Alright BP, how should I handle this?

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

Box condition shmox condition. Dude you're getting a $150 set for $85. Wait a year, sell it new in bags for $175. Seriously the box is not worth $65, is it? I havent checked BL but maybe you could find one there.

I know you were probably looking to quick flip it.. But with the $20 refund there's still some wiggle room for you.

 

Lol I thought about this but there are a couple of reasons I don't want to:

 

1. I already have some copies of this set and I am a diversify guy.

 

2. I have had trouble selling some of the sets that end up going to children in damaged boxes - Ninjaco, monster fighters, etc, Dino. This is because the parents buy them for them as presents, even retired and they care more about how it looks. I could sell it, but it will be harder to sell.

 

3. There are no boxes on bricklink

 

4. I can't verify the contents are not screwed up inside. If I open it and something is broken, I have less of a case with ebay. probably still win, but just not feelin it.

 

5. I do this for fun, not really for money. As you can see from the seller's responses, he is not really taking responsibility for his actions. I even, in my messages, told him that I identify with him as a seller and that was why I wasn't going directly to a case - giving him a chance to resolve this with me. I told him $20 was not enough and he, from what you saw, told me to sit and spin and talk to paypal.

 

I think its funny too that he seems to think its not his responsibility. Is it mine? How do I guarantee a buyer will ship an item correctly.

 

Honestly, if he hadn't shipped it so poorly I wouldn't take a firm stance. But I am a stubborn piece of crap. I am not going to reward people for being stupid and then not owning up to the stupidity.

 

I am dumb as hell sometimes. But I will tell you all that. Although you will probably tell me first.

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

Also, I know I've posted several warnings about over-using Buyer Protection, but the other side of the coin is a seller WILL find search ranking lowered, selling limits lowered, selling privileges suspended, and selling privileges revoked, if they lose too many cases, like DoNot's seller is going to lose this one if he responds to the case with anything other than "return for a full refund".

 

eBay is far from perfect, their daily computer glitches in one area or another are a source of annoyance, the constantly updating/changing policies are a challenge, I could go on and on, but to give them credit where it's due, their honest-to-goodness goal is to make a great deal of money and they know the best way to do that is to make things equally fair for honest buyers AND competent sellers, and they're always looking to hit that balance point. Never perfect, but pretty dang good for most transactions most of the time.

 

And how many of us can really complain. Is there a site with more traffic and a better sale rate?

 

--- crickets ---

[Diabolos80]

I dunno, I still think a 20% refund is pretty standard for a damaged box.

But I agree that ebay will find in your favor if you want a refund.

[Jackson]

Do you not message sellers and ask if they will ship the LEGO box in a sturdy outer box?

[Alcarin]

Well to be honest... I would ask for 35$ refund and build the set myself.... but thats because I have no Zombies at all....

 

For you I guess its different... if you wanted MISB then just open case...

[terrymc4677]

If you purchased for resale then I would return for a full refund. A little damage is usually ok and not a big deal, but this sounds excessive to the point where it will probably cost you some money from your future sale. If you bought it for your own collection then just keep it and take the partial refund.

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

I dunno, I still think a 20% refund is pretty standard for a damaged box.

But I agree that ebay will find in your favor if you want a refund.

 

I agree. I am not saying his refund wasn't good - I just don't think its that beneficial to me. I really wanted a set in good condition - all the ones I have are beaten up. Honestly, I normally would take it and probably would have if he had just taken responsibility for it. But he was kind of indignant.

 

Also, I have had one of those days at work that makes you want to punch children. So there is that as well. Lol

 

Do you not message sellers and ask if they will ship the LEGO box in a sturdy outer box?

 

While I don't feel like I should have to I have considered this. Only reason I dont is I find it annoying to get these messages from Ebay users. I put righ tin my listings how well I will ship it so maybe thats why. My wife thinks its fine though, so it may just be me being stupid about it. We have established I do that. lol

 

The one thing I hate about that is if I say that, it may make the seller come back asking for more shipping money etc. because it is a demand that may not have been previously met.

