Selling Toys - Horror Stories & "Happy" Customers

"Oh wow, I actually never read the ad." The absolute fucking audacity.
So I bring joy.

Guy this afternoon says he's got a lunch break, cash, and wants the Gambit and Rogue BBall set I swapped the heads on.

He shows up..I can't help my Niceness and ask if he read the ad. He said he did. And his daughter just loves Gambit and Rogue and basketball, so this is the set he needed, and that he likes that I swapped the Rogue heads because she actually thinks the old one looks better and more "stern" for the Rogue and Gambit hot cold dynamic and basketball poses.

Amazing. Read the ad and it was exactly to their tastes.
 
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Guy inquires about three items. Since it's a bulk, I entertain shipping it flat rate Post. Quote him the box size and price.

"Oh. I've never had to cover the shipping before."

Bye, Felicia
 
Also moved a bunch of loose McFarlane. Some heavy hitters included. All complete, but not the stands or flight stands.

I give the stands to another friend, and the flight stands go to Legends or whoever.

Sold as is, what you see is what you get, yadda yadda.

At midnight tonight, guy follows up wanting to know where the stands are and if I don't have, how much I owe him back in difference.

Was polite but firm. Didn't work. Blocked.

Now his friend is messaging me on another listing on his behalf.

This is why you should really police what you buy and stick to it. Then you don't have to deal with inmates from Arkham Asylum.
 
Guy inquires about three items. Since it's a bulk, I entertain shipping it flat rate Post. Quote him the box size and price.

"Oh. I've never had to cover the shipping before."

Bye, Felicia
I've had a bunch of those guys recently myself. They'll message the usual- "What's the price?" or "I only want 2 of the 3 listed, can you split the lot?", and the few people who make it past those questions ghost me once I mention shipping. Ever since I got burned by some guy a year or so ago who, despite paying the full amount with shipping, decided to wait until he got the item to throw a fit and say I swindled him because the listing didn't explicitly mention shipping. So now I always mention the price plus shipping whenever anyone inquires. Causes people to back out more often than not, but that's fine by me. We're all guilty of letting shipping cause us inner turmoil, but I figure if the person really wants it, they'd pay that extra couple bucks.

Sometimes I wish I didn't really have to resort to ebay or Marketplace as much as I do, but it's almost impossible to sell things locally here. We have our secondhand shops, of course, that'll pay you next to nothing, but here in my neck of the woods in NY, people don't often actually buy things you list on neighborhood groups or whatever because we have all these "Buy Nothing" groups, where people will give away their old stuff- sometimes food, sometimes clothes, every now and then something as big as appliances, TVs, etc. Which is super awesome- neighbors helping neighbors- but when people know they can get stuff for free, they're less likely to actually buy something. Feels like such a weird thing to complain about- it's the first world-iest of first world problems, but when you need the money and the space, it can definitely be a little inconvenient at times. But then I remember, from the few times I've used those groups to give away stuff I don't need and can't sell, half the time the person doesn't even show up to collect the free stuff, so maybe people are just dumb and indecisive. 😅
 
The Free thing is a strange psychological test.

Give it away, no one wants it. Ask for $5, I got ten people fighting over it.

Even valuable figures, when I price them to move or at retail (they're opened, I know what I have, and I try to do what I would pay, unlike other people that will list an open incomplete Mezco and then still ask the whole mint in box eBay value up here), it's like pulling teeth. Price it higher, people show up... To bargain you to where it was.

Alright.
 
The sellers who part out every new release from every line are obviously making money since they keep doing it - but how do they keep track of all that shit?! Tiny, tiny baggies?

I was shocked how much I was able to sell for good prices when I started getting rid of pieces I had leftover from customs. In a GREAT way. And then the market turned and I got stuck with stuff. But it was good, for awhile.
 
Oh, my newest adventure in eBaydom.

*Sigh*.

This fucking guy. First of all, he purchased something from an old account that I didn't even know was still active, let alone had stuff listed.

But he purchases a big lot of figures for 650 bucks and shipping. I tell him that I'm more than happy to sell him the stuff, but that old account is wonky, it says I owe a balance that I know I don't owe, so if he'd like the items, I'd be more than happy to sell them to him on my other account.

He immediately sends a cancellation request, and tells me that his 6 year old son purchased this without his permission.

I...somehow...have a hard time buying that.

But okay. I tell him I would love to cancel it, however, the funds are currently sitting on hold until everything is shipped and delivered (again, because I haven't used this account in probably two years) and I do not have access to them, and eBay is trying to force me to pay them for that fee out of pocket (that again, I know I do not owe--and how it wasn't sent to collections by now is beyond me).

So, to avoid paying out of pocket, he is going to need to open a case on his end.

In the meantime, I contact three separate eBay agents AND a supervisor via chat to request that they just cancel the transaction altogether and avoid the fee. They tell me that they are unable to do that, but I can just refund him (apparently not listening when I tell them that's not going to be an option until they figure this fee thing out), or just ship it to the buyer. Just ship it to the buyer? That is so stupid, I inform them. When I know you could just cancel the whole thing, but whatever. I worked at eBay, I know the workarounds.

