Is it me or is ebay full of morons???

[MiRaja]

I'm going to play devil's advocate over 'the hair.'

If all you found were a few strands of hair, it's okay, it's just hair, really, it's not going to kill you.  Things happen, and if you're buy job lots and such, it's to be expected.  That's kind of the point of a lot.  Now, I'd understand about absolutely disgusting, but playdirt and some loose hairs?  C'mon, it's not a big deal, and part of the thrill of a lot is getting to clean through that mess and make it all pretty!  Besides that, if it's a lot, then the seller expected not to make that much money.  Lots are still going to be cheaper than buying all of those items by singles. 

I used to do doll part auctions because I do doll restore, and I'd buy lots and get parts I needed but would get parts I didn't need.  I never sold these things back in sparkling condition, because I never messed with them.  They'd just get put in a box of things I didn't need, and when the box got full, it was ebay time.  ( Now-a-days, I have a buyer who buys dolls from me, and I just give her my box of scraps for her to sell on ebay as freebies ) I never had a complaint, and I certainly would be annoyed if someone complained that, omg, these old doll parts were a bit dirty, or gods' forbid a hair or two of mine had fallen into the box.  Honestly, I wouldn't make any money off of these auctions, besides, maybe $10-$15 + shipping, but I sold them because other restorers could use the parts where I couldn't, and it'd be a damned waste to throw them out.

I see a lot of these messy playlots, and I see they're belonging to their kids and have been in storage for years.  The fact is, it's probably sell them on ebay or throw them away.  And they'd rather just throw them away than take the time to clean every pony or inspect in detail.  I'm usually a detail oriented person, so if I were to sell lots, yes, I'd have a completed condition of everything, but that takes a lot of time, and some people do work 40hr jobs a week, and still have kids to take care of, and by selling a lot of not-so-clean ponies and getting a real low price for them per-pony, they're doing you a favor by not throwing them away.  Which is what happened my childhood ponies.  So, dirty ponies > ponies in landfills. 

Now, I have bought lots where the seller has itemized them, and claimed they were all mint, and then got a lot of bait instead.  That's what ticks me off, because I paid good money expecting a lot of really nice ponies.  Then, the next week, I bought a lot of ponies from one of my doll seller's, and NO ONE bid on them because they weren't pony sellers. . .  Well, almost all of the ponies were mint in that lot, they were gorgeous, I mean, I have a SS Beachball whose hair is so perfectly in set it's like she walked out of a box yesterday.  And I paid notta.  It was around $16 for 10 ponies + shipping. 

You win some, you lose some.  If the lot says these are played with, they haven't been cleaned, they are in as-in condition,  it's exactly that.  :/  If you want  perfectly clean ponies with nothing that needs to be done with them, I would suggest buying singles.  <3 

My problem is when people say something is in one condition and it's not.  Like ponies that are 'near mint,' but have tail rust or pony cancer, or their hair has been curled under to hide crunchy hair.  That's my ish. 

[kaskurgi]

I have gotten some pretty raunchy ebay lots of ponies. I clean them up when I got them and I am about to resell the duplicates. They have all been washed with oxyclean, hair shampooed and lightly conditioned, and hair combed out to the best of my ability some were REALLY bad. I also stuck them in a shaded window for 5 days. I have some Jem dolls of mine that were in a musky basement I am airing out and plan to soak in some febreeze / oxyclean etc before I list them too. I dunno I am picky when it comes to my ponies. I don't mind getting them dirty my boyfriend thinks I enjoy cleaning and fixing them up more then anything else.

[SeashellnBubbles]

I always hope for the best and expect the worst...besides, I'd rather clean them myself in case something needs specialized work and may be ruined with "trditional" cleaning...like, things that aren't obvious to a non-pony person like not using hot water on sparkle symbols. That said, grossness is grossness and a heads-up would be nice! Lol!

[MiRaja]

I always hope for the best and expect the worst...besides, I'd rather clean them myself in case something needs specialized work and may be ruined with "trditional" cleaning...like, things that aren't obvious to a non-pony person like not using hot water on sparkle symbols. That said, grossness is grossness and a heads-up would be nice! Lol!

