Parting out a figure a trend or a one off

[Mooncat]

All customisers know that sellers parting out figures like - Toy Anxiety for instance are god sends. They allow us access to parts that would normally cost us a whole figure and leave us with the unwanted elements.

Ive seen a greater trend in ebay sellers doing the same, parting out figures instead of selling the figure as a whole. No doubt this works out financially better for them and we get access to more parts.

However I recently bought a pair of Medi fett hands and a body from a Seller in the US obn October 27th 2008.

Heres the first message:

Received Nov 3rd 2008

Hello there,
I am sorry about the delay in shipping on your currently won items. I am still waiting for the Medicom Boba Fett Set from the dealer. They are getting busier due to the Christman seasn.
I will send you a email notice as soon as I send out your items.
Sorry agiain for your inconvenience.
Happy 12" 1/6 Kit-bashing & Customizing!
Yoshiishi


The second

Received Nov 19th 2008

Hello there,
I am awfully sorry about the long wait.
I received the Medicom Boba's parts finally but
I found that his left shoulder was broken. To prevent you from further waiting I sent Medicom Indiana Jones Nude Body instead of Boba Fett's today by USPS 1st Class International Service.
Indiana Jones's Nude Body is basically identical to Boba's except for its matte finish surface.
It has higher quality & more realistic look, I think. Let me know how you feel.
Off course I sent your Boba Fett's 2x Hand sculpt sets in the same package as we agreed upon.
I hope you will like them.

I learned some lesson this time and I won't let this happen again next time.
Please, come back & check out my listings now & then...
Thank you again for your support.
Happy 12" 1/6 Kit-bashing!!
Yoshiishi--

Concerned that this was a scammer, I started checking out his feedback

Found this :

took over 3 weeks to pay, i had to send a dispute just to get him to pay...Seller: theoldtoybox74 ( 47

)
18-Nov-08 12:00 12 INCH RAH BOBA FETT FIGURE, MIB RARE (#170269306307)



So Im thinking, when the first message comes in WTF he doesnt even have it in hand !!!!!

but I wait (as I want the parts)

Then when this comes up on the 18th I start to piece together what I think is the "scam" (scam being he is selling parts for stuff he doesnt have in hand and waits 2 weeks before he pays for them from his 'supplier')


He sells over 7 - 8 days parts of a figure (which he doesnt have, but he has won, but not paid for) once enough parts have sold to afford the figure from the dealer he pays the dealer.

He sends his excuses for delayed shipping to his customers

Now it says in his last message "I learned some lesson this time and I won't let this happen again next time."

From what I can see on his feedback he usually has decent transactions

Maybe he tried this on for size ?? too see if it would work ?? and maybe he couldnt sell enough parts !!

Dunno

Just thought this was an interesting case and something customisers should be aware of as I see alot more figures parted out on ebay these days and wondered if anyone had any similar experiences ?

 

[Lord Vicious]

I very much welcome this trend of splitting up figures; like you said, it allows us to get parts we need without having to buy the entire thing.
Downside of it are the prices; I mean just look at how much the new Joker parts are going

About that seller you mention, Yoshiishi, I've bought parts from him on several occasions and always received my stuff on time and without problem, so definitely not a scammer I think...

 

[Cryoguns]

Somevery interesting details, Moon...thanks for sharing

I too had bought from this seller back in the summer (Jango bits, I think) and didn't have any issues with him a that time. How ever, I'm also a very big believer in not selling what you don't have in-hand. I think anyone who does pre-sell stuff could learn from this.

 

[onethousandmasks]

Playing devils advocate, he could of just made an honest mistake. This happened to me when I sold parts of one of my ANH Han Solo. I sent one to Darkartist to re-paint (head and hands), and I sent the other pair with another order by mistake ( I couldnt figure out to whom). So the buyer had to wait for me to get an extra pair of hands. Now, I didnt do it on purpose and sold hands I didnt have. I had to buy a third Han Solo, to get the hands to him. Meaning he had to wait until I got the figure, so he could get his hands.