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

[Redtree]

On 1/9/2022 at 7:38 PM, thelovemachine said:

I have in the past... but since my last 4 sales were all GSP and 1 claimed he didn't order it, I scrutinized this next sale of Destiny's Bounty a bit.  Not sure about sending to a hotel room though... seems super fishy.  Thx for all sharing.

 

 

I ship through USPS and insure 99% of my orders. I didn’t insure an order once and buyer said set was damaged and they sent pictures of the damaged set. I couldn’t file a claim with USPS since it wasn’t insured. I was out $400 for the sale, the cost of the Lego set, shipping cost, and so forth. I insure orders for peace of mind now. I’ve had a few scammers try to scam me but eBay always sided with me since I insure my orders, provide a tracking number, and give an arrival date of their order. You can also take pictures of the Lego set on a scale to show the weight to prove it’s sealed and send it to them, send pictures of the box after it has been packaged up with a picture of their address plus they will see the condition of the shipping box. I try to add extra layers of protection to avoid getting scammed and I think scammers stay away a bit more if we make it harder for them to scam us.

Edited January 18, 2022 by Redtree

[Alpinemaps]

Need to vent/ here's my nut job Bricklink seller story:

If you post in your Store Terms and Conditions that "If there is an item missing when it arrives in your hand,  it's not our responsibility. Because we will always ship it completely!", then you better expect that I will be watching you like a hawk.  So don't screw it up.

Got some parts from Indonesia. He processed the order quickly, no problem.  But provided me with a tracking number that was invalid.  As in, I couldn't track down who the shipper was (his T&C says he uses DHL, but I couldn't find anything anywhere for DHL, or any other shipper using that kind of tracking number).

As (bad) luck would have it, the package bounced around with USPS for a couple of days (what happened to DHL, I don't know), but I was able to get USPS to redirect it back to me.

Now, I asked him multiple times to provide a valid tracking number.  No response.  No response to any inquiry I made.  I was willing to go with a neutral feedback, for lack of communication, but when you tell me you won't make a mistake on top of it, and you leave out a couple of parts, then I'm sorry, you've earned yourself negative feedback.

He reached out and asked me to change it.  Saying that he sent me updated tracking info (he did not).  He said it's my fault for choosing a slower tracking service (never mentioned any tracking service issues).  I didn't respond.

So of course, he left me a negative today, saying my negative was for slow shipment speed (my feedback didn't mention it).  Of course, I responded, and I've asked BL to remove it.

Just...ugh.  What a nut job.

[Datoyman]

Honestly you sound like the nut. An inernational order might not always have tracking along the way. Sellers in Indonesia don’t have the same shipping options we have here. Sounds like you left a negative because the tracking number did not work even after you recieved the shipment what does it matter then if the tracking did not work??,you may need to lower your expectations some as far as tracking for international orders. ,

Edited January 18, 2022 by Datoyman

[iahawks550]

20 minutes ago, Datoyman said:

Honestly you sound like the nut. An inernational order might not always have tracking along the way. Sellers in Indonesia don’t have the same shipping options we have here. Sounds like you left a negative because the tracking number did not work even after you recieved the shipment what does it matter then if the tracking did not work??,you may need to lower your expectations some as far as tracking for international orders. ,

The seller should have communicated that, if it's the case. Not provide some BS tracking number. Also......if the pieces aren't there, it's your fault, not mine" lol

Edited January 18, 2022 by iahawks550

[Alpinemaps]

Honestly you sound like the nut. An inernational order might not always have tracking along the way. Sellers in Indonesia don’t have the same shipping options we have here. Sounds like you left a negative because the tracking number did not work even after you recieved the shipment what does it matter then if the tracking did not work??,you may need to lower your expectations some as far as tracking for international orders. ,

Maybe I should post his entire T&C here. The bottom line is that he set the expectations. He set the expectation with both the “I pack perfectly” and by providing the tracking number.

Keep in mind that I asked multiple times for tracking info, and I was met with radio silence. This was multiple messages over three weeks.

A quick response with the proper tracking website (which he provided after I left the negative feedback), would have gone a long way. Even stringing me along until it was delivered would have helped.

[minicoopers11]

2 hours ago, Datoyman said:

Honestly you sound like the nut. An inernational order might not always have tracking along the way. Sellers in Indonesia don’t have the same shipping options we have here. Sounds like you left a negative because the tracking number did not work even after you recieved the shipment what does it matter then if the tracking did not work??,you may need to lower your expectations some as far as tracking for international orders. ,

No excuse for ignoring the buyer. A negative feedback shouldn't have to be left to instigate communication.

