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Author Topic: UPDATE! ALL FINISHED! Was: Any Problems With HoustonCollector72?  (Read 19580 times)

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Offline Thunderwing

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UPDATE! ALL FINISHED! Was: Any Problems With HoustonCollector72?
« on: December 10, 2014, 04:13:10 PM »
Final Update: see page eight.


Update for claim: see page seven (or so) for my most recent post.



Update!  Or, rather, slight change in topic.

I think Stormy has a great idea, posted on page two. And I think that is the best way to handle this situation:  I am going to offer HoustonCollector a fifty percent refund, to be sent immediately (or at least once I hear back from him). That would be $25, since the original purchase price of the missing MOC was $50.  And then once the insurance claim has gone through refund the other half, another $25. For a total refund of the full purchase price, but in two installments.

As Stormy said, neither myself or Houston was at fault, so why should one of us suffer more than the other. I am not comfortable giving a full refund up front, because there is no guarantee that the insurance claim will go through. Since it is an international claim, it is going to take both of us putting in a measure of effort (most on my part) to get the insurance to pay out. So if I refund up front and then can't get the right help from Houston, I am out of pocket completely.

I am not willing/able to refund any of the postage, it all went into postage costs. (Houston paid $35 for shipping, actual cost was $36.44).

So sound off again please!  Does this sound fair and reasonable to all of you? Is this how you would deal with this situation?










Mods: I would like to keep this thread separate from my other one please. The other is about the problem, this one is about the person involved. Thanks.
*edit* to add link. I am also locking that thread so there is no confusion and the discussion can continue here. PL
http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,363319.0.html 

So HoustonCollector72 was the person who bought the three MOC ponies from me. When they arrived, Houston contacted me to say that one was missing and the other two were damaged due to poor packaging. Houston sent me pictures, and I realized that the parcel had been very tampered with, and the missing MOC was stolen. We were able to compare photos and it turns out the other two were not damaged in transit, the marks/damage were already on them when they were sold (as shown in the photos and descriptions I put up).

Now here is the problem I am having.

Houston has been helpful in one sense, and sent me all the photos I requested. Which is great. But it ends there. Houston has been VERY pushy about getting a refund. No patience, their messages are hard to understand sometimes, and they openly accused me of lying about how I packaged the ponies (very securely and in a different box/materials than what they received), no offer of 'let me know what I can do to help', and so on. 

I've been working diligently this past week to do what I need to do, to file a claim. I have spoken to no less than five postal workers, in different offices and communities. I am friends with our local postal worker, but usually ship out of the city because they offer tracking. So I spoke to my friend, as well as going back to the post depo that I shipped out of, and they remembered me shipping the package I did that day. My packages are very distinctive. I showed them the photos of the parcel that Houston received, and they all agree that something is VERY strange about this situation. (For the full story, see my other thread).

The general consensus among the postal workers is "No postal worker is going to risk their job and their pension for a toy." Which I am inclined to believe. Every postal worker works with a camera over their shoulder and knows it. Why risk a great job for something as cheap as a pony toy?

Which brings me to my problem. I hate to accuse anyone of wrongdoing or dishonesty. But something about this situation is very strange. * edit* Things here are just not adding up.

Why did Houston go right into an accusation of lying when I told him that the parcel was tampered with, instead of the outrage and shock I was feeling? Why so pushy about a refund? Why threaten a paypal claim in the third message to me, when we had barely realized what happened? Why was it that the only pristine on card pony was the one stolen (ie: the most valuable), and the two with squashed bubbles were left?  If you are a postal worker and going to steal from a parcel, why go to the trouble of repackaging it? (It bears repeating here, that postal workers who repackage damaged parcels MUST follow a procedure, that involves placing all of the original box, even if pulverized, all original packing materials, and all damaged items into a sealed bag and then delivering it that way. They do NOT repackage them into different boxes.)

To top it all off, tonight, HoustonCollector72 opened a paypal claim against me. It has been only three weeks and two days since payment was made, so well within the time frame to file a paypal claim. Why leap into it without giving me time enough to try and figure out what is going on? I've been around a long time, and I haven't had to deal with something like this before, but it still seems like jumping the gun? She paid $50 each for three ponies, plus shipping. I ended up paying extra for additional shipping, it was higher than I quoted, my bad. She has requested a refund of $62.

I try to look at it the other way around... if I bought something from a long time forum member, and things went this awry, I would be at my post office demanding to know what happened to my parcel. Not waiting for the sender to do all the work, seeming indifferent about the answer, and demanding a refund.

It just doesn't add up. Little help? Does this situation sound odd to you?
« Last Edit: February 16, 2015, 05:35:48 PM by Thunderwing »

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Re: Any Problems With HoustonCollector72?
« Reply #1 on: December 10, 2014, 04:37:04 PM »
So this is the same case as that styrofoam box (or whatever) being opened and one MOC missing?

I'm kind of shocked to hear anything negative about him, I know he's very active here and we follow each other on Instagram. Although I've never dealt with him he's someone I would trust to deal with.

