Another Stupid Ebay Situation!! Question

do you have a link to the auction, and have you left feedback?

Sorry to here about that Abastyr. If you have not done so yet, leave negative feedback.
I won a matel vacume form machine back in October and have not received it yet. All I got was a bunch of excuses.
mark956

One of the reasons why I gave up on Evil-Bay, way too many shysters on there.
I have had bad experiences BOTH as a buyer and as a seller.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3169982743&category=2589&sspagename=STRK%3AMEBWN%3AIT&rd=1

There's the web page...

I told her that I would wait to post feedback until the situation was resolved...

The Seller has 28 negative feedbacks and 804 positive, NOT a good ratio.
Seller also sounds snotty if someone left negative feedback.

Personally, I would try to stay away from buyers with high ratings, most of them sell to be in it for the money and as a business. Thus they want everything done their way and will fight tooth and nail to keep their rating up.

The few possible bucks you can save on E-Bay aren't really worth the hassles and if you add all the fees and charges up you realise that your good deals weren't all the great.

Very hard to take any corrective action too, especially if both parties are separated by long distances.

Naturally, just my Opinion of course.

1) Check the exact add for the auction item to verify exactly what was claimed and offered.

2) List your disatisfaction with the seller as a review on Ebay.

3) How did you pay? If by Credit card, I presume you have recourse for a refund like we do in Australia. If not pursue your options via the site.

4) Hire 'Rocko and Guido' to go ask for your money back.

Great advice after the fact I know, but if you want to buy off e-bay firstly ask if the kit is unopened and why they are selling it. Often 'in plastic' does not mean unopened. Many second hand shops re-shrink wrap kits and the like to prevent theft. I have come accros a girl on Australian e-bay that was selling her ex-boyfriends kits because he hadn't paid his share of the rent for 6 weeks. Sure enough, she grabbed a few partially built kits as well as a few unopened, and the ones I wanted had been started.

If the kit is not advertised as shrink wrapped, sometimes you can ask the seller to open it and send you a picture of the box contents with something else in the picture to prove it is actually what they have (ie, with a specific music cd, two crossed forks and a knife, etc in the shot). If they think it will result in a higher price they may agree.

Unfortunately, you have encountered one of the many risks associated with 'Evil Bay'

eBay says (http://pages.ebay.com/help/welcome/ebay-is-safe.html):

Every official eBay transaction is covered, at no additional cost, by the eBay Fraud Protection Program.
If you paid for an item and never received it (or if you received the item, but it's less than what was described), eBay will reimburse buyers up to $200, minus $25 to cover processing costs.

The process is outlined at
http://pages.ebay.com/help/confidence/isgw-fraud-protection.html

Additionally...

A dispute resolution service will work with buyers and sellers to help resolve disputes that may arise.
SquareTrade helps eBay users resolve disputes quickly and fairly.
http://www.squaretrade.com/cnt/jsp/index.jsp

HTH

Alex

I have purchased a number of items on Ebay. One thing that I always check is the sellers feedback. I will passover someone who has more that about a 1% negative rating. Just a percentage I use as a guide. So far, so good. But as that greek saying says "buyer beware" or "caveat emptor". That is greek isn't it?

Glenn

Ebay kicks ass. I make sure to read a persons terms before buying from them, and if any question I peruse the feedback. I sell on ebay as well and have never had a problem. I am picky about my 100% feedback because I go out of my way to make things nice. The same people that are mean and nasty on ebay are also mean and nasty in real life. Most of us that know them do not visit their shops, etc.

Sorry to ramble on, anyway... dont give up on ebay, just follow up within the rules and keep your eyes open on seller's feedback also

Sorry to hear about your bad experience Abastyr. I've only been shopping on e-bay since December and i love it so far. I hope I don't encounter a similar problem. It is the very thing I fear. Luckily or should I say unluckily most auctions have the shipping so high it defeats the purpose of bidding on it. So most of my purchases are limited to the $10 to $20 range including shipping.

