OT: Ebay sale.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Sold some Matchbox models on Ebay. My brother is a keen collector so gave me some guide prices.

One, where the model was perfect and the box good - dunno when a box is ever perfect, but it wasn't torn or stained, but had obviously been opened a few times - sold for rather less than my brother's guide price lower figure and to a dealer. I charged 2.60 for P&P.

Got a pm from the buyer saying it had arrived and the box was damaged. I asked him for a pic of the damaged box. Got a second pm saying he couldn't be bothered doing this but would accept a refund of 6 quid and call it quits.

The car was wrapped in bubble wrap and a tight fit in the box. The box was wrapped in three layers of bubble wrap and in a decent jiffy bag. He said it should have been in a box - but would a box give any more protection?

[js.b1]

I suspect with such "collectibles" the box may have associated value. The box is itself as attractive as the toy for certain old toys.

So yes a box would have given more protection. Use polyethylene foam sheet (1mm, 2mm) around stuff in future, then bubble wrap loose, then pad out with loose bubble in a larger box, tape the larger box to give some crush protection re "loads in a sack or wheeled crate". Assume 48" drop height, put it that way, with things dropped on top.

The really cheap bubble wrap sold in 500mm wide rolls on Ebay & SVP whilst "poor & thin" is ideal for bulking out boxes with light items. The costly bubble wrap is much heavier gauge polythene and more suited to heavier stuff. Recycle old boxes (worth keeping a couple in a shed, then dry off before taping up). TLC boxes are good for this.

[Him & Her]

IMHO, putting it in a box would have been better but the reality is that he is trying it on.

He can be bothered to email you a couple of times but not take a photo that would take him a minute to take and email, whatever!

No photo, no discussion/refund, simple.

Regards,

[Bill]

In message , "Dave Plowman (News)" writes

Having recently received a small piece of damaged test gear from Ebay that was wrapped in bubble wrap but only in a flimsy outer bag I'm sorry to say that a box would probably have been a better bet.

I have seen how couriers treat their packages, a decent 19" rack flight case might be a better choice next time!! :-)

If you don't feel happy throwing the package out of a 2nd storey window then it isn't packed well enough. A bit excessive, but you get the idea.

There again could well be the buyer is trying it on, proving it would be near impossible and if asked to return it for a full refund who is to say that he wouldn't deliberately damage it to prove his point? Have you checked his feedback to see if he has had similar "problems" before?

The joy of Ebay.....................

[The Natural Philosopher]

scamming cnuts always say things like that.

Tell him no photo, no refund

[Onetap]

I've got something like 250+ positive feedback on E-Bay and one negative. The negative one was a French thief who was doing something similar. I sold him an amplifier that had belonged to a late relative and he claimed that it hummed because some capacitors were knackered.

A quick bit of research showed that the capacitors in these things were known to degrade with age (he'd have known that, I didn't), and replacements cost about =A36 or =A38. He wanted about =A340 back ISTR. Research of his feedback revealed he was very prone to suffer from items damaged in delivery and had got several partial refunds.

It didn't hum, he was a thief. I told him to return it if he wanted a refund. I got negative feedback. He's stopped trading under that ID.

[ss]

You will never win with ebay, they favour the buyer. I have 3 accounts, one for selling, one for buying and my wife has one for clothes and books. The 3 combined have over 1800 positive feedback, I have slowly been clearing my loft, yet ebay have restricted all 3 accounts because about

6 people commented on high postage, yeah wrap them well and it can go against you, my wifes was restricted by association to mine (address?) What annoys me is we only ever put stuff on at 99p, ok we sometimes get bid more but its just for clearing out rather than go to the dump. Try selling a hardback cookbook within ebays postage limits!

[docholliday]

I had a lock delivered which had been wrapped in so much bubble wrap the parcel was nearly spherical. The post office had still managed to bend the forend at the bottom of the lock round by about 15 degrees - and this was a pecee of 5mm thick cast bronze... Putting things in a box not only gives a bit more protection, but can also make the damage more obvious - the parcel with the lock was not obviously damaged, as the bubble wrap had just recovered into its original position by the time I received it. As far as the OP's question is concerned - is there any chance of getting money back from the Post Office? If there is then some evidence will no doubt be required.