I think the circumstance itself seemed fishy (not on either of your parts). BS a worker wouldn't 'risk their job to steal a toy.' People steal stupid little stuff all the time and risk arrest! I work somewhere where there are a ton of cameras. But what people on the outside and some insiders don't know is most of them don't work.
« Last Edit: December 10, 2014, 04:39:19 PM by ponycake »
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Re: Any Problems With HoustonCollector72?
« Reply #2 on: December 10, 2014, 04:40:43 PM »
Yep. I am just putting this out there, to see if anyone PM's me. Houston has stellar feedback - but that doesn't mean something negative didn't happen, it just means it wasn't put out in the public eye.

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Re: Any Problems With HoustonCollector72?
« Reply #3 on: December 10, 2014, 04:46:06 PM »
I hate to accuse anyone of wrongdoing or dishonesty. But something about this situation is very OFF. I'm getting alarm bells. *edit* Things here are just not adding up.

I had read the other thread with great interest. I have to say that I understand your buyer's frustration. Of course he wants a partial refund; part of his order was missing. It doesn't sound odd to me that he's pushing for it. He provided the photos you requested and has been waiting for three weeks. It seems like you're trying to "shame" him with this thread. Perhaps this would be a good time to have a mod try to work with you via PM or e-mail.
« Last Edit: December 10, 2014, 05:17:37 PM by ponylady »

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Re: Any Problems With HoustonCollector72?
« Reply #4 on: December 10, 2014, 05:27:07 PM »
I had read the other thread with great interest. I have to say that I understand your buyer's frustration. Of course he wants a partial refund; part of his order was missing. It doesn't sound odd to me that he's pushing for it. He provided the photos you requested and has been waiting for three weeks. It seems like you're trying to "shame" him with this thread. Perhaps this would be a good time to have a mod try to work with you via PM or e-mail.

Well, yes, I do agree that a buyer would want a refund if a pony was missing. And I never disagreed with Houston for expecting one - but demanding repeatedly when I am sending updates? It has only been 9 days since contacting me. Seems like a long time, but I have done several things since then. I am not trying to shame anyone. I am trying to find out if anyone else has had any problems with a buyer I am having problems with, who were perhaps too gentle/shy/etc to leave feedback.

Offline HoustonCollector72

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Re: Any Problems With HoustonCollector72?
« Reply #5 on: December 10, 2014, 05:56:10 PM »
I Understand your Mistrust and Here is My side of the story :
In few days it will be a month that I paid for the 3 Moc G2s and this is my first time dealing with something missing in an order
I just want the 3rd portion of what I paid you for 3 items  , 185/3 = 61.67  rounded to 62,  I paid 35 for shipping for 3 items not just 2
I guess you think that I'm lying and researching for my background .no problem there,I have nothing to hide, very picky collector here and no patience I guess ,if I was the patient kind I would be waiting for a better deal on the ponies that  I bought from you .

when I first told you about this ,there was no concern for this situation, you stated you would go into the postal office until your   day off which was until 2 days later( to me that shows no concern of urgency on the problem at hand ).
I guess the fact that your story about packing the items did not match with what I received made me also assume you were lying to me or did not have control of your outgoing packages neither their contents, or that you had package them into the wrong box, since you stated your shipping day  was a busy one with many more packages being sent out at the same time.
All I can do to protect myself is open a case with Paypal,it is not yet a claim but in another week it will be escalated to a Claim
I sent you a message before doing it. seems like you decided to post here instead of communicating with me and that is ok.

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Re: Any Problems With HoustonCollector72?
« Reply #6 on: December 10, 2014, 06:04:43 PM »
Search only gives me this:

http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,311612.0.html

I think this is an unusual situation in which patience and cooperation with both the postal systems and all parties concerned is best.  :(  It's horrifying to think about MOC ponies being destroyed and stolen in the postal system but those are options you will likely never be able to explore.  I hope your refund from Canada Post is expediated! 
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Re: Any Problems With HoustonCollector72?
« Reply #7 on: December 10, 2014, 06:23:35 PM »

Post Merge: December 10, 2014, 06:24:22 PM

Search only gives me this:

http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,311612.0.html

I think this is an unusual situation in which patience and cooperation with both the postal systems and all parties concerned is best.  :(  It's horrifying to think about MOC ponies being destroyed and stolen in the postal system but those are options you will likely never be able to explore.  I hope your refund from Canada Post is expediated!

  -_-  that was a transaction on ebay ,not here on the Arena :mad:
pony smelled really bad ,smokers pony, seller just happened to be a member here , was a new collector then so seller got lucky ,today I would have sent her pony back  :(  I Had to open her and wash her  >_<  ,MOC FS AJ back in 2012  paid 125 dllrs for her

what would you do if it happened  to you ??!!!!
 


Post Merge: December 10, 2014, 06:55:34 PM

 
Which brings me to my problem. I hate to accuse anyone of wrongdoing or dishonesty. But something about this situation is very strange. * edit* Things here are just not adding up.

