. Thus, I’m 90% sure he’s a scammer and using the economy shipping loophole to HI to scam free product with refund. 

I’m going to refund him, otherwise eBay will leave this as a strike in my selling profile and refund him anyway. I normally feel bad when a package takes too long and wouldn’t mind refunding a buyer and letting them keep it. But not for scammers. Luckily, there’s a chance USPS can intercept the package before it arrives. The problem is it has to be returned to me via priority, which would cost me $60+. That’s why I choose to have them ship it to a nearby Goodwill. This way I get to write it off as a tax donation. Best thing is I don’t mention anything after I refund the buyer. I just block him and let him watch the tracking number as it changes and he gets to figure out just how badly he’s lost in his scam.

 

[supergman]

What would you do (or, really, what should I do) with this....sold a Palpetine's Arrest set via ebay a little over a week ago for 175, shipped.  I bought it from LEGO directly.  The buyer disputed, stating that all of the minifigures are missing.  Given that the set has 5 bags and 4 of the 5 include the figures, there's no feasible way that it just happens to be true.  So, my guess is that someone bought the set, took stuff out, resealed the bags somehow, and the box, returned it to LEGO, I bought it, and got screwed.  The buyer is a very prominent architect who I really cannot imagine taking these things out, sealing it back up, and disputing for money back.  Attached are photos the buyer sent of the bags; he opened#1, not included.  #4 does not have figures as per instructions fyi.  Do these look tampered with?  Could a set have actually missed inclusion of the figures?  Ugh.

[Phil B]

20 minutes ago, supergman said:

What would you do (or, really, what should I do) with this....sold a Palpetine's Arrest set via ebay a little over a week ago for 175, shipped.  I bought it from LEGO directly.  The buyer disputed, stating that all of the minifigures are missing.  Given that the set has 5 bags and 4 of the 5 include the figures, there's no feasible way that it just happens to be true.  So, my guess is that someone bought the set, took stuff out, resealed the bags somehow, and the box, returned it to LEGO, I bought it, and got screwed.  The buyer is a very prominent architect who I really cannot imagine taking these things out, sealing it back up, and disputing for money back.  Attached are photos the buyer sent of the bags; he opened#1, not included.  #4 does not have figures as per instructions fyi.  Do these look tampered with?  Could a set have actually missed inclusion of the figures?  Ugh.

 

If your buyer is cooperating, have him check for the following:

1) Are the top and bottom edges of each bag still cut with a zig-zag pattern? Some crooks slice of the top part of the bag off to open it, then use a resealer to shut the bag, but this doesn't leave the zig-zagged edge

2) Have him check the seam that goes across the bag (the flap you typically pull on to open the bag). This is a popular place for someone to make a surgical incision to retrieve the figures, then somehow seal it. Any imperfections there are less easily visible as it folds over the bag.

Impossible for these to have been missed by LEGO as the set was produced, so somewhere someone scammed you (or LEGO). You could of course take this back to LEGO, but given the age of the set it might be a tall story to them.

Edited December 29, 2017 by Phil B

[Darth_Raichu]

18 minutes ago, Mark Twain said:

He knows the system pretty well. Says insulting things like “liar, grinch, etc.” but nothing that would violate the system. 

He’s left over a half dozen negative feedback comments for other buyers in the last six months, many reply in the feedback they’ve given him a refund. Thus, I’m 90% sure he’s a scammer and using the economy shipping loophole to HI to scam free product with refund. 

I’m going to refund him, otherwise eBay will leave this as a strike in my selling profile and refund him anyway. I normally feel bad when a package takes too long and wouldn’t mind refunding a buyer and letting them keep it. But not for scammers. Luckily, there’s a chance USPS can intercept the package before it arrives. The problem is it has to be returned to me via priority, which would cost me $60+. That’s why I choose to have them ship it to a nearby Goodwill. This way I get to write it off as a tax donation. Best thing is I don’t mention anything after I refund the buyer. I just block him and let him watch the tracking number as it changes and he gets to figure out just how badly he’s lost in his scam.

 

This is the reason I block HI from my listings...  Sorry Hawaiians, a few bad apples really ruin your batch

[exciter1]

8 minutes ago, supergman said:

What would you do (or, really, what should I do) with this....sold a Palpetine's Arrest set via ebay a little over a week ago for 175, shipped.  I bought it from LEGO directly.  The buyer disputed, stating that all of the minifigures are missing.  Given that the set has 5 bags and 4 of the 5 include the figures, there's no feasible way that it just happens to be true.  So, my guess is that someone bought the set, took stuff out, resealed the bags somehow, and the box, returned it to LEGO, I bought it, and got screwed.  The buyer is a very prominent architect who I really cannot imagine taking these things out, sealing it back up, and disputing for money back.  Attached are photos the buyer sent of the bags; he opened#1, not included.  #4 does not have figures as per instructions fyi.  Do these look tampered with?  Could a set have actually missed inclusion of the figures?  Ugh.

You might have to side with the buyer on this one.

[MoHu]

On 29/12/2017 at 3:36 PM, Darth_Raichu said:

This is the reason I block HI from my listings...  Sorry Hawaiians, a few bad apples really ruin your batch

Not a complaint but please block HI.  ?

I sold  41176 THE SECRET MARKET PLACE to "HI" for £100.  I couldnt get that price (at the that time) selling to the Brits so I tend to make two listings on eBay.  One selling with GSP (at higher price) and one competitively priced to the local market without GSP.  

[iahawks550]

A little off topic, but is there a way to sell gift cards on Ebay and shelter yourself from fraudulent BUYER activity? ie: selling a $200 gift Ebay gift card, sending the digital information, and then having the buyer use that money, and then claim there was no money on the card?