 

Well to be honest... I would ask for 35$ refund and build the set myself.... but thats because I have no Zombies at all....

 

For you I guess its different... if you wanted MISB then just open case...

 

Yeah, it would be different if I didn't already have the set. I really wanted a Mint one though.

 

I mean if someone wants it I can accept his refund and ship it to you. lol. Just not for me.

 

Another good point on box condition - do you all find good condition sets are easier to store? I hate the ones that dont sit up straight and look nice. And this means I can never set a smaller set on top of it.

[grackleflint]

If you are doing the return, you should also make sure to ask him the return address to return it to so it is recorded in eBay Messages. Don't just trust the address on the label of the package that you received. It's possible that their address has changed and it has not been updated when they shipped it out and if you send it back to an incorrect/wrong address and there are problems with returning it with no delivery confirmation, you won't get a refund and have no recourse through eBay/PayPal and be out the item too. 

[willy431]

I find this real hard to believe. What seller is that dumb.....so sell a $100 lego set advertised as misb---then wrap it in paper and mail?

(Willy goes to front porch)

Oh--never mind.

[justafrog]

Great googly moogly, it's an epidemic of stoopid.

 

Now, Willy, did you email the seller in advance and say, "Dear Seller, please be sure to ship the item so that it doesn't look like an elephant sat on it from Dallas to Mobile. Here are precise instructions for how to do your job: .... "

 

If not, it's clearly your fault and you deserve to receive damaged items.

[Darth_Raichu]

Great googly moogly, it's an epidemic of stoopid.

 

Now, Willy, did you email the seller in advance and say, "Dear Seller, please be sure to ship the item so that it doesn't look like an elephant sat on it from Dallas to Mobile. Here are precise instructions for how to do your job: .... "

 

If not, it's clearly your fault and you deserve to receive damaged items.

 

Geez justafrog, you do not have to be that logical.  Of course it is the buyers' fault for not sending the following text with EVERY single purchase they make on eBay:

"PACK ITEM IN THICK CARDBOARD BOX OR FACE MY WRATH MUAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!"

 

DNIIM, I would open case since seller asked for it.  Just be wary of seller retaliation

[forestgirl27]

The seller is ABSOLUTELY responsible for this. Things need to be wrapped so well that they literally FLOAT in a cocoon and can be tossed up in the air and land with no damage. I ordered cds one time and they came with very little packaging--needless to say they were trashed.

 

Do not lie down over this. Get your money back whatever it takes. The seller cannot blame the post office for his bad packaging.

 

This guy gives sellers a bad name.

[Fcbarcelona101]

I'm interested to see how this ends

 

I got my own crushed box a couple days ago shipped only with paper, but since I'm building it really was not an issue.

[BricksR4kids]

I'm so sorry about your box, I should have never sent it that way... My bad.... . I'd push for a bigger discount then part the set out and buy another . It's happened to me twice last month. That's the risk when you buy and don't specify shipping method. Depending on the set I buy, I'll ask them to double box it. Remind them it's useless if it's damaged. Sometimes you have to send Jean Reno and make them understand.

[TheOrcKing]

Did you ask before purchasing the method in which the item was shipped?  If you are concerned about how an item is shipped you should ask in advance.  Otherwise it sounds like you made the same mistake twice.

Umm, since when do you have to ask every single time how someone packs anything? If you have a preferred method or would like to make a suggestion such as skip the set box and place all its contents in a smaller packing box then that is one thing, but it should not be required to ask how the person is going to ship your goods. Heck, I know if someone I was selling to kept asking me how I was going to ship their stuff every single time, I would get a little annoyed and probably get the idea they themselves think I'm not capable enough to know how to pack.

I am really not trying to be argumentative here. It just seems ridiculously incessant to essentially pester a seller everytime it comes to packing the items. And anyone who thinks brown wrapping paper is gonna cut it is a complete nincompoop. You wouldn't just wrap up a DVD for example in a simple layer of shipping paper, would you? The paper isn't made of adamantium or mithril for crying out loud.

But if you are worried about how someone will ship an item especially a person you've never bought anything from then you would be better off to just ask.