Exactly!  Most people who are not into collecting, and happen upon collectibles, whether they're kids toys or what not *know this.*  They know if it's not something they specialize in, not to mess with it!  There's lots of people who I've bought dolls from that say, "Item is dirty, I don't know how to clean it, so I'm going to leave that up to the professionals!" 

That's why online 'boutiques,' who specialize in certain items, get more money per item than a layman does selling a huge lot.  Hell, I depended on dirty, dingy and wrecky looking dolls, because I would turn items from being worth $20-$40 and assembling them into something worth $300 or more. 

Long as it doesn't come covered in fecal matter and bugs, I'm mostly okay.    I've had dolls come in smelling like vomit, however, but it wasn't vomit, thank goodness, just something called hard plastic sickness.  Kind of in league with pony cancer. 

[wingsinmoonlight]

Honestly,
I wouldn't send a super sticky gross pony, but I rarely bother to wash or style items for ebay anymore. It took a ton of time, and it did not change my sales any to skip it.

[Ringlets]

I've started to expect to have to wash/clean up  anything used I buy off ebay these days   it doesnt really bother me anymore when it comes to dirty or even mouldy lots with messy hair and random sticky stuff on them (even though its still gross to get something like this and waaaay nicer to get a clean fresh smelling pony in your hands when you open the package!! ) . However, there are some things like the one you mentioned about hair (and not the kind you find on peoples heads!) , and the brown stuff smeared over a pony I once received from someone on ebay( that wasnt chocolate)that are just too revolting! ick!! *shudder*         Like I said,  I kinda expect cleaning toys up, but I was quite surprised to find a book i recently bought on ebay supposedly in very good condition, to be covered with random brownish colored dried on stuff (please pleeeaaase let it just be coffee or tea stains!) and plastered inside and out with pet and human hair. Some people obviously take no pride in their stuff and are not ashamed to send something so obviously manky off without warning of its condition *sigh*

[Corona]

Thankfully no pony horror stories from me. The only gross thing I've gotten was a bait lot and I got what I paid for; a bunch of manky ponies.

My biggest pet peeve when it comes to buying is people who don't disclose allergens. I'm allergic to dust and mold and have bad reactions to cigarette smoke so disclosing that is super important.

Even worse, artists who show off pictures of their pets lying on things like cosplay and fursuit pieces like it's cute. One big-name costume maker put up pictures of her cats lying on commissions (not personal costumes, COMMISSIONS) on her business site with captions about how adorable it was. Um, does the word "allergies" mean anything to them? I love my dogs but I wouldn't let them turn a product I'm selling into a nest nor would I show off pictures of one of my pet bugs crawling on a pony I'm selling.

Disclaimer: I don't let my pet bugs (when I have them) crawl on my ponies. There aren't adorably tiny saddles that would suit my bugs.

[MiRaja]

Thankfully no pony horror stories from me. The only gross thing I've gotten was a bait lot and I got what I paid for; a bunch of manky ponies.

My biggest pet peeve when it comes to buying is people who don't disclose allergens. I'm allergic to dust and mold and have bad reactions to cigarette smoke so disclosing that is super important.

Even worse, artists who show off pictures of their pets lying on things like cosplay and fursuit pieces like it's cute. One big-name costume maker put up pictures of her cats lying on commissions (not personal costumes, COMMISSIONS) on her business site with captions about how adorable it was. Um, does the word "allergies" mean anything to them? I love my dogs but I wouldn't let them turn a product I'm selling into a nest nor would I show off pictures of one of my pet bugs crawling on a pony I'm selling.

Disclaimer: I don't let my pet bugs (when I have them) crawl on my ponies. There aren't adorably tiny saddles that would suit my bugs.

I collect kimono on top of ponies and such, and I have seen people who post pictures of their cats crawling all over their kimono and that is definitely not something cool.  I always disclose the fact I DO have cats, but I don't let my cats writhe and curl up in my kimono. Cat hair and silk is not the best mix, or any costume for that matter.  My Japanese dolls are a bit harder to control on, because I do have a few who don't have cases and the cats will brush up against them, but as of this time, I have no intentions to sell any of said dolls.