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

[lazuli16]

2 hours ago, Darth_Raichu said:

Everyone bend over and let eBay stick you with fee increases, starting March 1st, 2022. 

That's right folks.  eBay's CEO needed his Q1 2022 bonus so bad, he had to force it out of the sellers.   He was even gracious enough to give us sellers less than 3 weeks heads up.   eBay finally beat Amazon on something, as Amazon announced their fee increases 3-4 months prior to the change.

eBay's business model: sellers pay more for the privilege of watching glitch fest 2022.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Announcements/Your-Winter-Seller-Update-is-here/ba-p/32683868

The tldr for this is fees for selling LEGO are going from 12.35% to 12.9%. The good news is they're returning the fee when buyer request cancelation (not sure if that was the case before).

[Darth_Raichu]

2 hours ago, lazuli16 said:

The tldr for this is fees for selling LEGO are going from 12.35% to 12.9%. The good news is they're returning the fee when buyer request cancelation (not sure if that was the case before).

Sure. You get the 30 cents back on cancelations.  But how many cancelations do average sellers get? 1 every 100 orders?  Even if you sell 100x $10 items with 1 cancelation, eBay still come out ahead.

[thelovemachine]

So I sold a retired set from 2017, a gas station city set.  The buyer with only 1 feedback (I wish we could block low feedback buyers)... said no stickers were in the sealed set.

 

I have another set I can open to send the stickers but I'm thinking of setting return and blocking him.  Any thoughts?  Has anyone ever encountered no stickers in sealed lego?

[ponderingzissou]

6 minutes ago, thelovemachine said:

So I sold a retired set from 2017, a gas station city set.  The buyer with only 1 feedback (I wish we could block low feedback buyers)... said no stickers were in the sealed set.

 

I have another set I can open to send the stickers but I'm thinking of setting return and blocking him.  Any thoughts?  Has anyone ever encountered no stickers in sealed lego?

Curious if LEGO group would/could send you replacement stickers? Or send to the buyer address directly

Also another option would be to search bricklink for the stickers and have them shipped to buyer. Not sure how expensive those stickers would be

Edited February 18, 2022 by ponderingzissou

[thelovemachine]

I asked him to call LEGO but it's a gas station 60132 set retired in 2017 so I guess they didn't have any left.  

[fuzzy_bricks]

12 minutes ago, thelovemachine said:

So I sold a retired set from 2017, a gas station city set.  The buyer with only 1 feedback (I wish we could block low feedback buyers)... said no stickers were in the sealed set.

 

I have another set I can open to send the stickers but I'm thinking of setting return and blocking him.  Any thoughts?  Has anyone ever encountered no stickers in sealed lego?

I would have him flip through every page of the instructions, I've had them in the beginning couple of pages that everyone skips.

If you believe him and want to try and solve his problem, I would try to get him to call Lego and as that will be the easiest solution.  If they don't have any, then you can do the Brick Link thing, but depending on the seller, that could take awhile.  The quicker option would be to crack your last set and send him the stickers out of there and replace them the next time you place a Brick Link order, or try to order them from Lego yourself and sell the last set as open box sealed bags.

[Pseudoty]

5 minutes ago, thelovemachine said:

I asked him to call LEGO but it's a gas station 60132 set retired in 2017 so I guess they didn't have any left.  

Highly unlikely that the set did not have them as they come in a sealed bag with the instructions, but still possible. None on BL in the USA. You could call lego to ask but don’t have them drop shipped for possible red flag.  I would ask the buyer to check the bag and the instructions again as sometimes they cling. 

[ponderingzissou]

It seems more probable that a set could ship with missing sticker sheet than missing parts (And of course occasionally there are missing parts). Sticker sheet most likely wouldn't affect weight of set (if LEGO group checks weight to ensure sets are complete 🤷‍♂️)  

Nice of Pseudoty to check if stickers are in bag with instructions or loose and check Bricklink. I would imagine only the slightest of errors in factory could result in missing stickers... edge flipped or creased could result in sticking to next sticker sheet etc.. 