 

[Jivepicnic]

A little off topic, but is there a way to sell gift cards on Ebay and shelter yourself from fraudulent BUYER activity? ie: selling a $200 gift Ebay gift card, sending the digital information, and then having the buyer use that money, and then claim there was no money on the card?
 

There’s always a big risk with selling gift cards on eBay because they pretty much always side with the buyer if there’s a claim that the gift cards are empty. I sell gift cards on other exchanges like Raise that have more seller protections for gift cards. Of course the prices are lower and fees are higher on these other exchanges than eBay, but it’s less hassle for me.

I’ve had really good experiences selling Lego and other toys on eBay, though. I’m reasonably happy with the selling protection they have, but gift cards are different because it’s harder to prove that the buyer drained it.

[iahawks550]

I've never had any problems on Ebay with Lego either. But gift cards seem pretty ripe for buyer abuse.

I've looked at Raise for these gift cards and the fees appear to actually be lower (with direct deposit). I sent them an email with basically the same question I asked above, with no answer yet.

[Lego17]

What to make of this? Trying to pull a fast 1 as its 20 days since chriatmas day.

Reason

Missing parts or pieces

Comments

I bought this for my mum for Christmas and she has told me that when she went to build it, she couldn t as there were parts missing. This is extremely embarrassing for me, given that it was a Christmas present. I would like a refund on this.

[Val-E]

9 minutes ago, Lego17 said:

What to make of this? Trying to pull a fast 1 as its 20 days since chriatmas day.

Reason

Missing parts or pieces

Comments

I bought this for my mum for Christmas and she has told me that when she went to build it, she couldn t as there were parts missing. This is extremely embarrassing for me, given that it was a Christmas present. I would like a refund on this.
 

What set was it? Try drawing them out to get more info.

[Lego17]

It was an Eiffel Tower set which I had bought from Asda at £17 online & all was intact.

[Val-E]

4 minutes ago, Lego17 said:

It was an Eiffel Tower set which I had bought from Asda at £17 online & all was intact.

Ok, so it´s a small set with a low part count and no minifigs or expensive parts. Unlikely target for stealing parts so I´d bet on too much Xmas punch as the cause and some parts being lost by the builder. I´d try to draw them out by establishing which parts are missing and how many. If there really were missing parts, it´s likely they are from the same bag so ask them to confirm how many bags were inside etc etc. Give them enough rope to hang themselves or provide factual info soo you can request them from Lego CS:

Edited January 14, 2018 by Val-E

[Val-E]

Another point is it´s unlikely to be a scammer (or at least a smart one) for such a low value set.

Either the parts are genuinely missing, they misplaced them or they found it cheaper and want a refund. Even then, they´d probably just file a SNAD claim and be done with it.

If they are willing to dialogue and provide info and photos then it is probably just a careless builder. Check out their feedback and other transactions.

[Guest TabbyBoy]

Why was a 21019 being sold so soon for peanuts assuming that it's still widely available for under RRP? To save a negative feedback, I'd just ask for a return and refund the buyer in full. A negative feedback would cost you a hell of a lot more than £29.99 in the long run. Remember you can still ask LEGO for the missing parts and show them the Asda receipt. All you'll lose is postage and gain a happy "customer".

[Lego17]

Why was a 21019 being sold so soon for peanuts assuming that it's still widely available for under RRP? To save a negative feedback, I'd just ask for a return and refund the buyer in full. A negative feedback would cost you a hell of a lot more than £29.99 in the long run. Remember you can still ask LEGO for the missing parts and show them the Asda receipt. All you'll lose is postage and gain a happy "customer".

It was sold for £24.99 Tabby & I found buyin was lower as I got them at 3for2 so cost me about £12.

I think I will take your advice & accept the return. Thanks

[richiej1979]

1 minute ago, Lego17 said:

It was sold for £24.99 Tabby & I found buyin was lower as I got them at 3for2 so cost me about £12.

I think I will take your advice & accept the return. Thanks

Take the return, build it and sell as used. No losses then. 

[Val-E]

7 minutes ago, Lego17 said:

It was sold for £24.99 Tabby & I found buyin was lower as I got them at 3for2 so cost me about £12.

I think I will take your advice & accept the return. Thanks

I´d still want to know how many parts are missing first.

[Guest TabbyBoy]

1 hour ago, Val-E said:

I´d still want to know how many parts are missing first.

I've not opened an ET yet so not sure how much hassle it would be. There's always the opportunity to take it back to Asda without receipt. I did it once with a coffee grinder that I had for Xmas in 2014 that had the top missing, 4 months after GF bought it on offer, but lost the receipt. They didn't refund, had none in stock so offered me their last selling price in vouchers that was about 20% more than she paid., which I accepted as we shop there anyway.

Of the 5,000 or so LEGO sets I've sold, only 4 have been returned where I gave the buyer an instant refund. John Lewis gave me vouchers for 1 without question as it was past 365 days and LEGO sent me the parts for 2 of the others and replaced the last set entirely and I kept the incomplete set.

[KShine]

2 hours ago, TabbyBoy said:

LEGO sent me the parts for 2 of the others and replaced the last set entirely and I kept the incomplete set.

LEGO no longer sends me pieces that are missing from their sets. 

[Guest TabbyBoy]

2 hours ago, KShine said:

LEGO no longer sends me pieces that are missing from their sets. 

It was quite a while ago and haven't needed to ask recently. Of course, I always try the retailer first if it's still under guarantee.

[Fenix_2k1]

3 hours ago, KShine said:

LEGO no longer sends me pieces that are missing from their sets. 

I've only had 3 Lego sets with missing pieces and even then I can't swear it wasn't me missing then even though I'm pretty careful, last one being Destinys Bounty, but Lego have always sent out the replacements without question.