OK here is what to do...

1st off, did you use PayPal to pay for the transaction? You can usually contact them and request a refund for payment due to an mis-represented description.

2. Contact eBay and let them know that the seller's listing and description was misleading.

3. Feedback can be a bit of a problem. If you slam the Seller with a Neg, they will just come right back at you with a Neg in return. Again, contact eBay at let them know what is going on.


I looked at the link and it makes no mention that the kit has been started. With it being partially built, there is no way to tell that it is indeed "Complete".

You can also check out the eBay Community forums. Lots of great help there. People will give you the needed links and steps in a blink of an eye.

Good Luck!

That' s just plain dishonest!

My opinion is that you got taken, but I doubt that the seller knew she had cheated you. She probably thought it was a complete, unstarted kit. That being said, obviously she isn't too careful since her feedback percentage is so low.

For those of you who use eBay with any regularity, anyone who has hundreds of feedback replies and is below 98%, probably has too many questionable transactions. Many people do not leave feedback when a transaction has been less than perfect. Sort of a silent vote.

As far as those of you who refer to eBay as "Evil Bay", well it is your loss. I've had hundreds of transactions (600+) as both a buyer (mainly) and a few as a seller. The few times I've had a problem, it has been sorted out between myself and the seller.

Just remember to ask questions when in doubt, check the users' feedback (check for lukewarm positives as well as neutrals), and make sure you do a quick search for like items to insure that you are bidding what the item is worth. If a deal looks to be too good to be true, it probably is. Especially the $9.99 DML kits from the Far East that cost $15-20 to ship to the USA. No real savings there.

I have purchased a number of model kits thru eBay and thus far, have not gotten burned. My last purchase was the Trumpeter Spitfire- normally goes for over 100 dollars at my LHS...my eBay bid got it for me for $70...I won a bid on the Tamiya Zero for a friend's XMas git and got it for a great price as well.
So I've gotten some expensive and cheap kits there... and have saved some serious cash on some of them.

I pay very close attention to the seller's feedback...although I know that's not totally foolproof.

BTW, I looked at your purchase; by the way it reads, I would have expected an unstarted kit. I might have emailed the seller and asked if it had been started or if the box was opened...but personally, I think this seller is lying, totally misrepresented what she was selling, and you should definitely follow the recourse actions that people have already posted here. Sellers like this definitely give eBay a black eye.

Just my

QUOTE: Originally posted by Abastyr So, I won the bid on an Ebay Auction for a Tamiya Dragon Wagon. I've always wanted to build one, and was very excited. I finally get the model, and open it up...Guess what...it's 90% put together, and painted.

It was 90% complete, and it fit in the box? If so, was it just rattling around in there?

QUOTE: So I send an e-mail to the seller, and ask them that I would like a refund, because she didn't send me what was listed on the auction (it stated model was in plastic).

Actually, it says:

This model kit is part of the Military Miniature series, No. 230. It is complete with parts in sealed bags and instructions. Buyer pays actual shipping cost.

Now, to us modelers, sealed bags suggests that the kits sprues are still in the factory bags. But the seller is an antiques dealer.

Were the completed components you received in sealed bags? If so, technically, you got what you bought.

QUOTE: She replys. "I sent you an unopened model, how do I know you didn't start putting it together, and realize you don't want it"...

How long ago did you get it? If you just got it, make it clear in your complaints that you would never have had time to do this, and that modelers buy kits to build them, not to have someone else build them, unless the auction specifically says that the kit is built.

QUOTE: I'm dumbfounded here. This is rediculous..

Others have told you to check the feedback. Unlike others, I do not automatically discount a seller with a lower than 99-98% rating. But I read the negatives, every single one.

This person doesn't have any negative feedback as a seller that I saw (I didn't go through all the feedback). But when it somes to being a buyer, the seller seems to behave on occasion like a serial killer recently escaped from an institution for the criminally insane. As a result, I would be leery of dealing with such a seller. I wouldn't expect the seller to say, "oh ok, just send it back." And if the seller did do so, I would not believe it.