[js.b1]

Try using Amazon "sell one here".

Before the Nett Book Agreement ended I imported about =A34,800 of technical & business books thro late 1990s. They should have been sold back out much more quickly than they were (within a year), but even

4-5yrs later I could still sell them after Amazon fees and postage costs for roughly what they cost me. A loss of about =A3200, which could have been a profit of =A31000 had I turned them around a little quicker or avoided selling at the cheapest price every time.

Royal Mail prices are a lot different now than they were in the early

2000s, heavy "commodity books" will not recover much for example and "IT books" are best put in the bin or wood burner they depreciate so fast.

[Brian Gaff]

Standard fare for Ebay. Always say its damaged to see if you can get a refund under threat of a bad feedback. Brian

[Fredxx]

That's not my experience. Complaints against sellers are not taken seriously. Shill bidding is rife, and you get numerous "second chances" to buy items that the highest bidder fails to buy, funny that. Naturally at your highest bid. Also you receive spam from members which eBay refuse to do anything about.

Feedback is the only buyer oriented aspect.

[Nightjar]

I think there is no doubt that a rigid outer box would have given much better protection against crushing. I would also have packed the car and box as separate items, each with its own protection, within the outer box, particularly if the model box was of a type that could be folded flat.

Colin Bignell

[Adam Aglionby]

=A0 London SW

Boxing is best, if you have a few similar items, buy some , i go through 9 X6 X 6" boxes regularly, about 30p each delivered in 25`s on ebay.

Anything over letter thickness is by weight, bubble wrap and cardboard are light by volume.

Really fragile , double box, well packed box given the sprung bubble wrap treatment in an outer box, like a shock rack.

If the buyer is attempting feedback extortion , make sure he says so in a message response, that he refuses a full refund for return and wants something not listed in the auction or for a lower price to not leave you negative feedback. If you can get him to put it explicitly have a chance of getting his neg rubbed after the event for feedback extortion.

To be honest feedback has become completely meaningless on ebay, its a whole subculture....

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Here's what he said - cut and paste. Not all the pm, though.

*************************

i dont have time for pics and emails and you seen like a reasonable fellow can we just say refund £6 ??? £2 back for postage and say £4 back for the box that's more than fair isnt it ? i just dont have the time to faff about with this matter i think that's fair and if you agree and do £6 refund ill leave positives feedback and we can both move on with the next thing !!

[Onetap]

Sounds lke he does it regularly.

[Him & Her]

ooh, feedback extortion (in eBay's words)

Tell him to F___ O__

[Rob]

I've had that a couple of times. Tell him to return the item for a full refund, less half the postage. That seems to combine reasonableness with doubt - they then go away IM(limited)E.

Rob

[Man at B&Q]

That's never been my experience, but then I'm careful what I bid on and who I buy from.

MBQ

[Terry Casey]

I remember, many years ago, catching a train at Waterloo. I got on my train and sat watching a load of Mullard TV tubes being hurled out of the train on the opposite platform ...

(In boxes, obviously ...)

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I sent this pm to him:-

**********

After due reflection I think it would be best if you sent it back for a full refund.

**********

And received this reply:-

*********

give over i haven't got time for that its not like it was not as described i believe when it went into the packet it was exactly as the picture shows and its because of the way you sent it that it has now got crushed you know how you packaged it !!! you must have thought for 1 second that hang on here that might get squashed ?????

ive just posted out over 500 cars i dont want to see another box or bit of tape for at least a few weeks so im not going to sit there wrap this up and post it back at my cost for a £16 car yeah maybe if it was £160 but were talking peanuts here ! i just think you should stop beating around the bush put your hands up and say " fair enough " i should have put it in a box and i didnt " my bad " sorry danny heres a few quid back to make up for the over chargement in postage and the box getting squashed

i know what your doing you hopeing im going to go away as im to busy to do anything about it and its not worth the hassle for the few quid i will get back ! well maybe your right but you cant be like that on here ! if your make a mistake just put your hands up and say sorry it makes ebay such an easier place to all get along ! so are you going to give me a partcial refund ??? yes or no ???

*********

Must have taken it longer to write than just pop it in the post - given he does hundreds. ;-)