[remy1492]

Ahh sorry bro. The mint Wayne Gretzki hockey card for $190 i sold you got wet? Well the guy at the post office told me to just put a stamp on it like a postcard and put it in the mailbox outside, sooooo yeah. NotMY fault.

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

I just received a message back from ebay:

 

"Did you ask him to ship it correctly?"

 

I was like 

 

"no, But I did tell him how he could save 15% on his car insurance by switching to Geico"

 

We will see what they say...

 

In reality, I opened the case so waiting on Ebay. I did take a shot at the seller"

 

"When a pre-paid return label is provided I will ship the item back with the proper packaging". Yeah - little battles.

[stephen_rockefeller]

sadowski is absolutely right in my opinion. I think you should ask how it is gonna be packed because we all know what kind of skeezers are on eBay these days. That being said, I would get a full refund. The seller is without a doubt just a lazy POS. Shame on them for trying to blame the post office.

[justafrog]

I just received a message back from ebay:

 

"Did you ask him to ship it correctly?"

 

/facepalm

 

I hope you quoted their own policy back at them: "Remember, the seller is responsible for the item until it is in the buyer's possession. eBay protects buyers if items arrive damaged, and sellers should consider insuring their items to protect themselves against damage or loss."

 

Sometimes CS is dumber than cement and needs edumacating.

[justafrog]

There are two things at play here:

 

1) It might be smart for some, most, or all eBay purchases to contact the seller in advance and say, "Thanks for offering this - I do need it to arrive in the condition stated, so if you need any help/advice on how to package this safely, please let me know." It's still offensive to send that to a non-idiot, but as one of the non-idiots who gets a variety of those messages, I don't blame the buyers for being worried I don't know how to package things. They've no doubt met DoNot's seller and all his inbred cousins.

 

2) Regardless of whether a buyer goes with the above entitled option, it is absolutely, positively, 100% the eBay sellers responsibility to make that item arrive EXACTLY as it is shown and described in the listing, and no eBay buyer ever should feel bad about demanding same.

 

If I have mis-read anyone's response and they are advising #1 but I interpreted that they were disagreeing with #2 (no scatological puns intended), I apologize.

[stephen_rockefeller]

There are two things at play here:

1) It might be smart for some, most, or all eBay purchases to contact the seller in advance and say, "Thanks for offering this - I do need it to arrive in the condition stated, so if you need any help/advice on how to package this safely, please let me know." It's still offensive to send that to a non-idiot, but as one of the non-idiots who gets a variety of those messages, I don't blame the buyers for being worried I don't know how to package things. They've no doubt met DoNot's seller and all his inbred cousins.

2) Regardless of whether a buyer goes with the above entitled option, it is absolutely, positively, 100% the eBay sellers responsibility to make that item arrive EXACTLY as it is shown and described in the listing, and no eBay buyer ever should feel bad about demanding same.

Exactly this.

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

/facepalm

 

I hope you quoted their own policy back at them: "Remember, the seller is responsible for the item until it is in the buyer's possession. eBay protects buyers if items arrive damaged, and sellers should consider insuring their items to protect themselves against damage or loss."

 

Sometimes CS is dumber than cement and needs edumacating.

 

That was a joke - I haven't heard from Ebay yet. Lol

[justafrog]

That was a joke - I haven't heard from Ebay yet. Lol

 

I'm such a sucker. :-D

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

So The seller finally gave in and offered a refund on the item, but I have to pay return shipping.

 

Is this normal? I thought usually Ebay would send you a label. While its better than the alternative, im kind of the opinion I shouldn't have to pay for shipping it back either, right? 

[JoshTX]

So The seller finally gave in and offered a refund on the item, but I have to pay return shipping.

 

Is this normal? I thought usually Ebay would send you a label. While its better than the alternative, im kind of the opinion I shouldn't have to pay for shipping it back either, right? 

 

Maybe he's pulling at straws at this point. If I had decided to give a full refund on an item over 100 I'd just pay the shipping to be done with it and move on. But there's probably some pride involved.