Author Topic: Everything eBay! Scams, questions, etc...  (Read 191890 times)

Offline Pete_Fett

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Re: Everything eBay! Scams, questions, etc...
« Reply #675 on: May 30, 2014, 02:56 PM »
The guy I was dealing with sent me an item that was opened and resealed, and was listed as unopened.  I contacted him when I opened the claim, which gave me the option to ask that I keep the item but ask for a partial refund.  That's what I did, and he was more than happy to kick back my shipping.  I think he'd have asked for more, but the shipping satisfied me.

In your case it sounds even a little more shady than mine (I think my guy it was an honest mistake), and you deserve some money back, especially since yours was opened AND is missing a part.  Mine was complete, and I was going to open it anyway, so I didn't want to be a jag about it was all.  I wanted something off though because we'd been in a Best Offer negotiation over it and my first offer was declined...  Knowing what I know now, I would've wanted it for the lower price though.

He may not like it, or even respond to you, but either way Ebay's probably going to side with you on it.  Take some pics of it for evidence.

eBay did side with me - sorry if my post wasn't clear on that point - the only problem was that all they were willing to do was send me a shipping label to send it back to the seller for a full refund.

I even selected the option to chose to keep item/partial refund but they (eBay) ignored it.

If the seller coped to the fact that it was already opened and built and all they did was disassemble it and sell it and were willing to kick back some $$$ - like 25% off or something, I would have been happy with that AND given the seller good feedback.

I did get a eBay customer support survey to fill out - not that I think it will help much - but I plan on giving eBay a less than favorable response on that this weekend.
« Last Edit: May 30, 2014, 02:56 PM by Pete_Fett »
Peter

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Offline Morgbug

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Re: Everything eBay! Scams, questions, etc...
« Reply #676 on: May 30, 2014, 05:39 PM »
Sellers can't leave negative or neutral feedbacks anymore, so no need to worry about retaliation. The worst the seller could do is leave a positive feedback with a negative written comment, but that is something eBay will remove.

Wow - they can't? Nice!

Nah, not really. 

While I appreciate your perspective given your situation, only having one side able to honestly comment on the situation is hardly the best.  I've dealt with dickish buyers enough that I'd love to neg them and they would have deserved it.  But there's no option for an irresponsible buyer.  Three weeks to pay then leave comments to the extent that shipping was slow?  Seriously? 
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Offline Pete_Fett

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Re: Everything eBay! Scams, questions, etc...
« Reply #677 on: May 30, 2014, 05:52 PM »
Nah, not really. 

While I appreciate your perspective given your situation, only having one side able to honestly comment on the situation is hardly the best.  I've dealt with dickish buyers enough that I'd love to neg them and they would have deserved it.  But there's no option for an irresponsible buyer.  Three weeks to pay then leave comments to the extent that shipping was slow?  Seriously?

I 100% agree with you - I am a firm believer in if you win an auction, you pay immediately - I always do. I bid and paid on this item in question within minutes - normally for me I take advantage of Buy-it-Now and do it at the same time. In this case, I had to wait for the auction to end since there was no BiN.

Also as a buyer - I rarely care about shipping speed - if I get a tracking number and can watch it's progress - that's good enough for me - if it still hasn't been shipped 2-3 weeks after I've paid - that's when I get concerned and probably from that seller's perspective - a bit dickish.

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Offline JediJman

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Re: Everything eBay! Scams, questions, etc...
« Reply #678 on: May 30, 2014, 06:26 PM »
The guy I was dealing with sent me an item that was opened and resealed, and was listed as unopened.  I contacted him when I opened the claim, which gave me the option to ask that I keep the item but ask for a partial refund.  That's what I did, and he was more than happy to kick back my shipping.  I think he'd have asked for more, but the shipping satisfied me.

In your case it sounds even a little more shady than mine (I think my guy it was an honest mistake), and you deserve some money back, especially since yours was opened AND is missing a part.  Mine was complete, and I was going to open it anyway, so I didn't want to be a jag about it was all.  I wanted something off though because we'd been in a Best Offer negotiation over it and my first offer was declined...  Knowing what I know now, I would've wanted it for the lower price though.

He may not like it, or even respond to you, but either way Ebay's probably going to side with you on it.  Take some pics of it for evidence.

eBay did side with me - sorry if my post wasn't clear on that point - the only problem was that all they were willing to do was send me a shipping label to send it back to the seller for a full refund.

I even selected the option to chose to keep item/partial refund but they (eBay) ignored it.

If the seller coped to the fact that it was already opened and built and all they did was disassemble it and sell it and were willing to kick back some $$$ - like 25% off or something, I would have been happy with that AND given the seller good feedback.

