[Gort]

Have any of you purchased something on eBay based on the provided picture of a perfect, MINT-looking box and model? Only to receive a blemished, far-less-than-perfect box and/or model? And judging from the non-damaged shipping container, it's all to obvious that the box/model the seller shipped was screwed up before they sent it?

I just received a Forces of Valor 1/32 Sherman advertised as MINT: According to the photograph, the see-thru panel was perfect; the box was MINT.

What arrived made me fume: The see-thru panels were crimped and damaged beyond repair. But the shipping container arrived with nary a ding. There's no way USPS caused the damage.

So I just wrote this letter to the seller:

Dear XXX,

I just received your Action Series FOV Sherman, and I’ve got to say, I’m disappointed. The picture you posted on eBay depicted a MINT box: The see-thru panels were perfect: no creases or blemishes of any kind.

The see-thru panel of the box you sent arrived crimped and creased top to bottom. The shipping box arrived unscathed, so I can only deduce that the model box was blemished before you sent it.

I won’t give you a negative feedback, nor will I insist on a refund; but I do want to express my dissatisfaction. I’m a serious collector who purchased your model based on that photograph. You had an obligation to tell potential buyers the box was far less than MINT and show that in the photograph.

Yours truly,

XXX

Anyway, misery loves company. I'd like to know if anybody out there has experienced a similar heartache.

[skidmarksdiecast]

Yes, I have experienced the same thing. When buying on eBay, the saying "caveat emptor" always comes to mind.

Several years ago, when I first got on my NASCAR kick, I bought a 2002 Mark Martin Viagra Ford Taurus from an eBay seller. The outer carton arrived without any damage whatsoever and the car's box was undamaged as well. When I opened the car's box, however, I was pretty pissed off. The right rear corner, of the spoiler, was bent forward and the rear window was broken out. I also bought an assembled aftermarket resin model kit of a 1989 Cadillac Seville. The pictures, in the listing, looked great, but what I received was poorly assembled, poorly painted piece of garbage.

Whenever you buy on eBay, you have to be aware that there's a possibility you're going to get screwed and you should only spend as much as you can afford to loose-- just like gambling.

[timbo]

Yep several times - Buyer beware!

Problem I find is that the feedback becomes a tit for tat petty argument system, where sellers will not give feedback until a buyer does the same even if you have held up your end of the deal and have a genuine grievance.

Saying that I don't want to paint everyone with the same brush. I have several regular sellers who I will use time and again because they have provided excellent service.

[FormerViperDriver]

Only once, but it was a bad one: Corgi 1/32 Grumpy Spitfire.

Now, it was not advertized as "mint," but "excellent." In fact it was neither by a long shot. The guy tried to blame it on shipping, but no way: a part (pitot tube) was not only broken but missing from the box entirely.

Then the guy dares to post negative feedback on me because I complained, when I paid him not more than 3 minutes after getting the invoice!

I sure learned a lesson there. The most disgusting part is a prized model such as this deserved much better treatment... I still hope to fix it the best I can in the near future, but it will take some work (and at least one part from Corgi customer support).

FVD

[flyXwire]

Sorry to hear your bad experience, Gort. It hasn't happened to me yet (crossing my fingers) but I heard a lot of horror stories similar to yours from other
forums I've visited. It is very disheartening indeed, but you gotta expect things like that to happen from time to time I suppose.

[bsmith13]

I've experienced this about 8 times out of my 500 or so eBay transactions. 6 of the sellers either refunded my money or sent me a new item at no cost. I suppose this only make it worse that you got a bum deal. I feel your pain.

[wmosner]

Gort, you have to let us know if you get a response back from the seller.

[slammin]

I've only gotten burned once on ebay. The other times the seller was willing to take exchanges.

One tip I learned and it served me well. Even if you use paypal, pay by credit card. It was far easier to have mastercard go to bat for me and recover the charges than it was to convince paypal to do something about it.

Overall, I'd say I've been luck, and I still like shopping on ebay, but one bad transaction can leave a bitter taste.

Chris

[Martin Baker]

Paid for four minichamps tanks of ebay , seller said that they were all new
One was broken , two were missing packaging & one was the wrong tank
Paypal won't do a thing !

[IXEC]

Yes with a seller in France, 1/35 scale Minichamps. The R01 Panther and first Jagdpanther. After being described as " like new ' they came covered with dust. The packaging was so poor, the R01 came with busted torsion bars, machine gun, tow cable, etc. The boxes were all dented too. I told the seller, and asked him for an explanation. He said they were made of metal and couldn't break, and they were never out of the boxes so they couldn't be dust covered. He charged me $78.00 to ship to the states with insurance and it only cost $40.00.

I called the shipper to make a claim for the damage. They told me the claim had to come through the person who shipped the package ( seller ). I asked the seller to make a claim or refund my money. Even though they were insured and I paid for it, he said a refund or claim was "not possible" and he would have no more contact with me.

Here's what I did. Not wanting to get bad feedback, if I posted in kind, I waited 29 days to make a complaint with my Credit Card company, ( they give you 30 days ). They immediately credit your card back the full amount you sent the seller until an investigation is concluded. They investigate your complaint in 60 to 90 days. This time is well beyond leaving feedback on eBay, for the seller. Also ,I paid with PayPal ,but did not go through their complaint process. PayPal will always side with the seller, so when using PayPal always go with your own credit card and not with any of PP services.

During this time you don't tell the seller you filed a complaint with your credit card company, he'll find out that you did soon enough. This is what happens to the seller. All of a sudden, your money that's in the sellers account, is withdrawn from the seller's account, this gets their attention fast, let me tell you. And the credit that was giving to your credit card account becomes permanent, if the investigation goes in your favor. If the investigation goes in the sellers favor, the money is returned to him, and the credit issued to you is reversed.

Needless to say the Seller hit the roof, ( too bad ). He made complaints to PayPal, eBay and even threatened a lawsuit. But your credit card company trumps them all. Now I had my money back, including shipping and I had the Minichamps too. Under eBay's rules I could have kept them too. But I'm not like that. You should have heard how nice he got when asking for the items back.

I got philisophical with him about honesty and I told him I hoped he learned a lesson. And then it happened, he went on an Anti-American and all that's wrong with America tirad. My father risked his life to help free France in WWII and can you believe this, my dad is a Frenchman too.

I made him send me CASH for the shipping cost to send the Minichamps back to him by Western Union. I gave him the exact cost of $36.00 with insurance that the USPS would charge. And I told the USPS that the items I was shipping back to France were damaged goods so he couldn't screw our Postal System with a claim, other than a lost package. And yes, I got delivery confirmation from this Snake.

I hope this helps you MB

IXEC