My intuition is that the buyer is being honest. Missing sticker sheet isnt the usual scam. Still I would do as other mentioned... ask buyer to double check booklet

Best of luck

[thelovemachine]

Thx all.  Yeah I'll ask buyer to look for sticker sheet.  Since it's a weird to be a scam, I'll open another set and send him the sticker sheet.!

[thelovemachine]

Here's another typical one... buyer with 2 feedback, GSP in Canada.  I pack the set which is around $500.  I ask for confirmation, twice.  Three days go by and still no confirmation.  HOw many of you would cancel at this point?  I'd just cancel shpping label and order .. 

[$20 on joe vs dan]

1 hour ago, thelovemachine said:

Here's another typical one... buyer with 2 feedback, GSP in Canada.  I pack the set which is around $500.  I ask for confirmation, twice.  Three days go by and still no confirmation.  HOw many of you would cancel at this point?  I'd just cancel shpping label and order .. 

ON zero communication, on a $500 transaction, I would cancel and move on.

if haven't done so, I would send a final message indicating the pending cancellation without communication.

[$20 on joe vs dan]

So I purchased a used $100-ish set from an Ebay seller.

From the day the tracking said delivered, I have gotten 3 request per day to provide a positive feedback.

I typically check a few things and then throw the set onto my backlog pile and move on...I will write my reviews about a couple of weeks after in bunches.

Anyway by the 2nd day I told the seller i have no issues but will get to a review when I get to it.  

A week later I got another email alert (while on the slopes snowboarding)...again asking to provide feedback.

I was well past providing positive feedback and settled on no feedback...but now I am seriously contemplating negative feedback for spamming me

[thelovemachine]

12 minutes ago, $20 on joe vs dan said:

So I purchased a used $100-ish set from an Ebay seller.

From the day the tracking said delivered, I have gotten 3 request per day to provide a positive feedback.

I typically check a few things and then throw the set onto my backlog pile and move on...I will write my reviews about a couple of weeks after in bunches.

Anyway by the 2nd day I told the seller i have no issues but will get to a review when I get to it.  

A week later I got another email alert (while on the slopes snowboarding)...again asking to provide feedback.

I was well past providing positive feedback and settled on no feedback...but now I am seriously contemplating negative feedback for spamming me

maybe he/she desperate for that 1-2 feedback thinking it helps sales.... not sure on that one though.

[ponderingzissou]

12 minutes ago, $20 on joe vs dan said:

So I purchased a used $100-ish set from an Ebay seller.

From the day the tracking said delivered, I have gotten 3 request per day to provide a positive feedback.

I typically check a few things and then throw the set onto my backlog pile and move on...I will write my reviews about a couple of weeks after in bunches.

Anyway by the 2nd day I told the seller i have no issues but will get to a review when I get to it.  

A week later I got another email alert (while on the slopes snowboarding)...again asking to provide feedback.

I was well past providing positive feedback and settled on no feedback...but now I am seriously contemplating negative feedback for spamming me

Oh

Wow

That was me 👀

😆 Really though it wasn't. Wondering if perhaps they have an automated system requesting feedback? Reminds me of a dropshipper that contacted me asking for tracking. I responded assuring them that I would ship next day and provide tracking. Next day I received the exact same message as if I had not responded

Agreed. Spamming you for feedback is annoying

[Darth_Raichu]

1 hour ago, thelovemachine said:

Here's another typical one... buyer with 2 feedback, GSP in Canada.  I pack the set which is around $500.  I ask for confirmation, twice.  Three days go by and still no confirmation.  HOw many of you would cancel at this point?  I'd just cancel shpping label and order .. 

It depends on your tolerance for lost.  For some people it is $100, others $750 or some other numbers

49 minutes ago, $20 on joe vs dan said:

So I purchased a used $100-ish set from an Ebay seller.

From the day the tracking said delivered, I have gotten 3 request per day to provide a positive feedback.

I typically check a few things and then throw the set onto my backlog pile and move on...I will write my reviews about a couple of weeks after in bunches.

Anyway by the 2nd day I told the seller i have no issues but will get to a review when I get to it.  

