A Warning for Collectors who Sell on eBay

[ReplicantSavior]

I've come to the conclusion that it is no longer safe to sell on eBay for the person who occasionally sells things like statues, comics, figures, toys, and that type of collectible. There are a few threads on the SF about eBay. Not sure about here. Anyway, after receiving eBay's updated rules a while back that mention return policies, I thought people should know for the holidays and probably future how much eBay rules are against small sellers if you didn't already know.

I'm sure most know that eBay requires tracking for sellers, if you have no proof of a traceable shipment, it's 100% guaranteed that eBay and Paypal will not support you in a case. But there is also the not as described case where a buyer can buy your item, say a comic or a statue, read or display it. Then decide that they don't want it. Use the not as described case and send you back a read or potentially dusty / damaged statue. eBay and Paypal won't care as long as the buyers have return shipment tracking.

I've come across these cases around the Internet and have been disgusted by them. It doesn't matter if you say no returns either, describe it 100% accurately, and photo the item from every angle. Sellers are bound by eBay's terms which give buyers something like 60 days to file a case. And the worst thing is, with eBay no longer allowing sellers to post negative feedback, sellers will not know if a buyer did a scam in the past. Only eBay will know and that's if a seller filed a complaint. And who knows how many complaints a buyer can get before eBay does something.

I stopped selling when I read enough buyer scam stories. I'm sure there are sellers who might attempt a scam. But from what I've seen and with eBay's policies, the rules heavily benefit the buyer. I try not to buy from eBay as well. I find that actual stores that sell on eBay, will have an item lower at their actual store since eBay charges 10% on sales and then Paypal has their fees. I thought people here who sell the occasional comic, statue, figure, or other collectible should know about the problems with eBay's rules and the potential to come across a bad buyer.

 

[67L88Stingray]

Has been that way for years, nothing new here.

I had a guy e-mail me he liked the item, left positive feedback, & tracking showed delivered then he filed a claim and won...WTF

Part of the cost of doing business, for every bad sale I have 100+ good ones(knocks on wood), so I have to eat their **** from time to time. Unless you are doing a local FTF cash only sale there is no real way to cover yourself 100%.

 

[dajuice]

Thanks for sharing. It's these kind of stories that keeps me from selling my figures and statues. I would like to get rid of some.

 

[Pro Design]

correct, this isn't anything new... it's been this way for many years. and yes it's true ebay wants to side with the buyers as much as they can as they want to avoid loosing their business at all costs.

one thing that is very helpful and something i've done for as long as i can remember when selling anything over $30 in value is take 4 pictures when getting ready to ship.

1st pic is full close up picture of the item from front
2nd is same from the back
3rd is the item safely wrapped up placed inside a box with cushioning
4th is the box sealed with the shipping label easily readable

these 4 pictures are then emailed to the paypal email address that the payment comes from.
the email text is as follows:

Dear XYZ

Thanks for purchasing my auction of "ABC"

Your item is now shipped via USPS and here is your tracking information: xxxxxxx

I've included pictures showing the item free from damage / missing parts from the front and back, as well as pictures showing the item safely padded and packaged up for damage free shipping. I always appreciate when people provide me a solid, safe transaction so I do the same for people who buy from me as well!

Thanks again!


That whole process adds 2 to 3 minutes when packaging up for shipping and is all done from my phone so it's super simple. Buyer at that point knows a scam is pretty much a waste of time as there is total documentation and picture proof of the whole thing. Sure some ahole can try to still pull a fast one, but if you get ebay involved and with that couple min of bs, you can avoid it and prove your case. That's been my standard process for years now and knock on wood, haven't had any issue w/ larger items.

 

[Jameson Rook]

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Pro Design again.

 

[Pro Design]

Haha! Thx buddy!

Seriously if you type the email once, all you do is copy and paste it along with attaching the four pictures and you're all set. And the transaction email you get from PayPal once they send payment makes it super easy because all you have to do is reply to the payment email you get from PayPal and attach all that crap to it real quick. It generates from the users PayPal email address used so you know it's safely documented in the right place. Like I said literally it takes two minutes to do all that.

 

[EVILFACE]

This just in, humans are capable of lying cheating and stealing.

 

[a-dev]

 

[Pro Design]

Hahaha! God I love that gif!

 

[chamildav]

eBay can be pretty awful for casual sellers. The funny thing is back in the early days it was very difficult for buyers if they dealt with an actual bad seller. That's still true. It's actually a very easy place for a dishonest seller to do a "bust-out" and just disappear. It's really only honest sellers who have anything to worry about. Kinda' sad but for most of us their isn't much alternative. All you can do is protect yourself as best you can and hope you have a limited number of bad experiences. I went for 18 years with very few problems and in the last couple of months my luck seems to have run out. But heck, it's only money, right?

 

[Lejuan]

So you didn't stop selling because you personally experienced any of this stuff... but because you've read about it happening.

I've only sold ten things on ebay. Didn't have a problem with any of those transactions.

I'm not going to stop travelling by air because a couple of planes go down each year.

 

[Collectorcol]

There's still lots of good guys on eBay.

860 rating, buying & selling, and never had an issue.
Fingers crossed!
(My rating would be double that if counting the transactions instigated through eBay)

 

[Sidewinder]

I used to sell for a while and didn't have any issues. As a buyer I was ripped off from a seller I had previously had good transactions with and lost over $100 and had another seller send me a fake different item, but I was able to claim through Paypal and get the money back.

I still think the vast majority of buyers and sellers are good. It's the same out in the real world. 95% of customers wouldn't steal from a store, but there's that other 5% that would go out and do it everyday.

 

[Royce12]

I've sold probably 50-75 items on eBay without issue. I had a claim opened against me once because the buyer did not completely check the packaging and thought I sent him a Spider-Man statue with no arms. I was able to contact him and explain where to look so the claim was dropped. The only other issue was a seller trying to scam me but eBay gave me my money back and ultimately suspended his account.

With that said I think the advice given earlier about picture taking and communication with the buyer is key.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Pro Design]

I've sold probably 50-75 items on eBay without issue. I had a claim opened against me once because the buyer did not completely check the packaging and thought I sent him a Spider-Man statue with no arms. I was able to contact him and explain where to look so the claim was dropped. The only other issue was a seller trying to scam me but eBay gave me my money back and ultimately suspended his account.

With that said I think the advice given earlier about picture taking and communication with the buyer is key.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

i bet one was that threezero bumblebee i was wishing i picked up from you a little while back!

 

[Royce12]

LOL

 

[xipotec]

800 feedback....

3 returns....

its heavy weighted in buyers favor......do not sell to anyone without 10 or more feedback...

 

[67L88Stingray]

800 feedback....

3 returns....

its heavy weighted in buyers favor......do not sell to anyone without 10 or more feedback...

That's the thing, you can't block people under 10(or even 0) and even if you could you don't have any guarantee they are good people.

 

[SAB]

Once I'm finished with me 1/6 dolls I put them in the microwave and nuke them.
Its the only way to be sure.

 

[sentiart]

I've been buying and selling on eBay for almost 20 years with a feedback over 1100. I've run into a few that want a discount for some crease on the box or once said there was a broken leg on the figure but I insure everything over $100 and just tell them to send it back their cost. Generally they want to keep it and we work out a small refund where we're both satisfied. Twice I've run into the aggravated buyer and had eBay resolve it and I myself got taken for around $1500 for a preorder that I ended up reporting to fraud claims dept. I never got my money back and they still sell on eBay from last I checked.