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

[firstofminifigs]

I'm shipping a package to Michigan c/o THE STONED FARMER....

Just sold a Cantina to him/her about a week ago!

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Brickpicker Forum mobile app

[iahawks550]

On 11/28/2018 at 9:27 PM, terrymc4677 said:

 

Phil B's post is accurate. I've had a few packages get stuck in transit and as soon as I request text alerts/updates it magically begins moving again after a day or so, eventually making its way to its destination. 

Not that anyone cares about my update. But, the person asked for a refund, which I gave them. I checked all the boxes asking for updates, filed missing package report, and still no movement since the 24th on the tracker. This is the first time USPS has dropped the ball. Overall, they have a great success rate, and I'm glad it was a $7 (my cost) set. 

[lodibricks]

1 hour ago, iahawks550 said:

Not that anyone cares about my update. But, the person asked for a refund, which I gave them. I checked all the boxes asking for updates, filed missing package report, and still no movement since the 24th on the tracker. This is the first time USPS has dropped the ball. Overall, they have a great success rate, and I'm glad it was a $7 (my cost) set. 

On the rare occasions this has happened, I called the last post office in the tracking. Depending on who you get, some are knowledgeable and will put in some investigative effort, and some will say they don't know anymore than we do. ?

 

[iahawks550]

Yeah, if it was something more expensive, I would put time into it. 

[LegoWalker4]

All of have likely had to deal with fruitcakes, etc. on the various selling platforms we use and it can be real pain.  On the other side equation, it always great when someone appreciates what we do and lets us know.  In some way, we are Santa. 

Here is message I got last night on BrickLink after working with a customer on the sale of a 41179 Queen's Dragon Rescue set:

"Thank you so much for your quick responses and smooth transaction. This is my first order through BrickLink. My daughter will be so thrilled to get this dragon under the Christmas tree this year! She has been asking for it for a very long time. I was crushed when I discovered it was retired. But I am so thankful to have found BrickLink. Thank you again! Have a wonderful holiday season!

And thank you for the shipping refund. That was very kind of you!"

Edited November 30, 2018 by LegoWalker4

[Guest TabbyBoy]

28 minutes ago, LegoWalker4 said:

All of have likely had to deal with fruitcakes, etc. on the various selling platforms we use and it can be real pain.  On the other side equation, it always great when someone appreciates what we do and lets us know.  In some way, we are Santa. 

Here is message I got last night on BrickLink after working with a customer on the sale of a 41179 Queen's Dragon Rescue set:

"Thank you so much for your quick responses and smooth transaction. This is my first order through BrickLink. My daughter will be so thrilled to get this dragon under the Christmas tree this year! She has been asking for it for a very long time. I was crushed when I discovered it was retired. But I am so thankful to have found BrickLink. Thank you again! Have a wonderful holiday season!

And thank you for the shipping refund. That was very kind of you!"

Courtesy costs nothing and I always appreciate kind words from a customer. When this happens to me, I often put a little extra with the next set they order.

[stackables]

So I actually am going to start selling (Barbies) lol....I assume it is best to open a separate ebay account?  I was thinking of making a new buying account since my current ebay account is in very good standing.  For my new account, I just have to add a different email address to my paypal account?

[mizeur]

Why would you create a separate account?

[stackables]

2 hours ago, mizeur said:

Why would you create a separate account?

Prevent retailtory feedback and customers from looking at your buying habits 

[mizeur]

ELI5 your business model because I clearly have no idea what your business model is here.

[stackables]

3 minutes ago, mizeur said:

ELI5 your business model because I clearly have no idea what your business model is here.

Is this addressed to me? No clue what ELl5 means. 

[iahawks550]

49 minutes ago, stackables said:

Prevent retailtory feedback and customers from looking at your buying habits 

Why do you care about your customers looking at your buying habits? And why would there be retaliatory feedback? Your whole scenario doesn't make sense to me.... Could just be me, though. 

[lodibricks]

Ha, I like how this turned into "why" instead of the original "how."

I have two accounts, one for strictly LEGO and one for selling randomness or buying. Nothing shady about it. I just felt it'd be out of place if I had a LEGO-themed name and 99% LEGO, but one Barbie or other toy among the mix, so it'd make sense to me. It'd bad enough I have one or two Mega Bloks, but at least those are still bricks.