A week later I got another email alert (while on the slopes snowboarding)...again asking to provide feedback.

I was well past providing positive feedback and settled on no feedback...but now I am seriously contemplating negative feedback for spamming me

Did the seller email you or was it eBay?  Asking because in their Winter update eBay mentioned they were pushing to get more feedbacks from buyers

[$20 on joe vs dan]

51 minutes ago, Darth_Raichu said:

 

Did the seller email you or was it eBay?  Asking because in their Winter update eBay mentioned they were pushing to get more feedbacks from buyers

definitely seller initiated messages

 

[Darth_Raichu]

49 minutes ago, $20 on joe vs dan said:

definitely seller initiated messages

 

Ugh, I am not a fan of that tactic, it looks too much like begging to me.  IMHO, everything is fine as long as buyers and sellers fulfill their parts of the deals.  Feedback is just cherry on top

[scratchdesk]

I'm a little bit un-educated on this so I was hoping someone could fill me in.  In browsing eBay for pricing I looked up the Ghostbusters HQ.  In assessing the value I see a majority of the listings located in Japan, Germany and South Korea.  I assume these are fakes/ knockoffs?  Is there any good way to identify them other than location?

I have one I'd like to list and just want to make sure I understand what I'm competing against.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=75827+lego&_sacat=0&LH_ItemCondition=1000&_sop=16

 

[Phil B]

25 minutes ago, scratchdesk said:

I'm a little bit un-educated on this so I was hoping someone could fill me in.  In browsing eBay for pricing I looked up the Ghostbusters HQ.  In assessing the value I see a majority of the listings located in Japan, Germany and South Korea.  I assume these are fakes/ knockoffs?  Is there any good way to identify them other than location?

I have one I'd like to list and just want to make sure I understand what I'm competing against.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=75827+lego&_sacat=0&LH_ItemCondition=1000&_sop=16

 

In the search filters, go to the Item Location section and set it to "US Only".

[Pseudoty]

6 minutes ago, Phil B said:

In the search filters, go to the Item Location section and set it to "US Only".

Now here is the next question for you:

I have several saved searches BIN price low to high that I use to try a snag underpriced NISB sets. That guy from France drives me crazy with his listings (sort low to high on your GBHQ listing) I have blocked him but still see his listings. The only way I can exclude him is the US/North America Only setting but there is no way to save that and it has to be selected each time also I may miss a deal from another country. Pro Tips needed.

[scratchdesk]

2 minutes ago, Phil B said:

In the search filters, go to the Item Location section and set it to "US Only".

Appreciate the response but that wasn't my question.  

Interested more in the legitimacy of the listings and ways to identify them as fakes (assuming they are knockoffs).  Price points of overseas sellers seem in line with recent solds. US sellers listing mostly appear to be at a premium but not selling at that price point ($950+).  

[scratchdesk]

9 minutes ago, Pseudoty said:

Now here is the next question for you:

I have several saved searches BIN price low to high that I use to try a snag underpriced NISB sets.

Its been a couple years since I've used any of these but this is how I got around the default location a while back (chrome extension):
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying-Q-A/How-do-I-change-default-location-in-searches-to-US-only/qaq-p/22022810

 

Edited February 25, 2022 by scratchdesk

[Pseudoty]

4 minutes ago, scratchdesk said:

Appreciate the response but that wasn't my question.  

Interested more in the legitimacy of the listings and ways to identify them as fakes (assuming they are knockoffs).  Price points of overseas sellers seem in line with recent solds. US sellers listing mostly appear to be at a premium but not selling at that price point ($950+).  

If you look at the sold listings all of the Germany, Japan, and S .Korea look legit.  You can look at the feedback from the buyer and cross-reference them with the current seller list but too time consuming for me. 

[Darth_Raichu]

These last few posts made me realize that eBay was the last place I thought of when it came to buying. I just hope enough people do not think like me 

I blame the strategies adopted by current CEO that made searching for items difficult for most buyers and sellers. 

[Pseudoty]

Good morning to you too!