The MLP Arena
TCB => Trader & Shipping Support => Topic started by: Tulips on June 23, 2015, 12:34:20 AM
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It's happened, I've encountered an ebay seller/collector who sends their MOCs in bubble mailers. It was a fakie and I got it for a good price (basically just paid postage *facepalm* I would have paid extra for a box if I knew!), but what was once a perfectly pristine bubble now has significant denting and I'm just crushed. :cry:
My problem is that normally I would contact the seller right away to politely and respectfully request some compensation because it was their actions that caused the damage. However, I am interested in another MOC they have listed ending in several days and I don't want to sour the air between us and get blocked from the opportunity to buy it. I'd of course want it sent in a box instead this time if I won it.
So should I contact them straight away to explain the situation? Or should I wait until I've possibly won the other and explain it to them then so I can get it sent in a box? Is waiting not worth it, because they could decide then that they'd rather not sell to me and just cancel the sale anyways? Ugh, I don't know what to do!
:yikes:
I'd rather not open a case at all, just deal with the seller if they're open to working with me. I'm hoping to get better photos of the damage in the morning as well, they're obvious in person but get lost in the flash.
This is the message I have drafted to send to the seller, does it sound alright?
I wanted to first thank you for my purchase, it arrived today. However I am rather shocked that it was posted in a bubble mailer, as it was a MOC item it should have been posted in a box with sufficient protection. I didn't think to ask before bidding because I assumed as a collector you would know how to safely post a MOC.
Unfortunately it has sustained some damage, there is now significant denting to the plastic bubble (particularly over the face). I'm rather upset as I assumed I'd be receiving a pristine bubble MOC as pictured.
As I would still like the opportunity to purchase the other MOC you have listed, I'd like to respectfully request some sort of compensation and that if I do purchase more from you that they be sent in a box (which I am happy to pay for).
My suggestion would be either a partial refund of this purchase, or if in the case that I win the other it’s posted in a box at no extra cost?
Thanks in advance for any advice. ^.^
EDIT TO ADD: I very carefully tried to pop her bubble back out and have managed to fix it a bit. But it's still dented and has white lines on the crushed bits (no cracks as far as I can see). Would it be reasonable to request either a partial refund or perhaps if I win the other one it be sent in a box at no extra cost? I just don't even know how to approach this.
:drunk:
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I'd probably say "disappointed" instead of "shocked" ;)
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I'd probably say "disappointed" instead of "shocked" ;)
As would I. The next sentence really comes off as accusatory and, if you want to keep buying from her, I'd consider toning it down or taking out that sentence all together. Unfortunately, as a buyer, you pretty much have to request/ask that items be shipped in a box. I've had the same thing happen to me more than once. So, I would address if before the end of her next auction and ask her to include a higher shipping price to cover the cost of box shipping.
If you feel you got the first one at a good price even with the damage, I'd let it go at that and consider it a lesson learned.
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Thanks for the advice, I do worry that sometimes I sound harsher than I mean to. I'm so paranoid about it I always check my drafts with someone before sending them. :blush:
Should I perhaps wait until I win the other one and request it be sent in a box (without being accusatory), then either see if they're willing to compensate for the damaged one or just live with it?
Cheers ^.^
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I would contact the seller right away to let him know about the damage. Since he has similar items listed, it might keep him from shipping other MOC items in bubble mailers. If you feel that your MOC item is still worth as much as, or more than, what you paid for it, it might be best to leave it alone. If you ask for a partial, he could turn around and ask you to return it for a refund. Personally, I would see what solution the seller offers first, and go from there.
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I would contact the seller right away to let him know about the damage. Since he has similar items listed, it might keep him from shipping other MOC items in bubble mailers. If you feel that your MOC item is still worth as much as, or more than, what you paid for it, it might be best to leave it alone. If you ask for a partial, he could turn around and ask you to return it for a refund. Personally, I would see what solution the seller offers first, and go from there.