Edit:

This reminds me of one of my fruitcake stories. After a buyer placed an order, they left a negative feedback very quickly, "I DONT WANT THIS, CANCEL." If the buyer actually messaged me, I would have seen it immediately and canceled the order, but I didn't see the feedback until after I shipped, so I braced for an annoying return. Which is what I got! They shipped it back in gift wrapping paper (I shipped it in a box) and I got a great bonus. It went to an old apartment I hadn't lived at for years, because I never changed the shipping return address, which was independent from every other address I changed when I moved. So a little column A, buyer the fruitcake and a little column B, me the fruitcake.

Edited January 19, 2022 by minicoopers11

[trstnkn]

On 1/17/2022 at 7:20 PM, MarleyMoose said:

I'm not sure if this works for ended listings but active listings In the description just above the items specifics will show if the listing was revised.

Example here

Seller assumes all responsibility for this listing.

 

Last updated on  Jan 05, 2022 08:00:08 PST  View all revisions

 

EDIT. It does show on sold listings as well.

Thank you.  On the desktop version of eBay, I can revert to the original listing and see the photos that had disappeared.  eBay has a note:  "The listing below has been updated by the seller, but you can see the item you purchased."  I must have clicked 'make offer' through my original email to the seller under the original listing.  However, I still cannot see the description that had a list of all of the sets.  I contacted the seller asking for the original photos and description.  I'll start there and then go to eBay if needed.

I still do not see how this happened unless the seller purposefully edited the listing between my question and offer.  Hate to defer to scam/pessimism, but it does seem weird.  Appreciate everyone's feedback.

[MarleyMoose]

The time and date will be listed under revisions. You'll have to go through the times and should be able to put together a timeline. Good luck!

1 hour ago, trstnkn said:

Thank you.  On the desktop version of eBay, I can revert to the original listing and see the photos that had disappeared.  eBay has a note:  "The listing below has been updated by the seller, but you can see the item you purchased."  I must have clicked 'make offer' through my original email to the seller under the original listing.  However, I still cannot see the description that had a list of all of the sets.  I contacted the seller asking for the original photos and description.  I'll start there and then go to eBay if needed.

I still do not see how this happened unless the seller purposefully edited the listing between my question and offer.  Hate to defer to scam/pessimism, but it does seem weird.  Appreciate everyone's feedback.

 

[trstnkn]

18 minutes ago, MarleyMoose said:

The time and date will be listed under revisions. You'll have to go through the times and should be able to put together a timeline. Good luck!

 

Based on revision history, seller only modified the listing 20 minutes after I purchased it.  I contacted him about my purchase now having a different description and photos.  He said that he was starting a new Lego listing, using the old (the one I purchased), but he found it was changing everything on my purchased listing.  His story checks out based on the timing.  However, he now has a new eBay user name which seems odd.   Guess I will now contact eBay on the original listing.  Seller did not have any of the original info saved anywhere.  How would eBay allow a purchased listing to be modified?  I didn't think that was possible.

[lodibricks]

I had a buyer in NJ buy a 70912 LBM Arkham Asylum. Few weeks later, a return request, something to the effect of "bought as a gift for a friend, wants something else."
Free returns, so $32 + $32 shipping both ways.
Received the item, inspected seals, shook it, looked & sounded fine. Stuck in closet for the time being.
Month goes by and another seller contacts me about my experience with this buyer. Turns out his return was filled with cardboard, so now I open mine.
All the minifigures were removed and random pieces of cardboard were inside the box. The seals looked perfect (assuming might've unglued seam of box) and the other pieces are there, so shaking sounded normal.

Chatted with eBay and because I initiated the refund and not them, there's apparently no appeal for reimbursement. Refunded $300, ate $64 in shipping and have a minifigure-less open set.
Not sure what I can do to recoup anything at this point. poopsenders.com looks awfully tempting right now.

[oneknightr]

13 minutes ago, lodibricks said:

I had a buyer in NJ buy a 70912 LBM Arkham Asylum. Few weeks later, a return request, something to the effect of "bought as a gift for a friend, wants something else."
Free returns, so $32 + $32 shipping both ways.
Received the item, inspected seals, shook it, looked & sounded fine. Stuck in closet for the time being.
Month goes by and another seller contacts me about my experience with this buyer. Turns out his return was filled with cardboard, so now I open mine.
All the minifigures were removed and random pieces of cardboard were inside the box. The seals looked perfect (assuming might've unglued seam of box) and the other pieces are there, so shaking sounded normal.

