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

[nolan808]

Can anyone help me with this message I received on eBay.  

Made a nice profit on this didnt you. Where did you get this from originally?

Anyway I just posted out this item to this person and they literally sent the message not long after. Just not sure on the best reply or if I should be worried about being scammed.

[thelovemachine]

What’s the item? I would just ignore.  Don’t reply anything where eBay rules against you later. 

[Darth_Raichu]

1 hour ago, trstnkn said:

Shipped an item; I charged shipping.  Within 24 hours got a return message saying "im only 10 im in troubleeeeee".  Ok...?  Since I just shipped it (and I was annoyed) I waited to approve any return.  Now the tracking says "address not valid", so the item is now being returned to me.  (Interesting because it is an actual house per Google maps.)

I may have gotten 1 return in the past 2 years.  So, I'm not out the original shipping charge if I accept the return?  And how will eBay process the return since it was not delivered?

On cancel screen, there should be a checkmark to exclude shipping.  Technically you used the money to pay for shipping, it is not your fault the address is invalid

[lodibricks]

18 minutes ago, raulaco said:

Can anyone help me with this message I received on eBay.  

Made a nice profit on this didnt you. Where did you get this from originally?

Anyway I just posted out this item to this person and they literally sent the message not long after. Just not sure on the best reply or if I should be worried about being scammed.

Lovely buyer. I don't believe I've seen that one but when I get asked if I can go lower on a price, I usually explain that after original cost, shipping & fees, that I'm not making much. That could apply here, but I'm assuming by the buyer's message that the margin is greater.

[brickvoyeur]

21 minutes ago, raulaco said:

Can anyone help me with this message I received on eBay.  

Made a nice profit on this didnt you. Where did you get this from originally?

Anyway I just posted out this item to this person and they literally sent the message not long after. Just not sure on the best reply or if I should be worried about being scammed.

I bought this on eBay myself not long ago, but due to life circumstances I can't keep it and I'm just hoping to get my money back.

Or go full balls to the wall and provide them a dollar amount after fees/shipping. This is the option I couldn't help but go with if I received the same message. 

[KvHulk]

"Financed my vacation on this sale! I paid hardly anything! Can you believe it?!?11!"    <--Include the 1's.

or.... Ignore completely.

[Darth_Raichu]

54 minutes ago, raulaco said:

Can anyone help me with this message I received on eBay.  

Made a nice profit on this didnt you. Where did you get this from originally?

Anyway I just posted out this item to this person and they literally sent the message not long after. Just not sure on the best reply or if I should be worried about being scammed.

Your mo...
Eh, I would just offer to cancel 

[exracer327]

1 hour ago, raulaco said:

Can anyone help me with this message I received on eBay.  

Made a nice profit on this didnt you. Where did you get this from originally?

Anyway I just posted out this item to this person and they literally sent the message not long after. Just not sure on the best reply or if I should be worried about being scammed.

I confess I tend to be sarcastic in such cases, but saying nothing is typically better so that it doesn't escalate.  You never know when a crazy is on the other end.

Or if this is a winning bidder / purchaser, I would tell them they got it for a bargain and that you're taking a loss (after fees and shipping).  That should shut them up.

Edited April 14, 2021 by exracer327

[oneknightr]

When I get those messages, I block the buyer and then send my snarky reply. 

[nolan808]

19 minutes ago, oneknightr said:

When I get those messages, I block the buyer and then send my snarky reply. 

Thanks for all the replys. The set has actually been shipped to the person as I only got the message straight after I shipped it out pretty much.

The value on it isn't huge, it's actually a promo set that I got a while back when I paid retail for a set for my kids. I could just be honest and say this and also include that if your not happy you can send it back on arrival and as a goodwill gesture say I'll pay postage to cover the item to avoid any disputes. 

I just can't understand why someone would buy something and then send that sort of message. Wouldn't someone who was going to scam me just do it and not mess about with messages lol, or maybe there not and its just an odd message.

[Huskers1236]

Is it possible they were just trying to be funny and it missed the mark?  

[nolan808]

8 minutes ago, Huskers1236 said:

Is it possible they were just trying to be funny and it missed the mark?  