Totally agree :)
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:( It's always disappointing to read stories like this where sellers who should know better ship MOC items in bubble mailers *sigh* they almost always get damaged in the post unless the get shipped in a well packed secure sturdy box
I would contact the seller right away to let him know about the damage. Since he has similar items listed, it might keep him from shipping other MOC items in bubble mailers. If you feel that your MOC item is still worth as much as, or more than, what you paid for it, it might be best to leave it alone. If you ask for a partial, he could turn around and ask you to return it for a refund. Personally, I would see what solution the seller offers first, and go from there.
Totally agree :)
*nods* I agree with this too :nod: The seller needs to know about the damage right away - especially if they have other MOCs listed. If you do want to buy another item from this seller and you feel that despite the damage due to dodgy packaging you still got a good deal, then you need to be extra careful what you say in the message to them ;) I'd go with something along the lines of (this is parts of your draft but edited BTW )
the start is good - always begin with something positive to put the seller in the right frame of mind for working with you/taking advice :relaxed:
"Hi :) I wanted to first thank you for my purchase, it arrived today and I am very happy with it. (you could also add something about fast shipping or whatever else is positive about the transaction here as well if you want to)
Unfortunately though it has sustained some damage in the post and there is now significant denting to the plastic bubble (particularly over the face). This is because it was posted in a bubble mailer which wasn't sufficient protection against being damaged in the mail . I am a bit disappointed that my MOC got damaged but I'm sorry I didn't think to ask before you shipped my item to have it sent in a box. As I said, I am still happy with my item and I want to keep it - but I thought I should mention the damage to you since you have other MOC items for sale and most collectors like their MOC items as perfect as possible. It can devalue the item if it becomes damaged, so it would help your sales if you packed all MOC items in a box in future.
I would still like the opportunity to purchase the other MOC you have listed too, so if you don't mind I'd like to respectfully request that if I do purchase more from you that they be sent in a box (which I am happy to pay for).
Kind regards and best wishes
(your name)
put the added bits into your own words if you like too :) Hope that helps and please let us know how it goes :hug:
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I've already sent them a short message explaining but not asking for any compensation, just a heads-up about what happened and that if I win the other one I'll request it be sent in a box.
I probably didn't sound as upbeat as your suggested message Ringlets, but I figured I would just keep it simple without sounding too negative like in my original draft, put the ball in their court and see how they respond.
The other one ends in 4 days, fingers crossed it works out better. :)
EDIT: I've exchanged a few messages with the seller who, while not particularly apologetic, is understanding and will post future purchases in a box if I request. If I knew they weren't posting in a box I would have paid the £2 extra in the first place and avoided this entire mess. :P I just wish people understood that MOC=BOX no matter what!
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I'm glad the seller was understanding about the box issue. I hope they do send all MOCs in a box in future :awake:
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I've since won the other MOC and paid for it to be sent in a box.
My worry now is what feedback to leave after it arrives? I haven't left any yet for either MOC, but I fully intend on leaving positive and being truthful.
Is dinging their shipping star too harsh? I don't sell on eBay but I've heard little things can be really crippling. The seller wasn't the least bit apologetic that their actions caused a perfect MOC to be damaged, they never even said sorry.
They defended themselves by saying that they normally ship expensive MOC in boxes, but since the sale price was so low they were already making a loss so they didn't bother with a box. :mad: It's not my fault! I guess I should thankful that they were decent enough to go through with the sale at all.
Or should I leave the stars blank and say it was damaged due to shipping, and warn to request a box? I don't want to be too harsh, but they literally never even said sorry or owned up to their actions and the consequences.
Sorry, vent over. :P T
hank you all for the advice you've already given, it's been very helpful. :grouphug:
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Wow, what a terrible attitude they had! You deserve to receive your goods in their advertised condition, regardless of how much you paid.
I am normally very lenient and understanding towards sellers when they make mistakes, but this almost sounds like they already knew better and chose not to package correctly.
I'd give a neutral based on that, or even a negative. Especially since they weren't apologetic.
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Being truthful with your feedback is very important :bigups: I'm going to agree with what Lady Moondancer said too though.