I did get a eBay customer support survey to fill out - not that I think it will help much - but I plan on giving eBay a less than favorable response on that this weekend.

To each their own, but this feels like a lot of fuss for no reason...or worse, a case of entitlement.  This is another reason why I avoid Ebay selling like the plague these days.  The seller was absolutely wrong in his description of the item and if your intent was to keep it sealed then I would back your actions 100%.  However, your intent was to open the item anyway.  You had added hassle in getting the hair piece, but got it for free and you clearly didn't feel it was worth getting the full refund to go buy from someone else. The desire to get an additional discount based on someone's mistaken description when you essentially got what you wanted doesn't sit well with me.
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Offline Pete_Fett

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Re: Everything eBay! Scams, questions, etc...
« Reply #679 on: May 30, 2014, 07:02 PM »
To each their own, but this feels like a lot of fuss for no reason...or worse, a case of entitlement.  This is another reason why I avoid Ebay selling like the plague these days.  The seller was absolutely wrong in his description of the item and if your intent was to keep it sealed then I would back your actions 100%.  However, your intent was to open the item anyway.  You had added hassle in getting the hair piece, but got it for free and you clearly didn't feel it was worth getting the full refund to go buy from someone else. The desire to get an additional discount based on someone's mistaken description when you essentially got what you wanted doesn't sit well with me.

Shouldn't matter what I wanted to do with it OR that I got the replacement part for free. And yeah - if I bid on an item that is advertised as mint/unopened and it doesn't come that way - then I'm entitled for it to arrive that way. I could have decided to keep it MIB after I received it and then buy it brick-for-brick on Brick Owl instead - that option wasn't available to me, the seller saw to that.

Seller could have just as easily gone on their own, inventoried the set, gotten the missing pieces (like I mentioned earlier, I'm still not sure I have all the parts since Lego ALWAYS puts extras of the little pieces) and then sold it as "Previously Used" - and then guess what? I wouldn't have bid on it - and since I was the only one who did, I'm doubting anyone else would have either. The seller would have eventually had to settle on either keeping the set or selling it for a much lower amount. Plain and simple, that's not a sense of entitlement or looking to get an additional discount, it's how the after-market on Legos works on eBay - mint/unopened sets command a premium, opened/used sets get at most the original MSRP. All it took was for me to look through the last couple weeks of completed Lego auctions to see that.

« Last Edit: May 30, 2014, 07:02 PM by Pete_Fett »
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Offline JediJman

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Re: Everything eBay! Scams, questions, etc...
« Reply #680 on: May 31, 2014, 06:54 PM »
Exactly what I was talking about.  People have this mentality that they're owed something anytime someone makes a mistake.  Like I said, if your intent was to keep it sealed, then I'm right there with you.  But you bought it to open.  You could have returned it for a full refund if you wanted it sealed, but you were seeking money back despite getting the item for less than the current sealed price.  I don't sell on Ebay because of stuff like this.  Heaven forbid you forget to point out a flaw or describe something incorrectly because the buyer will come after you for any and all mistakes even if they got exactly what they wanted. Yes, you're clearly within your rights to complain, but that doesn't mean its the right thing to do.
« Last Edit: June 1, 2014, 05:01 AM by JediJman »
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Offline Matt_Fury

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Re: Everything eBay! Scams, questions, etc...
« Reply #681 on: June 1, 2014, 01:31 AM »
If I bid on an item described as mint in sealed box, or unopened box, then that is I should get.  I don't know how the item was described in the original but the seller in this case is clearly in the wrong and should have made amends.

I try to buy stuff unopened so I'm sure that the item I'm receiving is complete...I'm assuming that is what Pete was trying to do as well.  It sucks that he was lied to (either intentionally or unintentionally by the seller.  It doesn't matter what Pete intended to do with the item he bid on and won...the seller should've done what he could to make things right for his error.
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Offline JediJman

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Re: Everything eBay! Scams, questions, etc...
« Reply #682 on: June 1, 2014, 05:15 AM »
Pete had the opportunity to return the item for a full refund, right?  How is that not making amends for the mistake?  I'm just pointing out the difference between a lawful decision and an ethical decision.  If you got what you wanted for an acceptable price, then maybe let it go.  Like I said originally, to each their own.
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Offline Pete_Fett

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Re: Everything eBay! Scams, questions, etc...
« Reply #683 on: June 1, 2014, 09:28 AM »
I copied the description out of the auction for you guys to read:

Quote
Exclusive 2013 San Diego Comic Con

LEGO Star Wars

JEK-14 Mini Stealth Starfighter

Limited to 1000

*Brand New Unopened*

One of the hottest LEGO items at 2013 San Diego Comic Con. Get yours today!