QUOTE: Does Anybody have any suggestions?

Complain to eBay using the route described on the site. If that doesn't work, contact your paying agent and register a complaint. Frankly, though, the description of the kit does not say it is unassembled. Misleading? Perhaps, but as the old saying goes, caveat emptor.

I have had both good luck and bad luck on ebay the problem is simple A seller can rip you off many times but you get 3 bad feed backs and you are out of there. no matter how many good feed backs you have. I have bought a lot of modles from there the problem is if you leave bad feed back you can bet your but they will do the same just for spite. Sorry you had a problem. it is just the chance you take They will get what is comming to them in the end.

I agree with petbat on recourse : Only skip to step 4 imediatly and hire the guido brothers to schedule , shall we say , a little accident for the seller !

we've had a few problems with ebay, but we've managed to resolve them and keep up our 100% rating. I have bought seeral models over ebay, and have been satisfied every time. the latest ones, a Tamiya clear me-262, I saved about 20 bucks off of the LHS' price, and a tamiya gloster meteor, i saved about 25 to 30 $ off of the LHS' price.

Sad experience to be sure. I've never dealt with anyone with that much negative feedback... did by a nice Portuguese Cavalry helmet from a dealer with a -1 out of 1 feedback... she just plain messed up her first try on ebay. Anyhoo, do the dispute thing as Alex and such have outlined and probably don't deal with folks who have that much (-) feedback. I've never had a problem on ebay and have gotten some very cool stuff.

Ron

I agree I buy all my model paints off of ebay, save $1 to $1.50 per bottle of paint. I just never buy from someone with any neg feed backs if I can. Never have gotten taken so far. Had one who said I did not contact them fast enough but he returned my money. Guess he thought snail mail was as fast as the net :) Good luck with getting your money tho


Skip

QUOTE: Originally posted by Poniatowski Sad experience to be sure. I've never dealt with anyone with that much negative feedback... did by a nice Portuguese Cavalry helmet from a dealer with a -1 out of 1 feedback... she just plain messed up her first try on ebay. Anyhoo, do the dispute thing as Alex and such have outlined and probably don't deal with folks who have that much (-) feedback. I've never had a problem on ebay and have gotten some very cool stuff.

do you collect militaria, ron???

There really is no excuse for any negative feedback , I had problems on amazon.com as well , but it was resolved and now I am happy ! Heck the only reason for a negative rating for me , is if they rip me off and don't even bother to send the product at all ... we all procrastinate so late is an inconvienience for sure , but lets face it as long as they send you what they say in a reasonable time you have done good ! In your case Abastyr if she sent you a partially built model , and said it was basically new ( in plastic implies box open but not built if you ask me ) I would not be happy at all , I don't need help with kit building myself nor do you ! AND PAINTED ? GEEZ!!!!!

OK, heres some of her e-mails...I won the bid on 1/21..send a MOney Order via Mail...than received the Item on 1/28..there is NO way I could have put the model mostly together..

Hello,
What you are showing me is not what I shipped to you. As I said it had some larger pieces unbagged and the rest were all attached to plastic frameworks with small pieces intact and bagged. As far as shipping, your item was shipped priority mail and should have arrived within two or three days of shipping. It was not a priority mail box (because they do not carry that size) but it used priority mail tape and was shipped priority mail. There is a tremendous amount of confusion here.
Monica

Hello,
I am having problems with your e-mails that have the photos attached. I
can't even reply to those anymore. I believe your photo may be too large.
Anyway, I have spoken to my husband and my oldest daughter about this model
and we all agree that except for a couple of large parts, the Dragon Wagon's
parts were attached to a plastic framework in sealed plastic bags. A nearly
assembled model would not have even fit in the box. You are welcome to
downsize your photo and try again.
Monica
P.S.: By the way, I am not aware of the shipping issue as my husband
shipped the package. I'll find out what happened there