This is not right at all - They defended themselves by saying that they normally ship expensive MOC in boxes, but since the sale price was so low they were already making a loss so they didn't bother with a box
it doesn't matter what you won the item for, if they wanted more they should have started the bidding higher! they should pack all MOC items the same secure way in a box regardless of what they sold for. You won an MOC it should arrive in that condition. I would definitely ding the stars for this one. I may even give a neutral based on that response :huh: The second MOC you won might be better hopefully though. I would hold off leaving feedback until you have that one as well .... :awake:
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I would also give a neutral. It is not fair to punish the buyer for getting a good price just because they didn't start the auction high enough. If she would have been apologetic and tried to make it up to you I would say she'd still deserve a positive. But as others have said, her behavior does not warrant a positive.
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Did the seller at least offer a refund or partial refund?
If it were me, refund = neutral, no refund = negative.
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Being truthful with your feedback is very important :bigups: I'm going to agree with what Lady Moondancer said too though.
This is not right at all - They defended themselves by saying that they normally ship expensive MOC in boxes, but since the sale price was so low they were already making a loss so they didn't bother with a box
it doesn't matter what you won the item for, if they wanted more they should have started the bidding higher! they should pack all MOC items the same secure way in a box regardless of what they sold for. You won an MOC it should arrive in that condition. I would definitely ding the stars for this one. I may even give a neutral based on that response :huh: The second MOC you won might be better hopefully though. I would hold off leaving feedback until you have that one as well .... :awake:
I would also give a neutral. It is not fair to punish the buyer for getting a good price just because they didn't start the auction high enough. If she would have been apologetic and tried to make it up to you I would say she'd still deserve a positive. But as others have said, her behavior does not warrant a positive.
I agree with bluerose9978 and Ringlets. As the seller, it is THEIR responsibility to set a starting price that they are comfortable with and not make assumptions that the price will go any higher than that. Shipping costs should have been calculated to cover a safe shipping shipping method (including a box) regardless of what the item went for. The lack of any sort of apology or attempt to make the situation better on the seller's part bothers me. AT BEST they deserve a neutral for that transaction but I agree that you should wait to leave feedback until the other package arrives.
Also, about the star rating- I would ding it as you see fit. Personally I think they deserve 1 star. They knew they were taking a risk sending something fragile without a box.
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I'm pleased to report that the second MOC has arrived safely in a sturdy box and she's as perfect as expected, it's a shame the first didn't arrived the same way.
Well, it's a lesson learned and at least it wasn't destroyed, just kinda crushed. I'll have a think about what feedback to leave, at this point it'll probably be a neutral and a positive. I plan to read over the seller's messages with a clear mind before I decide on the damaged MOC's feedback.
Thanks everyone :hug:
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I think a neutral for the damaged one and a positive for the second one is what I would do too. It does help to go over the messages and have a think about it first though :bigups: I'm very glad that the second MOC arrived safely :hug:
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Pleased to hear the second one arrived safe and sound in a secure box :)
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So I left them a neutral with dinged stars and a positive with full stars and they left nasty replies on BOTH! :mad:
Is there any way I can report them and have their replies to my feedback removed? I've found how I can respond to their reply but I don't think I should. I'm certainly not going to message them back, I'm disgusted by their attitude enough (they seriously never even said sorry!).
They haven't left me feedback, if they do I'll be onto ebay getting that removed for sure.
My Positive feedback:
Beautiful item, very pleased. I REQUESTED BOX to ensure safe arrival of this one
Their Reply:
Nasty penny pincher AVOID people like this ruin eBay & also waste oxygen
My Neutral feedback:
Poor packaging for delicate item, got damaged, offered no apology/compensation
Their Reply:
99p item, sold at a loss, expects box? Scummy neutral from a scummy member.
They also sent me a private message. I believe they're lying about finding more ponies because I'd asked them beforehand if they had any and they said no. I any case, I wouldn't want to deal with them any further if this is how they respond.
I think your feedback is a farce, I found 5 more of these ponies in my lock-up on Saturday and was going to email you and see if you wanted them. Obviously now, they’re going to my local charity shop which I wish the other two went to as well. Really nasty and unfair feedback, you should be ashamed of yourself. Have a gresat day/life/whatever karma
PS. If anyone wants to avoid this seller in future their username is: cupid.plutus
Is there a way for me to block them so I don't ever see their listings?