Why did Houston go right into an accusation of lying when I told him that the parcel was tampered with, instead of the outrage and shock I was feeling? Why so pushy about a refund? Why threaten a paypal claim in the third message to me, when we had barely realized what happened? Why was it that the only pristine on card pony was the one stolen (ie: the most valuable), and the two with squashed bubbles were left?  If you are a postal worker and going to steal from a parcel, why go to the trouble of repackaging it? (It bears repeating here, that postal workers who repackage damaged parcels MUST follow a procedure, that involves placing all of the original box, even if pulverized, all original packing materials, and all damaged items into a sealed bag and then delivering it that way. They do NOT repackage them into different boxes.)
 
[/quote]  Guess I was right to open my case, you are blatantly accusing me of repackaging a parcel  and make  one item missing to steal  62 dllrs from you .
I love to brag on here and if you are good at math you can see here ,62 dllrs is not a problem to be spent but I'm not going to give them away either .
 
Here you can find  all my  collection  additions since Dec  2013 ,I buy ponies I do not steal them ! -_-
http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,345936.0.html
 
« Last Edit: December 10, 2014, 06:55:34 PM by HoustonCollector72 »
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Offline ponylady

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Re: Any Problems With HoustonCollector72?
« Reply #8 on: December 11, 2014, 03:02:16 AM »
Thunderwing and or HoustonCollector I would like to see the PM's that were exchanged between the two of you. Also if there are any other issues a Mod should be contacted first, not a member. When things like that start happening it only causes upset and more confusion to the situation.

I know this is a stressful for both parties so let's try and work through this and get it sorted.  ;)
« Last Edit: December 11, 2014, 07:33:07 PM by Loa »
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Re: Any Problems With HoustonCollector72?
« Reply #9 on: December 11, 2014, 03:42:50 AM »
Chiming in here, I can say that it is indeed possible for the post office to tamper with your mail.  Back in October I had two pieces of mail tampered with - both pony related items.  We had a very new mail delivery carrier, replacing the one we had for years that I was friends with.  1 was a Trixie badge I had commissioned, the other was from SHOUT! Factory of the My Little Pony DVD.  Both packages made it to my mailbox - but was completely ripped open and contents missing.

I called the Post Office and got them to open an investigation.  They later found out that it was the new mail lady that was stealing stuff out of people's packages.  Not a smart cookie.  Items were replaced thankfully, and our original mail carrier was put back on our route again. 

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Re: Any Problems With HoustonCollector72?
« Reply #10 on: December 11, 2014, 03:50:46 AM »
Thunderwing and or HoustonCollector I would like to see the PM's that were exchanged between the two of you. Also if there are any other issues a Mod should be contacted first, not a member. When things like that start happening it only causes upset and more confusion to the situation.

I know this is a stressful for both parties so let's try and work through this and get it sorted.  ;)

This   :nod:   it's getting heated in this thread and it might not even be anyone's fault (other than someone at the PO)  :awake: I've known many cases where PO workers have been stealing items - its been in the newspapers/news a lot here in the UK and some have got away with doing it for some time before getting caught, but its very serious when they do get caught.
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Re: Any Problems With HoustonCollector72?
« Reply #11 on: December 11, 2014, 06:29:49 AM »
I'll just chime in here and say I've sold to HoustonCollector72 more than once without any problems at all (MOC/MIB G2's and G3's).  Paid fast, good communication, left feedback quickly.  Based on my experiences, I'd be absolutely shocked if he had done anything wrong in this case.  It sounds like a PO or customs problem to me.
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Re: Any Problems With HoustonCollector72?
« Reply #12 on: December 11, 2014, 08:50:23 AM »
I think it's important in these kind of situations to try to consider things from the other person's perspective.  It's especially important to consider that we've had several rather bad situations lately with sellers who have scammed a lot of people, so I think a lot of buyers are on edge at the moment.  That's not at all accusing you of being a scammer -- to me, it definitely sounds like an issue with the postal service, which can definitely happen.  I think the worst thing in this case is to let emotions get out of control and start blaming each other with no proof.

As a side note, I've dealt with HoustonCollector72 in the past (I sold quite a few MOC G2's a bit ago and he bought a significant portion of them), and he's been nothing but pleasant and courteous to work with.  To me, it just sounds like two people with very positive feedback in an uncomfortable situation due to shipping issues. :(

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Re: Any Problems With HoustonCollector72?
« Reply #13 on: December 11, 2014, 12:54:28 PM »
I had some dealings with him and would never trade with him again. It turned rather ugly, he basically tried to extort a refund, without returning the item.

EDIT: I see that whole fiasco has been posted. I think it speaks for itsself. Good luck,
« Last Edit: December 11, 2014, 01:18:56 PM by ClosetAvalanche »
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Re: Any Problems With HoustonCollector72?
« Reply #14 on: December 11, 2014, 05:14:46 PM »
If it was done at the post office, I'll bet it was because the box was damaged and they somehow missed the third pony when they repackaged it.

Stealing at the post office could / does happen, sure, but it IS a big risk.  PO jobs are long-term jobs with a pension, like those postal workers said--so that would be a lot to lose if you were caught.  And most people aren't going to know that a MOC MLP is valuable, or where to sell it.  (I guess you could watch eBay just in case, though, especially if it's a rare MOC.)

I hope everything gets sorted out to everyone's satisfaction.
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