Hello,
I checked this item and noted that the parts were in sealed bags and
was not
in any way put together. How do we know that you did not start to
assemble
it and then change your mind about it? Please e-mail me a photo
showing
what you are talking about. I don't believe this is a matter for ebay.
If
I do not receive item as I sent it, I will not be able to refund.
Thanks,
Monica

Abastyr:Like the ole saying goes , buyer beware ! One of the bad things about internet purchases I hate to buy anything sight unseen , way too much risk ! If she is implying that the vehicle assembled itself in shipment thats bull!@#% , but these people exist and we learn the hard way sometimes unfortunatly! I custom ordered a set of electronics for a guitar I owned a few years back , little di I know the guy was going out of business ( without telling anyone of course ) , when I went in to see if my pickups arrived he told me they were on backorder , and said something to the tone of sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do , at the time i had no idea what he was talking about . Well to make a long story short , I found out when his business was closed and I was out 200 bucks ! Just be careful nest time my friend , thats all you can do ! as my girlfriend says " humans suck !@# " !

Sorry to hear you got ripped off. I hope some of the suggestions help you.

Myself I never buy off anybody who has more than a couple negative posts. I try to read the negative posts too. They can sometimes shed some light on the sellers.

I've bought a few things off ebay and sold some stuff. I got ripped off on some manual focus camera equipment. In general the people I bought equipment off of had extremely dubious sense of fairness. They'd claim camera equipment was in **Mint** equipment when it wasn't even close to being that nice. In fact I sold a very very well used manual focus camera to one of those power sellers. A week later he was selling the camera he bought off me claiming it to be in **Mint** condition. I looked at that sellers feedbacks and ya know what.... he had next to no negative feedbacks!!!! I guess people were reluctant to post negatively for some reason.

If you were ripped off and the seller sounds like she isn't going to be reasonable I'd have no reservations about posting a negative feedback. And I'd be description about it too explaining what happened. It might help someone else down the road.

There is a guy on Ebay that sells metal 1/16 Tiger I tracks that I'd like to buy... but he's gotten a few negative feedbacks... no way I'll buy from him.

I have a mixture of problems and good service here in the UK on Evil-Bay.

I have bought many items and mostly you are dealing with sound people but, as in real life, there are shysters about.

I bought a Tamiya 1/35 6-pdr gun from Ebay last April (2003) - the ad said the seller was in the UK.
After a month, I chased him to see where it had got to and it turned out he was in Taiwan!! I've never received it either so beware.

I was bidding today for three DVD's - Tank battle footage from WWII - I won 1 and lost 2. After the auction, I went to Amazon and both the DVD's I lost to other bidders were available for less than they sold for on Ebay!

Do your homework - sometimes it just ain't worth it especially when the seller is charging ridiculous postage prices.

HTH

Oh that is a definate problem on e bay ....... make sure you look for the sellers location . I wouldn't suggest purchases from anything but my own country , maybe Canada! The shipping alone from, shall we say china or hong kong will go for around 15 to 20 bucks ( and thats if you ever recieve it !) Sometimes what seems like a good deal is far from a good deal !

I gave up up looking for ANY anime Resin Kits on E-Bay as 98% are recasts, e-Bay does very little about illegal or pirated goods.

Never mind that some Sellers will try to bully you into leaving positive feedback and so on.
Sorry, while I had a few good buys via E-Bay the majority were more hassles than worth the stuff I got.

As for Item descritpions as they say Paper is very patient, electronic paper does not even exist.

Mad model: this is the way it goes with me , if they ship right out and give me what I want ..... great feedback response. If they ship late ... no response at all ..... if they don't ship what they said they will bad response from me ...and,. if they rip me off and don't ship at all ... well bad response ... then I make up false names and give them bad response 50 fold they will never make another sale under that name , the criminals that they are !