Lets hope so I guess. Defiantly missed the mark with me.

[Huskers1236]

19 minutes ago, raulaco said:

Lets hope so I guess. Defiantly missed the mark with me.

As it would with me.  It troubles me they waited to make that comment until after you shipped if I read that right.  

However, it's possible he knows he's overpaying and it drives him crazy but at the same time really wants this and knows it's his only route.  So he makes a sideways joke about it to the seller which lands flat.  

I hope for your sake that it is scenario #2 and buyer is happy with his product even if he didn't like what he had to pay for it.  

[trstnkn]

6 hours ago, Darth_Raichu said:

On cancel screen, there should be a checkmark to exclude shipping.  Technically you used the money to pay for shipping, it is not your fault the address is invalid

Thank you.  Well in atypical USPS fashion they tried to deliver again today and were successful.  Now the buyer closed the return and then filed a payment dispute.  I provided the tracking # and proof of delivery.

Now when I google the address the first result is badbuyerlist.org.  Apparently I'm not the first person they've tried this with on eBay.

[Saruman]

8 hours ago, raulaco said:

Can anyone help me with this message I received on eBay.  

Made a nice profit on this didnt you. Where did you get this from originally?

Anyway I just posted out this item to this person and they literally sent the message not long after. Just not sure on the best reply or if I should be worried about being scammed.

As a LEGO reseller, depending on what I bought, I might consider asking this but definitely in a far more laid back tone such as

Missed out on this set and now I got pay tons of money for it! Oh well, I make a profit like you also by selling LEGO at exorbitant prices. LOL. Thanks!

 

and then depending on what it is, I might follow with

 

Just curious, how long did this sit in your storage?

Depending on the tone you read it in, the message could have  different connotations. I can clearly see how you think it could be a scam, but it it was meant as a joke they probably should have added a ":)" or a "lol" to convey that they aren't angry or upset with you the seller.

[lazuli16]

This is a new one:

I will be getting paid in august so if I buy this i would have to get it in august.how urgently do you need it sold?

I normally respond to these types of questions, but I don't even know where to begin with this one. 

 

 

 

[46andTWO]

36 minutes ago, lazuli16 said:

This is a new one:

I will be getting paid in august so if I buy this i would have to get it in august.how urgently do you need it sold?

I normally respond to these types of questions, but I don't even know where to begin with this one. 

 

 

 

You don't offer lay away?

[minicoopers11]

Just fell for a scam seller on eBay. Lawn mower deal a little better than normal, so that didn’t raise alarm bells. Then I got the tracking number the day of delivery and a delivery notification with no package. Yay! Weight on the proof of delivery doesn’t match the item at all. #winning

[elmaslıefendi]

I had a buyer who bought an empty box a couple days ago. It says empty box in the title, description & on the pictures. I underligned it several times that this was only the box & no bricks, so that everyone, every idiot on this planet could understand that this was ONLY an empty box, no matter how low their IQ is/how many brain cells they have left.

Buyer cancelled the purchase today saying he didn't know it was an empty box & I should be ashamed of myself for selling an empty box for that price & misleading people. I had no words for this, so I just blocked him & went on with my day.

Edited April 27, 2021 by elmaslıefendi

[Voltron]

2 minutes ago, elmaslıefendi said:

I had a buyer that bought an empty box a couple days ago. It says empty box in the title, description & on the pictures. I underligned it several times that this was only the box & no bricks, so that everyone, every idiot on this planet could understand that this was ONLY an empty box, no matter how low their IQ is/how many brain cells they have left.

Buyer cancelled the purchase today saying he didn't know it was an empty box & I should be ashamed of myself for selling an empty box for that price & misleading people. I had no words for this, so I just blocked him & went on with my day.

Happened to me before, like you say best course of action is to refund and block, no need to go back and forth in messages 

[oneknightr]

50 minutes ago, elmaslıefendi said:

I had a buyer that bought an empty box a couple days ago. It says empty box in the title, description & on the pictures. I underligned it several times that this was only the box & no bricks, so that everyone, every idiot on this planet could understand that this was ONLY an empty box, no matter how low their IQ is/how many brain cells they have left.