Chatted with eBay and because I initiated the refund and not them, there's apparently no appeal for reimbursement. Refunded $300, ate $64 in shipping and have a minifigure-less open set.
Not sure what I can do to recoup anything at this point. poopsenders.com looks awfully tempting right now.

That f@cking blows! I'm so sorry that happened to you. I hate them @ssholes! I don't know how the admins feel about it, but I say post their eBay user id here so we can all add him to our blocked buyer list.

[ponderingzissou]

13 minutes ago, lodibricks said:

I had a buyer in NJ buy a 70912 LBM Arkham Asylum. Few weeks later, a return request, something to the effect of "bought as a gift for a friend, wants something else."
Free returns, so $32 + $32 shipping both ways.
Received the item, inspected seals, shook it, looked & sounded fine. Stuck in closet for the time being.
Month goes by and another seller contacts me about my experience with this buyer. Turns out his return was filled with cardboard, so now I open mine.
All the minifigures were removed and random pieces of cardboard were inside the box. The seals looked perfect (assuming might've unglued seam of box) and the other pieces are there, so shaking sounded normal.

Chatted with eBay and because I initiated the refund and not them, there's apparently no appeal for reimbursement. Refunded $300, ate $64 in shipping and have a minifigure-less open set.
Not sure what I can do to recoup anything at this point. poopsenders.com looks awfully tempting right now.

Ouch! 😭

Sometimes my buyers initiate the return themselves. Other times they message me asking for a return and start the return process for them.

Guess in the future I'll instruct them to begin the return process themselves just in case. 

Paying both shipping to customer AND returning to seller stings even more 😭 I do NOT refund their shipping cost. Only refund the purchase and pay for return shipping. If I'm at fault I would make an exception and pay both shipping fees. 

Thanks for sharing and I wish I had info to help. Hopefully others will

[Bricklectic]

28 minutes ago, lodibricks said:

I had a buyer in NJ buy a 70912 LBM Arkham Asylum. Few weeks later, a return request, something to the effect of "bought as a gift for a friend, wants something else."
Free returns, so $32 + $32 shipping both ways.
Received the item, inspected seals, shook it, looked & sounded fine. Stuck in closet for the time being.
Month goes by and another seller contacts me about my experience with this buyer. Turns out his return was filled with cardboard, so now I open mine.
All the minifigures were removed and random pieces of cardboard were inside the box. The seals looked perfect (assuming might've unglued seam of box) and the other pieces are there, so shaking sounded normal.

Chatted with eBay and because I initiated the refund and not them, there's apparently no appeal for reimbursement. Refunded $300, ate $64 in shipping and have a minifigure-less open set.
Not sure what I can do to recoup anything at this point. poopsenders.com looks awfully tempting right now.

sorry man, lousy story. 

can you share id to block?

[lodibricks]

8 minutes ago, Bricklectic said:

sorry man, lousy story. 

can you share id to block?

Considering he'll apparently get away without repercussions, it's the least I can do to spare a few other sellers:

ID: lekto_56

[vexxet]

1 hour ago, lodibricks said:

I had a buyer in NJ buy a 70912 LBM Arkham Asylum. Few weeks later, a return request, something to the effect of "bought as a gift for a friend, wants something else."
Free returns, so $32 + $32 shipping both ways.
Received the item, inspected seals, shook it, looked & sounded fine. Stuck in closet for the time being.
Month goes by and another seller contacts me about my experience with this buyer. Turns out his return was filled with cardboard, so now I open mine.
All the minifigures were removed and random pieces of cardboard were inside the box. The seals looked perfect (assuming might've unglued seam of box) and the other pieces are there, so shaking sounded normal.

Chatted with eBay and because I initiated the refund and not them, there's apparently no appeal for reimbursement. Refunded $300, ate $64 in shipping and have a minifigure-less open set.
Not sure what I can do to recoup anything at this point. poopsenders.com looks awfully tempting right now.

ebay has stolen 2k from me since 2015.  This will keep happening as they dont care about sellers.

