• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

another bad ebay transaction, opinions
0

24 posts in this topic

Hi Guys,

I had a Showcase 79, VG/+ copy up on ebay, it was priced at £59.99, I gave 25% off to a buyer, so cost him £45, it was sent international tracked and signed.

Yesterday, the buyer contacted me and said it had a moisture stain, from page 10 to the back cover, now I don't remember this and would usually pick up on it, but I have given him the benefit of the doubt.

This is the conversation so far.

"hello, the dolphin comic you sent me has water damage inside at the bottom of the book from page 10 all the way through to the back cover, maybe you didnt notice it. i need a refund please or a partial refund & ill keep it. very disapointed, im contacting you first for a solution. please get back to me thank you"

my reply

Hi, sorry about that, I usually would mention defects like this and don't normally miss them, so a bit shocked that I did. The original price was £59.99, and I gave you 25% off, making it £45, that's quite a good price for this comic at the moment, especially with all the movie speculations. Then there's all the ebay, paypal fees, and as you can see, postage actually cost me more than the charge, this ebay thing is not easy, lol.

However, as you are not happy, even though I still think even with moisture stains, it would still be VG, I could offer you an additional £10.

If this is okay, then I will refund this shortly,

sorry again, herc

his reply to this

"excuse me the comic is water stained thats a big not mention i dont really want the comic in this condition refund me 50% n ill keep it to avoid this runaround i was cool n did not open a case please send me the refund"

It's a no win situation for me, I'll lose out on the paypal fees and the shipping cost which is about £16, so not sure whether to just have it sent back, give him the full refund upon return and eat the £16, or just give in and give him 50% which is £22.50, (unless he means 50% of the whole transaction, including, the shipping of £10, and the taxes ebay charged, £3-£4)

 

What do you guys suggest, thanks for your help and opinions,

herc

Link to comment
Share on other sites

FWIW the scan of the back cover does seem to show a small crescent-shaped moisture stain on the bottom right edge of the book.  So the book may actually have the stain he’s speaking of. 
 

Having said that:  it looks like a pretty small moisture stain. You have it graded as VG+. I understand the buyer’s point that it would have been nice if the stain was mentioned in the description. But does a moisture stain that size significantly alter the grade of a book in VG+ condition?

What’s your stated return policy?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is a high probability that as a seller your going to lose when it comes to a buyer/seller situation with eBay ... i suggest give him his 50% off and count it as a cost of doing business and maybe your next action you will recoup it all back !!  eBay always sides with the buyer and many buyers take advantage of this , but eBay is really the only game in town as we know !!

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would take whichever option would cost you the least.  The one caveat with a return is how he would pack it and if done poorly could cause damage in return.

If it were me, I would give the 50% and move on.  For such a minimal amount, it really isn't worth the hassle in my opinion. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Give him the $22.50 and be done with it.  Much too much hassle considering the high return shipping price.  When the return shipping is only $4 then it definitely makes it more enticing to have the buyer just return the book but at $16 it just is not worth it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, Pontoon said:

Those staples look on the rusty side to me, so I would suspect the buyer is telling the truth. However, I don't monkey with partial refunds. If he's not happy, tell him to return it for a full refund.

+1 

On both counts. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, herc2000 said:

What do you guys suggest

Your ebay.co.uk listing brings to mind the proverb, "A stitch in time saves nine."  A written description that's limited to "Nice comic, grade is VG/+ (4.0), slight roll, could be pressed out" is about as minimal as it gets and fails to address the book's more serious defects.  You get no sympathy from me, although I will fault the buyer for not seeing the obvious staple rust.

I'm a big believer in putting the effort in up front.  :preach:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, herc2000 said:

Hi Guys,

I had a Showcase 79, VG/+ copy up on ebay, it was priced at £59.99, I gave 25% off to a buyer, so cost him £45, it was sent international tracked and signed.

Yesterday, the buyer contacted me and said it had a moisture stain, from page 10 to the back cover, now I don't remember this and would usually pick up on it, but I have given him the benefit of the doubt.

This is the conversation so far.

"hello, the dolphin comic you sent me has water damage inside at the bottom of the book from page 10 all the way through to the back cover, maybe you didnt notice it. i need a refund please or a partial refund & ill keep it. very disapointed, im contacting you first for a solution. please get back to me thank you"

my reply

Hi, sorry about that, I usually would mention defects like this and don't normally miss them, so a bit shocked that I did. The original price was £59.99, and I gave you 25% off, making it £45, that's quite a good price for this comic at the moment, especially with all the movie speculations. Then there's all the ebay, paypal fees, and as you can see, postage actually cost me more than the charge, this ebay thing is not easy, lol.

However, as you are not happy, even though I still think even with moisture stains, it would still be VG, I could offer you an additional £10.

If this is okay, then I will refund this shortly,

sorry again, herc

his reply to this

"excuse me the comic is water stained thats a big not mention i dont really want the comic in this condition refund me 50% n ill keep it to avoid this runaround i was cool n did not open a case please send me the refund"

It's a no win situation for me, I'll lose out on the paypal fees and the shipping cost which is about £16, so not sure whether to just have it sent back, give him the full refund upon return and eat the £16, or just give in and give him 50% which is £22.50, (unless he means 50% of the whole transaction, including, the shipping of £10, and the taxes ebay charged, £3-£4)

 

What do you guys suggest, thanks for your help and opinions,

herc

 

7ED2FE7E-7FE1-420C-A62E-B21D37149019.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would assume asking for pictures would be a good idea just to verify. I guess this does raise a question though. Is it worth it to send a relatively low dollar book international? If you have to eat shipping charges you lose big time. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't see how the buyer is at fault, the description is lacking. You don't even mention the rusted staples. I will admit it is greedy of the buyer to request more money back but then you could say that they can simply return the book. However, of course, that will make it more costly for you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, wombat said:

I would assume asking for pictures would be a good idea just to verify. I guess this does raise a question though. Is it worth it to send a relatively low dollar book international? If you have to eat shipping charges you lose big time. 

My answer is no - which is why I've stopped selling to all International other then Canada.  I don't get many returns but the few returns when you are eating $15 in return shipping cost is a tough nut to crack when you are dealing with $10 books.  And then you factor in the cost to do the occasional slab return it just didn't make sense to keep shipping books over the pond (especially when the amount of sales was not that high to begin with).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, davidpg said:

Give him the refund, block him from buying and submit him for the Blocked eBay Bidder thread.

I think the buyer is asking for a bit much on the amount of the refund, but we all know that he's going to win in the end; so I'd personally refund the half and block him. However, he appears to have been telling the truth about the water damage and since that makes it not as described, is within his rights to ask for a refund. While I would personally choose not to do business with him, I don't think he's done anything to warrant being put on a list filled with scammers and deadbeats.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
0