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You can get her reply removed just call eBay. She can't call you out like that. You were super nice about it there was no need for the seller to be so nasty.
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You can get her reply removed just call eBay. She can't call you out like that. You were super nice about it there was no need for the seller to be so nasty.
I emailed ebay and they said...
We've looked into your situation and unfortunately, the Feedback they have left doesn't meet our criteria for removal. To keep the Feedback system as open and honest as possible, we only remove Feedback in a few, very limited cases.
Soooo, calling people scum is totally fine?
They've suggested I reply to the feedback.
I was thinking something along the lines of "Seller is unprofessional, petty & rude." Maybe add on "Honest feedback does not deserve immature abuse" or "Saying sorry for damaging my purchase would have been nice" but that seems a little passive aggressive and I want to be the bigger person.
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TBH I think the bigger thing to do is no to reply at all. No need to incite a flame war, which is what this would do, I fear. They're obviously mean and anyone reading it would be appalled by what they wrote considering your initial post. Let it go and enjoy you MOCs :)
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wow those replies are disgusting! :throw: :mad: what a very immature person. I'm adding to my blocked /do not deal with lists.
I am surprised that ebay have not removed it because to be honest those comments look to me like they go against ebay policy. Abusive and rude. I think I would call ebay again - you may get a better response from someone else :awake:
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My my my what an attitude! I wouldn't answer any of these FB's either - call Ebay again and talk with a different rep.
Thanks for letting us know though!
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I wouldn't reply either, your feedbacks were honest and polite and their replies at least immature, anyone reading this would know to avoid this seller.
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You said you only emailed eBay. You can get more done by calling them. Trust me! This seller is terrible and you should not have to be punished just because they did not put a higher starting value on their auction. It was their fault and they are taking it out on you!
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Definitely call eBay. They are being completely rude about it and name-calling shouldn't be allowed.
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I'd leave the feedback alone. Anybody who really knows how to read feedback will see that for exactly what it is. You couldn't have asked for a better advertisement of "this seller is a nut" than that. The only one who is getting punished is the seller. She's the one who looks like a jerk, not you. I know when I see feedback exchanges like that I think "this seller goes nuts if things go even a little wrong - AVOID!"
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WOW. Horrible seller!
Honestly, I would leave the feedback as-is. It doesn't make you look bad, it makes THEM look bad.
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Agreed! I would leave that feedback as is so the rest of us can see what a wack-a-do that seller is! Trust me, as a buyer myself, that comment doesn't reflect badly on you at all, just on the seller. *hugs* I'm so sorry you had to go through this.
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Thanks for the advice everyone :hug: I think I'll leave the replies alone as they are a pretty good warning that the seller should be avoided without me chiming in any more. Thank goodness they haven't left me any nasty false-positive feedback.
I got an automated email from eBay asking me to rate my customer service experience, so instead of replying to the rep (who clearly doesn't care) I just left them fair and honest feedback about my experience.
I can't be bothered phoning them since they have a stupid policy that clearly states the seller did nothing wrong and I've got better things than to argue with them over it.
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Wow that whole situation is just so cruddy :( I'm so sorry you had to deal with that Tulips. I'll definitely add this eBayer to my blocked list.
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I agree with the people who say the seller has done your job for them by leaving their own negatives. Unfortunately they left them on your ebay page, but nobody with any sense will consider it your bad.
What amuses me is that they accuse you of penny pinching - you, the person who offered to pay more for a box, and you, the person who did bid on their item - and yet they admit themselves "we only sold this for 99p so we're going for cheap and not giving a box". Talk about pot and kettle. Irony doesn't even begin to describe it.
It's not your fault if nobody else bid on the item and upped the bid to a higher amount. Whether they had other ponies or not is not the point. The seller is responsible for shipping the item and the buyer is responsible for paying the shipping quote that the seller gives in good faith that it will be shipped properly. In this instance, you did nothing wrong. Taking the feedback off would hide the way they acted and the comments will appear on their page if anyone looks at the neutral. If their comment can't be removed, nor can yours (and you can bet they already tried, hence the anger). Anyone looking at their items will see that for what it is, and they may well lose sales for it.
I would call that justice.