@stackablesIn attempting to answer your question, my two eBay accounts have different usernames and registered email addresses, but I believe everything else is the same (name, mailing address, even the PayPal account).

[mizeur]

2 hours ago, stackables said:

Is this addressed to me? No clue what ELl5 means. 

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=ELI5
 

Make the explanation of what you're doing simple and clear because I, like our Big Ten friend, have no idea what you're trying to accomplish that requires such complexity.

@lodibricks approach kind of makes sense but I don't think people care about store/user names in that way. I have a LEGO-themed name and sell other toy and hobby stuff. I also buy with the account.

What makes more sense to me is having separate business and personal accounts for liability reasons. ETA: and for that, you'd also want to have separate PayPal accounts to separate the funds.

Edited December 7, 2018 by mizeur

[stackables]

1 hour ago, mizeur said:

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=ELI5
 

Make the explanation of what you're doing simple and clear because I, like our Big Ten friend, have no idea what you're trying to accomplish that requires such complexity.

@lodibricks approach kind of makes sense but I don't think people care about store/user names in that way. I have a LEGO-themed name and sell other toy and hobby stuff. I also buy with the account.

What makes more sense to me is having separate business and personal accounts for liability reasons. ETA: and for that, you'd also want to have separate PayPal accounts to separate the funds.

 I didn't think my question was confusing at all. All I asked if I just needed a separate email account in paypal linked to that new account in ebay.  Lodibricks answered my question.

 

Now for the benefits, apparently I need to  reiterate what I already stated.  It is beneficial to have separate buying and selling accounts to prevent retaliatory feedback.  If I buy an item (comic, lego set) and have to return or make a snad claim, the seller can then buy something from me and do the same thing without any justification.  In regards to buying habits, some sellers don't want buyers to see that they paid $20 for a set then turn around and sell it for $60.  Some buyers take offense to this or try to use that knowledge to barter with you.  I personally don't have much of an issue with that.  Finally, having a new name that coincides with what you sell is probably a good idea.  I don't want everyone going to MrStud69 to get their lego needs.  I honestly had no idea that having 2 ebay accounts was even uncommon.  I would assume most sellers on this site have separate accounts.

[Grynn]

I've been on eBay like 12 years and never run into any of this nonsense. It doesn't scare me, either... Doing honest business provides a lot of insurance against one lone nutjob that may or may not come along one day with nothing better to do than try to screw me. Reign in the paranoia?

[mizeur]

The percentage of stuff I buy on eBay and flip within a timeframe where price would still  be visible is about nil; plus barterers gonna barter. So that, plus generally taking the approach of not pooping where I eat and being as courteous as possible, means there hasn't been a situation where I've been worried about retaliation.

But if y'all have cutthroat competition to worry about like some other BPers seem to, by all means.

Edited December 7, 2018 by mizeur

[Goofball814]

Dumb question because I haven't sold overseas in forever.

So I sold a sealed Space Police set to someone over in Europe.  They had ZERO feedback.  But, they paid  using PayPal.

Am I safe to ship?  Or do I need to wait any time to verify if the money clears or anything?

Thanks in Advance

 

[Zelgazra]

If they have a verified address on Paypal, you’re good to go.

[lodibricks]

eBay's the fruitcake today. I never really paid attention to this eBay Guaranteed Delivery that I'm apparently opted in.
I made a sale 12/1 (Saturday evening) and USPS picked it up 12/3 (Mon morning). Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's still a 1-day handling time with Sunday being closed/non-business.

For some reason, the 3-day shipping sat for a week in one hop along the way and finally delivered 5 days late.
According to eBay's own site, if I meet the handling time, eBay covers the shipping refund.
eBay sends me this message:

What kind of unprofessional crock is this? 
I had to double-check it wasn't spam with the poor grammar.
I replied that I fulfilled my duties as a seller and am waiting for their response.
Maybe next eBay will treat me to lunch and forget its wallet.