I inform him of all of this, again, telling him to open the case, and he tells me that he'll do just that.

Flash forward the next night, I get an email from this dumbfuck freaking out on me. He *demands* that I "just hit the cancel button", and that no agent would tell me just to ship the item.

I send him a screenshot of the funds being held, I send him the chat text that shows agents telling me to ship the item, and I show him the cancellation screen, where it is saying I need to pay out of pocket.

Conversation copy and pasted, I swear to you all that this is legit verbatim this conversation between us, including all of his God awful grammar:

Jackass: "The e bay gentleman said you sound like you are just trying to get a sale and not have it canceled. They never told you you should refund the money. I will be contacting my jag lawyer next"

Me: "I spoke to 3 separate people, including a supervisor. Now we are reaching the point of this being a problem, because you're accusing me of lying.

YOUR kid screwed up. Not me. I JUST showed you that the money is on hold. I showed you a picture. So save your threats. I have told you what you need to do to get your money back, and I'm not paying you out of pocket because you can't watch your kid".


:::I proceed to show him the chat log that corroborates everything I've told him:::

Me: "What does that say right there? The 4th line down?"

Jackass: "How do I know that is ebay. I called them and they said you should call them and they can help you.

I am 100% disabled veteran with a purple heart. Why do you think it is okay not to just canceled it. I can went for a refund"

Rick's Note:
I could not possibly roll my eyes back further into my head. I am not someone who gets all in his feelings over the troops to begin with, so that when someone tries to pull that shit, it makes me want to help you even less.

Me: "IT'S A CHAT LOG FROM EVERY EBAY CHAT. Good God, dude. Use your brain for two seconds. Is it possible, heck, even PROBABLE that someone doesn't know what they're talking about? Here is what I see when I try to cancel. I'm not trying to pay you money out of my own pocket-- for money I don't have access to. I showed you the picture of the funds on hold. I showed you a picture of the chat log. So if you feel you need to threaten me with lawyers, you go right ahead.

And frankly, I don't care if you are Jesus. You are the jerk threatening me with lawyers and fraudulent charges when I've been doing nothing but trying to get this solved for you."


Jackass: "I was watching my kid and you are a rude inconsiderate person.

I had to poop 💩 just like you and everyone else it happened in a minute"

Rick's Note:
Y'all, on everything I love, this fucker said this.

Me: "I don't care. That's not my problem. I did my part. I'm not paying you out of my pocket. And I sure as hell am not going to go out of my way to help someone who wants to call me a liar when I have been nothing but upfront with you. Now leave me alone and figure this out yourself. You and your kid caused the problem, now you can figure out a way to fix it".

Jackass: "It is fraud because I have proof of it being a 6 year old child".

Rick's Note:
One, how could you possibly prove that it was a 6 year old that made the purchase? You literally could not. And secondly, it's not fraud, ya dumb fuck. Because someone in the household made the purchase. Someone hit "Buy It Now". Someone put in confirm purchase, and that someone PAID. It's not like I hacked your account. Fucking moron. That's not fraud. And as a seller, I am under zero obligation to give you a refund or cancellation because you, in all actuality, have buyer's remorse.

Me: "Well, its a good thing eBay covers fraud then, huh, stupid?"

Jackass: "I am reporting you and writing a bad review"

Me: I don't care. You're an idiot.

Jackass: "You are stupid.

You're the idiot.

You are calling names."


Me: "Yep. Bye"

And BLOCKED.

I denied his cancellation, and await his "Item Not Received" case. Like I told him to do in the first fucking place.
 
The sellers who part out every new release from every line are obviously making money since they keep doing it - but how do they keep track of all that shit?! Tiny, tiny baggies?

I was shocked how much I was able to sell for good prices when I started getting rid of pieces I had leftover from customs. In a GREAT way. And then the market turned and I got stuck with stuff. But it was good, for awhile.
I do little plastic baggies and label them. You can buy them at the dollar store, but I got most of mine from LEGO fig sellers, haha.
 
Oh, my newest adventure in eBaydom.
I remember when eBay was amazing. I try to avoid it at all costs the last decade, and I really hate when customs dudes (mostly back when I was into Mezco) where the only deal on eBay even though they were advertising through Facebook groups.

I have no doubt eBay help has no idea what they're doing with your situation.
 
I got positive feedback from a guy where he praised how well I packed the items, 'good price', as described etc, and said 'ok shipping cost'. And like I said, it's a positive one so I can't really get on him, but... the one thing he seems unhappy with is the one thing I have no control over? Why mention it? I dunno. Maybe I'm just looking for something to be pissed off at.
 
It's wild how some folks still think it's 2002 ebay. The label making process is all automated now, I'm not picking one shipping option and then using another to pocket the difference. Don't work that way. And people who know about dimensional weight. "Yes Karen, the Christmas mixing bowl is less than a pound, but I have to put it in a huge box to protect it from breaking and that increases the price cuz it takes up so much damn space"
 
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