Selling Toys - Horror Stories & "Happy" Customers

Man, I've been selling on ebay for over 24 years and have only had a handful of bad customers, and honestly it's mostly people who ghost me after winning auctions. They get added to the block list of course.

I've also lost money here and there from refunding people for shipping issues and such - it sucks, but it's part of the game. I've got to the point where I just refund them and be done with it, my feedback rating is too valuable to F with.

Reading through the horror stories in this thread make me feel pretty fortunate, though I'm sorry for you guys that have had to deal with the BS!
 
I'll drop a specific name--because this guy has screwed me over on more than one occasion and I feel I should warn people about him:

Brian Ritchie of Batavia, Ohio.

Never, ever, EVER EVER EVER sell anything to this guy.

Tried to rip me off for 400 bucks once on a set of NECA Terminator figures. Shipped them in a timely manner, they were delivered within two days, on day three, I get an item not received strike and they're holding my money. I provided tracking to eBay, along with a picture of the USPS receipt, so they cancelled the case in my favor. He opened ANOTHER case, this time for item not complete or missing items.

They hold 400 bucks from me AGAIN.

Long story short, I forgot to get signature confirmation on it, and he took full advantage of that. He was even dumb enough to actually say to me in a message where we went back and forth, "Guess you should have gotten that signature confirmation and extra insurance on this, huh?"

He got the items. He was just pulling a fast one, or so he thought.

So, I called eBay and told them to look at the exchange of messages, and what he said (by the by, I used to work at eBay...they can see EVERYTHING you do on there)...

That was enough to get eBay to side with me and make it so he couldn't try to open a case against me again, but trust me...it was an unneeded stressor.

Previous to that, he also tried to get me to hold on to my full set of DC Universe Classics (so, we are talking 2009, 2010)...because he was getting money from a trust fund, and needed time for it to deposit. Even offered to pay more if I just held it for him. Mind you, I'm using the funds to pay for our wedding.

After 2 months, I tell him I can't hold it any longer, as my wedding is fast approaching and we are paying for this thing fully ourselves, so I gotta sell the lot. He asks me to send him the stuff and he'll pay me when the money comes in which should be that week.

You really think I'm that stupid, Brian. I tell him that I don't think he has the money and that I can't wait on him any longer. Let's just say his email responses were ridiculous. He's a clearly VERY uneducated individual, and thinks he's smarter than he is, but he's a sheister above all else.

Why did I sell those Terminator figures to him years later, you ask? Forgot it was him, to be honest. Didn't realize until I was at the post office, filling out the name tag. Figured screw it, he already paid.

But alas, lessons learned. So ..yeah, you ever see that name, cancel IMMEDIATELY.
 
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RicksNerdLife said:
My second favorite are the messages that say "I saw this seller offering this item for X amount cheaper than you".

Then buy it from that seller, bitch. I'm not that desperate for your business. The fuck are you hoping to achieve with that shit? If you see a deal and it's cheaper, then buy it from that source. Why are you even talking to me at that point?
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I sell at a local toy show twice a year, and it never fails - I'm guaranteed to get at least one customer each time who says something like that. "A table over there has this cheaper than yours." "This is only ___ over at that guy's table." "I was gonna buy this my first time around, but I found one cheaper over there."

Ok....congrats? lol I'm not going to price match, buddy, and judging from your empty hands it doesn't look like you bought that "other one" either, so what are you doing?

At my last show, I had a Kenner Batman Forever Batmobile that I was selling for $10 for parts. The electronics still worked in it, and it was clean, so I thought $10 was a good deal on it. This dude picks it up, looks it over, plays with it a minute, then tells me with a straight face "I saw this exact thing at Goodwill and it was $5, you're charging too much."

These fuckin guys lol
 
Got tricked today! Got an "i'm so sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but is this the lowest price..." blah blah blah. I responded "What were you thinking?" And the response: "What's the lowest you'll go?"

Fucker got me. I gave it to him for free.

Hell no, I just wrote back "nope" and then again "so sorry, I didn't mean to be rude". Don't care - convo done.
 
I've never enjoyed having to return something in person and I'm stuck behind someone who is haggling with the return clerk about price matching Walmart or Amazon, or even Costco going on about how they saw it there much cheaper. Apparently just driving to the place where it was originally cheaper is not enough adventure for one day. They have to go to some other place that ISN'T selling it for as cheap and then enact a courtroom drama to convince the minimum wage employee across from them to adjust the price; and then comes the moment of truth, they either get what they want after wasting everyone's time or they're turned away and forced to go back to the place or site that originally had it for cheap, assuming it's still selling for what they claimed or that it's still in stock.

If I wanted to spend my life on quests I'd be much more into Zelda, I tell you.

The fun of Ebay can be avoided if you just watch one of those "Pickers" shows on tv. I look forward to buyers eventually employing AI to handle their transactions for them:

ChatEBT: "Hello I'd like to buy this piece of garbage you have for sale. What's the lowest you'll go for such a useless item?"

Me: "Well if it's garbage why do you want it?"

ChatEBT: "Take this low amount of money as payment or else. I'm walking here!"

Me: "What?"

ChatEBT: "What other items do you have for sale that you are not selling?"

Me: "I'd rather give it to Goodwill or destroy it than sell it to you at this point..."

ChatEBT: "Sold! Do you take Romanian Money Orders?"
 
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Was at EB yesterday morning and a dude at the counter with the lone employee was pushing back on trade ins doing the "I can get more on eBay", "what's the highest you can go? C'mon", and "I saw this on marketplace listed for way more".

Clerk so so polite with their Ohs and Yups.
 