Edited December 12, 2018 by lodibricks

[Guest TabbyBoy]

1 hour ago, lodibricks said:

eBay's the fruitcake today. I never really paid attention to this eBay Guaranteed Delivery that I'm apparently opted in.
I made a sale 12/1 (Saturday evening) and USPS picked it up 12/3 (Mon morning). Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's still a 1-day handling time with Sunday being closed/non-business.

For some reason, the 3-day shipping sat for a week in one hop along the way and finally delivered 5 days late.
According to eBay's own site, if I meet the handling time, eBay covers the shipping refund.
eBay sends me this message:

What kind of unprofessional crock is this? 
I had to double-check it wasn't spam with the poor grammar.
I replied that I fulfilled my duties as a seller and am waiting for their response.
Maybe next eBay will treat me to lunch and forget its wallet.

Be careful as eBay seem to think that Sat/Sun are posting days and count towards your handling time. I often "dispatch" before the deadline to stop eBay moaning even if I don't actually post until the day after. I've never had a problem with a buyer because of this. It very rare that a parcel is this important and it's often just the buyer trying to get some money back.

I agree, eBay staff are the biggest fruitcakes on eBay.

[lodibricks]

2 hours ago, lodibricks said:

eBay's the fruitcake today. I never really paid attention to this eBay Guaranteed Delivery that I'm apparently opted in.
I made a sale 12/1 (Saturday evening) and USPS picked it up 12/3 (Mon morning). Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's still a 1-day handling time with Sunday being closed/non-business.

For some reason, the 3-day shipping sat for a week in one hop along the way and finally delivered 5 days late.
According to eBay's own site, if I meet the handling time, eBay covers the shipping refund.
eBay sends me this message:

What kind of unprofessional crock is this? 
I had to double-check it wasn't spam with the poor grammar.
I replied that I fulfilled my duties as a seller and am waiting for their response.
Maybe next eBay will treat me to lunch and forget its wallet.

Update: This is some BS. It's like they're both not reading the case nor understand what they claim to offer.
The case wasn't that the item wasn't received, it was that it was beyond the guaranteed delivery date.
The question wasn't whether or not a refund would be given, it was who was going to cover it (eBay or seller/me).
It's not news that eBay doesn't really care, but this still has been most disappointing. If they don't give any kind of refund, I will.
 

We reviewed this case and have closed it without any refund to the buyer. The case will not affect your seller performance. Any feedback left for this transaction will be removed.

We reviewed your communications with the buyer for this transaction and we see that the buyer confirmed that they received the item.

[Guest TabbyBoy]

1 hour ago, lodibricks said:

Update: This is some BS. It's like they're both not reading the case nor understand what they claim to offer.
The case wasn't that the item wasn't received, it was that it was beyond the guaranteed delivery date.
The question wasn't whether or not a refund would be given, it was who was going to cover it (eBay or seller/me).
It's not news that eBay doesn't really care, but this still has been most disappointing. If they don't give any kind of refund, I will.
 

We reviewed this case and have closed it without any refund to the buyer. The case will not affect your seller performance. Any feedback left for this transaction will be removed.

We reviewed your communications with the buyer for this transaction and we see that the buyer confirmed that they received the item.

If the buyer appears genuine and is polite, I will often offer a goodwill gesture. Either a partial refund or a % off their next purchase.

[Mark Twain]

Update: This is some BS. It's like they're both not reading the case nor understand what they claim to offer.
The case wasn't that the item wasn't received, it was that it was beyond the guaranteed delivery date.
The question wasn't whether or not a refund would be given, it was who was going to cover it (eBay or seller/me).
It's not news that eBay doesn't really care, but this still has been most disappointing. If they don't give any kind of refund, I will.
 

We reviewed this case and have closed it without any refund to the buyer. The case will not affect your seller performance. Any feedback left for this transaction will be removed.

We reviewed your communications with the buyer for this transaction and we see that the buyer confirmed that they received the item.

Well for one thing, all post offices were closed on 12/5 for Bush’s funeral. eBay likes for sellers to handle situations like this, which really shows how much responsibility they like to take in these matters.


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[mizeur]

International buyer on eBay using a Miami freight forwarder who picks up their mail at a post office in a different zip code. Used the street address for the forwarder and the zip code from their pickup location. eBay reports it as invalid.

What a PITA.