This wasn't a mistake - the seller knew what they had and knew that Lego sets that are advertised as used/opened do not command premium mark-up. (I did not add the asterisks they were in the description.)

If the box had come with the tape seals intact, I would have given the seller positive feedback and moved on. If the seals had been cut and the bag inside was a standard issue unopened Lego parts bag and all of the parts were in the bag, I would have still given the seller a positive feedback and moved on. Because it would be plausible that the seller opened the box to make sure everything was inside.

I am sorry you have had bad experiences as a seller Jman - but I am not the kind of buyer that drove you to your frustration with eBay. So let's just move on for the sake of this thread.

Peter

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Offline JediJman

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Re: Everything eBay! Scams, questions, etc...
« Reply #684 on: June 2, 2014, 05:36 AM »
If the box had come with the tape seals intact, I would have given the seller positive feedback and moved on. If the seals had been cut and the bag inside was a standard issue unopened Lego parts bag and all of the parts were in the bag, I would have still given the seller a positive feedback and moved on. Because it would be plausible that the seller opened the box to make sure everything was inside.

Would you really?  You decided a 25% refund was called for because of the tape seals?  I collect a lot of stuff - some carded and some loose.  If I wanted this item sealed and it was opened, I'd have asked for a huge discount or sent it back.  I couldn't display it the way I intended, so I would be very dissatisfied.  The seller was totally wrong here from that angle. BUT, if I planned to open it anyway, I would have just let something like this slide.  I might even warn the guy to use better descriptions, but I wouldn't have sought out a discount or taken it any further. 

I have actually been fairly lucky with Ebay throughout my collecting career, but I hear stories like this all the time.  Big companies like Target can weather a dissatisfied customer here or there.  Maybe I'm just over sensitive to smaller sellers since Ebay already dicks them over for 10% of final value and shipping fees on top of paypal fees.  Glad you at least got the item you wanted.
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Offline GrandMoffNick

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Re: Everything eBay! Scams, questions, etc...
« Reply #685 on: June 6, 2014, 02:08 PM »
First thing is I realize this isn't a big deal at all. Six baseball cards for all of 50 cents.

But I won two lots of three MN Twins baseball cards from a guy last Sunday on ebay. When I try to pay I get a message from ebay saying his paypal account can't accept my payment at this time. I let him know, he says he contacted paypal and they said paypal is down. I have had no problem with paypal the rest of the week including paying other people.

I have let him know I have been trying to pay all week and it still doesn't work. I asked him if his other items he sold same day have been paid for by the buyers. I have asked him what he would like to do about it. He isn't responding. I emailed paypal for suggestions and they were useless.

Is there a way to ask ebay to help without it opening a case? I don't want to open a case for 50 cents worth of cards that the issue is him not getting his money. But it's obnoxious he won't respond and I'd like my cards. They may not be valuable but filled a hole in my collection and I don't buy his story about "paypal is down".

Any thoughts?
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Offline JediJman

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Re: Everything eBay! Scams, questions, etc...
« Reply #686 on: June 6, 2014, 03:16 PM »
You could ask to just pay him direct and write him a check?  Then he can actually file non-payment and save $.05 on the transaction.  Seems like he just doesn't care since he's only getting $.50 less fees.  I haven't had any trouble with paypal this week...or like ever.
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Offline McMetal

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Re: Everything eBay! Scams, questions, etc...
« Reply #687 on: June 6, 2014, 03:27 PM »
I've been doing PayPal stuff all week with no problems either.

What has more likely happened is that they have frozen his account for some reason and he is unable to send or accept payments. That happened to me a few months back when there was a concern about overseas fraud. (Thankfully I was not victimized and the hold was lifted after a week or two)
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Offline JediJman

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Re: Everything eBay! Scams, questions, etc...
« Reply #688 on: June 6, 2014, 08:39 PM »
I've been doing PayPal stuff all week with no problems either.

What has more likely happened is that they have frozen his account for some reason and he is unable to send or accept payments. That happened to me a few months back when there was a concern about overseas fraud. (Thankfully I was not victimized and the hold was lifted after a week or two)

That doesn't explain why he isn't responding to emails. 
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Offline Dave

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Re: Everything eBay! Scams, questions, etc...
« Reply #689 on: June 7, 2014, 06:28 PM »
Sounds like he is a punk.  If you sent him the $0.50 you probably wouldn't even get your cards.