I totally understand people asking about lower prices, I even do it myself at toy shows or cons, but there is a right way to do it and a "I'll burn this building to the ground before I give you a discount" way to do it lol

My go-to at a show is I find an item I like and that I am absolutely buying regardless of the answer. I'll ask, very politely, "Hi, do you have any room on this?" If they say "no", then I my response is typically "fair enough, worth a shot" and I whip out my cash. If they answer with "maybe, what were you thinking?" then my go-to every time is $5 off their asking price. I mean, I've already decided to buy it, so $5 is usually a win for both parties, and if a seller is open to negotiation I don't think I've ever been denied when asking for 5 bucks off. Asking for such a small amount will also often lead to the seller telling me that if I buy a few things he'll give me a bigger discount, and you get a little back-and-forth going with them. And that's fun.

But I have absolutely seen guys at shows walk up to my table and pick out something that is $100 and offer me $60. I am always open to negotiation, but if I wanted barely over half the sticker price then I'd have just marked it at $60 to begin with.

And also, you -- yeah, you -- the guy with the two kids who look like they haven't had a bath in a month, quit sending them over by themselves to ask about discounts. I love making kids happy at a toy show, but I saw you whispering to them before they walked over. I know what you're doing. Jerk.
 
Agreed! I don't like playing the haggle game, so I usually don't even bother, but I know and respect there IS a game. Coming in with "what's the lowest you'll go" is fucking lazy and unimaginative. At least give me some bullshit about your mom in the hospital and the only thing that'll give her the strength to get through the surgery is this action figure.
 
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I scour Marketplace for the same item. No shame, I undercut, but I also think many Toronto resellers have brain damage asking prices.

Even with my undercut, I still have an amount I'd be happy with.

If someone comes in with room, they need to make the play. Tell me what you're looking for. This is where many of them fail. I don't know why. They just want me to name it (and it's never enough if I do, it's like a reverse haggle), or they don't actually know. Usually the flag right there it's over.

And you can't see $60 and come in with 20. Come on. As a buyer myself, the game is usually "40?" "50/45" "Done." Happy to do that.

And even then, maybe I just want it gone, so $40 is fine... but I throw qualifiers on these steps. "I will do that price, you need to come now/ASAP."

You want the deal. I want my time. No holding, no waffling. And the hotter the item, the less I'm even inclined to play the game, because someone historically always shows up at the darkest hour with no debate, and are 30 minutes out.

But yeah, asking me the lowest? Bye, Felicia. I will walk with you to the price you want. You gotta ask me out, not play this Marketplace footsie. I already know I'm the head cheerleader.
 
TheRealSmallville said:
And also, you -- yeah, you -- the guy with the two kids who look like they haven't had a bath in a month, quit sending them over by themselves to ask about discounts. I love making kids happy at a toy show, but I saw you whispering to them before they walked over. I know what you're doing. Jerk.
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I had a homeless guy come up to me in a metro area explaining that his vehicle was broken down and that he was moving from the midwest and that he needed money for a tow and that the cops would take his stuff to impound if he didn't get it off the interstate by that evening. I told him sorry I didn't have anything. 2 months later the same guy came up to me with the same story and my response was "you're still trapped on the highway?!?!" He looked confused and walked away. This method and bringing your unwashed family up to strangers at the gas station to beg for a few bucks are my least favorite methods of folks attempting to bilk me.

"Hey man, I'm trying to buy "x", do you have a couple bucks you can spot me?" is the most straightforward and likely to get anything out of me. But I want you to look like a character from Oliver Twist when you say it. I want pageantry, I want coal-smudged faces that tell me you've been sweeping chimneys all afternoon. And a Tiny Tim crutch wouldn't hurt either.
 
That's why I can never work a customer service job again, I don't think. I used to be really good with handling stupid customers, but something broke in me within the last couple years. I'd probably end up on the news within a few days.

Right now I'm dealing with a guy that, while I get where he's coming from, still kinda has me rolling my eyes a bit. When the Hammond Collection Spino went up for sale, I listed my old Nanmu Spino. Finally sold after a bit, for about 30ish less than the asking price (was in need of some quick cash for a flight home); I wrapped it up well, sent it off. Heard back the other day from the guy that it arrived with damage to the mouth and spine. Me, I'm thinking a chunk got taken off or something big broke off. Asked for photos and he sent me one of a tiny little paint chip on the bottom snout that you probably wouldn't even see unless you were looking at it straight on. Claims it wasn't in the original photo, which I checked, and I apparently didn't include any of the front directly on- being kind of a thin dino, you wouldn't really see much, but still, that's on me. And, like, I get it- we all want our figures to be nice and pristine, but sometimes things happen, and with something that, at least in my eyes, is so minimal that could easily be either painted over or something, I don't see why it's such a big deal. Especially when I let it go for less than I wanted to; if he'd spent some exorbitant amount, I'd understand, but he basically got it for its original price. And he asked me yesterday what I'd offer "as a reward for keeping the dinosaur", which I really hope is just an awkward translation. The address it was sent to was in the US, but he seems to not speak English, so I don't know if it was sent overseas at some point or what, but if so, just another reason why I don't like to deal with shipping overseas.

I dunno. Like I said, maybe I've just grown embittered by anything dealing with customers, or maybe recent life events just have me a bit cold. Maybe it's my upbringing- little paint flaws have never been a huge deal to me when 99.999% of the rest of the figure is still pristine. Like Reefer said, things like this are just part of the deal with selling things, but it feels like the last thing I need right now. I'm not good with haggling even during the best of times- like others have said, the open-ended "how much?" question is like a brick wall to me. Just tell me how much you want, and we can go from there, cuz I want this over and done with as quickly as possible while still remaining fair to myself.
 
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