Buyer cancelled the purchase today saying he didn't know it was an empty box & I should be ashamed of myself for selling an empty box for that price & misleading people. I had no words for this, so I just blocked him & went on with my day.

There needs to be a facepalm emoji in the reactions.

[$20 on joe vs dan]

12 hours ago, elmaslıefendi said:

I had a buyer who bought an empty box a couple days ago. It says empty box in the title, description & on the pictures. I underligned it several times that this was only the box & no bricks, so that everyone, every idiot on this planet could understand that this was ONLY an empty box, no matter how low their IQ is/how many brain cells they have left.

Buyer cancelled the purchase today saying he didn't know it was an empty box & I should be ashamed of myself for selling an empty box for that price & misleading people. I had no words for this, so I just blocked him & went on with my day.

let's face it...in today's click happy world of comment on headlines first; "maybe" read article later...this is not surprising at all.  Also who knows what a small phone screen is showing.

And to be fair, when I first hobbled out of my cave I was utterly shocked folks were actually collecting minifigures...things like Box only or manual only were completely off my radar and to me felt like scams.

The buyers of empty boxes of sets are likely fairly sophisticated LEGO buyers an a relatively targeted market.  I would think the best way to avoid illiterate buyers is to have the first pic be a sign indicating box only...best way I can think of to avoid a misunderstanding.

We can all agree that it's a "buyer beware" scenario, but in a practical sense the seller is the one that has to "deal with it"...so it will always fall on us.

Edited April 27, 2021 by $20 on joe vs dan

[CsabaLazlo]

On 4/27/2021 at 4:53 AM, elmaslıefendi said:

I had a buyer who bought an empty box a couple days ago. It says empty box in the title, description & on the pictures. I underligned it several times that this was only the box & no bricks, so that everyone, every idiot on this planet could understand that this was ONLY an empty box, no matter how low their IQ is/how many brain cells they have left.

Buyer cancelled the purchase today saying he didn't know it was an empty box & I should be ashamed of myself for selling an empty box for that price & misleading people. I had no words for this, so I just blocked him & went on with my day.

I've had people buy then cancel two minutes later on sets that I've removed the minifigures from even though I've put "NO MINIFIGURES!" in the title and the description. I always message before sending now to make sure there is not confusion. Annoying thing is, you end up losing part of the PayPal fees if you have to refund.

[mplsabdullah]

This is regarding the person a few posts up who bought a lawn mower on Ebay. I thought I quoted them however it didn't seem to work:

When a seller sells something for much less then usual and they then send something else, what is the end game? Doesn't Ebay, Paypal, cc or whoever just take the money back from them?

I had a similar situation recently with a 3rd party seller on Walmart for some cheaper then usual Lego sets. First they sent me an email saying they couldn't get me the items I wanted and said I could wait however they "suggested" I cancel. I left the order a lone and a day later I got a message from the Walmart app saying the orders where delivered. I checked tracking and each order was delivered to different cities ranging from 30 minutes to over 90 minutes away from where I live. Walmart contacted the seller and the seller claimed every package was lost in transit. I got my money back however I have to wonder what was the purpose of all that. What did that seller gain?

Edited April 28, 2021 by mplsabdullah

[Darth_Raichu]

31 minutes ago, mplsabdullah said:

When a seller sells something for much less then usual and they then send something else, what is the end game? Doesn't Ebay, Paypal, cc or whoever just take the money back from them?

In the past, POS scammers would open new ebay & paypal accounts, sell a bunch of phantom stocks, take the cash out of Paypal account, and run before buyers, eBay, & Paypal figured out what's going on.  The fake tracking #s bought them a few days to escape.  Paypal (meaning the rest of users) would end up covering the refund to buyers.

Not sure if this is possible with Managed Payment since it ties the eBay account to a bank account, but I am sure the POS scammers would figure out a way

 

For regular sellers, maybe they already had too many late delivery and/or item cancelation strikes and tried to avoid another one?  I can't think of why this would be better than canceling the order outright