[ponderingzissou]

2 hours ago, lodibricks said:

I had a buyer in NJ buy a 70912 LBM Arkham Asylum. Few weeks later, a return request, something to the effect of "bought as a gift for a friend, wants something else."
Free returns, so $32 + $32 shipping both ways.
Received the item, inspected seals, shook it, looked & sounded fine. Stuck in closet for the time being.
Month goes by and another seller contacts me about my experience with this buyer. Turns out his return was filled with cardboard, so now I open mine.
All the minifigures were removed and random pieces of cardboard were inside the box. The seals looked perfect (assuming might've unglued seam of box) and the other pieces are there, so shaking sounded normal.

Chatted with eBay and because I initiated the refund and not them, there's apparently no appeal for reimbursement. Refunded $300, ate $64 in shipping and have a minifigure-less open set.
Not sure what I can do to recoup anything at this point. poopsenders.com looks awfully tempting right now.

You've probably already considered it but I'm guessing with patience you should be able to sell it without the minifigs for a decent amount. I love sets like that one with decent structures or at least potential to create new building. Plus if I recall it included a decent police car build

Doubtful that you'll regain all that lost shipping fee money tho 😞

[lodibricks]

8 hours ago, ponderingzissou said:

You've probably already considered it but I'm guessing with patience you should be able to sell it without the minifigs for a decent amount. I love sets like that one with decent structures or at least potential to create new building. Plus if I recall it included a decent police car build

Doubtful that you'll regain all that lost shipping fee money tho 😞

Yeah, I don't know what was in bag#6, but it's completely empty. So, I'm assuming it's also incomplete. Bastard. Can I say that? Oh well. 😅

[Brystheguy]

I got this today.

Hello, I received your package. It does however seem to have suffered some damage. I will include pictures. Please follow up with me. Thanks.

[brickvoyeur]

14 minutes ago, Brystheguy said:

I got this today.

Hello, I received your package. It does however seem to have suffered some damage. I will include pictures. Please follow up with me. Thanks.

I've been here too long to even bother with people like this. I just respond back with a simple "I'm sorry that the carrier damaged this during transit. Please submit a return request and I will provide a prepaid label for the return. Once the item is received in the same condition you received it, you will receive a full refund"

You'd be surprised how few returns I get. Never received a negative feedback afterwards either. Nearly everyone is just looking for a discount, and I'm too petty to offer it at this point. 

Edited January 26, 2022 by brickvoyeur

[Kevink24]

People really are looking for all kinds of reasons for a discount. I received a message from someone after they received their item, not happy about a tiny dent/damage on the back of the box (other than that, the box was in near perfect shape). I take decent pictures and label everything as shelf wear/denting/creasing/not mint/etc. Their kids were going to open it and build it...however, they did not think it "qualified" as "shelf wear/denting/or what you would find on store shelf, etc"... and wanted a partial refund. Have a feeling there will be quite a few more of these examples going forward.

 

[MarleyMoose]

My EBay listings always state "Boxes are considered NOT mint. May have some shelf wear that can include scratches, creases, dings, dents, stressed seals, cuts,  ect...." Not that would matter to some select buyers.

[Alpinemaps]

2 minutes ago, MarleyMoose said:

My EBay listings always state "Boxes are considered NOT mint. May have some shelf wear that can include scratches, creases, dings, dents, stressed seals, cuts,  ect...." Not that would matter to some select buyers.

I have at times made it very clear that the boxes are not in mint condition, and should not be considered as such, and if you're looking for mint, please buy elsewhere.

[FM]

How much anger must this guy have to take the time to write to me to complain about the price to ship a heavy item 2500 miles? Purely coincidentally the username looks like someone named Biden misspelled his own name.

[lodibricks]

21 minutes ago, FM said:

How much anger must this guy have to take the time to write to me to complain about the price to ship a heavy item 2500 miles? Purely coincidentally the username looks like someone named Biden misspelled his own name.

Follows that question with "waist."

Not sure how you wasted his time, looks like he wasted his own and yours instead.
Only feedback left by him is 1 negative. Block list is getting bigger by the day.

[Brystheguy]

9 hours ago, brickvoyeur said:

I've been here too long to even bother with people like this. I just respond back with a simple "I'm sorry that the carrier damaged this during transit. Please submit a return request and I will provide a prepaid label for the return. Once the item is received in the same condition you received it, you will receive a full refund"

You'd be surprised how few returns I get. Never received a negative feedback afterwards either. Nearly everyone is just looking for a discount, and I'm too petty to offer it at this point. 

She took me up on it… 

 

You win some, you lose some. Hello, newly blocked buyer.