Always assume eBay sellers don't think......

[baby_yoyo]

Hi all

This is a random post I know, ive been buying and selling on eBay since 1998 and always strive to make sure any item I send (be it MLP or misc) is securely wrapped to prevent any damage suring transit

Ive been reading through a number of these posts as I have had many dealins with non paying bidders or rude customers and this has been a great source of advice, so thankyou!

I thought I would tell the tale of my sisters (Pangel on here) misfortune with a 'silly seller' (to be polite)

About 16 months ago PE was up for sale on the UK eBay and as many collectors know this can be THE playset to have in your collection.

The man who was selling it said was in good condition, some bits missing but comes with original box which is good condition

My sister was over the moon when she won it, not only for PE but because the box is stunning with lots of detailed original artwork. My sister is a picky collector and loves the boxes sometimes as much as the item

So imagine our horror when I was at her house and a courier arrived.....carrying PE.....sent in its original box.....with no wrapping or brown paper . The man had wrapped the box in fragile tape and had written in permanent black marker her address and his return address...the box was ruined

To make things worse, PE was in its box just with some carrier bags, nothing was wrapped, all the small accessories were scattered everywhere

Thankfully (god knows how) it arrived undamaged. Pangel immediately messaged the seller saying it was a valuable item and it should have had more care and attention when shipping it and messaged her dismay at the state of the box

The seller saw no harm in what he had done, I know he was not an expert and thought the box was just being used to ship the item in

So the moral of the story is, when you buy something it maybe worth asking the seller to send it with care and specify you would like to keep the original packaging in its current condition. Ive read threads with mocs being decarded to save on shipping, ponies being sent in carrier bags (that happened to me too....Ice Crystal arrived in a carrier bag and nothing else)...etc. I know many sellers do send their items with care and secure packaging but sometimes it may be worth sending the seller a polite message

[achab1984]

Oh my gosh!! That ia horrible. Some people are not collectores and some people only care about the money they will get for the item. That is a good thing to keep in mind next time I bid on something.

[kakenterprise]

It's sad but its true.  I have to tell people to bubble wrap earring I buy.   I had some one put them with a watch in an envelope so of course they had bent posts...  I'd rather make the request before my items sent than have to pay to ship them back.

[FantasticFirefly]

That's horrible... I really hope she at least got a partial refund.... or left a big old negative!

I had a nursery sent to me from the US in a tight fitting box with NO padding.... thank goodness it didn't get bumped, dropped or have anything put on top of it- it would have cracked/chipped for sure... I still marval that it came intact- and the woman charged collectors prices for it too- should have known better!

I never thought of messaging a seller with vintage in package items, but I'll start doing that. I haven't been unlucky with MOC/MIB's yet, but have been the recipient of some horribly packaged G1 pony parcels. :S sellers know that "vintage" means collectors will bid and bring in money, but they often happily forget that while packing and then claim "it is kids toys, why should I pad kids toys?" >.<

[lovesbabysquirmy]

That's awful... please share with us the ID of the seller so nobody is scammed out of their MIB products! 

[Galactica]

The exact thing happened to me with a very rare NRFB vintage doll from Brazil-  I felt sick when it arrived (it had been wrapped in paper- but the original packaging- which was not sturdy to begin with- was completely and utterly crushed)...

Now when I am buying something like that I tell them that "I am a collector of PACKAGING and could they  please please please package it with care so that the packaging is not damaged or creased? Thank you very very much!"   I think that it might just not occur to some sellers-  so so sad though...

[LadySatine]

Some excellent advice, thank you!

[karrie91]

That's really good advice! Though anyone with common sense would package things carefully. I collect Pokemon merch and found something I really wanted MIP a few months back. I won the auction and it was sent to me crammed down in a tiny box with the back card bent down to fit as if they didn't have a bigger box to ship it in.... The blister removed from the back card and was crushed. It was so heart breaking. I left negative feedback and just glued it back together. 

It's sad that we have to send messages for this. Even non collectable things should be packed with care.. you know?

[shabbychicdee]

OMG that is horrible, i'm sorry to hear that actually happened. i have nightmares about things like that happening, i never thought IT WOULD ACTUALLY HAPPEN IN REAL LIFE how stupid could one be???????

[RockinPrettyBeats]

I think in some cases, people get greedy or don't know how much shipping is. For instance, someone sells a new in box G1 pony for $50 and charge $1.75 for shipping. Then they find out it actually costs closer to $4 to ship the item. So instead they cram it into an envelope.

Or the other case is that they think they can make a little bit of money off the shipping and so cram it into a tiny box for that reason.

[ponylady]

That's awful baby_yoyo!  I can't say that it surprises me though.

I had someone ship a Dream Castle in it's original box.  I about died 

I think some sellers are just seriously unaware that the box can almost be just as valuable as the item itself.

And honestly if he advertised it as being with the box, then the box should have arrived to you unscathed. I don't see how he saw no harm in that.  It was misleading if you ask me?   

[Pangel]

Oh God, I remember the day well. I saw the postman through the windowwalking up the drive at work carrying PE...

Me and my sister: OH MY GAWD IT'S FINALLY HERE! YAY! WOOHOO!
Me: Wait... Why can I actually see it's PE?
Me and my sister: D:

The seller was a novice eBayer, I recall. He had his eBay account with an incorrect Paypal address, so it took me two weeks to explain to the guy how to set it up properly so I could pay! After it had arrived I kindly informed him about his mistake in shipping the item in such a silly way. But the flip-side to this was that there were some lovely rare puffy stickers stuck on the inside of the building, which was an unexpected bonus, so I couldn't be angry for long.

[Loona]

And honestly if he advertised it as being with the box, then the box should have arrived to you unscathed. I don't see how he saw no harm in that.  It was misleading if you ask me?

now you got me thinking... if the item arrives in its original box, and the box has the address on it, doesn't/shouldn't it count as "item not as described"?

I'm sorry to hear your horrible experience :S but thank you for sharing it, so that others can learn from it without having to try this out themselves! I have to agree with you, because I unfortunately have already been in these shoes too - not in the one of a box with address, but in the one of damaged boxes in general. it's so annoying how sellers can react to complaints about boxes, it seems like they really don't see the importance of a box... but why even bother to put the box up then?  once  I bought a boxed item to be a gift and it arrived damaged, that was even more awful than when I bought something for myself. if nothing else, sellers should see that boxed items have a higher rate to be bought to be used as presents, so the importance of boxes shouldn't be underestimated...

[Ringlets]

*Shudders*     i think I would have had a hard time not freaking out at the time if that was me . How awful, and how stupid of the seller. I agree with whats already been said about giving the sellers instructions when it comes to shipping MIB/boxed/other valuable items cos some are clueless, thoughtless, or think they can get away with that kind of thing to save monies on shipping.
 I'm so glad it didnt turn out too bad in the end since you got the puffy stickers, but it would still be upsetting to see that ruined box

[fingerpaints]

It is surprising the number of items I have recieved like this, no or little packaging, and sometimes original boxes / cards etc have been destroyed because of the shipping method (for example, I had a non pony item sent in its original box which was just wrapped in a black bag, the box had a plastic window front and top, it did not hold up from overseas to Australia) I have also had many ponies and similar items sent in a bag loose with no padding, bubble wrap, or even an extra bag. I do sometimes send items this way myself, but make sure they are at least double bagged, and not fragile.

I actually had a snow globe sent in a box that was too small for it luckily they had added bubble wrap and it actually arrived in one piece, I freaked out when I saw the bulging box and realised what was in it :/